Graphic Design Software: Alternatives to Every Tool
This page lists fifteen graphic design tools with the entry price of each, meaning the price of the first paid plan. It runs from $2.49/mo on Pixlr to $39/mo on CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, and three tools are free. Where a tool has an alternatives page on this site, its line links to it. Prices were read on 12 November 2026 on each vendor's own site. For Canva and Adobe, they were read on two other sites, named in their lines.
All graphic design software
Adobe Illustrator
Vector graphics software: shapes are drawn as lines and curves, so a logo stays sharp from a phone screen to a billboard. The price is a one-year plan paid monthly, read on ThePricer and Photutorial because adobe.com shows no price to automated reading.
From $22.99/mo, yearly plan
Adobe Photoshop
Image editor for editing photos and combining them, with unlimited layers (stacked parts of an image that are edited separately). The price is a one-year plan paid monthly, read on Dupple and Joseph Nilo, not on adobe.com.
From $22.99/mo, yearly plan
Affinity
Photo editing, vector drawing and page layout (placing text and images on pages, as in a brochure) in one app for Windows, macOS and iPad. Individuals use every tool for free. Its AI tools need a paid Canva plan, since Affinity belongs to Canva.
From Free
Canva
Templates and editing for graphic design, photos and videos, with apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows. Pro covers one person. Its price was read on Moda and confirmed on SocialRails, because canva.com refused automated reading.
From $18/mo
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Vector illustration, page layout, photo editing and typography for Windows and Mac, plus a web version for subscribers. It is also sold once, as a licence to keep, at $549 list price (the price before any offer).
From $39/mo
Figma
Interface design (the screens of apps and websites) in the browser or a desktop app, with vector drawing in Figma Draw. The price is per Full seat. The cheaper Collab seat can only view and comment on design files.
From $20/mo
GIMP
Image editor for Linux, macOS and Windows, written by volunteers. It is free software under the GPL licence, so any use is allowed, commercial work included.
From Free
Inkscape
Vector graphics editor for Linux, Windows and macOS, free for any use. It opens SVG, PDF, EPS and Adobe Illustrator files (common formats for vector drawings), but exports pixel images only as PNG.
From Free
Kittl
Browser tool for brand visuals and product mockups (a design shown on a photo of the product it will be printed on). Pro includes 2,000 AI tokens a month, enough for up to 400 AI images or 20 videos. The free plan allows personal use only.
From $19/mo
Linearity Curve
Vector design app for illustrations, logos and icons, on iPhone, iPad and Mac only. The Pro subscription also covers Linearity Move, an animation app from the same company.
From $10/mo
Penpot
Open-source design platform for interfaces: its code is public, and a team can install it on its own server. The free plan has every feature for up to 8 team members. The pricing page does not say whether the $7 is charged each month or once a year.
From $7/mo per editor
Picsart
Photo and video editor on the web, on phones and on Windows, with a choice of over 180 AI models. Core photo tools are free. AI tools and premium content need a subscription.
From $15/mo
Pixlr
Photo editing and graphic design in the browser, on Windows and Mac, and on phones. The Plus plan removes ads and the daily limit on saves, and adds 80 AI credits a month (the allowance its AI features use up).
From $2.49/mo
Sketch
Design tool for app and website interfaces, from first screen to developer handoff (passing measurements and code to the people who build the app). Editing needs a Mac running macOS Sequoia or newer. Viewers who only look, inspect and comment are free.
From $14/mo per editor
Visme
Presentations, reports, proposals and other branded content for business teams, in the browser or a desktop app. The price is per person. Annual billing brings Starter to $12.25 a month.
From $29/mo
Choosing graphic design software: the three questions that matter
What the work is
The kind of work narrows fifteen tools to four or five.
Social posts, presentations and marketing pages can start from a template (a finished layout where only the words and pictures change). Canva, Kittl and Visme each offer thousands of templates. Canva Pro costs $18/mo and Kittl Pro $19/mo. Visme Starter costs $29/mo per person, and Visme aims at business reports and proposals.
Photos call for an image editor. Photoshop's page names unlimited layers, blend modes (ways of mixing one layer with the ones below it) and AI tools among its features. Pixlr Plus costs $2.49/mo and Picsart Pro $15/mo. GIMP costs nothing and runs on Linux too.
Logos and illustrations call for a vector editor. A vector drawing is stored as lines and curves, not as pixels (the dots of a photo), so it can be enlarged without blur. Illustrator, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Affinity, Linearity Curve and Inkscape are vector editors. A freelancer who draws logos pays $22.99 a month for Illustrator on a yearly plan, or $10/mo for Linearity Curve Pro. Affinity and Inkscape cost nothing.
App and website screens call for an interface design tool. Figma, Sketch and Penpot are made for that, with prototypes (clickable mock-ups of an app) and handoff to developers. Handoff means giving developers the measurements, styles and code they need to build the screens. Figma does it in Dev Mode, where developers read the measurements of each layer. On Penpot, developers inspect code that matches the design.
In short: start from the file to deliver. Templates point to Canva, Kittl or Visme, photos to an image editor, logos to a vector editor, and app screens to Figma, Sketch or Penpot.
Which computer it runs on
Two tools need Apple hardware, so the computer comes before the price.
Sketch edits only on a Mac with macOS Sequoia or newer. Its web app is for colleagues who view, inspect and comment from any computer. Linearity Curve runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and is not available on Windows.
Many tools work in a web browser, so the computer matters less. Kittl runs only in the browser, and Visme runs in the browser or as a desktop app. Penpot runs in the browser or on a server the team installs itself. Figma has the same features in the browser and in its macOS and Windows apps, but its phone app cannot edit design files. Pixlr and Picsart work on the web and on phones. Photoshop on the web is included in every Photoshop plan, and Illustrator on the web is still in beta (a test version).
GIMP and Inkscape both install on Linux. Affinity runs on Windows, macOS and iPad, and needs no connection once it is installed and activated. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite runs on Windows and Mac, and its web version is for subscribers only.
A team of three on Windows laptops therefore cannot use Sketch or Linearity Curve. On Figma the same team pays $60/mo for three Full seats.
In short: Mac users can use all fifteen tools, some of them in the browser. Windows users lose Sketch and Linearity Curve. Linux users can install GIMP and Inkscape.
How the tools charge, and for how many people
Four ways of paying appear in this category: a monthly subscription, a one-year commitment, a licence bought once, and free software.
Many subscriptions are charged per person. Figma charges per Full seat (one user account allowed to edit). Sketch and Penpot charge per editor. Visme and Canva Business charge per person, and Canva Pro is limited to one person. On Kittl, each extra editor pays the price of the plan. Viewers, who only open and review files, are free on Figma, Sketch and Kittl, and Penpot's free plan allows unlimited viewers.
A team of three designers pays $42/mo on Sketch and $60/mo on Figma. The same team pays $75/mo on Canva Business. Visme Starter costs $87/mo for three people. On Penpot the team fits in the free plan, which allows up to 8 team members.
Photoshop and Illustrator are sold on one-year plans paid monthly. According to Dupple, Adobe's Photoshop page lists no month-to-month option. A year of either app costs $275.88 at $22.99 a month.
Two tools still sell a licence to keep. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite costs $549 once, against $468 for a year of its monthly plan. Its annual plan costs $269 a year at list price, so the licence costs about as much as two years of it ($538). Sketch sells a Mac-only licence for $120 a seat, with one year of updates. That licence has no web app and no real-time collaboration (several people editing the same file at once).
Three tools cost nothing at all. Affinity is free for individuals with no restrictions on its tools. GIMP and Inkscape are open-source (their code is public and anyone may change it), and both allow commercial work.
Other free plans stop at a limit. Figma Starter allows 3 design files in its shared team folder, plus unlimited drafts (files kept outside any folder). Linearity Free allows 8 documents. Kittl Free allows 5 projects and exports up to 800px, for personal use only. Visme's free plan has 500MB of storage but cannot download a project, so work made on it cannot be delivered as a file. Penpot's free plan has every feature for up to 8 team members and 10GB.
In short: among the tools that charge for each editor, Penpot ($7) and Sketch ($14) cost the least. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite and Sketch offer a way around a subscription. Affinity, GIMP and Inkscape cost nothing.