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Design
Software
UX
UI
What are the best graphic design programs?
31
Options
Considered
113
User
Recs.
Oct 11, 2022
Last
Updated
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27
Options
Considered
Best graphic design programs
Price
Platforms
License
--
Affinity Photo
$49.99
OSX, iPad, Windows
-
--
Inkscape
FREE
Windows, macOS, Linux, Unix
GPL-2.0-or-later
--
Photoshop
$9.99/mo
Windows, macOS
Hagu
--
Sketch
-
Mac
-
--
GrafX2
FREE
Windows, Linux, macOS, Haiku
GPL2
See Full List
--
Affinity Photo
My Rec
ommendation
for
Affinity Photo
My Recommendation for
Affinity Photo
All
5
Pros
3
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Non-destructive adjustment layers
Extensive adjustment layers are non-destructive.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No Preview for Export Function
When exporting graphics for the web there is no chance to get a preview. The only thing you can do is export multiple formats and compressions and compare the results afterwards. People have been asking for this basic feature for four years now, but the developers have other priorities.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
OSX, iPad, Windows
Top
Pro
•••
Lifetime updates
Pay once, get updates forever.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Supports layer styles
Layer styles allow non-destructively applying effects to a layer.
See More
Hide
See All
$49.99
Recommend
18
1
--
Inkscape
My Rec
ommendation
for
Inkscape
My Recommendation for
Inkscape
All
8
Experiences
2
Pros
4
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open source
Inkscape is GPL-licensed and maintains public repositories.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Very slow startup on some systems
Depending on factors like how many fonts you have installed, Inkscape can take upwards of 30 seconds to launch.
See More
SincerePamola's Experience
I have been using this program fro years, light weight and easy to use. love it.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, macOS, Linux, Unix
License:
GPL-2.0-or-later
Technology:
C++
Initial Release:
2003
Top
Pro
•••
Cross-platform
Pre-built binaries are available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Inkscape can be built from source on additional platforms.
See More
Prajesh Sudhakar's Experience
Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor used to create vector images, primarily in Scalable Vector Graphics format. Other formats can be imported and exported. Inkscape can render primitive vector shapes and text.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Best alternative to paid vector design software
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Faster startup time than paid apps like Illustrator and Affinity Designer
See More
Hide
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FREE
Recommend
14
2
--
Photoshop
My Rec
ommendation
for
Photoshop
My Recommendation for
Photoshop
All
19
Experiences
2
Pros
10
Cons
6
Specs
Top
Con
•••
Expensive
The standalone version of Photoshop costs $19.99/month, though it can be leased as part of the Creative Cloud Photography bundle that includes Lightroom for $9.99/month.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Industry standard
Photoshop is used by professionals everywhere in a wide variety of fields including photography, graphic design and digital art. It is the de facto standard for image manipulation. If you've seen a magazine ad featuring a model, you've probably seen the effects of Photoshop. You won't be alone when using Photoshop.
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Ryan Chapman's Experience
Photoshop is the best graphic design software ever.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, macOS
License:
Hagu
Tethered capture:
via Bridge
Top
Con
•••
Latest versions of Photoshop are subscription-only
While you can still buy CS6 from 2012 without needing a subscription by contacting Adobe support or the cut-down Photoshop Elements, any full-version of Photoshop past CS6 requires a subscription.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Lots of tutorials
There's a huge number of both free and paid tutorials available online. Websites like Lynda.com offer premium high-quality, in-depth tutorials, but there are plenty of free alternatives to be found on YouTube, blogs and specialized sites on the Internet.
See More
Winnie Brockett's Experience
Photo editing and compositing to digital painting, animation and graphic design. you can do it all in Photoshop
See More
Top
Con
•••
Learning it can take some time
While you can relatively quickly learn how to perform a few basic image editing tasks, understanding Photoshop's ins and outs can be difficult. It's partially due to the sheer amount of functionality that Photoshop packs (and understanding that some of the advanced functionality can take a while to understand on its own), and partially due to it being aimed at professionals with little hand-holding for novice users.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Includes powerful content-aware tools
Photoshop includes content-aware tools such as content-aware fill that can fill in a select area based on what surrounds it.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No Linux support
If you need an app like Photoshop on Linux, well you can't use Photoshop, which is sad for Linux users. Without using Wine or Crossover, it doesn't work too well with Photoshop.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
A cheaper, standalone version called Photoshop Elements is available
A stripped down version of Photoshop, called Photoshop Elements can be bought as a standalone application for $100.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Asset management capabilities are lacking
In Photoshop asset management is done through a separate program called Bridge. As Bridge is supposed to be a file management tool for not just Photoshop's files, but for files generated by all of Adobe's applications it covers a breadth of capabilities, but not depth.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Packs a staggering amount of functionality
Photoshop is the most fully featured image editing software available today allowing you to perform highly advanced image manipulation. It has tools for RAW image adjustments, lens correction, retouching, image stitching, HDR, fixing framing. It supports most professional color modes and file formats. It includes extensive lists of filters, styles, effects, fonts as well as tools for painting, sketching and typography work. It understands both raster and vector graphics. It even includes tools for video editing, working with 3D objects and support for 3D printing.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Batch editing of images is not straightforward
Photoshop is designed to work extensively on one image at a time and while batch editing support exists, it's not that intuitive to use.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
You can make animated GIFs
It is nice to make animated GIFs inside of Photoshop which you can't do in some other programs like Affinity Designer.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Integrates with Creative Cloud
You can save all projects directly to the Creative Cloud allowing you to access them from any device and with any relevant Adobe software.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Trove of plugins that extend functionality are available
A wide variety of plugins that add new effects, improve existing functionality and simplify workflow are available.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Creative Cloud Photography subscription includes Lightroom
Lightroom is another image editing software from Adobe that's specifically designed for photo editing and managing of large quantities of digital images.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Mobile companion apps available
There's a free mobile app available for iOS, Android & Windows Phone.
See More
Hide
See All
$9.99/mo
Recommend
10
2
--
Sketch
My Rec
ommendation
for
Sketch
My Recommendation for
Sketch
All
14
Pros
10
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Con
•••
License based payment model
Sketch has recently decided to cease development of major version (2.0, 3.0, 4.0) with free updates in between, and has switched to a license based subscription model. A yearly license costs $99 and includes the latest version of the Sketch software, plus a year of free updates. After this license expires, you can renew for another year of updates - or continue to use the current software without updates.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
"Artboards" are great for working on multiple views simultaneously
Artboards let you easily work on multiple views side by side. Great for having a separate artboard on each page for the various responsive sizes.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Mac
Top
Con
•••
No Windows/Linux versions
Sketch is currently Mac only, which can make it hard to collaborate if you have teammates using another OS.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Designed specifically for web and mobile UI design & workflows
Sketch is essentially a version of Photoshop built from the ground up to suit the workflow of web designers.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Limited compatibility with Photoshop and Illustrator
Although it is possible to export certain Adobe file types in Sketch, compatibility is mostly hit and miss. For example, some elements seem a little offset in Adobe products.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Clean UI
Reactive panels keep the UI for Sketch clean from the sort of clutter the panel system in Photoshop suffers from. The panels in Sketch change based on the object in question, saving you from having to have a multiple separate panels.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Vector based yet pixel aware
You can rescale assets without quality loss, easily export x2 assets for retina designs and design high quality icons & artwork. Being pixel aware lets you set a grid and snap objects to it as well as round to the nearest pixel edge to clean up your layers.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Active community with a lot of resources
Sketch is hugely popular among designers so there are a lot of well maintained community resources for everything from iPhone frames to iOS/Android UI elements & icons.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Built-in grid system
You can set the square grid to whatever dimensions you like as well as set thicker lines every x blocks. You can also configure the color of the lines to make them as obvious or subtle as you wish and toggle the grid with a keyboard shortcut (crtl+g).
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easily align layers with smart guides
Holding down alt will show the smart guides that show the distances between any layer you hover over to nearby layers or the edges of the artboard. Very useful for checking your spacing or aligning layers.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Makes it easy to export assets
Sketch has a built in exporter that supports PDF, JPG and PNG.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Symbols and shared styles
Sketch lets you re-use the same design in multiple places, with changes synced throughout the various places it is used. You can also create text styles to sync typography changes.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
"Mirror" makes it really easy to test designs on multiple devices
Mirror lets you connect your iPhone to sketch and see how your current artboard looks on mobile. It's really useful as you can live check changes which lets you rapidly iterate mobile design.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
7
2
--
GrafX2
My Rec
ommendation
for
GrafX2
My Recommendation for
GrafX2
All
8
Pros
6
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Deluxe Paint-like interface
See More
Top
Con
•••
Lack of tutorials - can be a bit overwhelming to get into
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, macOS, Haiku
License:
GPL2
Top
Pro
•••
Drawing constraint mode for vintage 8bits machine
The program is able to enforce the pixel constraints of old machines (C64, ZX Spectrum, Apple II, Game Boy Color, etc.). For example, in ZX Spectrum mode, only 2 different colors can be used in a 8x8 pixel block.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Supports tileset addition and extraction
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Palette color cycling
GraphX2 being based on older 256 bitmap software has inherited some tricks that modern pixel editors do not have . One of them being the ability to cycle color palette and produce animations and effects with it.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Has a great palette tool
You can create gradients from one color to another, work in either RGB or HSL color space, save and load palettes, sort and organize palettes, and even work on "color cycling" images.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Supports animations
The program has a basic support for animation using frames in newer versions. Graphics can be cloned and copied between frames and changed slightly. See here how to animate with GrapfX2.
See More
Hide
See All
FREE
Recommend
2
--
Darktable
My Rec
ommendation
for
Darktable
My Recommendation for
Darktable
All
5
Pros
4
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Edits are saved to a separate file
Original files are untouched by any edits. No worries on what was done before or if an accidental save occurs. All work is separate from the originals.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac
Technology:
C
Tethered capture:
Yes
Non-Distructive Editing:
Yes
Top
Pro
•••
Customizable
Darktable allows favoriting modules and remapping hotkeys.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Fast and Flexible
A very well considered UI makes edits fast and fluid. You can redo or undo any step without disturbing any other part of your edit. The UI doesn't get in the way.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Allows for local adjustments
Most modules, by default, affect the whole image, but have the option to only be applied to masked-off areas (be those drawn masks, parametric ones, or a combination of the two).
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
6
--
Blender
My Rec
ommendation
for
Blender
My Recommendation for
Blender
All
3
Experiences
1
Pros
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open source
Blender is licensed under the GPL. Some Blender modules such as the Cycles rendering engine are licensed under the Apache 2.0 license.
See More
ReflectiveSunWukong's Experience
I used it without any issues for simple 3D modelling
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD
Technology:
C, Python
3D:
Yes
2D:
Yes (as of 2.8)
See All Specs
Hide
See All
FREE
Recommend
3
--
GIMP
My Rec
ommendation
for
GIMP
My Recommendation for
GIMP
All
15
Pros
7
Cons
7
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Free, open source and cross-platform
GIMP is completely free and open source, meaning you can use GIMP and all of its features without spending a penny. This makes it an excellent case for artists or designers who may not have the budget to spend over 700 USD on Photoshop. It is also available for free on Windows, Mac OS and Linux. It's licensed under GPL with source code available here.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Unintuitive interface
GIMP doesn't embrace OS X application design, thus Mac users might have a hard time wrapping their heads around GIMP's interface.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows 10/8/7; Linux; MacOS
License:
GPLv3+
Tethered capture:
No
Non-Distructive Editing:
No, Feature in development with GEGL
See All Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Powerful
GIMP is the most feature rich free image editing tool. It has most image manipulation and workflow tools that you would expect from an image editing software and what it lacks it makes up with plugins.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No CMYK!
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Lightweight
Compared to to other photo editing software, GIMP is very light weight. In addition it isn't very resource-intensive, meaning you can put it on a flash drive and have it with you to load up on just about any computer.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Not beginner friendly
Harder to learn than Photoshop and if you're a beginner.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Modular & single-window interface options
By default GIMP splits out each window, but you can check to use the one screen mode in options if you prefer.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Less features than other programs
Being a free program, it shouldn't be surprising that it has limited features. For those needing more advanced features for something more professional, GIMP just isn't for you.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Beginner-friendly
Gimp has less features than programs like Photoshop, but for a beginner, or someone not needing complicated options, Gimp is the perfect choice. It allows you to quickly do basic photo manipulation so you can easily get the product you need without having to worry about complicated features getting in the way.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Confusing Interface
No matter which platform you are using it on (except for maybe Linux) it has a complicated interface to learn and steers users away from it and towards apps like Photoshop.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Content-aware tools with a plugin
There's a content-aware fill plugin available for GIMP.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Lacks adjustment layers
Adjustment layers offer a non-destructive way of combining different photo manipulations. Without adjustment layers the only way to see changes is by irreversibly editing the image. They are promised in future updates.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Full channel support
See More
Top
Con
•••
Poor performance
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
6
2
--
Affinity Designer
My Rec
ommendation
for
Affinity Designer
My Recommendation for
Affinity Designer
All
7
Pros
5
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Cheap one-time purchase
It is $50 and you keep it forever unlike programs like Photoshop which is $9.99/month or $19.99/month depending on the plan.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Can't use with Linux
Not much more to say about that.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, MacOS, IOS
Export image formats:
PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PSD, PDF, SVG, EPS, EPS, EXR, HDR
Top
Pro
•••
Focused vector graphics tool
Unlike some design tools, Affinity Designer isn't trying to be all things to all people. It's focused on its main area of expertise: vector graphics. That's not to say you can't use a raster image (think a photo in *.jpeg format for example), but it's not built to do much with that other than using it somewhere amidst the layers and that's about it.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Intuitive user interface
The user interface of many graphic editing software programs can often be discouraging for beginners. Affinity Designer, however, has a very well laid out and intuitive user interface with a small learning curve.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Integrates well with Affinity Photo
These are companion apps & switching between them is built in - Photo is a very powerful raster tool with a feature set close/better to Photoshop, it will also use some Photoshop plugins. This allows you to add-on powerful raster capabilities if you want them - put doesn't force you to.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Cross-platform
Available on both Windows and MacOS.
See More
Hide
See All
$49.99
Recommend
7
--
Krita
My Rec
ommendation
for
Krita
My Recommendation for
Krita
All
12
Pros
6
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Con
•••
Working with text is not that pleasant
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Amazing support for displaying brushes
Krita's preset brushes are one of the default dockers. Each brush has a preview on mouseover that shows a detailed view of the type of brush involved. All the brushes also have useful and descriptive names such as "HP Pencil" or "Textured Fuzzy".
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, Android
License:
Open source
Technology:
C++, Qt
Top
Con
•••
Poor touch controls
They are still pretty much a WIP. But they are getting there.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Very customizable
Although the UI is rather busy, Krita is very customizable. The editing window can be themed and the sidebar can be customized extensively throw many dockers or panes.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Crappy text editing
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use layout
All the most used and useful tools are easy to find in Krita's UI and are often just one click away. They are not hidden behind menus or dropdowns.
See More
Top
Con
•••
New features are not tested thoroughly
Since releases are so often and with little time between them, usually new features are not tested a lot and this can bring a lot of bugs with them. Which fortunately are quickly patched in the next release.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open source
Krita is completely free and open source. They have raised a couple of successful Kickstarters in the past to get the initial financing and now they are accepting donations.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Documentation is lacking
Krita's official documentation is incomplete in some areas, especially for new features that are constantly added. But this is compensated with it's great design and usability which makes it easier to understand how things work.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy editing in a tiled view
Tiled view that shows your image tiled in the editor, and permits you to edit it as you are seeing it tiled. If the brush passes out of your texture, it will just automatically wrap back the painting to the other side of the original texture, while permitting you to paint and see the results on any of the tiled "clones". (the shortcut key to activate this is w by default)
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Constantly updated
Krita is getting constant releases with updates and bug fixes. New features are added at a pace that far surpasses the other alternatives.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
3
1
--
Gravit Designer
My Rec
ommendation
for
Gravit Designer
My Recommendation for
Gravit Designer
All
8
Pros
3
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Modern UI
See More
Top
Con
•••
Pro Subscription
Gravit's many basic features are now included in Pro Subscription. Font Import, Bezigon, Swatches and various Blending Modes fall in Pro Subscription now.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Linux, MacOS, Windows, ChromeOS, WebApp
License:
Commercial
Company:
Corel Corporation
Top
Pro
•••
Simple to understand and use
Very friendly interface.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Confusing bugs
Sometimes Gravit Designer can randomly duplicate your files, causing you to waste a large amount of time trying to find the right one.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Friendly keyboard shortcuts
The keyboard shortcuts are very easy to access and remember.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No longer offically licenced with a GPLv3+ version
In 2014 Quasado released Gravit.io having dual licensing: GNU GPLv3+ or a commercial license. This effectively made Gravit.io opensource, when they transitioned to "Gravit designer" they essentially dropped GPLv3+ license. You can still get the GPLv3+ licensed version of Gravit.io here: https://github.com/OliBridgman/gravit You can read the GPLv3+ licensing here: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html
See More
Top
Con
•••
No integration into the system
It uses it own theme and icons.
See More
Hide
See All
Paid
Recommend
2
--
FontForge
My Rec
ommendation
for
FontForge
My Recommendation for
FontForge
All
2
Pros
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Opensource
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
1
--
Lightroom
My Rec
ommendation
for
Lightroom
My Recommendation for
Lightroom
All
1
Specs
Specs
Platforms:
Windows OSX
Tethered capture:
Yes
Hide
$9.99/mo
Recommend
2
--
LibreSprite
My Rec
ommendation
for
LibreSprite
My Recommendation for
LibreSprite
All
1
Specs
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, macOS, Linux
License:
GPL2
Technology:
C++
Hide
Free
Recommend
1
--
Gravit.io
My Rec
ommendation
for
Gravit.io
My Recommendation for
Gravit.io
All
1
Specs
Specs
Platforms:
Linux, Windows, macOS, Web
License:
GPLv3+ or Commercial license
Unoffical download location:
https://github.com/OliBridgman/gravit
Available as:
Snap, AppImage, WebApp
Hide
Free
Recommend
1
--
Scribus
My Rec
ommendation
for
Scribus
My Recommendation for
Scribus
All
2
Pros
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Opensource
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, Unix
License:
LGPL-2.1-only
Exports:
PDF, ePub 2 (via plugin)
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
2
--
Vectr
My Rec
ommendation
for
Vectr
My Recommendation for
Vectr
All
6
Pros
5
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Cross-platform
You may download Vectr for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebook.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, Web
Top
Pro
•••
Designing offline
Vectr's desktop app works offline for up to 100 edits, and then once you get online it automatically synchronizes all of the projects with your online account. So you can work whenever you want without fearing for your projects.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Supports collaboration
You can send the unique URL to your Vectr project to your friends and colleagues for collaboration.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Intuitive
Vectr is simpler than other web design or vector graphics design tools, and has all the features needed to make your designs beautiful.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
AI, EPS, SVG, PNG, JPEG files import
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
2
1
--
DigiKam
My Rec
ommendation
for
DigiKam
My Recommendation for
DigiKam
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
1
--
Synfig Studio
My Rec
ommendation
for
Synfig Studio
My Recommendation for
Synfig Studio
All
1
Pros
1
Top
Pro
•••
Opensource
See More
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
1
--
OpenToonz
My Rec
ommendation
for
OpenToonz
My Recommendation for
OpenToonz
All
2
Pros
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Opensource
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac
Technology:
C++
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
1
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