20 best graphic design software tools in 2023

Designers used to only have a few choices for professional graphic design tools. Now, they can choose from a wide range of graphic design software options and tools — no matter what their graphic design needs are. 

To help you find the best solution for your needs, we’ve compiled a list of the top graphic design apps and tools by comparing the price, operating platforms, key features, the pros and cons of each, and more. 

20 graphic design apps & tools to try

1. Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator wrote the book on vector graphics software. It sets the standard for professionally designed logos, artwork, infographics, and icons. Illustrator is also constantly developing new features for users; with their new Generative Recolor tool, for example, customers can use the power of AI to explore limitless color palettes and themes.

For organizations or solopreneurs on a budget, however, Adobe might not be the best fit. While this graphic design software offers a seven-day free trial, it requires customers to input credit card information and select a subscription plan for when the free trial ends. Their annual plan is $20.99 per month, and the monthly plan is $31.49.

Key Features:

• Image Trace: Auto-detect a specific kind of art, remove image coloring, and reduce anchor points for easier tracing 
• Retype: Identify unknown fonts from artwork and use them instantly in your design
• Artwork export: Export your graphic design as a WebP image for website and app usage 
• Hand lettering: Take freehand fonts and digitize them
• Retain pdf hyperlinks: Export your graphic design as a pdf without having to remove links 

Pros:

• Integration with other editing tools in the Adobe family
• Start from scratch or choose a template
• Wide range of vector design tools
• Versatility in graphic design creations
• Supports multiple file formats

Cons:

• Resource-heavy
• Expensive subscription plans
• Steep learning curve
• Complex file management
• Limited photo editing capabilities

Platform: Windows, Mac, iPad, Android

2. Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is an excellent choice for personal projects or novice graphic designers due to its intuitive user interface. It’s a worthy competitor to Adobe Illustrator, with a similar suite of design tools and user-friendly features like custom keyboard shortcuts that save time and effort. It’s a good fit for designers who want a budget-friendly tool that doesn’t sacrifice functionality.

Affinity Designer offers a 30-day free trial. After the free trial is up, customers must pay a single fee to continue using the platform — $69.99 for Mac OS and Windows and $18.49 for iPad. 

Key features:

• Color management: Supports a variety of standard formats, including CMYK (for print designs), and RGB (for digital designs) 
• Timesaving tools: No matter your project, Affinity’s grids, guides, and other tools make graphic design easy 
• One-time purchase: No subscription fees
• Zoom: This graphic design software boasts a 1,000,000% zoom for precise designing and editing
• X-ray view: Examine the skeleton of your work for more precise projects

Pros:

• Unlimited artboards
• Less resource-demanding
• Affordably priced
• Ease of setup
• Raster and vector workspaces in one program
• Excellent customer service

Cons:

• Confusing onboarding and install documentation
• No cloud services
• Steep learning curve 

Platform: Windows, Mac, iPad

3. Procreate

Procreate is a graphic design software that bills itself as a complete art studio, made exclusively for iPad and Apple Pencil support. With a one-time purchase of $12.99, customers can dive into 3-D ainting, use state-of-the-art brush control, and import and export PDFs. Unlike other competitors, Procreate’s design tools include the ability to work in 3D and preview it in real-time in AR. Procreate is the perfect starting point for users that want to try their hand at animation. 

Key features:

• Editing tools: 200 customizable brushes
• Color management: Intuitive selection of complementary colors and ColorDrop tool for fill
• Finishing filters: Unifying image management for creating the perfect look
• One-time purchase: No in-app purchases
• Hover features: Brush Cursor, Gallery Previews, Selections, and Brush Size and Opacity Gestures 

Pros:

• Extensive tutorial library
• Intuitive user interface
• Apple Pencil support
• Import Photoshop brushes

Cons:

• No free version
• Limited layering

Platform: iPad

4. Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop has long remained the industry standard for desktop publishing. It is a popular favorite with graphic designers for a reason — its array of image editing tools supports the beginner to the pro with a user-friendly interface and a plethora of well-written tutorials. The graphic design software puts you in control, from the canvas size to the artistic filter.

Like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop offers a seven-day free trial; once the trial is over, this graphic design software costs $20.99/month. However, for customers that want to access the full suite of Adobe tools, the Creative Cloud option, at $54.99 per month, allows customers to use Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and more.

Key features:

• Timesaving features: Streamlines the workflow with batch operations and automation scripts
• Generative fill: Use text prompts to generate designs and ideas
• Collaboration features: Manage feedback and editing permissions
• Intuitive editing features: Simple layers, selection tools, and masking

Pros:

• Extensive library of stock images, templates, fonts, videos, and icons
• Excellent integration with other Adobe programs
• Support for multiple file formats, including JPG and PNG

Cons:

• Expensive pricing plans
• Resource-demanding
• Slow load times

Platform: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android

5. Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is a value-priced alternative to Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator for touch-up jobs on existing images. It works with layers and filters to create stunning effects, with both vector and raster images. The software also supports the SVG file format like CorelDRAW. While you can create templates, none are included with the program. However, despite the lack of templates, the software is lightweight —taking up very little storage — and offers a generous 30-day free trial.

Affinity Photo has garnered many accolades in recent years because of its versatility and functionality. It packs a lot of features for the price. You can do sophisticated editing with its 360-degree image editing, panoramic stitching, and HDR merge. It provides real-time editing without the lag times. 

Key features:

• Powerful digital editing tools: Includes HDR merge, raw editing, and layer editing
• One-time purchase: No subscription plans or in-app purchases
• Optional overlay packs: Offers additional editing tools free with registration
• Asset library: Store everything you need for quick graphic design

Pros:

• Affordably priced
• Lightweight
• 30-day free trial
• Customizable brushes
• Easy set up
• Great customer support

Cons:

• No templates
• No keyword tagging feature
• Occasional software bugs/crashing 

Platform: Windows, Mac, iPad

6. Canva 

Canva is an all-around solution for creating a variety of projects, such as infographics, web design, or T-shirts. It uses an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that is easy to use for individuals with no previous experience in graphic design. The program has a huge selection of images, templates, backgrounds, and fonts to get the ball rolling. While Canva offers a number of these items for free, many of the images and graphics require in-app purchases.

Canva shines in that it can work with a broad range of industries, thanks to its huge template gallery. The sampling we viewed was professional-looking and offered excellent starting points for brainstorming. There are three pricing plans, including a free one for individuals and small teams. The paid plans offer the full suite of goodies, albeit only 1TB of cloud storage.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop design: User-friendly interface to start creating right away
• Collaboration tools: Makes it easy to share projects with team folders and real-time collaboration
• Social media integration: Creates posts that can share straight to popular platforms

Pros:

• Easy to learn
• Free version available
• Wizard for on-the-fly creation
• Rich collection of resources and tutorials

Cons:

• Limited free features, requires in-app purchases
• Uneditable downloads

Platform: Web browser, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

7. CorelDRAW

CorelDRAW is more than just an image editing software — it offers precise design, advanced illustration capabilities, and easy-to-use collaboration tools. Unlike many competitors, CorelDRAW offers both subscription-based and up-front pricing; the cheapest plan, marketed towards beginners, is an upfront cost of $129. For experienced designers who need a more robust graphic design software solution, prices range from an annual price of $229 to an up-front cost of $299.

For organizations that require access to all of CorelDRAW’s suite of features — support for 100 file formats, the CorelDRAW app, and more in-depth learning materials — this graphic design solution might be a bit too pricey. 

Key features:

• Unlimited storage: Corel’s Vector cloud offers unlimited space
• Outstanding compatibility: PDF, SVG, SVGZ, EPS, JPEG, PNG, and GIF files 
• Powerful touch interface: iOS and Android, Chromebooks, and PCs with touchscreens
• Advanced illustration technology: 3D modeling and visualization

Pros:

• Full Google Fonts library
• Template library
• Multi-language support
• Collaboration tools

Cons:

• High system requirements
• High cost
• Steep learning curve 

Platform: Windows, MacOS. 

8. Adobe InDesign

Adobe InDesign is Adobe’s answer to a standalone desktop publishing program. While you can use it with other Adobe programs, it speaks a different language that some may find hard to use. It’s best suited for image-heavy posters, presentations, and documents. You can create a house style on the fly, making it an excellent timesaver.

The support documentation is helpful; however, it is a resource hog like most Adobe programs. InDesign offers a full line of tools, from resizing to subject-aware text wrapping to color location. While the software boasts an array of useful tools, it is sometimes hard to find the right setting. Users may find it difficult to tap into all of the available functions, which is a shame, given its cost.

Key features:

• Adobe Creative Cloud integration: Taps into the rich resource library of images, templates, and fonts
• Ebook creation: Offers a user-friendly setup guide and templates for creating professional-looking ebooks
• Cloud storage: Automatically back up your work
• Auto style: Copy unformatted text right into the platform and the graphic design software will detect headings

Pros:

• Excellent for image-heavy presentations
• Easy collaboration
• Layering functionality

Cons:

• Pricey
• Steep learning curve
• Large file sizes

Platform: Windows, Mac

9. Pixlr

Pixlr is an image editing web app you can use in your browser for desktop work or in mobile apps supported both by iOS and Android platforms. It’s a basic program that is perfect for the essential editing tools, without all the bells and whistles — and learning curves — of more sophisticated offerings.

Formerly a part of the Autodesk family, Pixlr is now on its own. It has some of the welcome features of many similar apps, including its ecosystem of complementary programs. It supports several file formats, including SVG and PSD. The price for this web-based design app is right; it has a free trial and free version. Unfortunately, the free version is quite ad-heavy — for users that want an ad-free experience, priced packages start at $1.99/month.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop interface: Easy to use without a lot of editing or image design experience
• Template library: Includes professional-looking templates with collage options and market-driven ones, such as ads in a variety of sizes, flyers, and business cards
• Social media content: Choose from Facebook event covers, Pinterest pins, and LinkedIn company posts, among others
• AI-powered tools: Background remover, image generator, and more
• Animations: Animate any design using presets

Pros:

• Affordably priced
• Version options for skill level and needs
• Batch editing

Cons:

• No TIFF or BMP support
• Limited number of templates
• No online cloud storage 

Platform: Cloud, web-based, iPad, Android

10. Figma

Figma offers a lot of features for free graphic design software. One of the most impressive is the unlimited cloud storage that comes with the free version. Its strength is with vector graphics, with an impressive range of tools — on-canvas commenting, prototyping, and advanced animation capabilities.

Figma gives businesses a lot of latitude with customization, particularly at the organization level. You can create and administer private plugins. Comparatively speaking, it is an affordable plan with a free version, and a paid version starting at $12/per editor/per month.

Key features:

• Collection of creative tools: Hundreds of freebies to enhance your work, including shapes, fonts, and colors
• Small business-friendly: Gives a lot of latitude for small teams, with unlimited cloud storage and drafts for free
• Third-party integrations: Users can connect with some of their favorite apps
• Prototyping: Overlays, transitions, and videos 

Pros:

• Excellent features in pricing plans
• Private plugins at organization-level plan
• Great ease of use and customer support

Cons:

• No shared fonts at lower-price tiers
• No extra security features until organization level

Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS