While there are so many online graphic software options out there, it’s hard to find one that’s free yet offers similar capabilities to its paid counterparts. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re an experienced artist, we’ve put together a list of the top 10 best free online graphic software.

Top 10 Free Online Graphic Software

  1. Adobe Express – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Social Media
  2. SketchUp – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Furniture Modelling
  3. Gimp – Best Free Online Graphic Software Alternative to Photoshop
  4. Blender – Best Free Online Graphic Software for 3D Design
  5. Inkscape – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Vector Graphics
  6. DesignCap – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Business Use
  7. Lunacy – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Collaboration
  8. Krita – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Comic Art
  9. Canva – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Mobile Art
  10. Paint 3D – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Basic Edits

1. Adobe Express – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Social Media

PRICING: Free, premium plan available

Adobe has a suite of design programs that cater to all art forms, but the high subscription cost can be off-putting if you’re on a budget – especially if you’re only looking to make content for social media. Fortunately, Adobe Express lets you utilize their royalty-free collection, thousands of templates, and built-in scheduling tools to easily create tons of social content at no cost.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Easy resizing
  • Animate text and photos
  • Convert to GIFs
  • Video cropping

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Supports integration with other Adobe products
  • Great for social media content
  • Offers tons of educational guides
  • 30-day free Premium trial

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Free plan limited to 2GB of storage
  • Less useful for more in-depth projects

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2. SketchUp – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Furniture Modelling

PRICING: Free, premium plans available

If you’re looking for a free graphic program that specializes in 2D and 3D furniture modelling, SketchUp is your ideal choice. This web-based platform offers robust tools within an easy-to-use interface so that you can stay focused on making high-quality designs.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Mobile Viewers
  • 3D Warehouse
  • Interoperability

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Allows web-based modelling
  • Great customer support
  • Available on iPad
  • 30-day free Premium trial

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Limited storage on free plan
  • Android not supported

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3. GIMP – Best Free Online Graphic Software Alternative to Photoshop

PRICING: Free

The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is an open-source, cross-platform image editor that’s widely used by photographers, illustrators, graphic designers, and more. It’s often compared to Photoshop because of its similar interface and comprehensive tools, though GIMP’s UI allows customization for more experienced designers.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Digital retouching
  • Advanced design features
  • Photo enhancement

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Supports all file formats
  • Active developers that listen to user feedback
  • Attractive, modern UI

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Doesn’t support Photoshop plugins
  • Can be slow to load

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4. Blender – Best Free Online Graphic Software for 3D Design

PRICING: Free

With so many features and capabilities packed into this software, it’s hard to believe that Blender is completely free to use. Whether your art involves sculpting, modelling, VFX, animation, simulation, rendering, or something else, Blender can help you do it. This program is especially useful for 3D creation and even allows you to design 3D art in a virtual reality setting if you own a VR headset.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Cycles Rendering
  • Story Artist
  • Bullet and MantaFlow libraries

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Supports the creation of many design forms
  • Interface and tools available for scripting and customization
  • Integration with multiple pipeline tools
  • 2D animation support also offered

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Not ideal for beginners

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5. Inkscape – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Vector Graphics

PRICING: Free

Inkscape is a free, open-source graphic software that uses SVG as its main format – making it a great option for designers looking to create vector art. The easy-to-use interface, flexible drawing tools, and helpful community also make it ideal for beginners.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Bezier and spiro curves
  • Complex path manipulations
  • Bitmap tracing

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Broad file format compatibility
  • Cross-platform
  • Great, helpful community

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Software is slow
  • Subpar control system

» MORE: Top Graphic Design Programs for Mac

6. DesignCap – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Business Use

PRICING: Free, paid plans available

If you’re looking to easily create graphic content for your business, DesignCap offers excellent editing tools that require no skill to use. To save time without compromising quality, choose from their large selection of professional templates for presentations, banners, infographics, charts, thumbnails, and more. Unfortunately, the free tier is quite limited, but their affordable paid plans are worth considering for your business.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Advanced customization features
  • Integrated fonts
  • Huge, diverse collection of templates

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Good customer support
  • Easy to use
  • Their premade designs save valuable time

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Lacks some features
  • Limited free plan

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7. Lunacy – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Collaboration

PRICING: Free

Despite being lesser-known, Lunacy is a full-fledged graphic design software with a suite of high-performing features. They offer tons of essential tools and customizations as well as unique AI capabilities like the avatar generator, AI anonymizer, or face swapper. Lunacy is most notable for its real-time collaboration, so you and your team can work together without delay.

KEY FEATURES:

  • AI Anonymizer
  • Mega Creator
  • 3D Hands
  • UI kits

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Allows online and offline use
  • Not intensive on your hardware
  • Supports 18+ languages
  • Excellent real-time collaboration support

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Doesn’t support Android and iOS

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8. Krita – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Comic Art

PRICING: Free

Krita is a great open-source graphic software that’s best used for creating textures, comics, conceptual art, and illustrations. It relies on the feedback and donations of its community, so this translates into the artist-driven development of 100+ brushes, built-in vector tools, brush stabilizers, and full colour management, among other things. Krita’s suite of illustrative tools makes it the perfect free choice for comic artists.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Drawing Assistants
  • Resource manager
  • HDR Painting
  • Wrap-Around Mode

REASONS TO BUY:

  • PSD support
  • Offers 30+ dockers
  • Customizable user interface
  • Dark and light themes

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • High memory usage

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9. Canva – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Mobile Art

PRICING: Free

Canva’s drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to design graphic art for social media content, business cards, banners, and more. It’s also one of the few programs that support mobile devices, so you can create on-the-go designs wherever you are in the world.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Drag-and-drop format
  • Huge collection of templates

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Real-time collaboration support
  • Pro plan is free for education and nonprofits
  • Supports iOS and Android

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Requires a fast internet connection
  • Difficult to get 300 DPI graphics

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10. Paint 3D – Best Free Online Graphic Software for Basic Edits

PRICING: Free

This classic Microsoft program has been revamped to meet modern-day requirements and now offers optimized design features, including 3D modelling tools and effects. It’s the perfect option for rudimentary editing and design.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Remix 3D
  • 2D cutout creation
  • Animation

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Great for basic editing needs
  • No learning curve
  • Realistic textures

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Only available on Windows 10 or higher
  • Too basic for experienced artists or complex projects
  • Doesn’t offer standard image correction tools

Every design artist needs a reliable graphic program to use, and fortunately, there are plenty of great free options to choose from. While most software options offer the same or similar capabilities, the right one for you will largely depend on your particular artistic needs. Businesses looking to make social media content can benefit from DesignCap while novice designers may opt for beginner-friendly software like Adobe Express. The best part is that they’re all free, so feel free to try each one until you find the best one for you.

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Resources and Links

  • https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-free-graphic-design-software
  • https://fixthephoto.com/best-free-graphic-design-software.html
  • https://digitalcruch.com/free-graphic-design-software/
  • https://www.adobe.com/express/
  • https://www.sketchup.com/
  • https://www.gimp.org/
  • https://www.blender.org/
  • https://inkscape.org/
  • https://www.designcap.com/
  • https://icons8.com/lunacy
  • https://krita.org/en/
  • https://www.canva.com/en_gb/
  • https://microsoft-paint-3d.en.softonic.com/