✦ Free resources
Free Design Software and Design Tools
Free design software for interface design, graphics, photo editing and prototyping. You will find Figma alternatives like Penpot, browser editors like Photopea, open source apps like Inkscape and GIMP, and the Figma plugins that save the most time.
- 159 free resources
- 26 open source
- 58 with a free plan
- 10 paid picks
- Every link checked
159 free resources, plus 10 paid tools
Design tools
- AaplyFree tierWireframe mobile app screens and plan the user flowaaply.app
- Adobe ExpressFree tierQuick social graphics, flyers and short videos in the browseradobe.com
- AffinityFreePro design app for vector, photo, and layout workaffinity.studio
- AffinityFreeVector illustration, photo editing and layout app for designersaffinity.serif.com
- Afterimage ToolsFreeDraw with gradients or simulate marbled paper right in the browserafterimage.cc
- AntliiFreeCollection of generative art tools that run in your browserantlii.work
- Ascii MagicFreeRender pictures and footage as ASCII art with animated shader stylingascii-magic.com
- Bento Grid MakerFreeFigma plugin for building bento grid layouts quicklyfigma.com
- Boxy SVGFree tierVector editor focused on clean SVG outputboxy-svg.com
- BrandfetchFreeFind any brand's logos, colors and fontsbrandfetch.com
- BrandpadFree tierBuild an online brand guidelines sitebrandpad.io
- CapCutFree tierOnline video editor with templates, captions and AI featurescapcut.com
- ClariteeFree tierWireframing app for planning screens, with a free planclaritee.io
- CleanerFreeFigma plugin that removes unused layers from a pagefigma.com
- ClipchampFree tierMicrosoft's browser video editor with templates and a free planclipchamp.com
- ConceptsFree tierSketch on an endless canvas where strokes stay editable as vectorsconcepts.app
- Constraint SystemsFreeOdd image and text editing experiments that run in your browserconstraint.systems
- Content ReelFreeFigma plugin for filling designs with text, images and iconsfigma.com
- Contrast GridFreeFigma plugin that checks contrast across many color pairs at oncefigma.com
- Curve TextFreeFigma plugin that bends text along arches and custom pathsfigma.com
- darktableOpen sourceEdit and organize RAW photos in a nondestructive darkroom workflowdarktable.org
- Delete Hidden LayersFreeFigma plugin that deletes hidden and locked layersfigma.com
- DembrandtOpen sourceCommand line tool that reads a website and lists its design tokensdembrandt.com
- Design LintFreeFigma plugin that flags missing styles in your designsfigma.com
- Dither it!FreeApply dithering effects to your images in the browserditherit.com
- DittherFreeGive photos and video dither, halftone or pixel art looks in your browserditther.com
- DittoFree tierManage product copy in one place and sync it to Figma and codedittowords.com
- DooryOpen sourceCanva style design editor you can use free in the browser, with code opendoory.art
- DotForgeFreeDesign animated dither visuals as they render in real timedotforge.vercel.app
- EditsFreeInstagram's mobile video editor for short-form clipsedits.instagram.com
- EfectoFreeCreate ASCII and dithering effects from your imagesefecto.app
- ExcalidrawOpen sourceHand drawn style whiteboard for quick diagramsexcalidraw.com
- FigmaFree tierCollaborative interface design tool with a free planfigma.com
- FlowmappFree tierPlan sitemaps and user flows before designing a siteflowmapp.com
- FotorFree tierOnline photo editor with quick fixes and templatesfotor.com
- Frame.ioFree tierReview and share video files with timecoded feedback from teamsframe.io
- Frame0Free tierHand drawn style wireframing tool and a lighter Balsamiq alternativeframe0.app
- FrontitudeFree tierKeep interface text consistent from the design file to shipped codefrontitude.com
- GIMPOpen sourceOpen source image editorgimp.org
- GlobestudioOpen sourceMake dotted world maps and spinning 3D globes with open codeglobestudio.app
- Good Bye John DoeFreeUnusual sample names to use instead of John Doe in designsgoodbyejohndoe.com
- GrainradFreeGPU-powered ASCII, dither and retro filters for images in your browsergrainrad.com
- GraphiteOpen sourceOpen source vector editor and procedural graphics toolgraphite.art
- GraphyFree tierMake clean charts and graphs online with a free plangraphy.app
- GuiseFree tierRun reviews of Figma prototypes and present your work on a Macguise.apara.design
- HuevyFreeGenerate colors, a type scale and spacing values in one placehuevy.app
- Humaan AnnotationsFreeFigma widget for annotating designs with notesfigma.com
- HyperFrames StudioFreeVideo editor with an AI assistant sharing the same timeline as youhyperframes.studio
- Image to ASCIIFreeTurn any picture into ASCII art in your browser with nothing uploadedimagetoascii.art
- Infinite PainterFree tierPaint on your phone with realistic brushes and a custom brush editorinfinitestudio.art
- InkscapeOpen sourceOpen source vector graphics editorinkscape.org
- InShotFree tierMobile video editor for trimming and polishing short clipsinshot.com
- IridFreeToolbar for Mac that bundles rulers, grids and a color picker for designersirid.app
- JustinmindFree tierPrototyping tool for web and mobile with a free planjustinmind.com
- KapwingFree tierBrowser video editor with subtitles and templates on a free plankapwing.com
- KittlFree tierOnline design platform for graphics, logos and social postskittl.com
- LetterboxFreeTypography experiment where each big letter is made of tiny onesletterbox.sh
- LibreSpriteOpen sourceOpen-source sprite editor forked from Asepritelibresprite.github.io
- LightworksFree tierVideo editor with a free version for cutting and finishing clipslwks.com
- Linearity CurveFreeBrowser and desktop vector design tool for precise illustration worklinearity.io
- Logo.comFree tierLogo maker and brand kitlogo.com
- LogoipsumFreeLogo placeholders in many styles for use in mockupslogoipsum.com
- LogoMakrFree tierSimple logo maker in the browserlogomakr.com
- LyssnaFree tierRemote user research and usability testing with a free planlyssna.com
- MarvelFree tierWireframes, prototypes and user testing in the browsermarvelapp.com
- MazeFree tierTest prototypes and designs with real users and get reportsmaze.co
- MechanicOpen sourceOpen source framework for turning design rules into small toolsmechanic.design
- MesurerFreeLeave notes and measurements on a running site, then share them with a teammesurer.dev
- Method DrawOpen sourceSimple SVG editor in the browsereditor.method.ac
- MiNi PhotoEditorFreeEdit photos online using WebGL filters, effects and a crop toolmini2-photo-editor.netlify.app
- MockFlowFree tierWireframes and UI planning in the browsermockflow.com
- MockplusFree tierDesign, prototype and hand off projects with a free plan for small teamsmockplus.com
- MockupFree tierSketch, wireframe and prototype UI and UX ideas in the browsergetmockup.app
- MonetFree tierReview and annotate the design of websites built with AIiammonet.com
- MoqupsFree tierWireframes, mockups and diagrams in the browsermoqups.com
- Motiff AIFree tierAI UI design tool that turns prompts and images into editable screensmotiff.com
- MultipaintFreeCross-platform image editor that works within retro computer color limitsmultipaint.kameli.net
- NormalPainterFreeEditor for hand painting stylized normal maps with tablet supportwinteralexander.itch.io
- Octopus.doFree tierVisual sitemap builder for planning website structureoctopus.do
- omadesignFreeNative Linux suite for design, layout, painting and animationomadesign.app
- OpenPencilOpen sourceDesign editor with built in AI, offered as a Figma alternativeopenpencil.dev
- OpenShotOpen sourceEasy to learn video editing software with source code anyone can readopenshot.org
- Organize LayersFreeFigma plugin that sorts layers by their namesfigma.com
- Origami StudioFreeMeta's free tool for detailed interaction prototypesorigami.design
- OverflowFree tierTurn design files into user flow diagrams you can presentoverflow.io
- Paint.NETFreeImage and photo editor for Windows PCspaint.net
- PaperFree tierDesign tool in the browser where layouts are built on real HTML and CSSpaper.design
- PenpotOpen sourceOpen source design and prototyping toolpenpot.app
- PhotoCraftOpen sourceLayered photo editor with PSD support, built in the opengetartcraft.com
- PhotopeaFreePhotoshop style image editor in the browserphotopea.com
- Pic2SVGFree tierRaster to vector tracing tool for converting flat artwork into SVGpic2svg.com
- Pic2VectorFreeConvert PNG, JPG and WebP images to SVG locallypic2vector.com
- PicsartFree tierOnline photo and design editor with AI tools and templatespicsart.com
- PiktochartFree tierMake infographics, reports and presentations from templatespiktochart.com
- PiskelOpen sourceOnline editor for pixel art and animated spritespiskelapp.com
- PixanimaFree tierBrowser pixel art and animation editor with layers, timeline and optional AIpixanima.app
- PixelArtHive Sprite UpscalerFreeBrowser tool that resizes sprites at whole-number scales without blurpixelarthive.com
- PixelatorFree tierConverts images into pixel art sprites for games and posterspixelatorapp.com
- PixlrFree tierPhoto editor that runs in the browserpixlr.com
- PixsoFree tierCollaborative UI and UX design tool for prototyping and handoffpixso.net
- PolarrFree tierAI-assisted photo editor with filters for web and mobilepolarr.com
- PrintablesFreePrintable sheets for sketching screens and interface ideas on paperprintables.craftwork.design
- ProportioFreeCalculate a harmonious size scale for text, icons and spacingproportio.app
- ProtoPieFree tierRealistic interactive prototypes with sensors, logic and variablesprotopie.io
- Quant UXOpen sourceOpen source tool to build prototypes and test them with usersquant-ux.com
- RandomiserFreeFigma plugin that shuffles position, size and color in a framefigma.com
- RasterloomFreeMac design app that combines image editing, type and vector toolsrasterloom.com
- RawTherapeeOpen sourceProcess RAW photos on Windows, Mac or Linux with detailed controlsrawtherapee.com
- RedlampOpen sourcePhoto developer for RAW files written for Apple Silicon, in the Lightroom moldredlamp.app
- REXPaintFreeASCII art editor for roguelike and text-mode game graphicsgridsagegames.com
- RuttlFree tierLeave visual feedback by commenting directly on live websitesruttl.com
- rxOpen sourceMinimalist modern pixel art editor for sprites and game artrx.cloudhead.io
- ScampOpen sourceVisual layout editor that generates React componentsscamp.club
- ScribusOpen sourceOpen source desktop publishing app for page layout and printwiki.scribus.net
- SendraFree tierFigma plugin for building email layouts and exporting responsive HTMLhellosendra.com
- Shiny StickerFreeFigma plugin that gives any layer a shiny holographic finishshinysticker.app
- ShotcutOpen sourceNo-cost video editor that runs on Windows, Linux and macOSshotcut.org
- Shutter EncoderFreeConvert and encode video in batches with a free desktop appshutterencoder.com
- SimplePixelArtFreeBrowser pixel art editor with layers, animation frames and palettessimplepixelart.com
- SketchbookFreeSketch and draw with realistic brushes on a computer, tablet or phonesketchbook.com
- SketchizeFreePrintable device and browser sheets for sketching wireframes by handsketchize.com
- Speak HumanFreeGenerator for friendly microcopy like errors and empty statesspeakhuman.today
- Sprite Fusion Pixel Art CleanerOpen sourceSnaps messy AI-generated pixel art to a clean pixel gridspritefusion.com
- SpritemateFreeOnline sprite editor for the Commodore 64spritemate.com
- SquintsFreeBrowser add-on to measure, inspect and annotate layouts on any pagesquints.app
- StageFree tierShare a prototype by one link and gather comments from reviewersstagedesign.pages.dev
- Super designerFreeThirty-plus small web utilities for common design jobssuperdesigner.co
- Super TidyFreeFigma plugin that renames, aligns and reorders layers for youfigma.com
- SuperpositionFreePull the colors, type and spacing from a live site into design tokenssuperposition.design
- SVG GobblerFreeBrowser add-on that spots SVG and other vector art on pages you visitsvggobbler.com
- SVG to PNGFreeBatch SVG to PNG converter that runs in the browser without uploadsvexlio.com
- SVGcodeOpen sourceProgressive web app that converts raster images to SVG vectorssvgco.de
- SynthymentalFreePlayful coding tools for making motion graphics and visual effectssynthymental.com
- Tayasui SketchesFree tierSketching app with realistic paint and pencil brushes for iPad and iPhonetayasui.com
- The Ethical Design Handover KitFreeChecklist kit for handing off ethical design decisions to a teamkits.driftime.com
- thirteen23 - harmonographFreeFigma plugin that generates geometric harmonograph patternsfigma.com
- tldrawFreeInfinite canvas whiteboard in the browsertldraw.com
- To Do: Just a task on your canvasFreeFigma widget for tracking tasks on the canvasfigma.com
- ToasterFreeSee how people move through your Figma prototypes with analyticststr.design
- Tokens StudioFree tierManage design tokens in Figma and sync them to codetokens.studio
- ToooooolsFreePlayful lo fi looks for photos and video, run in the browsertooooools.app
- Trace ImagesFreeFigma plugin that turns PNG and JPG images into SVGfigma.com
- True SizeFreeSee actual dimensions of screens and print formats compared togethertruesize.iehasa.ge
- TypeflowFreeBrowser tool for making animated type and text motiontypeflow.tools
- uicornFreeSmall generators for CSS effects, colors and type for designersuicorn.com
- UnipasteFreeFigma plugin for inserting special charactersfigma.com
- UseberryFree tierRun usability tests on prototypes and collect user feedbackuseberry.com
- UX CheckFreeBrowser add on that points out usability issues on any page you openuxcheck.co
- UX MetricsFree tierTest site structure with card sorts and tree testsuxmetrics.com
- UXtweakFree tierUsability testing and UX research suite with a free plan to startuxtweak.com
- Vectorizer.ioFree tierTrace bitmap images into SVGvectorizer.io
- VectormakerFreeTrace a PNG image into a multi-color SVG you can downloadvectormaker.co
- VectrFreeSimple vector editor in the browservectr.com
- Visily AIFree tierWireframing tool that starts from a screenshot, template or text promptapp.visily.ai
- VistaCreateFree tierTemplate-based graphic editor for social posts and printcreate.vista.com
- VTracerOpen sourceRaster to vector converter built on visioncortex, with a web demovisioncortex.org
- WiretextFreeDraw wireframes in the browser using plain text characterswiretext.app
- World in DotsFreeMake a dotted world map in vector form with your own settingsworldindots.com
- ZeplinFree tierDesign handoff for developers, free for one projectzeplin.io
Paid picks
Well known paid tools for design tools. They are not part of the free count, and a listing is not an endorsement.
- Adobe Creative CloudPaidPhotoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects and the rest of Adobe's appsadobe.com
- AsepritePaidAnimated sprite editor and pixel art toolaseprite.org
- kladPaidPainting and animation app for 2D game art that coding agents can drive from a CLIklad.studio
- LightcubePaidPixel art editor for game assets and animation, with layers and frameslightcube.art
- PicklePaidPixel art editor with live previews of animations and seamless patternspickleeditor.com
- Pixelmator ProPaidMac photo editor and image design app, now made by Appleapple.com
- PrinciplePaidMac app for animated and interactive interface prototypesprincipleformac.com
- Pyxel EditPaidPixel art editor built around tilesets, levels and animationspyxeledit.com
- SketchPaidMac app for interface design, prototyping and design handoffsketch.com
- Vector MagicPaidConverts JPG and PNG images to SVG, EPS and AI vectorsvectormagic.com
Questions about design tools
What is the best free design software?
Figma has a free plan and is the usual choice for UI design. Penpot is a free, open source option that runs in the browser. For photos, Photopea and GIMP are free.
Is there a free alternative to Photoshop?
Photopea runs in the browser and opens PSD files. GIMP and Krita are free desktop apps.
Is there a free alternative to Illustrator?
Inkscape is a free, open source vector editor. Boxy SVG and Vectr are lighter options for simple SVG work.
This directory, including its selection, categories and descriptions, is © 2026 Jeffrey Hakim. You’re welcome to link to it. Please don’t copy or republish the list.
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