9 Best Free Graphic Design Software of 2025
1. Adobe Express – Ideal for creating social media posts and quick marketing materials. ($9.99/month)
2. Affinity Designer – Perfect for professional vector illustrations. ($18.49 for iPad version)
3. Canva – Great for social media graphics, posters, and marketing designs. ($10/month/person)
4. CorelDRAW – Focused on larger print materials and detailed illustrations. ($16.58/month)
5. GIMP – Excellent for photo editing along with graphic design experimentation.
6. Plasfy – Quick marketing designs tailored for small businesses. ($9.99 for aLet me tell you a secret: I’m no graphic designer, but I’ve managed to pull off some pretty impressive designs over the years.
From my school days, I have tried more than dozen design tools from the OG Adobe InDesign and Illustrator to now the new and trendier apps like Canva and Figma. I’ve used them to create illustrations and infographics for my blog, designed pages for my website, polished images for LinkedIn posts, and eye-catching Instagram content. I’ve even whipped up logos and flyers for my mom’s business and designed ads for social media and email campaigns.
Of course, designing can feel intimidating at first, especially if you’re not a trained professional. But if there’s one key thing that I have learned over these years, it is that the right graphic design tools make all the difference, whether it’s for professional projects or just for fun.
That’s exactly why I’m sharing the best free graphic design tools for 2025, based on my experience spending hours (okay, days) of testing, tweaking, and experimenting. Spoiler alert: you don’t need a design degree to use these!
