The Best Graphic Design Software (Free & Paid)

Adobe is still the industry standard, but the best graphic design software depends on what you're making, your skill level and your budget, and some of the strongest tools now cost nothing. This guide covers our picks, free and paid, for beginners and professionals, with UK pricing, what each is best for, and how to choose.

A quick note on prices: all figures below are UK pricing including VAT, indicative and correct at the time of writing. Software pricing changes often, so check the latest on each vendor's site before you buy.

The best graphic design software at a glance

Prices are indicative and change; confirm on each vendor's UK site before buying.

How to choose the right graphic design software

The best tool is the one that fits your work, not the one with the most features. Weigh up a few things before committing:

• What you're designing. Vector work (logos, icons) needs a vector editor like Illustrator or Affinity; photo editing and raster work suit Photoshop or Affinity; multi-page layouts need InDesign or Affinity; interfaces need Figma.
• Your skill level. Beginners are far better served by Canva than by a steep professional tool they'll abandon.
• Platform. Some tools are Mac-only (Sketch), some are browser-based (Canva, Figma), some run everywhere.
• Budget and licensing. Decide between an ongoing subscription (Adobe), free (Affinity, Canva, GIMP) or a one-off purchase. Subscriptions add up over years.
• Collaboration. If a team works on the same files, cloud tools like Figma and Canva have a real edge.
• AI features. Most major tools now include generative AI (Adobe Firefly, Canva's AI); worth weighing if that fits your workflow.

For context, our own designers use several of these daily depending on the job, there's rarely one tool that does everything.

The best graphic design software (reviewed)

Adobe Photoshop, best for raster and overall

The industry-standard raster editor for photo editing, compositing, digital art and detailed graphic work. Platform: Windows, Mac, web, iPad. Price: £21.98/mo (annual, billed monthly). Pros: unmatched depth, huge ecosystem and tutorials, integrates with all Adobe apps. Cons: subscription-only, steep learning curve. Best for: professionals who need the full toolset.

Adobe Illustrator, best for vector and logos

The industry-standard vector editor, the default choice for logos, icons and illustration that must scale cleanly. Platform: Windows, Mac, web, iPad. Price: £21.98/mo. Pros: the benchmark for vector work, precise, deeply featured. Cons: subscription cost, learning curve. Best for: logo and brand designers, illustrators.

Adobe InDesign, best for print and layout

The standard for multi-page layout, brochures, magazines, reports and anything print. Platform: Windows, Mac. Price: £21.98/mo. Pros: master pages, typography control, print-ready output. Cons: overkill for single-page work, subscription. Best for: editorial and print designers. (Adobe's all-apps plans are Creative Cloud Standard at around £51.98/mo and Creative Cloud Pro at around £66.49/mo, bundling these three plus 20+ others.)

Affinity, best value, now free

Affinity is the big story of the last year. Following Canva's acquisition, Affinity relaunched in late 2025 as a single, unified free app, combining the old Designer (vector), Photo (raster) and Publisher (layout) tools into one, replacing its previous one-off purchase model. Platform: Windows, Mac, iPad. Price: free (a free Canva account is required; the built-in AI features need a paid Canva plan). Pros: professional-grade vector, photo and layout tools at no cost, no subscription for the core app, a genuine Adobe alternative. Cons: smaller ecosystem than Adobe, account requirement, AI features gated. Best for: anyone wanting pro-level tools without subscription fees, arguably the best-value option now available. (Existing Affinity V2 licence holders can keep using their purchased apps.)

Canva, best for beginners and non-designers

A browser-based, template-led tool that lets non-designers produce good-looking graphics, social posts and presentations fast. Platform: web, mobile. Price: free; Canva Pro around £13/mo. Pros: very easy to learn, huge template library, great for teams and quick content. Cons: less control than pro tools, can look templated. Best for: beginners, marketers and small businesses.

Figma, best for UI and collaboration

The leading interface-design tool, built for UI/UX and real-time team collaboration in the browser. Platform: web, desktop. Price: free tier; paid plans from around £12/mo per editor. Pros: excellent for UI, superb collaboration, generous free tier. Cons: not built for print or photo work. Best for: product and UI/UX designers, and teams.

GIMP, best free raster editor

A long-established, fully free, open-source alternative to Photoshop for image editing. Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux. Price: free. Pros: powerful, genuinely free, cross-platform. Cons: dated interface, steeper learning curve than its polish suggests. Best for: budget-conscious users needing real raster power.

Inkscape, best free vector editor

The free, open-source vector alternative to Illustrator. Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux. Price: free. Pros: capable vector toolset at no cost, open format support. Cons: less polished and slower than paid rivals. Best for: anyone needing free vector and logo work.

CorelDRAW, best for flexible licensing

A long-standing professional vector suite, popular in signage and print, that still offers a one-off licence as well as subscription. Platform: Windows, Mac. Price: subscription or one-off perpetual licence. Pros: licensing flexibility, strong for print and signage. Cons: less ubiquitous than Adobe. Best for: print and signage professionals who prefer to own their software.

Sketch, best for UI (Mac only)

A pioneer of dedicated UI design, still favoured by some product teams. Platform: Mac only. Price: from around £10/mo. Pros: focused, lightweight UI toolset. Cons: Mac-only, ground ceded to Figma on collaboration. Best for: Mac-based UI designers.

Procreate, best for iPad illustration

The go-to illustration and digital-painting app for iPad. Platform: iPad. Price: one-off, around £12.99. Pros: superb for drawing, one-off price, no subscription. Cons: iPad-only, not a full design suite. Best for: illustrators and digital artists.

A note on AI: most major tools now bundle generative AI, Adobe's Firefly across its apps, Canva's AI features, so it's increasingly a standard feature rather than a deciding one.

Best graphic design software by use case

A quick “our pick for…” if you know what you're making:

The best free graphic design software

You no longer need to spend a penny to design well. The strongest free options:

• Affinity is now the standout, genuinely professional vector, photo and layout tools in one app, completely free.
• Canva is unbeatable for fast, template-led design and social content.
• GIMP handles serious raster and photo editing.
• Inkscape covers vector and logo work.
• Figma has a generous free tier for UI and collaboration.

The honest caveat: free tools occasionally hit limits for high-end professional or print production, and some lock AI features behind a paid tier. For most users, though, the free options now cover the vast majority of needs.

Software vs outsourcing: which is right for you?

There's a fork worth naming here. Buying and learning professional software, and paying ongoing subscriptions, is the right route if you design in-house and want full control. But if you'd rather have the finished design than run the tools, that's a different path: a design subscription like Design Cloud delivers the output without the software cost, the learning curve, or the time. Neither is “better”, it depends on whether you want to do the designing or simply get the designs. If it's the latter, we're built for exactly that.

See how Design Cloud works or book a demo to weigh it up.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best graphic design software?

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator remain the industry standard and the best all-round choice for professionals, but the “best” depends on your needs. Affinity is the best value (now free), Canva is best for beginners, Figma is best for UI and collaboration, and GIMP and Inkscape are strong free options. Match the tool to your work and budget.

What is the best graphic design software for beginners?

Canva is the best graphic design software for beginners. It's browser-based, template-led and genuinely easy to learn, letting non-designers create professional-looking social posts, presentations and graphics quickly. It has a capable free tier, with Canva Pro adding more features. Beginners wanting to learn deeper, professional tools could also try the now-free Affinity app.

What's the difference between vector and raster software?

Vector software (like Illustrator or Affinity) creates images from mathematical paths, so they scale to any size without losing quality, ideal for logos and icons. Raster software (like Photoshop or GIMP) edits images made of pixels, ideal for photos and detailed digital art, but these lose quality when enlarged too far. Many designers use both.

Is there free graphic design software, and is it any good?

Yes, and it's never been better. Affinity became free in late 2025 and offers professional-grade tools. Canva is excellent for quick design, GIMP for photo editing, Inkscape for vector work, and Figma for UI. Free tools occasionally hit limits for high-end print or professional work, but for most needs they're genuinely capable.

What software do professional graphic designers use?

Most professional graphic designers use Adobe's Creative Cloud apps, Photoshop for raster, Illustrator for vector, InDesign for layout, as the industry standard. Many also use Figma for UI work and, increasingly, the free Affinity app as an Adobe alternative. The exact mix depends on the discipline; few designers rely on a single tool for everything.

Is graphic design software different from photo editing software?

They overlap but aren't identical. Photo editing software (like Lightroom, or Photoshop's photo tools) focuses on adjusting and retouching photographs. Graphic design software is broader, covering layout, typography, vector illustration and composition for things like logos, branding and marketing materials. Photoshop straddles both, which is partly why it's so widely used.

Pick the tool that fits

There's no single best graphic design software, only the best one for your work and budget. Adobe remains the professional standard, Affinity is the new value champion now it's free, and Canva is the easiest start for beginners. The best next step is to try the free tools and free trials that match what you're making before committing to a subscription.

Or, if you'd rather have the designs than run the software, see how Design Cloud works and book a demo.