Choosing the best graphic design software can make all the difference, speeding up complex or time-consuming tasks and expanding creative possibilities. The field of graphic design is now so broad, from logos and posters to digital assets, that many designers now need more than one program, and there's no shortage of contenders.
We've been testing and reviewing creative software for more than a decade (often on one of the best graphic design laptops), so we've seen how programs have advanced, most recently with the addition of AI-powered features. Based on that knowledge and experience, we've drawn up the list below of the best graphic design software today, ranging from industry-standard tools like Adobe Illustrator to newer competitors, free graphic design software and programs for more specific niches.
We'll start with our top six picks, but you scroll down further for more options divided into vector graphics programs, image editing, 3D and data visualisation. If you're looking something in a different specialist area, see our guides to the best digital art software and the best video editing apps.
Quick list
Vector editor
1. Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator remains the industry-standard graphic design software for creating and editing vectors, from logos to illustrations. Regular updates have kept it ahead of rivals with clever AI tools like text-to-pattern and text-to-vector generation.
Image editor
2. Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop continues to dominate the profession when it comes to image editing for raster graphics, now thanks to impressive AI features like Generative Fill and Expand, which can save masses of time.
Subscription-free
3. Affinity Designer
If you're put off by Illustrator's subscription, we think this is the best alternative with a one-off cost. It doesn't match all of Adobe's most advanced tools, but it's versatile and can handle complex documents with lots of layer groups and objects.
3D software
4. Autodesk Maya
We think Autodesk Maya is the best graphic design software for 3D work. it's used across the industry, right up to top studios like Pixar or Framestore, as it covers pretty much the entire 3D workflow.
For social
5. Adobe Express
If your graphic design requirements are limited to social media posts, you might find everything you need in Adobe Express, which is packed with AI tools, free assets and even a basic video editor.
Figma is hugely popular for UI design because of its collaborative approach, which makes it easy for teams to work on a project simultaneously.
The best graphic design software in full
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If you want the best graphic design software for vector drawing and editing, then really you'll want Adobe Illustrator. We'd love to be able to say that there's a cheaper alternative without a subscription, but even in 2024 regular updates continue to keep Illustrator ahead of the growing competition in terms of features and tools, ensuring it remains the industry-standard software. Basically, if you're working for anyone other than yourself, this is the graphic design program you'll probably be expected to use for vector design work.
Illustrator allows you to create everything from illustrations to logos with a lot of creative freedom. It also has a lot of useful features and shortcuts to help speed up your workflow. The learning curve is fairly steep initially, but we think that once you know your way around the program, it offers a pleasant interface to use. We continue to be impressed with the latest updates Adobe has made, including powerful Firefly AI-driven tools like text-to-vector, text-to-pattern and Generative Shape Fill, which can save so much time.
The latest update to Illustrator also added an improved workflow for creating mockups, allowing us to easily place designs on whatever object we might wish, while the enhanced Retype tool can match fonts even without a GPU.
The only downside we can see really is that Illustrator is only available via a monthly subscription, either alone or as part of Adobe's Creative Cloud Suite, which includes Photoshop, InDesign and more. This has its advantages in that you automatically get the latest updates, but it does makes Illustrator a lot more expensive than other programs in the long term. It's best to sign up when there's an offer to at least get a discount for your first year. There's also a discount for students. See our full hands-on Adobe Illustrator 2024 review for more details, and see our guide to how to download Adobe Illustrator.
If you're put off by the hefty monthly or annual cost of Adobe's subscription model, there are now some serious alternatives as the best graphic design software for vector design. The most notable contender is Serif's Affinity Designer. Available for a one-off payment, Affinity Designer comes closest out of all the software we've tried in matching the breadth of Illustrator's feature set.
In fact, Affinity Designer even offers some tools you don't get on Illustrator, such as infinite redos and one million per cent-plus zoom, and we found that it tends to run faster than Adobe illustrator too. It can handle both Illustrator AI and Photoshop PSD files, so you don't have to worry about compatibility if colleagues or clients work with Adobe's software. But the best part, of course, is that you only have to make a one-time payment, and a fairly reasonable one at that. There are no subscription fees, but you still get software updates when they're released, making it a lot more affordable in the long term, or even medium term.
If you're looking for the best graphic design software specifically for UI design, prototyping and/or making icons, then you might want to consider Figma. It can actually be used for vector work for things like logos, using the Pen and grid feature, and some might even find it easier than Illustrator for this, although it doesn't have anywhere near the range of tools of Illustrator and doesn't support CMYK colour for print.
But while it doesn't have the depth of software like Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Designer for general vector work, it comes into its own for UI design due to its excellent collaboration features, which allow whole teams to work through the process from ideation to handoff. There are tools like auto Layout for dynamic, flex-based layouts), and the software is available for Windows, macOS and in your browser.
Read our full Figma review for more details on the software.
Once the market leader in vector design, CorelDRAW lost some of its popularity to Adobe Illustrator, but it still has legions of loyal fans and it continues to upgrade its offering to keep up with most of the features offered by competitors. It's now available in three formats: CorelDRAW Essentials for those who only need basic tools for occasional design needs, CorelDRAW Standard for enthusiasts and small businesses and the more complete CorelDRAW Graphics Suite for professional designers.
Just to make things more confusing, the latter is available either via a one-off payment or a subscription. But unlike some software with one-off fees, if you opt for the one-time payment options, you'll only get the 2024 version of the software and won't get future updates. The subscription model also includes a few extras like the iPad app and cloud sharing and storage.
It takes a while to get your head around the different options, but they do mean that CorelDRAW is now the most versatile graphic design software option, since you can choose the version that best meets your needs. It also now has a browser-based app as well as the Windows and Mac desktop software, giving you more flexibility.
There are plenty of new features in the latest edition too. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2024 has added compatibility with the AI app Vision FX. This plugin allows users to use text prompts to generate images. We'd recommend taking out the free trial to see how you find it. If you do opt for Corel, the good news is that there's no issue with importing and exporting AI, PSD and PDF files. See our full CorelDRAW review for a more detailed evaluation.
You probably don't need us to tell you that Adobe's Photoshop is the industry-standard software for image editing. The package has long been a household name and just as Illustrator remains the best graphic design software for vector work thanks to its regular updates, Photoshop continues to dominate in image editing. It can do a lot more than just image editing, too: everything from touching up photos to digital drawing and painting, 3D modelling and UX design. It's a fully featured package, and Adobe's been adding powerful AI tools under its Adobe Firefly and Sensei banners to allow you to do things like remove backgrounds in just a couple of clicks, and even generate new ones and fill in images with generative fill and expand features.
As with Illustrator, you'll need a subscription, but then if you're a working designer a subscription to Creative Cloud is almost a must, granting you access to Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and more. As with all Creative Cloud tools, you get regular updates for free. See our full Photoshop 2024 review for more details. For help understanding the different payment options, see our article on How to download Photoshop.
Again, if you don't want the regular cost of a subscription, the best option comes from Serif's Affinity series. Affinity Photo is available for a very reasonable one-off payment for the desktop app, and a separate payment for the iPad app, and it offers a close match for most of Photoshop's features, it has all the photo retouching tools most people need, as well as advanced painting tools with a huge library of brushes. You can import and export PSD files and even smart objects. Users get updates for free, with the latest big revamp in 2023 (2.0) adding numerous new features.
Payment model: Free, with subscription for pro version
Reasons to buy
+
Full design suite
+
Loads of elements to use
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Free to use
Reasons to avoid
-
Pro features require subscription
Canva is among the best free graphic design software for editing images. We found it makes it very easy to carry out quick changes such as cropping and resizing images, or adding filters, frames, text, and effects. You can do everything in the browser, or via a mobile app, and there are no restrictions on editing images with the free version; for example, no watermarks are applied.
Canva is also more than an image editor, it's fully fledged graphic design software featuring a colour palette tool, font combination picker, a photo collage maker, and more. There's even a dedicated infographic maker (see our guide to the best infographic makers for more options there). While it doesn't quite match all the abilities of Photoshop, Canva is pretty impressive for a free app. You can use it in the browser for the full experience, but most of its tools are also available for both Android and iOS.
The paid version, Canva Pro, also has some interesting features. When we reviewed it, we liked Canva Pro’s Brand Kit, which could be a useful feature to help small companies stay on-brand across their designs, allowing you to set pre-set brand fonts, logos, colours and pre-designed templates. We also found the resize and the background remover tools very easy to use, and perfect for those with little experience of using design software. See our full Canva review for more details.
Finding the ideal graphic design software for you means considering a range of factors. The first is what you actually want it to do. Assess the specific design tasks you'll be undertaking, such as illustration, photo editing, or layout design, and opt for software that excels in those areas.
Secondly, think about your skill level, as some programs are more user-friendly for beginners, while others offer advanced features for seasoned professionals that newbies may be hopelessly confused by. Take into account the learning curve and available support resources, including tutorials and community forums.
A third factor is your operating system and hardware. Some graphic design software is limited to either Windows, macOS, iOS or Android, so always check this before you decide. Finally, software can be expensive, so it's worth exploring free trial versions before committing to a purchase to ensure it aligns with your workflow and preferences.
Our experts test graphic design software in a way that's both comprehensive and mimics real-world use. Firstly, we assess the user interface for intuitiveness and efficiency, considering how easy it will be for both beginners and advanced users to pick up.
We'll then put functionality and feature sets to the test across common design tasks like illustration, photo editing, and layout design, to ensure it actually works in practice and delivers what it promises. We'll also pay attention to compatibility with various operating systems and hardware configurations; performance, including speed and responsiveness; and the availability of support resources, such as tutorials and customer service.
For most working graphic designers, Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite of apps is the standard choice. Its main tools for graphic design are Photoshop (raster image editing), Illustrator (vector image editing), InDesign (desktop publishing) and After Effects (motion design). You can subscribe to the Creative Cloud suite as a whole, or take out a single-app subscription. Either way, you'll also get the Behance portfolio service and access to Adobe Fonts. See our guide to getting a Creative Cloud discount to make sure you find the best price.
For graphic designers on a budget, Affinity's suite of apps provide a close approximation to Adobe's tools, namely Affinity Photo (which rivals Photoshop), Affinity Designer (which rivals Illustator) and Affinity Publisher (which rivals InDesign). There is no equivalent, however, to After Effects.
What's the best graphic design software for beginners?
If you're new to graphic design, there are a number of apps that allow you to get started for free. One of our top recommendations is Canva, a lightweight app for making quick designs in your browser. You don’t need to download anything, and you don’t have to pay either, unless you want to unlock advanced features and extra resources.
While you learn graphic design theory, Canva will allow you to put it into practice. Once you've reached a certain level of expertise, you'll then naturally gravitate towards one of the paid apps on our list to get more sophisticated tools.
Is the best free graphic design software any good?
Logically, most of the best graphic design software has a cost since developing and updating the programs requires investment. If you're working as a professional designer, or hoping to, then you'll almost certainly want to invest in the best graphic design software overall.
That doesn't necessarily mean you need to subscribe to Adobe's Creative Cloud since there are now many competitive subscription-free alternatives, but you're likely to find that agencies and even direct clients may expect you to use Illustrator and Photoshop (some may even have a preference for other software).
However, the best free graphic design software is worth considering if you're just starting out or only need to create occasional design work for personal projects. There are completely free open-source programs like the free vector software SVG Edit and Inkscape and the image-editing software GIMP that may offer you everything you need depending on your requirements. Their interfaces may look a little more rustic but they do the job for a lot of creative tasks.
What computer do I need to run graphic design software
When it comes to system requirements, it should be possible to run most software for static graphic design on most modern laptops as long as the corresponding operating system is supported. We would recommend ensuring your device has at least 8GB of RAM, and 16GB would be more ideal for the smoothest experience if you work with lots of layers with more fully-featured software like Illustrator or Photoshop.
Software for motion design and 3D design can be more demanding, and in some cases you may require a device with a dedicated GPU for the best experience. For recommendations in terms of hardware, see our pick of the best laptops for graphic design. We also have a guide to the best graphics cards for video editing.
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
