Whether you’re a creative looking to enhance your designing skills or it’s your first time exploring online design software solutions, there are a lot of great sites you can choose from to hone and practice your skills. That being said, each design software has its own strengths and weaknesses. What works for you might not necessarily work for another, and vice-versa.
As a solution, I’ve compiled the top free online designing tools and have compared each one based on their usability, pricing, best use cases, collaboration features, and platform compatibility for your reference. So, if you’re looking for the best design software today, let’s get started!
1. PosterMyWall
PosterMyWall is a tried and tested design software that can help individuals both with personal and professional use. With its wide variety of design templates and built-in social media marketing tool, you can expect to find all the necessary promotional features you need with just this app alone.
For your reference, here is a more detailed breakdown of PosterMyWall:
Usability
- Both experienced and new creators
- Clear and easy-to-navigate user interface
- Built-in video and article tutorials will help you become more familiar with the different features.
Pricing
- Free: Allows users to come up with basic designs using its wide array of templates as well as an audio and video editor.
- Premium: Allows users all the perks that come with the free option plus access to a wide variety of high-resolution images, a spellchecker, and a text-to-image generator, and AI Images among many others.
- Premium Plus: Comes with the option for businesses to manage unlimited social media accounts for marketing.
Best Use Cases
- Professional use: Business flyers, promotional vouchers, sales posters, etc.
- Personal use: Birthday invitations, travel highlights, Instagram reels, etc.
Collaboration Features
- Unlimited collaborators: invitations can be sent via link, email, or collaboration team feature
Platform Compatibility
- Device Compatibility: Mobile, tablets, and computers
- Downloadable application: Mobile only
Best Feature
- All-in-one marketing tool kit
2. Canva
Canva is a popular tool commonly used by businesses, teachers, and students. With its wide variety of design features, Canva is a helpful tool when it comes to creating online presentations, videos, and infographics, among many others.
For your reference, here is a more detailed breakdown of Canva:
Usability
- Great for students and amateur designers
- Visually appealing interface
- Popular among schools and small businesses
Pricing
- Free: Allows users to come up with different designs like presentations and posters. Comes with various free elements and templates to choose from.
- Pro: Includes access to more design elements like stickers, videos, and images. Other features include a background remover and the option to resize designs.
- Teams: Best for professional collaborations. Minimum of 3 people.
Best Use Cases
- Professional use: Promotional flyers, event posters, website design, etc.
- Academic use: PowerPoint presentations, infographics, etc.
- Personal use: Social media posts, party invitations, name labels, etc.
Collaboration Features
- Unlimited collaborators: invitations can be sent via link, email, or collaboration team feature
Platform Compatibility
- Device Compatibility: Mobile, tablets, and computers
- Downloadable application: Mobile, tablets, and computers
Best Feature
- Easily accessible for students and general academic use
3. Adobe Express
While everyone has certainly heard of Photoshop, Adobe Express is an easier option for designers to put their creative juices into practice. This design software can be easily linked to your Adobe Creative Cloud account for users who are already familiar with Adobe applications.
For your reference, here is a more detailed breakdown of Adobe Express:
Usability
- Easier alternative to Photoshop
- Website interface is slower compared to other apps
- Can easily sync with other projects in Adobe Creative Cloud
Pricing
- Free: Comes with basic designing tools, limited templates, and AI-generated assets.
- Premium: Additional design templates and time-saving features.
- Teams: Great for businesses looking to collaborate on designs.
- Enterprise: For larger teams to work on collaborations, plus additional security and administrative features.
Best Use Cases
- Professional use: Business flyers, promotional posters, nonprofit templates, etc.
- Educational use: Classroom presentation, AI images, and templates for school activities.
- Personal use: Social media templates, event invitations, resumes, etc.
Collaboration Features
- Unlimited collaborators: invitations can be sent via a link, email, or collaboration team feature.
Platform Compatibility
- Device Compatibility: Mobile, tablets, and computers
- Downloadable application: Mobile, tablets, and computers
Best Feature
- Sync with Adobe Creative Cloud
4. VistaCreate
VistaCreate might be a lesser-known designing software compared to the previous options mentioned, but it’s also packed with a lot of great features just the same.
For your reference, here is a more detailed breakdown of VistaCreate:
Usability
- Great for small businesses and amateur designers
- Easy-to-navigate tutorial options
- Free templates are limited to popular options like social media posts
Pricing
- Starter: 100k templates to choose from, 1M vectors, various font styles, 10GB free storage, etc.
- Pro: Additional templates, vectors, unlimited storage, etc.
Best Use Cases
- Professional use: Promotional flyers, product mockups, social media ads, etc.
- Personal use: Social media posts, YouTube thumbnails, postcards, etc.
Collaboration Features
- Unlimited collaborators: invitations can be sent via link, email, or collaboration team feature
Platform Compatibility
- Device Compatibility: Mobile, tablets, and computers
- Downloadable application: Mobile and tablets
Best Feature
- Free 10GB internal storage for designs
Design Your Own Marketing Materials Today
While these design software generally have a few features in common, each one also has its own specific set of features that can work better depending on your design objective. So, take a good look at these options and have fun designing your next promotional material using whichever software you choose.
