What tools do you need for graphic design?

It's never been easier as non-designers to create beautiful, high-quality content with the plethora of tools that have emerged in recent years which have made graphic design more accessible and much easier to produce something awesome. Depending on what you want to create, you can produce incredible, on brand social media content, newsletters, emails, posters, business cards, infographics and lots more, thanks to these top-rated tools: Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud Express, Piktochart, Snappa, and Adobe Photoshop.

Which are the most suitable free graphic design tools for beginners?

There are a few free tools but one of the best, most talked about graphic design tools for beginners is Canva. It's hard to look past this platform. Canva is free to use, although they do have a Pro plan which I recommend checking out. They've really paved the way in making software which even my grandma can use. Not to mention, it's a lot of fun using. Having been a user from the early days, they have come a long way and just getting better year over year.

Are there graphic design tools which can produce gifs?

Yes there certainly are, with Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud Express and Picmonkey having the best and easiest options to create gifs.

13 Best Graphic Design Tools for 2025 (Free & Paid)

Favourite

Canva

About:

Hands down one of the best graphic design tools I've used (and pretty much everyone I know) loves using Canva.

Top Features:

They've done a wonderful job to make graphic design accessible and easy-to-use, thanks to the simple interface and drag-and-drop editor.

There are hundreds and hundreds of templates available across all formats, whether that be posters, social media graphics, presentations, infographics and loads more. Makes it super easy to be inspired to create epic designs in a flash.

If you work in teams or with other marketers/designers, then certainly look at Canva Pro where you can collaborate on designs. Additionally, you can also set brand guidelines to produce more on-brand creatives for your marketing.

Drag-and-drop

Editing

Templates

Pricing:

Canva is free to use and the free option is awesome already. The pro plan (which is worth the money) $12.99 per month or $119 per year.

Web/App + Chrome extension

Freemium

$-$$

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Favourite

Artboard Studio

About:

Creating mockups for non-designers has just got a lot easier thanks for Artboard Studio.

Top Features:

The creators of the platform have done a great job with the UX. The tool is really simple to use.

There is a huge library of templates and mockups to choose from. Simply add your branding, colours, fonts, images and more to create mockups fast.

You can do mockups for tshirts, books/magazines, websites, business cards and a lot more.

Mockups

many items

fast editor

Pricing:

There's a freemium version so you can test out the platform. Then pricing starts from $15 per month or $99 yearly.

Web/App

Freemium

$-$$

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Favourite

Infogram

About:

If you're looking to create infographics, then you need to try out Infogram.

Top Features:

This platform is specifically great for infographics as it's one of their main focuses. There are loads of templates to choose from and the editor is really nice to use.

There's even the option to create animated inforgraphics and reports, bringing your visuals to life. Great for engaging audiences and developing content experiences.

A really cool feature is that you can create custom links when you share your content, and even measure through analytics how engaging your content is and how people interact. Powerful for B2B SaaS companies and sales teams.

Infographics

Interactive

Analytics

Pricing:

There's a free version so you can Infogram a go first before committing. Then pricing begins at $19 per month, billed yearly.

Web/App

Paid

$-$$$

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Favourite

Adobe Photoshop

About:

Everyone knows this platform and it's still one of the best when creating graphics, but does require some extra skill.

Top Features:

Rather than just speaking of the usual features, I'll focus on some new features that have been brought out. It's now become easier to work between Illustrator and Photoshop where you can easily import vectors, colours and more.

Share your designs for feedback with the comment feature, where you can recieve notes from your team, clients or colleagues right in Photoshop.

There's also other awesome features including improved filters, workflows and more.

Photos

All-in-one

All skill levels

Pricing:

Pricing is $20.99 per month.

Web/App

Paid

$-$$$

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Favourite

Piktochart

About:

Piktochart is a favourite for many marketers, like myself, as well as many designers and freelancers.

Top Features:

Producing high-quality infographics has become accessible without the needs of an experienced graphic designer. This platform is really focused on helping you create infographics, which is why I'm such a massive fan of the platform.

Hundreds of templates you can choose from to speed up creation. You can also choose reports, so if you're looking to impress your manager or team, then make sure to check it out.

The UX and interface is super slick, they've done a great job so it's perfect for any beginners/non-designers.

Infographics

Presentations

Posters

Pricing:

There's a freemium version so you can test out the platform and see what you can create. If you love it, you can upgrade to Pro plan which is $24 per month, or $14 per month when billed annually. There's also an enterprise plan.

Web/App

Freemium

$-$$$

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Favourite

Snappa

About:

A Canva alternative which is another popular choice in the market used by entrepreneurs and marketers is Snappa.

Top Features:

There are loads of templates to help you get kickstarted with design inspiration, whether that's for Facebook Ads, Instagram carousels and loads more.

Really slick drag-and-drop interface to create your graphics fast. Resize your graphics in clicks and there's a cool feature where you can remove backgrounds in just one click which is awesome.

Over 100k vectors and 200 fonts to choose from. You can even share and schedule your social media graphics right within the tool, great for social media marketers.

easy editor

Templates

Stock content

Pricing:

There's a free version and then the pro version is $15 per month. There's also a team version which is $30 per month for 5 users.

Web/App

Freemium

$-$$

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Favourite

VistaCreate

About:

I've really enjoyed the experience of using VistaCreate (used to be Crello) for creating drag-and-drop designs.

Top Features:

As another alternative to the other popular platforms I've mentioned on this page already, there are loads of templates to choose from to create social media graphics, presentations, posters and a lot more.

A key section as part of the platform is there tutorials section, so you can explore and see tips, techniques, tricks and see how the pro features work. Great to see how you can effectively create designs with the tool.

You can also create brand design kits, add frames, speech bubbles, filters, layers and loads more.

great UI

easy editor

Stock content

Pricing:

The pricing is perfect for entrepreneurs who are on a tight budget. There's an awesome free version which has many epic features already, or you can experience more by choosing the $10 per month Pro plan.

Web/App

Freemium

$-$$

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Favourite

Adobe Creative Cloud Express

About:

If you love the Creative Cloud Suite and Adobe products, then you should check out Adobe Creative Cloud Express.

Top Features:

Similar to the likes of Canva and Snappa, the platform has a drag-and-drop interface to create designs fast.

There are loads of templates to choose from, and you can incorporate your Adobe Stock photos as well as Adobe fonts into your designs.

You can also create videos in the platform or even gifs. Resize, chop, trim, merge and even convert image and video files into your ideal format.

Social graphics

feature-rich

convert files

Pricing:

There's a free plan to use Adobe Creative Cloud Express which is awesome. Then there's a premium plan at $9.99 per month.

Web/App

Freemium

$-$$

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Favourite

Picmonkey

About:

Picmonkey is a photo and graphic design editing platform made for marketers, entrepreneurs and startup founders. Powered by Shutterstock.

Top Features:

Whether you want to create YouTube thumbnails, logos, invitations, flyers and more, you can do with Picmonkey.

Whilst it does drag-and-drop graphic design, a key difference to some of the others is that it also has really good photo editing features, such as filters, touch ups, graphics/icons and more.

Hundreds of templates to choose from and you can also create your own brand kits.

simple animations

photo editor

background remover

Pricing:

Pricing starts at just $7.99 per month, a very affordable alternative to the other platforms. There's also Pro and Business plans available.

Web/App

Paid

$-$$

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Favourite

Visually

About:

Another popular platform for those wanting to get infographics done (as well as other services) is Visually.

Top Features:

The platform is like a marketplace where you can submit design briefs/proposals to get top creative perofessionals to make awesome content, such as infographics, illustrations, microsites, reports/presentations and more.

There's load of good examples for inspiration through the creative porfotlio on the site.

There are over 1000 vetted design professionals, so you know you're only getting the best.

Service

Infographics

Reports

Pricing:

Pricing will vary. You will need to get a quote.

Web/App

Paid

$-$$$$

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Favourite

Design Cap

About:

Design Cap is a great solution for non-designers wanting to spin up graphic creatives fast.

Top Features:

Experience powerful, yet a simple editing interface that any person can pick up regardless of design skills.

There are 1000's of templates to choose from, helping you quickly adapt to the platform and get designing right away.

I really like the features and ease for creating data visualisations and presentations. They've done a good job.

visual charts

Easy setup

multi-formats

Pricing:

Certainly one of the more affordable solution on the market. There's a free version with some limitations compared to the paid plans. Pricing then begins at $8.99 per month. Then there's a plus version for $12.99 per month.

Web/App

Freemium

$-$$$

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Favourite

Spiritapp

About:

Spiritapp is a fantastic tool if you don't have interactive design experience, but want to create interactive designs.

Top Features:

You can create animations all in the browser, and there's no coding needed. Perfect for non-developers.

The creators have done a fine job at creating a great UX to navigate around the platform, as well as a simple interface to edit, create and control your designs.

Iterate your designs as much as you want in the browser, then you can export your animation.

Interactive

Editing

Browser

Pricing:

Sign up and experience the free version to test out the tool. Pricing plans are either billed quarterly or yearly, which begins at $15 per month if billed quarterly.

Web/App + Chrome extension

Freemium

$-$$

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