10 Best Free Canva Alternatives to Level-Up Your Design Game in 2025 [Review]

Great graphic design is essential for effective marketing. Whether you’re building a brand, running social media campaigns, or designing presentations, eye-catching visuals can make all the difference.

With the rise of online design tools, it’s easier than ever to create professional-quality graphics—no expensive software or advanced skills required.

Canva has become a go-to platform for businesses, entrepreneurs, and content creators, thanks to its intuitive interface and vast library of templates.

But if you’re looking for a free alternative that still delivers powerful design capabilities, you’re in the right place.

We’ve done the hard work for you, selecting and reviewing the best free Canva alternatives.

Whether you need a visual tool for social media graphics, infographics, or even website visuals, this list will help you find the perfect option—without spending a dime.

Let’s dive right in!

Quick Comparison: 10 Best Free Canva Alternatives

Here is a quick comparison of the best free graphic design tools to use:

Keep scrolling for the full reviews below!

What Does Canva Do: Free & Premium Features

First, let’s recap exactly what Canva is and what it offers.

Canva is a super versatile graphic design platform or software tool that provides a myriad of design elements and templates for all skill levels.

With the free and premium plan, individuals and businesses can create stunning visuals and graphics for a wide range of purposes.

Canva is also a highly accessible app compatible with Android and iOS mobile devices, allowing busy professionals on the go quick and easy access!

Integration with HubSpot’s design manager tool is also a huge plus, allowing seamless workflows for creating, editing, and publishing social media posts, emails (e.g., Gmail templates), web pages, documents, and more.

The skies are the limit when using Canva…

However, although the free version provides access to thousands of templates, images, and design elements, the premium version undoubtedly delivers ALL the goods.

Using the premium version unlocks way more advanced capabilities, such as access to branding kits, greater storage space, and an extensive library of high-quality, versatile digital assets.

Before diving into our list below, take a quick peek at The Social Guide’s list of the best free Canva alternatives.

10 Best Free Canva Alternatives

Now, let’s explore the best Canva alternatives you can try for free:

1.Kittl

Kittl is an excellent free Canva alternative for individuals and collaborators.

It has a myriad of great features to meet any designer’s needs. You can collaborate on a group project or work on your next design.

Whether for business graphics or your print-on-demand empire, Kittl has the functionality to meet any designer’s needs.

Features

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface
• AI tools to speed up workflow
• Collaborate with team projects
• Templates and mockups for high-quality print on demand with an extensive catalog of product templates

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Powerful high-quality design features
• AI text-to-image with smart suggestions
• multiple formats and design templates

Cons

• Users have expressed that the platform slows down when working on large projects.
• Some features are minimal with the free version

Pricing

• Free version
• Pro version: $10 per month, charged annually
• Expert version: $24 monthly for businesses and professionals needing priority speed, charged annually.

P2P score: 4.6/5

Website: kittl.com

2.VistaCreate

VistaCreate is a compelling free Canva alternative.

Previously known as Crello, you are treated to an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop design platform that makes your design idea a reality.

It offers thousands of templates that you can customize and an AI image generator to create custom visuals for designs.

Features

• An extensive library of templates and designs
• Millions of royalty-free stock photos and videos
• Brand Kit creation and management
• Animation and video editing
• Collaborate with up to 10 team members
• Social media integration capabilities

Pros & Cons

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Extensive library of templates and stock assets
• Generous storage for premium users

Cons

• Can have slow download times
• Limited customer support
• Limited pro features compared to Canva

Pricing

• Starter: Free forever (limited storage)
• Pro Plan Free Trial: 14 days
• Pro: $13 per month

 P2P score: 4.5/5

Website: create.vista.com

3.Stencil

Stencil is a powerful design tool for bloggers, businesses, and social media marketers.

Its extensive library and templates allow you to create and share your design directly on your social media platform, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.

It even has a convenient WordPress plugin. This free Canva alternative is easy to use and a strong competitor for the busy designer who needs to get things done!

Features

• Easy-to-use templates with built-in optimization for many social media platforms
• Access to 5 million stock photos and graphics
• Integrated presets for social media and blog posts
• Social media scheduling planner
• Customizable branding set and logo designer

Pros & Cons

Pros

• User-friendly and intuitive for beginners to advanced
• Create designs quickly
• Customizable stencils to fit your brand
• A large library of assets to leverage

Cons

• File size limits to only JPEG, PNG, and PDF
• The user interface can be difficult to navigate
• Missing video editing and animation features

Pricing

• Free version
• Pro: $9 per month, paid annually
• Unlimited: $12 per month, paid annually

P2P score: 4.5/5

Website: getstencil.com

4.Desygner

Desygner is another excellent Canva alternative that offers premium options at a very affordable price.

This is an excellent solution for marketers who want to use templates for various scenarios, whether merchandise or branding, digital marketing, or billboards and signage.

Fully integrated AI generation and animation will allow you to leverage the extra flair in your design.

Features

• User-friendly for all skill levels
• Visual content creation
• Edit and customization of PDFs
• Import PDFs to create your own templates

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Extremely affordable premium packages
• All-in-one solutions for individuals and businesses alike
• Team collaboration features like comments and activity tracking
• AI features
• Design automation for quick sync capabilities

Cons

• Limited free version—fewer templates and fonts than other platforms
• No offline functionality
• A learning curve for inexperienced designers

Pricing

• Free: Limited features
• Pro+ Plan: $4.95 per month, billed yearly, or $9.95 billed monthly
• Business Plan: $9.95 per month, billed yearly, or $19.95 billed monthly
• Enterprise Plan: Starts at $29.99 per month for up to 6 users

P2P score: 4.4/5

Website: desygner.com

5.Adobe Express

Adobe Express is considered one of the best free Canva alternatives because it offers access to Adobe’s vast catalog of visual and video assets integrated with AI features.

Designers can use that familiar Adobe universe with integration across their other apps, like Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.

Adobe Express takes the power of Adobe and puts it into an intuitive app for quick designs using a template-based approach similar to Canva.

Features

• Great editing tools for photos, videos, and document-creating
• Integrates with other Adobe apps
• Includes Adobes signature Generative AI
• Tailored branding and team collaboration
• Works on iOS devices (runs on Apple’s iOS operating system)

Pros & Cons

Pros

• A vast library of assets and templates
• Great cloud storage space
• Quick actions to speed up workflow

Cons

• A high learning curve to use some of the features
• The free version has limited AI use and doesn’t include other premium features

Pricing

• Free: Limited access to premium features
• Premium Plan: $9.99 per month or $99.99 billed yearly
• Teams Plan: $22.99 monthly or 239.88 billed yearly

P2P score: 4.5/5

Website: adobe.com/express

6.Snappa

Snappa is a cloud-based design tool for the beginner and professional alike.

It is ideally suited for quick design projects or graphics used online. Just as the name suggests, a great drag-and-drop workflow takes the “clunkiness” out of the chore.

It is a great free canvas alternative that doesn’t require you to scroll through endless menus or premium content before you can find what you really want.

Features

• User-friendly interface for all skill sets
• Tailored branding
• Team collaboration features
• Upload customizable fonts
• Background removal

Pros & Cons

Pros

• All the design features are available for free
• Access to a large library of photos and designs
• 6,000 templates to choose from

Cons

• Limited downloads for the free version (3 per month)
• Lacks advanced design features the seasoned professional may prefer
• No mobile version is available

Pricing

• Free
• Pro: $10 per month (billed yearly)
• Expert: $20 monthly for teams to collaborate on projects (billed yearly, with unlimited downloads)

P2P score: 4.4/5

Website: snappa.com

7.Pixlr

Pixlr is a great free Canva alternative comparable to Adobe’s Photoshop.

It is the first online editor that supports raw formats and layer masks for greater in-depth edits.

Two options are tailored to specific user needs: Pixlr E is for photo editors, and Pixlr D is for graphic designers with template-based design functionalities. Both are included in one package.

Features

• Great photo retouching capabilities
• Customize your designs with templates
• AI features like generative fill and expand
• Background removal

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Mobile app version available
• Access to a wide range of features
• Good cloud storage
• Very cost-effective options

Cons

• Ads in the free version
• Limited help resources
• A big learning curve for some of the advanced features
• Lagging is reported while editing online
• Limited saves per month

Pricing

• Free
• Plus Plan: $2.49/month to remove ads, have unlimited saves, and 80 monthly AI credits
• Premium version: $9.99 per month to unlock all features
• Team version: $16.99 monthly for collaboration functions

P2P score: 4.4/5

Website: pixlr.com

8.BeFunky

If you are looking for a free alternative that closely resembles Canva, BeFunky may be what you’re looking for. It offers even more photo editing capabilities.

Like Pixlr, BeFunky has different apps that work together for a seamless start-to-finish workflow that integrates with each other.

This is where BeFunky stands out. It is perfect for designers who want to use their work for social media, make collages, and go quickly straight to print.

Features

• Basic photo editing tools with advanced effect filters
• AI enhancement
• Collage maker with customizable layouts
• Professional templates with vector graphics and icons

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Intuitive and user-friendly
• Wide range of editing tools
• All in one platform
• Large catalog of Stock Images
• Affordable paid options

Cons

• The free version has limited features
• Only usable while online
• Some lagging issues are recorded

Pricing

• Free
• Paid version: $6.99 per month billed annually or $14.99 billed monthly

P2P score: 4.6/5

Website: befunky.com

9.Gravit Designer

Gravit Designer is a strong recommendation for a more technical and vector graphic design-type program.

Created and owned by Corel Corporation, the creators of CorelDraw, Gravit Designer offers a rich set of tools and features to create all your captivating flyers, posters, presentation pieces, and any other design content you desire.

Features

• Vector editing
• Cloud storage
• Advanced typographic features
• Customizable interface
• Image editing and blend modes
• Many templates and effects to choose from

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The free version is feature-filled
• Intuitive UI
• Cloud integrations across all operating systems
• Versatility for designer’s needs
• The pro plan comes with unlimited cloud storage

Cons

• Some of the advanced features are only in the paid version
• The free version only has 500MB of cloud storage
• It lacks some of the professional features found in CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrate.

Pricing

• Free
• Pro Plan: $48.79 per year

P2P score:  4.5/5

Website: corelvector.com

10.Picmaker

If you need quick access to templates and AI tools to level up your social media game, Picmaker could be precisely what you’re looking for.

With access to over 100 million stock photos and a strong AI algorithm, you can easily create your next catchy meme, poster design, YouTube thumbnail, or Instagram post.

Features

• Social media post scheduler
• Templates for flyers, emails, and social media posts
• AI generation for many popular social media platforms
• Dedicated tools to make logos, posters, and stickers, among others

Pros & Cons

Pros

• An extensive library of templates, filters, effects, and Stock assets
• AI-powered design features
• Social media planning and integration tools
• Responsive customer support

Cons

• Limited video functionality
• No Bulk create features

Pricing

• Free
• Starter version: $6 per month
• Pro version: $9 per month
• Team version: customized pricing options for teams

P2P score: 4.5/5

Website: picmaker.com

Wrapping Up on the Best Alternatives to Canva

As we wrap up our list of the top free Canva alternatives for 2025, it’s evident that the design world is bursting at the seams with many suitable options to meet your creative needs.

If you need more advanced graphic design capabilities for your B2B social media marketing, or you’re happy with the great offerings from the many free versions, these alternatives can equip you to design the stunning visuals you need to captivate your audience.

Don’t settle for the ordinary—dive in and explore the functionalities of the tools that stood out to you from our review. Try out their design interface and test their offerings on an actual project to narrow down your top choices (e.g., an Instagram or Facebook post).

You’ll enhance your design game in no time and watch your great ideas come to life!

Happy designing!

References

Forbes: Visual Marketing: The Power of Images & Videos for Promoting Your Brand

Linearity: Why Graphic Design is the Most Important Thing in Marketing

Netguru: The Evolution of Design Tools: The Future of AI Tools in Design

The Branding Journal: The Power of a Strong Brand Identity: Definition, Importance, and Key Elements

UC Berkley: Design Fundamentals: Elements & Principles