CanvaBest overall
The largest template library (3.6M+ claimed on Pro), Canva Print, CMYK PDF export and unmetered everyday AI on paid plans; Pro is $144 a year for one person.
Graphic design software
Graphic design software is the set of apps you use to make social posts, ads, flyers, decks, logos and print files. Our graphic design reviews compare six tools, from template editors for non-designers to free professional apps, on team prices, print output, licence terms and AI limits, using prices listed in October 2026.
Adobe ExpressBest value for solo creators and small teams
Premium at $9.99 a month with no annual commitment, Teams at $7.99 per licence ($4.99 in year one), plus Adobe Stock and 30,000+ Adobe Fonts.
FigmaBest for brand and product teams
The best real-time collaboration plus Figma Buzz templates that designers lock and marketers fill in on $3 Collab seats.
VismeBest for presentations, infographics and reports
Charts and data widgets with PPTX, HTML5, video and SCORM output; Pro costs $297 a year per person.
AffinityBest free professional design app
Canva's free photo, vector and layout app for Mac and Windows, with PSD, AI, IDML and INDD import; only its AI needs a paid Canva plan.
VistaCreateCheapest paid plan for small teams
One Pro plan at $10 a month covers up to 10 seats, with unlimited brand kits and VistaPrint printing.
Compare side by side
Every score and price in one table. Select a column to sort. Prices are US list prices; hover a price for the full terms.
| Canva | 8.9 | 9.6 | 8.3 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 8.2 | $144/yr | Yes | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Express | 8.4 | 8.8 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 6.8 | $9.99/mo | Yes | – |
| Figma | 8.1 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 9.4 | 7.6 | 8.4 | $3/mo per Collab seat | Yes | – |
| Visme | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 7.0 | $12.25/mo per person | Yes | – |
| Affinity | 7.7 | 6.8 | 9.6 | 6.0 | 9.3 | 6.6 | Free | Yes | – |
| VistaCreate | 7.6 | 8.2 | 8.8 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 6.6 | $10/mo | Yes | – |
What kinds of graphic design software are there?
Two kinds, mostly. Template-first tools such as Canva, Adobe Express and VistaCreate let non-designers start from a finished layout, while professional tools such as Figma and Affinity hand designers a blank canvas and precise control. Visme sits in between. It is built for charts, decks and reports, with PPTX, HTML5, video and GIF export on Pro and SCORM output for training teams on Enterprise.
Ownership is worth a look too. Canva bought Serif, the maker of Affinity, in March 2024, so two of the six tools now belong to one company, and Affinity’s AI features are sold through Canva plans. Adobe Express belongs to Adobe. Figma and Visme are independent: Figma has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since July 2025, after Adobe’s $20 billion takeover was abandoned in 2023. VistaCreate belongs to Vista. Its print option routes to VistaPrint. In practice, choosing Canva plus Affinity keeps your money with one company, which is convenient until that company changes its prices.
Which design tool fits you?
Start with who does the designing. Then check team size. Per-seat pricing reorders everything.
- If you are a non-designer who needs posts, flyers and decks fast: Canva. It has the largest template library here, 3.6 million+ on Pro by Canva’s count, and Pro costs $144 a year.
- If you want the lowest monthly bill without a yearly lock-in: Adobe Express Premium at $9.99.
- If two to ten people make content: Adobe Express Teams, or VistaCreate Pro, which covers up to 10 seats for $10 a month billed annually.
- If you have an in-house designer: Figma, because designers lock the templates and marketers fill them in on $3 Collab seats, though someone has to set it up and it exports no CMYK.
- If your content is mostly data: Visme. Starter costs $147 a year, more than Canva Pro, so skip the upgrade unless charts and reports are the job.
- If you design for print or illustrate: Affinity. Free.
| Team of five | Yearly cost |
|---|---|
| Canva Business | $1,250 |
| Adobe Express Teams (regular rate) | $479.40 |
| VistaCreate Pro | about $120 |
For one person, Canva Pro at $144 a year and Adobe Express Premium at $119.88 paid monthly cost about the same, but at five people Canva Business costs $770.60 more a year than Adobe Express Teams at its regular rate.
When should you not pay for design software?
Solo desktop designer? Skip the subscription. Affinity is free for individuals on Mac and Windows, it imports PSD, AI, IDML and InDesign files, and only its AI features need a paid Canva plan. And if you post a few graphics a month, Canva’s free plan is enough, now with 20 AI uses in total.
What catches design tool buyers out?
- Logo licences. Canva’s help centre says logos built from its templates or stock elements can’t be registered as trademarks, and Kittl’s licence says logos based on Kittl content cannot be registered. For a logo you plan to trademark, start from basic shapes, fonts and your own artwork rather than anything in a template library, because the licence on stock elements is not exclusive.
- Price changes. Canva Pro moved from $144 to $180 and back during 2026, and its free AI pool fell to 20 uses in September 2026. Don’t trust a price you saw months ago.
- Print output. Figma exports only sRGB and Display P3, with no CMYK, so rule it out for print-ready files.
Most people miss the per-person maths. Canva Business costs $250 per person a year. Seats multiply quietly. Don’t forget them when you budget for a growing team. When you renew, recheck the plan page; in 2024 TechCrunch reported some Canva Teams customers seeing a $119.99 yearly plan rise to $500.
How we build our graphic design reviews
Our graphic design reviews are research scores. We read official pricing pages, plan tables, help-centre articles and licence terms, plus independent reporting, and score every tool on five weighted criteria. We don’t run our own design trials. Template counts are labelled as vendor claims.
Templates and ease of use carry the most weight, 25%. That is why Canva leads. If you’ve got a designer on staff, that criterion matters less to you, and Figma or Affinity may fit better than their rank suggests. See the wider design and video section, or photo editing for RAW and retouching tools.
How we score graphic design tools
Every product here is scored 0 to 10 on the same criteria, using published evidence. The overall score is the weighted average.
Templates & ease of useHow fast a non-designer gets a good result: template and stock library size (vendor claims labelled as such), editor learning curve, formats covered (social, print, video, documents, presentations).weight25%
Price & free planWhat the free plan really allows, per-person and per-team prices, seat minimums, monthly versus yearly billing, and how stable prices have been.weight20%
Brand & team toolsBrand kits, locked templates, real-time co-editing and comments, approvals, admin controls and how many people a plan covers.weight20%
Output, print & licensingExport formats (PDF print, CMYK, SVG, PPTX, video), print ordering, file import, and commercial licence terms including resale and trademark rules.weight20%
AI editing aids & limitsAI that edits or assists with your own designs: background and object removal, upscaling, resizing and layout suggestions, writing and translation help for your own copy; whether limits are published, how many credits or uses each plan includes and what happens when they run out. Generative image creation, AI avatars and text-to-video are not scored.weight15%
Questions people ask
What is the best free graphic design software?
If you've never designed, Canva's free plan, which includes templates and 20 AI uses in total since September 2026. For professional work, Affinity, which Canva gives free to individuals on Mac and Windows and which imports PSD, AI and InDesign files. Adobe Express and Figma also have free plans, with daily or monthly AI allowances. Visme's free plan stores 500 MB. It adds Visme branding.
Is Canva or Adobe Express cheaper for a team?
Adobe Express, by a wide margin. Teams costs $4.99 per licence a month in the first year and $7.99 after, with a two-seat minimum, so five people pay $479.40 a year at the regular rate. Canva Business costs $250 per person a year, or $1,250 for five, while VistaCreate Pro covers up to 10 seats for about $120 a year, the cheapest team option we rank.
Can I trademark a logo made in Canva?
Not if it uses Canva's templates or stock elements. Canva's help centre says such logos can't be registered as trademarks because the licence is not exclusive, and Kittl has a similar rule for its content, though Kittl allows logos built from your own uploads or AI elements. Don't use template elements in a logo you plan to register; build it from basic shapes, fonts and your own artwork.
Which design tool exports CMYK files for print?
Canva exports CMYK PDFs and offers print ordering through Canva Print, and Affinity, as a professional layout app, handles print work and imports InDesign files. Figma does not: it exports only sRGB and Display P3. VistaCreate routes printing to VistaPrint but documents no CMYK export. When you order print, check the printer's file specification first, because a print shop can reject files in the wrong colour space or without bleed.
Do design tools limit AI features?
Yes, on almost every plan. Canva's paid plans leave Standard AI unmetered but cap Premium at 200 and Ultra at 20 uses a month on Pro. Adobe Express includes 250 generative credits a month. Figma seats get 500 to 4,250 credits. VistaCreate publishes no limits at all. When you rely on AI daily, check the allowance before you pick a plan.