Free vs. Paid Graphic Design Software

[Nomad]

Do you use a free graphic design software/tool or do you use premium design software? Do you think free software and tools are as good as the paid ones?
Well, I mostly use Canva. Even though Canva is free to use, I have premium version. If you use software like GIMP or site like Photopea, I do not think you should actually be using premium tool.

 

[Dominique]

I think the main question is what features do you get with free software and what features you will be missing on free tools.

 

[dojo]

I still use Photoshop / Illustrator for some work, but Canva (even free) is pretty decent. I am considering trying some AI tools for images (have some ideas for tennis related artwork), but need to free up some time

 

[Nomad]

I no longer use photoshop, I either use AI tools for creating designs or use Canva. With Canva, I save a lot of time and with AI tool, I can create anything I want. Even though I was trained for Photoshop, I seem to have forgotten a lot of things.

 

[koyala]

I’ve used both free and paid graphic design tools. Free ones like Canva and GIMP work well for basic tasks, but paid software like Adobe Illustrator offers advanced features and better control for professionals.

 

[Deep]

Canva's premium version offers excellent value, but free tools like GIMP and Photopea are sufficient.

 

[uptrendfinancialsignal]

I've worked with lots of free and some paid graphic design programs but I still find Canva to do the major part of the work I wanted. So, I stopped using paid versions.

 

[Flower]

I've found that the extra features in paid software can be worth their money depending on exactly what you're trying to accomplish. Free versions are good places to start for people on a limited budget. Still, the growing needs of a designer usually push him or her towards paid software with more flexibility and support.

 

[samsun56]

It is obvious that being free it will always have limitations, so it is better for you to use several free ones if you do not have money and the one you like the most and is most comfortable to use, only that one you pay for to use all its available functions without any limits.