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By TJ SoftUpdated:

Free Graphic Design Programs 2025

Bezpłatne programy graficzne 2025

You don’t need to spend a lot of money right away on professional software such as Adobe Creative Cloud (approximately PLN 60–120 per month) to create attractive graphics or documents. For students, foundations, or nonprofit organizations, this is often an unaffordable expense. And even if you plan to work professionally, it makes sense to start with free or less expensive solutions. For simpler projects, it is often better to put in a little extra effort than to invest a large amount of money straight away.

What’s more, by using some simple online tools, you gain an additional advantage: the client (or coworker) can make minor corrections independently, without the need to involve a graphic designer or specialist.

In this article, I will present free and affordable alternatives to popular graphics programs and document editors—ideal for getting started and for everyday use—such as Canva, Inkscape, IrfanView, GIMP, and Photopea, a free alternative to Photoshop that you can use directly in your browser without having to install a program.

Table of contents

In the field of graphics editing, there are many options that do not require significant financial investment. They can be divided into raster graphics editors, which operate on pixels, and vector graphics editors, which use mathematical descriptions of shapes.

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Key Applications.

Key Applications – Summary

Canva – quick and easy online graphic design. Canva is a free tool for creating flyers, posters, presentations, and mind maps. It works online, enables teamwork, and uses ready-made elements. It is ideal for conceptual projects and process visualizations.

Inkscape – vector graphics editor. A free alternative to Illustrator, supporting SVG and offering advanced tools for creating logos, illustrations, and print materials (e.g., bleed and crop marks).

GIMP – a free alternative to Photoshop. An open-source raster graphics editor offering layers, masks, filters, and plugins. It supports many file formats and has a customizable interface.

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Photopea is a free online graphics editor, supporting PSD files and offering tools similar to Photoshop or GIMP.

PDF24 is a free set of tools for editing and converting PDF files, available online and as a Windows application.

LibreOffice – a free office suite. A free alternative to Microsoft Office with the Writer word processor and the Draw vector graphics tool. The suite also includes spreadsheets, presentations, and databases.

IrfanView – a fast photo viewer and editor Supports many formats and allows cropping, resizing, conversion, and simple batch editing (i.e., editing multiple files at once). Additionally, we can start editing while browsing photos, and the program itself opens quickly.

Pixelcut – an AI-powered photo editor. Pixelcut is a simple tool for creating product graphics—it removes backgrounds, generates AI scenes, and prepares photos for online stores and social media.

Unsplash – A huge collection of beautiful, free photos.

Vecteezy – A free vector graphics library.

Canva – a solid graphic design tool, not just for graphic designers.

A free and simple yet powerful tool for creating flyers, posters, presentations, mind maps, and other documents. It has all the essentials you need.

It is an application; all files are available online within Canva and can be accessed on multiple devices. A very convenient tool, for example, for co-creating a document online.

Creating graphics in Canva involves assembling a document from ready-made “blocks,” and Canva has many of them. Of course, we can also upload other photos there.

Canva’s internal folder system, along with its search option and access to files across multiple devices, means that it can also serve as a kind of note-taking app.

Especially if we use the whiteboard function and create mind maps in Canva—Canva is a wonderful tool for, for example, drawing processes, because it is a graphics program, giving us full control over the appearance of the map, which can be really large in Canva. And if we exceed the number of elements (the limit is quite high, at 2,000 per document), we can always create a new mind map and add a link to it.

Canva

Disadvantages of Canva:

It offers limited possibilities for creating new objects, and we cannot edit photos in it either (in the paid version, we have some options for modifying photos).

We cannot download an editable file to the computer and conveniently access it in folders or work offline. A temporary solution is to add a text file with a link to the relevant project to the folder.

Exporting files to PDF, PNG, and other formats (which is undoubtedly an advantage) may result in a deterioration in the quality of the images used in the project.

Summary:

The default program for creating simple posters, flyers, and other materials. A powerful tool for conceptual work; I use it to create preliminary versions of graphics, despite having better programs.

Inkscape – when you need a shape that isn’t available in Canva

Do you need a specific shape that isn’t available in Canva and can’t be created using Canva’s tools? Inkscape comes to the rescue!

Inkscape is a free vector graphics program that has been featured for years on lists of the best alternatives to Adobe Illustrator. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and despite being free, it offers a set of features sufficient even for professional projects.

Thanks to its vector-based approach, graphics retain their quality regardless of size—making Inkscape an ideal tool for creating:

  • logos and icons,
  • illustrations and infographics,
  • diagrams, charts, and mind maps,
  • materials for print and websites.

It supports SVG and exports to PNG, PDF, and EPS. It works great for simple projects, and even more advanced tasks can be handled—although sometimes this requires more clicks than in paid tools.

At first, the interface may seem somewhat clunky, but over time you will appreciate its flexibility. Among the useful features, you will find, among others:

  • drawing Bézier curves (great for illustrations and shapes),
  • working with layers (with multiple elements on a single layer),
  • converting text to paths,
  • creating masks, paths, and effects,
  • the ability to install extensions.

For students, non-profit organizations, and small teams, this tool is practically ideal. It requires no investment, allows you to learn, experiment, and create real projects for your portfolio. And even if you plan to switch to Illustrator someday, Inkscape is an excellent way to learn the fundamentals of vector graphics.

To sum up: if you want to create decent graphics without overpaying, start with Inkscape.

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Gimp – when you want to edit a photo

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is one of the most popular free programs for editing raster graphics. For years, it has been a genuine alternative to Photoshop—especially for people who do not want to or cannot invest in expensive software, yet need advanced tools for working with photos and graphics.

Using GIMP, you can easily:

  • retouch photos and remove unwanted elements,
  • work with layers and masks,
  • use filters, effects, and selection tools,
  • prepare graphics for the internet (e.g. thumbnails, banners),
  • create digital illustrations, especially using a graphics tablet.

Although GIMP’s interface was once criticized for its unintuitive structure, the latest version — GIMP 3.0 — brings considerable changes in this regard. The program now runs on the new GTK3 engine, resulting in better performance, a more modern appearance, and improved support for high-resolution (HiDPI) displays. Stability has also been improved, paving the way for further major enhancements.

GIMP

Compared to Photoshop, GIMP still has some limitations—including weaker support for the PSD format, a lack of full CMYK color support, and less advanced typography tools. However, for everyday work, especially for students, nonprofit organizations, freelancers, and online content creators, it remains a very solid tool.

If you need a free photo-editing program while looking for something more advanced than simple mobile apps, GIMP 3.0 is currently one of the best choices. Especially if you’re willing to spend some time learning and want full control over the editing process.

Photopea – a simpler, faster Gimp, available in your browser.

Photopea is a free, browser-based graphics editor that resembles Photoshop in appearance and functionality. It requires no installation — simply open photopea.com and you can start working right away. This is very useful when you need to do something quickly on a computer that isn’t yours.

It supports layers, masks, text, filters, as well as PSD, XCF, Sketch, AI, and many other file formats. It is ideal for quickly editing photos, preparing banners and thumbnails, or creating simple graphic designs.

Photopea is a great option for people who:

  • want to work on any computer (e.g. at school or in a library),
  • don’t have the budget for Photoshop,
  • need a fast tool for editing PSD files without paid applications.

It works surprisingly smoothly and has a premium version (without ads), but the free version already offers a great deal. It is one of the best online tools for graphic designers and content creators.

PDF 24

PDF24 is a free set of tools for working with PDF files—available both online and as a Windows application. It allows you to quickly and conveniently:

  • merge and split PDF files,
  • compress documents,
  • convert files to and from PDF (e.g. Word, JPG),
  • add passwords, remove pages, sign PDFs,
  • create PDFs from any documents.

It is easy to use, requires no registration, and works great for everyday use—especially for pupils, students, office workers, and freelancers. The desktop version works offline, which can be useful when working with sensitive documents.

Using PDF24, you can easily merge multiple PDF documents created, for example, in Inkscape.

LibreOffice (Writer & Draw)

LibreOffice is a completely free and open-source office suite that is one of the best alternatives to Microsoft Office. It offers a set of tools that covers virtually all basic office, educational, and organizational needs—without the need to purchase a license or subscription.

The LibreOffice suite offers everything you could expect from a modern office suite: the Writer word processor for creating documents and reports, the Calc spreadsheet for analyses and summaries, Impress for multimedia presentations, Base for working with databases, Math for writing equations, and Draw—a simple vector graphics editor useful for diagrams, flyers, and schematics.

Of particular note is LibreOffice Draw, which—although considerably simpler than specialized graphics software—is perfectly suited to projects such as:

  • flyers and simple posters,
  • organizational charts,
  • mind maps and flowcharts,
  • technical drawings of low complexity.

LibreOffice runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. It supports popular file formats (including DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX), although very complex documents may show minor differences in appearance. The suite is continuously developed by the community and is also available in Polish.

It is an excellent choice for schools, foundations, non-profit organizations, students, freelancers, and anyone who needs a reliable office tool — without incurring any costs.

Irfan view

IrfanView is a lightweight, fast, and free image viewer for Windows that offers much more than just image viewing. Although it weighs only a few megabytes, it can surprise you with its capabilities.

The program enables:

  • lightning-fast opening and browsing of photos in many formats (JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, and others),
  • basic editing: resizing, cropping, and adjusting colors, contrast, or brightness,
  • converting image files to other formats,
  • desaturation (converting a photo to black and white),
  • adding text or a watermark,
  • creating simple slideshows and animations,
  • batch editing — that is, automatically processing multiple files at once (e.g. resizing several hundred photos with a single click).

IrfanView also has optional plugins that extend its capabilities, e.g. by adding support for RAW or PDF files.

It’s an ideal tool for people who want to quickly browse and edit photos—without launching resource-intensive graphics programs. It works especially well on older computers and when working with a large number of files.

I mainly use IrfanView for viewing photos and for quickly pasting images from the clipboard, especially when I intend to crop them.

Pixel Cut – photo editing with AI

Pixelcut is a fast and intuitive AI-powered photo editor designed for e-commerce and social media. It works in browsers and on smartphones, enabling instant background removal, photo retouching, and the generation of attractive product scenes — without requiring any knowledge of Photoshop.

It works great for creating graphics for online stores, Instagram posts, and listings on platforms such as Vinted and OLX. Thanks to ready-made templates and AI-powered features, it saves time and delivers a professional result even for people without graphic design experience.

A free plan is available, while the Pro version (approx. USD 10–13/month) offers the full set of features.

Unsplash

Unsplash is a free stock photo library offering millions of high-quality photographs shared by a community of photographers from around the world. The photos can be used free of charge—for both personal and commercial purposes—without the need to credit the author (although attribution is appreciated). Unsplash specializes in aesthetically pleasing, natural-looking images and is popular among web creators, graphic designers, and marketers.

Vecteezy

This is one of the largest websites offering free vector files, icons, patterns, and illustrations. It also features premium materials, but many resources are available for free—just filter the results to “Free License.” Files are available in SVG, AI, EPS, and PNG formats. Attribution is required when using them for free in commercial projects, unless you have a Pro account.

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Free Vector Graphics Editors

Vector graphics editors are ideal for creating logos, icons, and illustrations that can be scaled without losing quality.

Inkscape

Previously mentioned, a free and open-source vector graphics editor, often recommended as an alternative to Adobe Illustrator. It supports SVG, offers a rich set of tools, and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It enables, among other things, the creation of illustrations, logos, printing marks, and bleeds.

Vectr

It is a free browser-based tool that enables the creation of simple vector graphics. It features a simple interface, offers basic vector tools, and supports real-time collaboration.

Corel Vector

(formerly known as Gravit Designer Pro) is intuitive, free vector design software that offers many features familiar from paid programs. It has a customizable interface, an intuitive menu, and drag-and-drop functionality. It is also available in a paid Pro version. Corel Vector operates in the cloud, allowing access to projects from any device with an internet connection.

Lunacy

It is a free vector graphics editing application that stands out for its built-in graphics and artificial intelligence–powered tools. It offers a wide selection of icons, illustrations, and photos, as well as AI tools for removing backgrounds with one click, upscaling images, and generating text. The interface is simple and intuitive, making it ideal for beginners. In the free version, attribution (ICONS8) is required when publishing projects; alternatively, you can purchase a paid license.

Free Raster Graphics Editors

For those who need tools for photo editing, retouching, or creating complex image compositions, free programs with powerful capabilities are available.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

GIMP is a free, open-source raster graphics editor, often cited as an alternative to Photoshop. It offers advanced tools, layers, filters, and plugins, but its interface can be challenging for beginners. Although it supports many formats, the lack of full CMYK support limits its use in professional printing.

Photopea

Photopea is another free tool that works directly in a web browser and has an interface similar to Adobe Photoshop. It supports PSD files and offers many tools familiar from Photoshop. Its online availability is an undeniable advantage, allowing you to work on different devices without having to install any software.

Paint.NET

It is a free raster graphics editor designed for Windows. It features a simple interface, making it a good choice for beginners who want to experiment with basic editing tools and effects.

Krita

It is a free, open-source program designed for digital painting and animation. It offers extensive brush customization options, animation tools, and layer support. Unlike GIMP, Krita has built-in support for the CMYK color model, making it a more suitable choice for projects intended for print while remaining free software. The program is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Affordable Alternatives for Editing and Creating Graphics

In addition to free options, there are also paid graphics programs available on the market with a one-time fee, which may be more cost-effective in the long run.

Affinity Designer

It is powerful vector graphics software that serves as a professional alternative to Adobe Illustrator. It offers advanced vector tools as well as full support for the CMYK color model and bleed settings. An iPad version is also available. Affinity Designer is known for its precision and performance and is often chosen by users who prefer a one-time license purchase over a subscription. A 30-day free trial is available.

Procreate

This is a complete art studio available on iPad with Apple Pencil support. It is a paid app with a one-time fee. It offers advanced features such as 3D painting and precise brush control, as well as the ability to import and export PDF files. Procreate operates in a raster environment and supports real-time AR preview.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite

It is another paid software program that is popular among designers working in print. It offers a wide range of tools for vector illustration and page layout, as well as support for CMYK and bleed. CorelDRAW is known for its ease of use and compatibility with many devices. It is available both as a subscription and as a one-time license purchase.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Graphics

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in graphic design tools, offering new possibilities and making work easier.

ChatGPT and Other Language Models

Creating and editing graphics with the help of artificial intelligence, including language models such as ChatGPT, has revolutionized the approach to visual design. Users without any graphic design experience can create an illustration, plan a website layout, or request a specific image correction simply by using natural language. Additionally, ChatGPT can analyze uploaded images and, based on them, suggest stylistic, color, or compositional changes, or generate a new image combining elements from other graphics, significantly reducing working time and eliminating the need to use advanced graphics software.

Artificial Intelligence in Canva

Canva is a graphic design tool that has recently begun offering a wide range of artificial intelligence-powered features as part of the Magic Studio suite. This allows even people without graphic design experience to quickly create professional designs.

The most important AI features in Canva include Magic Write – a text generator that helps create descriptions, headlines, and posts; Magic Edit – which allows you to edit images, remove elements, or add new ones; and Text to Image, which generates illustrations based on a description. Canva also offers Magic Design, which automatically creates ready-made graphics based on text or a photo, as well as Magic Animate for bringing design elements to life with motion. Another interesting option is presentation generation – simply enter a topic, and Canva will prepare slides with text and graphics.

Most AI features are available in the Pro version, but some of them can also be tested for free. As a result, Canva is becoming not only a graphic design editor, but also an intelligent creative assistant.

Adobe Express

(formerly Adobe Spark) is a free platform from Adobe that offers a comprehensive set of tools, with an emphasis on predefined formats and templates. It also includes generative artificial intelligence. In the free version, users have access to thousands of professionally designed templates and over 1,000 Adobe fonts. Adobe Express also offers AI features such as image generation and background removal, as well as the ability to create and export PDF files. Essentially, it is Adobe’s equivalent of Canva.

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VistaCreate

(formerly Crello) is a free online graphic design application, similar to Canva, offering a wide selection of templates for online and printed content. It features an AI image generator. The free version provides access to over 200,000 templates, while its intuitive interface makes it easy to create visually consistent materials. The paid Pro version allows users to print designs through VistaPrint.

Lunacy

It is a free vector graphics editor that stands out with its built-in graphics and AI-powered tools, such as background removal, image upscaling, and text generation.

Pixlr

It is a free online photo editor that also uses AI tools. It is also available as a mobile app and offers quick photo edits and social media content creation.

In addition to those mentioned, there are many other AI-powered tools used in graphic design, including tools for generating logos (e.g., Looka, Tailor Brands, Designhill), color palettes (Khroma, Colormind), removing backgrounds (Remove.bg), and upscaling images (Let’s Enhance, VanceAI).

Luminar Neo

Luminar Neo is advanced photo editing software powered by artificial intelligence. It offers features such as automatic exposure correction, background removal, sky replacement, and portrait retouching. Thanks to its modular architecture, it provides fast image processing and smooth performance.

Adobe Photoshop with Firefly AI

Adobe Photoshop integrates AI tools such as Generative Fill and Distraction Removal, enabling the automatic removal of unwanted objects and the generation of new elements in images. Powered by the Firefly Image 3 model, it delivers high quality and photorealistic results.

Google Photos – Magic Editor

Magic Editor in Google Photos lets you edit photos using simple text commands. It enables you to remove objects, change backgrounds, and improve portrait lighting, offering intuitive tools accessible to all users.

Movavi Photo Editor

Movavi Photo Editor is a beginner-friendly tool offering AI features such as object removal, photo enhancement, and portrait retouching. Available for Windows and macOS.

Fotor

Fotor is a free online photo editor with AI features, enabling quick enhancements, background removal, and the application of artistic effects. Ideal for users looking for simple and effective tools.

YouCam Perfect

YouCam Perfect is a mobile app offering advanced AI features such as face retouching, background removal, and effect addition. Available on iOS and Android, it is ideal for quick photo editing on mobile devices. Topaz Labs – Gigapixel AI, Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI

The suite of tools from Topaz Labs specializes in improving photo quality: Gigapixel AI increases image resolution, Sharpen AI enhances sharpness, and DeNoise AI reduces noise while preserving detail.

Free Text Editors

LibreOffice Writer

It is a free, open-source word processor that is part of the LibreOffice suite. It is an excellent alternative to Microsoft Word, offering advanced text editing, spelling and grammar checking, as well as tools for creating forms, equations, charts, and indexes. LibreOffice Writer enables exporting to PDF format with various options tailored to the user’s needs. The program also offers many document templates.

Google Docs

a free text editor available online as part of the Google Workspace suite. It enables work both online and offline, offers real-time collaboration features, and integrates with Google Drive. Documents can be easily exported to PDF format. Accessibility from any device is an undeniable advantage.

WPS Office Free Writer

WPS Office Free Writer is a free word processor with cloud support and support for multiple file formats. Its interface is similar to Microsoft Word. It offers good file format support, free cloud storage, and a built-in PDF reader. Documents can be exported to PDF format. The program is available for Windows, Linux, and Android. Ads are displayed in the free version.

Free Desktop Publishing (DTP) Software

Scribus

Scribus – free software for professional DTP layout

Scribus is free, open-source desktop publishing (DTP) software, often compared to Adobe InDesign. It enables the design of page layouts for books, newspapers, brochures, posters, and other materials intended for print. It supports the CMYK color model, bleeds, crop marks, and PDF export with advanced print options, allowing full control over the quality of the materials.

The program runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and its active community creates tutorials and extensions. Although the interface may seem outdated and the software requires some learning, Scribus provides professional capabilities for typesetting multi-page publications.

However, caution should be exercised when downloading—if we download from an unofficial source, we may catch viruses, and even the official version does not have a digital signature, which may cause it to be flagged by antivirus software or Windows Defender as potentially dangerous.

https://www.scribus.net

Affordable Tools for Editing and Converting PDFs

There are numerous free and affordable tools available for working with PDF files, enabling you to edit, convert, merge, and split documents.

PDF24 Creator

This is free software for Windows that offers a wide range of features for working with PDF files, including editing, reading, converting, merging, electronic signatures, and OCR.

PDF Candy

It is a free PDF editor available online and as a desktop version for Windows. It enables editing, converting, compressing, merging, and adding electronic signatures to PDF files.

Smallpdf

It is a lightweight PDF editor available online, as well as an app and browser extension. It offers PDF editing, conversion, compression, and scanning features.

iLovePDF

It is an effective online tool for modifying PDF files, also available on other platforms. It offers many free features, including PDF manipulation, scanning, compression, conversion, protection, merging, and OCR.

Sejda

It is a free PDF editor available online and as a desktop application for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It offers editing, compression, conversion, protection, merging, and electronic signature features.

PDFgear

This is free PDF editing software with built-in artificial intelligence features. It enables text and image editing, annotation, file conversion, OCR, and signature addition. It also includes AI features such as text summarization, spell-checking, translation, and a chatbot. PDFgear works offline and offers all its features for free.

PDF-XChange Editor

It is a free PDF editor and reader for Windows. It offers many features, including creating, viewing, editing, annotating, OCR, and electronic signatures.

DocFly

It is a free online PDF editor with a paid subscription option. It enables users to edit, convert, merge, split, and protect PDF files, and also offers access from anywhere.

Adobe Acrobat Online PDF Editor

It is a free online tool from the creators of the PDF format. It requires signing in and allows you to add comments, draw, add text, fill out forms, sign PDF files, and store them online.

PDFescape

It is a free online PDF editor with a paid desktop version. It allows you to edit, add annotations, fill out forms, create basic forms, password-protect files, and share them online.

PrintFriendly PDF Editor

It is an easy-to-use, free PDF editor available online. It allows you to add text and images, edit existing text, change the font size, and add annotations. It also offers conversion to other formats.

AI in Document Creation

Many document creation tools integrate artificial intelligence, which can support the writing and editing process. These features include text generation, grammar and spell checking, content summarization, and more. Tools such as Jasper AI, Rytr, Copy AI, and Writesonic offer advanced capabilities for generating various types of text content using AI. Many of them offer free plans or trial periods, allowing users to try out their capabilities at no cost. Integrating AI into document creation tools can significantly speed up work and improve the quality of the content created, even with free or inexpensive options.

Preparing Materials for Print: Key Aspects (CMYK, Bleed)

Preparing materials for print requires taking into account several key aspects that will ensure the final product looks professional. Two of the most important are CMYK color management and bleed settings.

Understanding CMYK

The CMYK color model (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) is a subtractive color model used in professional printing. Unlike the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) model used on screens, CMYK describes colors by mixing inks. Therefore, to achieve accurate color reproduction in print, the graphic design should be prepared in the CMYK color space.

Bleed

(Bleed) is the area of a design that extends beyond the edge of the page. It is essential for preventing unwanted white edges from appearing after printed materials are trimmed. The standard bleed is typically 0.125 inches (approximately 3 mm) on each side. Some materials, such as hardcover covers, may require a larger bleed. When preparing files for printing, crop marks are also often added alongside the bleed to indicate to the printer exactly where the paper should be trimmed.

Possibilities of Affordable Software in the Context of Printing

Many free and inexpensive graphics programs offer support for the CMYK color model and bleed settings. Krita, as a free raster editor, has built-in support for CMYK. In the case of Canva, support for CMYK and bleed is available in the paid Pro version. Affinity Designer and CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, as paid alternatives, also offer full support for these features. The free DTP software Scribus is particularly well suited for preparing materials for print and offers support for both CMYK and bleed. In programs that do not have native CMYK support, such as GIMP or the free versions of Canva and Inkscape, potential workarounds include converting colors online or using other software, or working in RGB with a suitable color profile. However, it should be remembered that color conversion can sometimes lead to slight differences in appearance.

Practical Tips for Preparing for Print

To ensure high quality of printed materials, it is important to keep a few practical tips in mind. Make sure to set the appropriate image resolution – 300 DPI is recommended for most materials, although 150 DPI is sufficient for large formats such as banners. You should also choose the appropriate file format for printing – PDF is generally preferred, but print shops may also accept other formats. When exporting to PDF, consider using PDF/X settings. You should also pay attention to typography, choosing legible fonts and embedding them in the PDF file or converting them to outlines. Before sending files to the print shop, it is always worth carefully checking the design and, if in doubt, consulting the print shop to learn about its specific file requirements.

Where can you get free photos?

Unsplash

One of the most popular free photo libraries, with millions of high-quality photographs. All photos are available for free use—including commercial use—without the need to provide attribution. You can find it at unsplash.com.

Pexels

Pexels offers a huge selection of photos and videos, also under a very permissive license. You can use them freely, including in commercial projects, without attribution. Visit pexels.com.

Pixabay

A free database of not only photos, but also illustrations, vector graphics, and videos. All resources are available under a license similar to CC0. The official website is pixabay.com.

LibreShot

An original collection of free photographs shared by photographer Martin Vorel. They may be used freely, including for commercial purposes. Available at libreshot.com.

Burst by Shopify

A platform created with online store owners in mind. Here you’ll find free product, lifestyle, and marketing photos available at burst.shopify.com.

Kaboompics

Stylish photos perfect for blogs, social media, and interior design. Free for commercial use as well, but they may not be redistributed. Check out the selection at kaboompics.com.

Gratisography

Unusual, creative photos with character—ideal if you’re looking for something different from classic stock images. Available at gratisography.com.

Reshot

Photos created by independent creators, often less formulaic and more “human.” Completely free, including for commercial use. You can find them at reshot.com.

Life of Pix

Artistic photographs with a unique atmosphere, available under an open license. Download without restrictions from lifeofpix.com.

FoodiesFeed

A database of free food and dish photos—ideal for food bloggers, e-books, and restaurant websites. You’ll find everything at foodiesfeed.com.

Wikipedia and Wikimedia

Most photos on Wikipedia are available free of charge, although in many cases the author must be credited.

Free Vector Graphics Databases

Freepik

https://www.freepik.com A huge database of graphics – vectors, mockups, photos, and PSD files. Many free resources (attribution required), although the site strongly promotes its premium subscription.

unDraw

https://undraw.co/illustrations Modern, openly licensed SVG illustrations – ideal for websites and presentations. They can be used commercially without attribution.

OpenClipart

https://openclipart.org A collection of simple illustrations and icons under the CC0 license (public domain). They can be used and modified without restrictions.

SVG Repo

https://www.svgrepo.com Over 300,000 free SVG icons and vectors under a commercial license, with no attribution required.

Places to Find Free Programs

TheStartingIdea.com – List of 170 Free Graphic Design Tools A huge database of tools divided into categories: graphics, video, icons, fonts, mockups, and more.

https://thestartingidea.com/free-graphic-design-software/

FixThePhoto.com – 21 najlepszych darmowych programów graficznych A roundup of tools such as GIMP, Inkscape, Krita, Canva, Figma, Design Wizard, Easelly, and others.

https://fixthephoto.com/best-free-graphic-design-software.html

Lifewire.com – Best Free Drawing Apps An overview of apps such as Artweaver Free, Inkscape, GIMP, Autodesk Sketchbook, MediBang Paint, Pencil2D, Krita, and FireAlpaca.

https://www.lifewire.com/free-drawing-software-11729186

AlternativeTo.net

The website offers extensive comparisons of free alternatives to popular graphic design programs such as CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator. Users can filter the results by operating system, license, and features, making it easier to find the right tool.

SourceForge.net

A platform focused on open-source software, offering a wide selection of free graphics programs. Users can browse projects by category, operating system, and other criteria.

Osalt.com

A portal showcasing free and open-source alternatives to commercial graphics software. Each tool is described along with its features and a comparison with paid alternatives.

PortableApps.com

A website offering portable versions of free graphics programs that can be run without installation. Here you will find applications such as GIMP, Inkscape, Krita, and Blender in portable versions.

Tj Free

TJ Free is a website and YouTube channel dedicated to free open-source software. The author presents and reviews free tools for graphics, video editing, audio, 3D design, programming, and office work. Both the tjfree.com website and the YouTube channel offer accessible tutorials, particularly useful for beginners and free software enthusiasts.

Summary

In conclusion, in 2025, many affordable tools for creating graphics and documents are available to meet the needs of both beginners and more advanced users.

For basic image editing and document creation, Canva (in its free version) and LibreOffice Writer provide an excellent starting point. For advanced raster graphics editing, especially if professional printing is not a priority, GIMP is worth considering. For vector graphics in a similar context, Inkscape is a good choice.

If your graphic designs are intended for professional printing, Krita (for raster graphics), Scribus (for publication layout), Affinity Designer (for vector graphics with a one-time fee), and the paid Canva Pro version offer the necessary support for CMYK and bleed. For quick editing and conversion of PDF files, PDFgear and iLovePDF (available online) are noteworthy options. It is also worth remembering tools that use artificial intelligence, such as Canva, Adobe Express, and VistaCreate, which can significantly streamline the design process.

When choosing a tool, it is crucial to understand the requirements of the specific project—is the material intended to be displayed only online, or is it also intended for print? We also encourage you to experiment with different programs to find those that best suit your individual preferences and skills.

Recommended Tools Table:

Tool | Software Type | Cost | Key Features | CMYK Support | Bleed Support | Ideal for |

Canva | Graphics (online) | Free/Paid | Templates, ease of use, AI (image generation), PDF export, in Pro: CMYK, SVG | Yes (Pro) | Yes (Pro) | Beginners, social media, quick projects, small businesses |

GIMP | Raster Editor | Free | Advanced photo editing, retouching, layers, masks, filters | No | Yes (manually) | Photo processing, digital painting (without professional printing) |

Inkscape | Vector editor | Free | Vector tools, SVG, logos, illustrations, printing marks | No (indirectly) | Yes (extended) | Vector graphics (without professional printing) |

Krita | Raster editor | Free | Digital painting, animation, customizable brushes, layers | Yes | Yes (manually) | Digital painting, print projects |

Scribus | DTP Software | Free | Layout of pages, books, newspapers, brochures, export to PDF | Yes | Yes | Professional typesetting of publications for print |

Affinity Designer | Vector editor | Paid (one-time purchase) | Advanced vector tools, precision, performance | Yes | Yes | Professional vector graphics for print and the web |

LibreOffice Writer | Word processor | Free | Advanced text editing, spell checking, formatting, PDF export | No | No | Creating text documents, reports, dissertations |

PDFgear | PDF Editor | Free | Text and image editing, annotations, conversion, merging, splitting, signatures, OCR, AI features | No | No | Editing and managing PDF files, including offline use |