It’s no secret that graphic designers have diverse needs based on the type of designs they create for their specific industries. But not all graphic design software available on the market can cater to these unique needs. Or worst—some of these solutions can come at a steep price.
If you are a graphic designer looking to customize design tools with features, plugins, and add-ons for detailed edits, speedier execution, or maximum adaptability, open source graphic design software is for you. Customization lets you solve design challenges specific to your projects and your team’s needs.
In this article, we highlight three top-rated open source graphic design software products for small businesses, in alphabetical order, based on verified software reviews. Read more.
During evaluation, we categorized these products into: vector image-based, which creates images using geometric shapes and can be edited without reducing the quality; and raster image-based, which creates images using color pixels.
What is open source software?
Open source software (OSS) is software with a publicly distributed source code, released under a specific license, often free of charge. IT application/software programmers use the source code to create a particular software solution, modify it, or enhance its functionality.
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1. Figma
Figma is a vector image based tool that allows you to brainstorm ideas or design prototypes with your team, even when working remotely. Multiple designers can work on the same template simultaneously and all the changes are automatically saved, reducing errors and rework. You can add comments on specific parts of a design, making it easier for other team members to identify and edit.
Figma has open source libraries and offers open source code for free so that you can customize the software as per your business needs.
Product features of interestCentralized design system: Store and manage all your designs and share them with the team members via link or email. The shared files can be accessed by team members on the web or mobile devices.
Version history: Automatically save the edits in a design as multiple users work on it. You can also revert back to any of the saved versions at any time if needed.
Design library: Create and share design libraries with commonly used icons, buttons, typography, and other design elements by other team members.
Open source license: Figma offers downloadable software development kits (SDKs) with an MIT license.
Open source technical support options (Free): Knowledge hub and chat.
Who should consider Figma?
With its collaboration abilities, Figma helps remote design teams align early on ideas and stay updated as the project progresses. However, if you are looking at bringing life to vector images then you can use Figma to create interactive designs and prototypes.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
Device compatibility
/ Pro Tip
Check the community forums and support available when selecting an open source graphic designing software to ensure that all updates and bug fixes happen on time. Some of the benchmarks to look for include the community size, frequency of updates, and how the code changes over time.
2. GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) raster image-based tool lets you level up your designs with image manipulation capabilities. Use clone, retouch, resize, or remove unwanted elements to alter an existing image. With the tool’s layer-based editing system, you can convert an existing image into multiple layers and make changes to specific elements without affecting the rest of the image. Moreover, you can select a specific object or part of an image and apply visual effects to that selection only.
GIMP has open source libraries and offers source code for free that you can customize in multiple programming languages.
Product features of interestCustomizable interface: Change the color theme, icon style, and widget size of the tool’s user interface as per choice.
Digital retouching: Adjust the colors, merge backgrounds, or make other minute changes to the image using the healing tool, clone stamp tool, or patch tool.
Animation: Animate specific objects or the entire image using the animation tool. You can also adjust the playback time and number of frames per second based on the design requirements.
Open source license: GIMP has a downloadable repository of open SDKs with a GPL license.
Open source technical support options (Free): FAQs, community, and email.
Who should consider GIMP?
If you are a graphic designer but also interested in advanced photo editing or digital painting then GIMP can be a suitable option. You can use image rendering, shadowing, texture, animation, and other advanced image editing tools to transform basic images into dynamic works of art.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
3. Inkscape
Inkscape vector image based tool focuses on creating unique technical illustrations. These include cartoons, diagrams, flowcharts, typography, and logos. You can create objects using a pen tool, add shapes or text, clone objects, and embed bitmaps. The vector image graphics in Inkscape supports SVG (scalable vector graphics) format, which is an open standard and widely supported on the web. You can use a text editor to create and edit any SVG image. They can also be searched, indexed, and compressed.
Product features of interestEmbedded bitmaps: Insert bitmap (raster graphic built using a box of colors on a grid) into a vector image by importing them from your device. You can also manipulate bitmaps and apply filters before embedding.
Object manipulation: Move, resize, rotate, skew, or flip objects or the entire image using handles and sliders. You can also align and distribute objects along a common axis or group objects to manipulate them as a single unit.
Boolean operations: Use keywords, such as ‘Union’ to combine shapes, ‘Intersect’ to create overlapped shapes, ‘Difference’ to separate to eliminate shapes, and ‘Exclusion’ to create a new shape.
Open source license: Inkscape offers a GPL license to modify the tool’s source code.
Open source technical support options (Free): How-to-videos, tutorials, community, and FAQs.
Who should consider Inkscape?
Graphic designers looking for a versatile vector image editing tool can benefit from Inkscape. You can experiment with flexible drawing tools, manipulation techniques, and multiple file formats to create distinctive designs.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Device compatibility
/ Pro tip
Evaluate the designing abilities of the graphic design tool for your business and determine which of these can be customized using the open source code. In some cases, open source software vendors allow limited changes to the software for free and the rest vary for different subscription plans based on the price paid. An ideal open source design tool should let you customize all major features that are required by your design team.
What is the cost to upgrade from free open source graphic design software to paid one?
If you wish to customize graphic design software, you can use the existing source code to develop a tool with features specific to your business needs. However, if you want to leverage the features offered by the vendor, you always have the option to switch to a paid version of the tool.
Most open source graphic design solutions offer their source code at no cost, making it effectively free. However, in some cases, the software upgrade ranges between $12 to $75 per user, per month, depending on various factors—features, plugins, templates, and customization. Open source graphic design software may include the following subscription plans based on the features:
Free trial: No-cost trial plans ranging from 7 to 30 days, giving users access to limited open source codes of the software or customization.
Free version: Free software open to modify all the tool features and ideal for small businesses or individuals with a limited budget.
Entry-level: Starter plan with access to complete open source codes and basic features such as APIs, live embeds, and third-party integrations.
Mid-tier: Mid-range open source graphic design software offer webhooks, plugins, and password protection along with entry-level features.
High-end: Such plans come with advanced access controls, workspace administration, onboarding planning, and support along with entry and mid-level features.
Hidden costs associated with open source graphic design software
Though there is no upfront cost for open source graphic design tools, you may have to incur costs associated with the tool's development and long-term maintenance. This can include fees of the software developer. Moreover, the developer will also require additional software to work on the code, and this will increase the cost you’ll have to incur.
Frequently asked questions when selecting open source graphic design software
Is the software customizable through plugins and add-ons?
Most open source software can be customized using plugins and add-ons, which add new features and functionality to the existing lot. However, the level of customization varies for different software solutions. It is always a good idea to look for available plugins and research opportunities to create new ones depending on the business needs.
What is the frequency of software updates and bug fixes?
The frequency of updates and bug fixes solely depends on how active the community is in exploring and developing new features. Some software solutions may have more frequent updates than the rest. When looking for open source software, exploring and interacting with the community is advisable. You can also check the existing and ongoing developments by community members. Additionally, look for a bug-tracking system or forums to ensure that they are timely addressed and fixed.
Who should consider adopting open source software?
Open source software solutions are beneficial for businesses running on a budget but require quality technological support. If your business has a strong software development team, adopting open source software can benefit you the most. You can modify the code and make its functionalities fit your business needs. Having an in-house software developer will also take care of the tool’s maintenance and bug fixes so that you do not have to rely on the community.