There are many programs for graphic design: some are better suited for beginners, while others are more suitable for complex and large-scale projects. Together with Daniyar Sharipov, Art Director of Logomashina design studio, we have prepared a selection of popular graphic editors for Windows, Linux and macOS, their features, pros and cons.

Vector and bitmap graphics

Some tools are suitable for working with vector graphics, others – with raster. Let’s explain what the difference is.

Raster images are made up of pixels that have a color and coordinates. These include photographs, digital drawings, or photorealistic renderings.

10 Graphic Design Software for PC

Adobe Photoshop

Price:	from 1622 rubles/month in the first year
Difficulty level:	3 out of 5

Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editor for working with raster and vector images and videos. The program is optimized for Windows and macOS, there are also versions for iPad and mobile devices.

Daniyar believes that novice designers love Photoshop because it has a Russian version and a free trial period, and there are courses and video tutorials on the Internet on how to use it.

Features of Adobe Photoshop

What can be done in Photoshop graphics editor:

• improve photo quality and color reproduction;
• create collages – fragments of different pictures glued together;
• retouch photos;
• create mockups – images that are used to show the customer the design of a product or corporate identity;
• restore old snapshots or images;
• prepare the image for printing;
• process text elements.

Pros of Adobe Photoshop

The advantages of Photoshop are support for all major file formats, a large set of tools, a library of effects and filters, and the ability to create your own. 

Cons of Adobe Photoshop

There are also disadvantages:

• firstly, Photoshop requires a lot of power from the device, otherwise it may “hang”;
• secondly, the official version of the program is quite expensive. After an annual trial period, the cost of a monthly subscription rises to 1662 rubles. per month. 

Adobe Illustrator

Price:	from 1622 rubles/month in the first year
Difficulty level:	3 out of 5

Illustrator is another Adobe program for creating vector images, but it can also work with raster graphics. With its help create illustrations, icons, layouts and logos. The program has many ready-made filters and special effects.

Features of Adobe Illustrator

• work with geometric shapes;
• converting text to curves: you can change the look of letters to make a beautiful inscription;
• work with artboards and create banners in various sizes;
• converting a raster image into a vector one;
• creating illustrations.

Pros of Adobe Illustrator

• suitable for different operating systems;
• a huge number of functions;
• popularity: any printing house works with the .ai file format. 

Cons of Adobe Illustrator 

• relatively high price; 
• the editor weighs a lot and will slow down if the device does not have enough power. For example, Windows will require 2 GB of free hard disk space and additional free space is needed during the installation process.

CorelDraw

Price:	25 thousand rubles in year
Difficulty level:	4 out of 5

CorelDraw is a program that allows you to draw in perspective, edit vector images and photos, create animations and templates for apps and websites. It can work with files created in Adobe Photoshop.

“Adobe (Photoshop and Illustrator) and CorelDRAW are similar in many ways, but the latter is more difficult for beginners. However, some printers work specifically on CorelDRAW, so understanding this program will be useful in any case.

Daniyar Sharipov,
art director of Logomashina design studio

CorelDraw functionality

The program is used:

• for photo processing;
• creating content for websites and social networks;
• object modeling;
• drawing vector images.

Pros of CorelDraw

• synchronization with cloud storage;
• work on different devices; 
• supports Cyrillic. 

Cons CorelDraw

• there are no tools for creating infographics; 
• rather complicated interface for beginners;
• high price; 
• files are not always correctly exported to other programs. 

Sketch

Price:	720 rubles/month
Difficulty level:	3 out of 5

A vector graphics editor supported only on macOS devices. It is often used to design websites and applications. In Sketch, you can work with fields of any size and with any number of layers. The interface design is minimalistic, as they like in Apple. There is a free trial period.

Sketch functionality

Sketch allows you to create and edit vector graphics using a huge library of brushes and effects. In addition, the program can:

• use simple tools – pen, pencil, insert shapes and text to create images;
• paint objects in several layers;
• create symbols – templates of layers or shapes;
• prepare images for printing.

Pros of Sketch

• you can watch a personalized design feed from the works of other designers without registration;
• simple interface.

Cons of Sketch

• no mobile version of the editor; 
• it is not compatible with Adobe editors, which are used by most designers and printers;
• relatively short period of free use – 30 days. 

Artweaver

Price:	2900 rub./month
Difficulty level:	3 out of 5

Raster graphics editor optimized for Windows. The interface is similar to that of Adobe Photoshop. There is a free plan with limited functionality, which is well suited for novice designers.

Artweaver functionality

The set of functions is the same as in Photoshop:

• image editing;
• creating gradients;
• creating filters for editing images.

Pros of Artweaver

• support for many image formats; 
• a large library of brushes with the ability to change them; 
• there is a free version.

Cons

• outdated interface; 
• support for only one operating system; 
• slow free version and inability to use it in commercial projects;
• functionality for a large design project is not enough, adds Daniyar. 

Krita

Price:	is free
Difficulty level:	4 out of 5

Raster graphics editor open source. It can be installed on a device on any operating system. Krita has a large number of brushes and a brush editor, so it’s great for painting.

Krita functionality

In the editor , a graphic designer can create bitmap illustrations and logos, as well as frame-by-frame animation.

Benefits of Crita

• it is a free editor; 
• huge library of brushes, you can use brushes created by other users; 
• supports many file formats and works with HDR technology. 

Cons

• no image retouching tools; 
• weak tools for working with text. 

Affinity Designer

Price:	4990 rubles, indefinitely
Difficulty level:	4 out of 5

Editor for working with vector and raster images. The developers of Affinity Designer call the program the fastest, most convenient and accurate software for vector graphic design. The editor works on Windows, macOS, iOS, there is a version for iPad.

Affinity Designer functionality

Here’s what you can do in Affinity Designer: 

• customize vector brushes;
• customize your own layout grids; 
• work with both raster and vector images;
• design dynamic symbols and isometric graphics for video games.

Pros of Affinity Designer

• supports automatic cloud synchronization, it is possible to create your own hotkey combinations. 
• works with documents of any complexity;
• weighs less, thanks to which it functions normally even on devices of average power;
• paid once – no need to renew the subscription every year. 

Cons of Affinity Designer

• there is no way to export an image with all layers in any of the vector formats;
• some familiar features that Adobe editors have, such as an eraser, are missing. 

PhotoScape

Price:	is free
Difficulty level:	2 out of 5

Free program for editing and formatting images. Suitable for Windows and macOS. Photoscape has a large number of photo editing tools. Suitable for beginners, as the interface is very simple and clear.

Functionality Photoscape

In Photoscape you can:

• process photos (including batch processing);
• create collages;
• create animations;
• quickly convert files from RAW to JPG format.

Pros of Photoscape

• free editor;
• does not take up much space on the hard drive; 
• the entire interface is in Russian, so it will be easy for a beginner to master it.

Cons of Photoscape

One of the main disadvantages is that there are ads in the editor. It also cannot work with multiple files at the same time.

Inkscape

Price:	is free
Difficulty level:	3 out of 5

Professional vector graphics editor for Linux, Windows and macOS devices. The tool is free and open source. The files are created in SVG format.

Functionality of Inkscape

The functionality is the same as in previous programs:

• changing the shape and color of pictures and text;
• formatting a raster image into a vector one;
• work with drawing tools (ellipse, star, spiral or gradient);
• joint design.

Pros of Inkscape

• free access; 
• rendering: you can draw static elements into 3D objects; 
• the tool is used in films, commercials, video games, or to create 3D architectural visualizations. 

Cons _

• relatively slow work; 
• there are errors in exporting files.

GIMP 

Price:	is free
Difficulty level:	3 out of 5

Free raster graphics editor that you can customize. Partially supports vector graphics. It can create logos, scale and crop photos, retouch images and convert them to different formats.

GIMP functionality

With this application, you can quickly perform simple tasks: crop images, remove red eyes, crop illustrations and add text to them.

Pros of GIMP

• a large selection of tools for image processing;
• here you can open PSD and PDF formats, which are most often used by customers or other designers. 

Cons of GIMP

• there is no way to adjust each layer of the image separately and apply effects to it; 
• does not support the CMYK color format, which limits the printing capabilities.

Graphic Design Online Programs

Figma

Price:	900 rubles / month, but there is also free access
Difficulty level:	2 out of 5

A simple and free online graphics editor suitable for vector graphics rendering, web design, mobile app prototyping, logo design.

FIGMA functionality

The program is mainly used for web design, but there are functions that are suitable for working with graphic images:

• adjustment of color saturation, brightness, contrast;
• use of Google Fonts;
• organizing design objects using a modular grid;
• drawing vector shapes.

Pros of Figma

• clear modern interface; 
• automatic saving to the cloud and the ability to easily return to previous versions;
• sharing.

Cons 

• poor elaboration of the text editor; 
• cannot work offline;
• You can’t customize hotkeys. 

Render Forest Graphic Maker

Price:	from 425 rubles/month, but there is also a free version
Difficulty level:	2 out of 5

Online service for graphic designers with cloud storage and free version.

Functionality of Renderforest Graphic Maker

The main functions of the service:

• creating and editing images; 
• work with fonts and animation; 
• creating presentations and intros for videos; 
• it is possible to put music on animation and video. 

Pros of Renderforest Graphic Maker

• wide functionality (creation of animations and video sequences, development of logos and prototyping of sites and applications); 
• very simple and intuitive interface; 
• a large number of templates with the ability to sort them by topic. 

Cons of Renderforest Graphic Maker 

• insufficient amount of memory;
• restrictions on the video import format in free mode; 
• The free version still has watermarks on the files. 

Pixlr

Price:	free, but there are paid versions from $4.99/mo.
Difficulty level:	2 out of 5

It is a set of cloud-based image editing tools that includes several photo editors and a photo sharing service.

Pixlr functionality

Like other raster editors, in Pixlr you can:

• retouch photos;
• change the saturation and temperature of the photo;
• work with highlights and shadows;
• create collages from photos;
• apply filters or special effects.

Pros of Pixlr

• a large number of possibilities for processing photos;
• created objects can be published on social networks directly from the program.

Cons _

Of the minuses, the lack of a Russian version of the menu is distinguished. 

Canva

Price:	free, but there is a Pro version for 325 rubles / month.
Difficulty level:	1 of 5

Cross-platform service for graphic design. The editor gives you access to a large number of design templates, illustrations, fonts and stock photos.

Canva features

Basic functionality is the same as in other online editors. But Canva has a lot of ready-made file templates:

• presentations;
• postcards;
• business cards;
• posts for social networks;
• video;
• logos; 
• posters;
• infographics, etc.

Pros of Canva

• Canva is loved for a large number of templates – posters, presentations, booklets, gift certificates are created here. Most of them are free and follow modern design trends; 
• you can work in the service on different devices.

Cons of Canva 

• not all fonts are adapted to Cyrillic; 
• in the free version of the program, you cannot resize the image.