If you are stuck on a budget and cannot get paid versions of Adobe applications for graphic design, or you just want to try alternative software and see what they offer, the market offers both easy-to-use and free alternatives that you can use for your daily tasks.
A quick disclaimer, however, is that you do not have to know how to use all of them, only those that work for you. I have used some of the alternatives, but not all of them.
In this video, I will only cover Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. This will cover different functionalities that I use regularly, like photography, painting, photo editing, vector design, drawing, and publishing.
- Photoshop Alternatives For Photography and Photo Editing: GIMP, Sumo Paint, Affinity Photo, Photoline, Pjotopea, Paint.NET, Pixelmator Pro, Paintshop Pro, Pixlr, and Photodemon.
- Adobe Illustrator Alternatives: Inkscape, Boxy SVG, Gravit Designer, Corel Draw, Affinity Designer, Linear Curve, XARA Designer, Vector Trace.
- Adobe InDesign Alternatives: Affinity Publisher, Scribus, Quark Express.
Photoshop Alternatives: Photography, Painting, and Photo Editing
Adobe Photoshop is a perfect go-to software for photo editors, digital artists, photographers, and graphic designers. It is an industry standard with powerful features. Despite this, many professionals and new users are considering alternatives like Affinity Photo because of the new expensive Adobe Subscription option.
Affinity Photo is the top alternative for Photoshop. It has very similar features and capabilities to Photoshop and allows you many customizations, like adding brushes, advanced retouching tools, and plugins. The interface makes it easy for Photoshop users to start on it due to the interface similarity.
You can get Affinity Photo as a one-time purchase from their site with regular 50% off discounts. If you are tired of Adobe Subscriptions, this one-off purchase is a good option. Like Photoshop, it is perfect for graphic design and photo editing.
If you are looking for a free online option that you can use in the cloud, check out PhotoPea. It seems like a Photoshop Lite version with a similar layout and functionality. It is also compatible with Photoshop’s PSD files, so you can edit your PSDs without having to download them.
For digital artists, GIMP is an open-source option that you can use instead of Photoshop. Like Photoshop, it is free and mimics many Photoshop features. However, it has a different interface that may be difficult to get used to. It is also slow when using a MAC system.
Adobe Illustrator Alternatives
Adobe Illustrator is one of the best and most popular vector-based graphic design software. Its top competitors include CorelDraw, Affinity Designer, and Inkscape. Check out Illustrator vs. Corel Comparison.
Affinity Designer is a versatile software for drawing and vector design. Its workspace navigation from pixel to vector workspaces makes it perfect while at the same time offering rasterization and vector tools.
Its features allow it to create vector illustrations and edits similar to Adobe Illustrator. It comes from the same company as Affinity Photo, so you will have to pay for it to start using it. However, it also has no subscriptions or renewal fees, unlike Adobe.
Inkscape is free open-source vector-based software. This means that it comes with shape tools and drawing tools just like Adobe Illustrator.
It is straightforward to understand, especially for beginner artists without background graphic design training. Many beginners prefer Inkscape due to the many free tutorials available, allowing a quick and easy start.
Adobe InDesign Alternatives
Adobe InDesign is the industry standard software for publishing. You can use it to create magazines, brochures, and books. Like other Adobe applications, it is bought at a recurrent subscription fee that can be expensive. Many new publishers prefer one-off or free publishing alternatives.
Affinity Publisher comes from the same company as Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo. It is one of the best InDesign alternatives out there, with many layouts, grids, paragraphs, and typography controls.
You can use it for publishing, print design, magazines, and book layouts. Just like Adobe InDesign pairs with Adobe Suite software, you will be able to pair Affinity Publisher seamlessly with Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo or Affinity Suite.
Their main advantage is their reliability and one-off payment without regular fees and subscriptions.
If you are looking for free publishing software, Scribus is an open-source alternative with page layout tools. This makes it popular among book, pamphlet, and magazine design students. It is not as powerful as Indesign but is good considering it is free. It has many essential tools available for layout in InDesign.
Digital Painting Alternatives
Many Adobe applications can be used for painting. Equally, many options exist as alternatives. We covered most of them in the last post about Android Drawing Applications. In my research, I find Clip Studio Paint to be my favorite. You can get it on a one-off payment with regular free updates. It is perfect to use on many different platforms without issues.
If you use iPads, Procreate is the best professional option. Unfortunately, there is no Android option and it can only be used with iPads. If you want a free open-source option, we recommend Krita. It has many brush varieties and user-friendly animation features.
In the next video, we will check out Premier Pro and After Effects. Alternatives for video editing, animation, and PDF.
Conclusion
Adobe still dominates a large share of the market. However, many options have come up with similar functionalities without Adobe’s high fees or subscription.
Affinity Suite is the most professional alternative but is not free. It has Affinity Publisher, Photo, and Designer. They work together seamlessly, just like you would on Adobe Suite.
For every professional application, there are some free open-source or online applications that you can use for free. Inkscape, GIMP, and PhotoPea are good examples that you can use.
Free and Paid Alternatives to Adobe Applications
Photoshop Alternatives for Photography and Photo Editing
| Application | Type |
|---|---|
| GIMP | Free / Open Source |
| Sumo Paint | Free (with paid features) |
| Affinity Photo | Paid |
| Photoline | Paid |
| Pjotopea | Free (with paid features) |
| Paint.NET | Free / Open Source |
| Pixelmator Pro | Paid |
| Paintshop Pro | Paid |
| Pixlr | Free (with paid features) |
| Photodemon | Free / Open Source |
Adobe Illustrator Alternatives
| Application | Type |
|---|---|
| Inkscape | Free / Open Source |
| Boxy SVG | Free (with paid features) |
| Gravit Designer | Free (with paid features) |
| Corel Draw | Paid |
| Affinity Designer | Paid |
| Linear Curve | Free (with paid features) |
| XARA Designer | Paid |
| Vector Trace | Free |
Adobe InDesign Alternatives
| Application | Type |
|---|---|
| Affinity Publisher | Paid |
| Scribus | Free / Open Source |
| Quark Express | Paid |
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Adobe alternatives easier to learn?
Yes, some Adobe alternatives like Affinity Photo or Figma are easy to learn. This is due to their simple interfaces. Others, like Inkscape, have many tutorials available for free online. However, some, like GIMP, have complex interfaces that you cannot easily follow.
Are there free Adobe alternatives available?
Yes, many free Adobe alternatives are depending on the function you want to perform. Examples include GIMP, Inkscape, Scribus, and PhotoPea.