What are the best free alternatives to Canva?

Adobe Express prices in rupees: Free at ₹0 with 5GB of storage and access to 345,000+ templates, and Premium at ₹398.84 a month including GST with 250 generative credits and 100GB. The page also states Airtel customers can claim 12 months of Premium free until 27 January 2027.

Adobe Express pricing (India)

From adobe.com by Adobe Pricing page

Adobe Express on eChai Explore

• If you are an Airtel customer, claim the free year of Premium in the Airtel Thanks app.
• Premium adds one-click resize and brand kits, the two features small teams use most.

Affinity, the professional design, photo-editing and page-layout app now owned by Canva, is free for individuals. It is the free alternative to Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign for print and vector work.

Affinity

From affinity.studio by Affinity (Canva) Product page

Affinity on eChai Explore

• Use it for print-ready files, packaging and vector logos.
• It is a desktop app, now on iPad too, not a template tool.

Penpot is the open-source design and prototyping tool, free and fully featured in the cloud or on your own server. Unlimited is $7 an editor a month, capped at $175 a month whatever the team size.

Penpot pricing

From penpot.app by Penpot Pricing page

Penpot on eChai Explore

• The free Professional plan has no feature limits.
• You can self-host it, which keeps design files on your own servers.
• Unlimited ($7 an editor) is capped at $175 a month for a whole team.

A free photo editor in the browser with Photoshop-style professional tools. It runs locally, so your images are not uploaded.

Photopea

From photopea.com by Photopea Web app

Photopea on eChai Explore

• Use it for layered photo edits without paying for Photoshop.
• Nothing to install: it works on any laptop in the browser.

Pixlr's browser and phone photo editors. Plus is $1.99 a month billed yearly ($2.49 monthly) for ad-free use with 80 monthly AI credits; Premium is $7.99 a month billed yearly.

Pixlr pricing

From pixlr.com by Pixlr Pricing page

Pixlr on eChai Explore

• The free editor works for quick photo fixes; Plus removes ads.
• A cheap upgrade if all you need is photo editing, not design.

Zapier's tested roundup of Canva alternatives, naming Adobe Express the best overall and Pixlr the affordable pick, with what each free plan includes.

The 7 best Canva alternatives

From zapier.com by Zapier 15 min read

• Check each free plan's download limits before you build a library of designs in it.
• Adobe Express is the closest match to how Canva works.

Affinity's own two-minute explanation of why the app became free after Canva bought it, and what stays paid.

How is Affinity now free?

On youtube.com by Affinity 2 min

• The core app is free for individuals.
• Some AI features tie to a Canva paid plan.

Figma's plans: the free Starter plan with unlimited drafts and 150 AI credits a day (up to 500 a month), then Professional at $16 a month for a full seat, $12 for a Dev seat and $3 for a Collab seat.

Figma pricing

From figma.com by Figma Pricing page

Figma on eChai Explore

• Starter is free and its AI credits are enough to try Figma Make.
• Give developers a $12 Dev seat and reviewers a $3 Collab seat instead of full seats.
• Organization ($55 a full seat billed yearly) is for design teams that share libraries.