Updated 13 Nov 2026 · prices read on vendor pages

11 best Microsoft Designer alternatives in 2027

Reviewed by Mehmet Elmicenni, founder of Zekai•Prices checked 13 Nov 2026•How we check

The short answer

The best Microsoft Designer alternatives in 2027 are Canva (best overall), Adobe Express (best free plan: Free daily generations, 5GB storage) and Penpot (best open source, MPL-2.0). Microsoft Designer itself starts at $9.99/mo. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 13 Nov 2026; 8 more are compared below, including 4 with a free plan and 4 open source.

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Best overallSee in table →

Canva

Free plan; paid price not published · free plan

9.4

Best free planSee in table →

Adobe Express

$9.99/mo · free plan

6.6

Best open sourceSee in table →

Penpot

Free to self-host · MPL-2.0

8.6

11alternatives compared

6with a free plan

5open source

$2.49/mocheapest paid · Pixlr

$9.99/moMicrosoft Designer starts at

01 · Zekai Price Ledger

Which Microsoft Designer alternatives are worth it in 2027?

Canva, Adobe Express, Visme, Picsart, Pixlr and Kittl are the closest paid alternatives to Microsoft Designer in 2027. Designer itself is free with monthly credits and gets extra credits through Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium. Penpot and Open Design cover open-source needs.

Zekai Cost Finder · team1 person

Tool	Type	Starting price	Free plan limit	Best for	Cost for your team	Checked
Microsoft DesignerThe tool you are replacing	You are here	$9.99/moMicrosoft 365 Personal, billed monthly (first-month $6.99 is a promo); Family $12.99/mo, Premium $19.99/mo; yearly prices not shown by the page toggle	Free monthly AI credits; amount not stated	Quick AI images, cards and invitations	—	13 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Canva Zekai score 9.4Best overall	Free	Free plan; paid price not published		Templates for every design format	$0	14 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Adobe Express Zekai score 6.6Best free plan	Free plan + paid	$9.99/moPremium, billed monthly with no annual commitment; yearly price not listed for Premium	Free daily generations, 5GB storage, 345,000+ templates	Adobe Fonts and Stock assets	—	13 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Visme Zekai score 7.0	Free plan + paid	$12.25/user/mo billed yearlyStarter, $147/yr billed yearly; Business $24.75/user/mo billed yearly; monthly-billed price not read	Unlimited projects, 500MB storage, 50 slides or pages per project	Infographics, reports and data visuals	—	13 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Picsart Zekai score 8.2	Free plan + paid	$10.50/mo billed yearlyPro, billed yearly ($15/mo billed monthly); Ultra $60/mo yearly or $75 monthly		Photo editing with many AI models	—	13 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Pixlr Zekai score 7.0Cheapest paid	Free plan + paid	$2.49/moPlus, 80 AI credits a month; price as displayed by the page's default toggle, other billing period not read; Premium $9.99 with 1,000 credits		Cheapest paid AI photo editor	—	13 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Kittl Zekai score 8.6	Free plan + paid	$12/editor/mo billed yearlyPro, billed yearly; Expert $26 and Max $48 per editor billed yearly; monthly-billed price not stated	Personal use only, no commercial rights, light Pro preview limits	Logos, typography and vector exports	—	13 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Penpot Zekai score 8.6Best open source	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (MPL-2.0)	Open-source UI design and prototyping	$0	14 Nov 2026	Code ↗
Open Design Zekai score 7.8	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (Apache-2.0)	Local AI design agent workspace	$0	14 Nov 2026	Code ↗
Graphite Zekai score 8.2	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (MIT OR Apache-2.0 (dual licence))	Free vector and raster graphics in a browser	$0	13 Nov 2026	Code ↗
Inkscape Zekai score 6.8	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (GPL-3.0-or-later)	Desktop vector drawing for cards and invitations	$0	13 Nov 2026	Code ↗
GIMP Zekai score 7.8	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (GPL-3.0)	Free desktop photo editing and compositing	$0	13 Nov 2026	Code ↗

Every price was read on the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. The Cost Finder assumes one entry plan per person, so it multiplies by your team size; yearly prices are shown per month, and team or business plans can cost more per seat. "Not checked" means we could not confirm a public price.

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02 · Free plan

Is there a free version of Microsoft Designer?

Yes. Microsoft Designer has a free tier with monthly AI credits to create images, stickers, cards, collages and invitations, plus background removal, cropping and resizing. The page does not state the credit amount. Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month adds higher usage.

Source: Microsoft Designer pricing page, read 13 Nov 2026.

Free$0

Free monthly AI credits; amount not stated

Paid from$9.99/mo

Microsoft 365 Personal, billed monthly (first-month $6.99 is a promo); Family $12.99/mo, Premium $19.99/mo; yearly prices not shown by the page toggle

03 · Free alternatives

What are the best free Microsoft Designer alternatives?

Adobe Express has the most clearly stated free plan here: free daily generations, 5GB storage and 345,000+ templates. Visme Basic gives unlimited projects at 500MB storage. Kittl's free plan is personal-use only. Designer is free too, but its monthly credit amount is not stated on its page.