The 5 best free online graphic design platforms to create social media designs in 2022
By brand_dotc7
Social media posts have a very short lifecycle, so you don’t like or want to spend hours creating them. That is the reaon why graphic design apps are crucial: instead of starting from “zero” each time, you’ll have a range of great free graphics templates, mockups and designing tools (like stock images, icons, shapes, and text styles) ready to go. Then, all you have to do is mix and match things with your own brand colours and log to have something unique and powerful.
Design can be art. Design can be simple. That’s why it’s so complicated.
1. Canva (Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows)
Canva is a powerful, but still simple-to-use, template-based free design app. There are hundreds of thousands of templates, graphics, and photos you can use as part of the free plan (that goes up to millions of assets with a Canva Pro subscription).
2. Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Adobe Spark) (Web, iOS, Android)
Adobe is the biggest name in graphic design, so it’s no surprise they have an app designed for making social media and web graphics. Adobe Creative Cloud Express (which was on this list last year as Adobe Spark; it’s since been rebranded and updated) isn’t as well known as Photoshop or Illustrator, but it’s better for most people who are looking to create graphics to share on social media. And it’s free to get started.
3. Pablo by Buffer (Web)
Pablo is a minimalist tool for placing text over the top of images, from the team behind the social media scheduling app Buffer. It couldn’t be simpler to use or in its design. For me, that’s a feature—but if you need something with more options, check out one of the other great apps on this list.
4. Desygner (Web, iOS, Android)
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Desygner has some of the most advanced features of any of the apps we tested—while still being simple to use. If you don’t want to go the template route (although it does have thousands of great templates to work from), additional features like a free-drawing pen tool and the ability to import from PDF, PSD, and SVG files give you a lot more creative freedom.
5. Snappa (Web)
Of all the apps on this list, Snappa is the only one whose free plan has access to the exact same templates, graphics, images, and other design resources as the paid plan. The catch is that, instead of having to carefully check what template you’re using, you can only download three designs a month.
Canva is a powerful, but still simple-to-use, template-based free design app. There are hundreds of thousands of templates, graphics, and photos you can use as part of the free plan (that goes up to millions of assets with a Canva Pro subscription).
2. Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Adobe Spark) (Web, iOS, Android)
Adobe is the biggest name in graphic design, so it’s no surprise they have an app designed for making social media and web graphics. Adobe Creative Cloud Express (which was on this list last year as Adobe Spark; it’s since been rebranded and updated) isn’t as well known as Photoshop or Illustrator, but it’s better for most people who are looking to create graphics to share on social media. And it’s free to get started.
3. Pablo by Buffer (Web)
Pablo is a minimalist tool for placing text over the top of images, from the team behind the social media scheduling app Buffer. It couldn’t be simpler to use or in its design. For me, that’s a feature—but if you need something with more options, check out one of the other great apps on this list.
4. Desygner (Web, iOS, Android)
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Desygner has some of the most advanced features of any of the apps we tested—while still being simple to use. If you don’t want to go the template route (although it does have thousands of great templates to work from), additional features like a free-drawing pen tool and the ability to import from PDF, PSD, and SVG files give you a lot more creative freedom.
5. Snappa (Web)
Of all the apps on this list, Snappa is the only one whose free plan has access to the exact same templates, graphics, images, and other design resources as the paid plan. The catch is that, instead of having to carefully check what template you’re using, you can only download three designs a month.