10 Online Design Software Your Business May Be Needing Right Now

In today’s digital-first business landscape, your online presence is more crucial than ever. Consumers are forming impressions about your brand even before they see your wares in person. Fortunately, the rise of online design software lets businesses, especially those on tight budgets, craft professional-quality graphic design. Here’s our list of the 10 best online design apps to help you decide.

Table of Contents:

• Penji: The On-Demand Design Service
• Canva: The Best in DIY Designs
• Corel Vector (formerly Gravit Designer): The Vector Powerhouse
• Pixlr: The Browser-Based Photoshop Alternative
• Vectr: The Free Vector Design Simplifier
• Figma: The Collaborative Design Game-Changer
• Adobe Express (formerly Adobe Spark): The Speed-Designer’s Best Friend
• Stencil: The Social Media Design Specialist
• VistaCreate: The Animation-Ready Design Suite
• Fotor: The Photo Enhancement Expert

1. Penji: The On-Demand Design Service

Imagine having a team of professional designers on standby, waiting for you to send your requests. This is what you’ll get with Penji, the best on-demand graphic design service. It offers unlimited service, which means you’ll get as many designs as you can in a month for a fixed monthly rate. 

In addition, you’ll also be getting unlimited revisions, meaning you can ask our designers to revise your design as many times as you need to. This assures you that we won’t stop until you get the design you’re happy with.

Pros:

• 24-48 hour turnaround time
• Ideal for businesses needing consistent, high-quality work
• Professional designers handle everything—no learning curve

Cons:

• Not DIY; not ideal for hands-on creators
• May not be suitable for those with few design needs

2. Canva: The Best in DIY Designs

If you enjoy DIYing your own visual assets and have the time to do so, there’s Canva. This design platform has become the go-to of many small businesses and startups trying to save on their design assets. Its intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it ideal for those with little to no design knowledge and experience.

It has thousands of templates that let you craft anything from logos to social media posts easily and quickly. It also has affordable plans should you want to use its premium design assets. Its Brand Kit integration can help you keep your visual identity consistent across all designs. Best of all, it’s free.

Pros:

• User-friendly and great for non-designers
• Extensive library of templates, icons, and stock assets
• Free plan available with solid functionality

Cons:

• Designs can feel generic without customization
• Limited design flexibility for advanced users

3. Corel Vector (formerly Gravit Designer): The Vector Powerhouse

If you’re looking to craft professional-grade vector designs without breaking the bank, Corel Vector (formerly Gravit Designer) is your best bet. It is a cross-platform tool that provides sophisticated vector illustration features to your browser. This means you can create logos, icons, and other marketing materials that you can scale without losing quality.

Corel Vector offers features such as Boolean operations, precision tools, and advanced pat editing in cloud storage for your projects. Its desktop app allows you to work both online and offline.

Pros:

• Vector-based design in a browser—perfect for logos and UI
• Cross-platform with desktop and cloud sync
• Affordable compared to Adobe Illustrator

Cons:

• Learning curve for beginners
• Some advanced features locked behind Pro plan

4. Pixlr: The Browser-Based Photoshop Alternative

Photographs are essential for your brand’s blogs, websites, and product packaging. Pixlr offers professional-quality editing capabilities. Its comprehensive suite of tools lets you edit your images directly from your browser, smartphone, or desktop. Best of all, it’s free to use.

Moreover, Pixlr has an AI image generator that can help you craft unique images for all your visual design needs. Its other features include an AI face swap, photo collage maker, AI background remover, and a multitude of design templates.

Pros:

• Lightweight photo editor with AI tools
• No account needed for quick edits
• Works well on low-powered devices

Cons:

• Limited features compared to Photoshop
• Ad-heavy unless you go Premium

5. Vectr: The Free Vector Design Simplifier

Another free-for-ever online design software you should know about and explore is Vectr. It offers a no-frills approach to creating scalable graphics, making it suitable for businesses without their own design team. You can now craft stunning vector graphics effortlessly in minutes.

Additionally, Vectr uses the power of AI to remove backgrounds, convert PNG to SVG, AI to PNG, JPG to vector icons, image to vector, and raster to vector with its user-friendly vector converter. It also offers an AI face swap, sticker generator, premium image generator, and many other functionalities. 

Pros:

• Simple vector design tool for basic illustrations
• Real-time collaboration feature
• Free and runs in-browser

Cons:

• Lacks advanced design capabilities
• Occasional bugs or performance lag

6. Figma: The Collaborative Design Game-Changer

If you’re a business with a team of designers and marketers who need to collaborate, Figma is an excellent solution. It has revolutionized how teams craft and iterate on designs together. It operates solely on the cloud, allowing your team members to simultaneously work in a single file anywhere globally.

What makes Figma stand out are its powerful UI/UX design capabilities and prototyping features. Your team can quickly move from wireframes to interactive prototypes while gathering feedback and editing in one place. It has a generous free plan but robust features for its premium plans, which are ideal for growing teams.

Pros:

• Powerful for UI/UX and collaborative design
• Cloud-based with real-time editing
• Widely used by professional teams and startups

Cons:

• Not beginner-friendly
• Can be overkill for simple graphics or marketing materials

7. Adobe Express (formerly Adobe Spark): The Speed-Designer’s Best Friend

An exceptional online design software, Adobe Express (previously known as Adobe Spark) lets you create designs quickly and efficiently. It features an intuitive interface, drag-and-drop functionality, and a vast library of customizable templates. With it, you can design professional-grade visual assets even without extensive design experience.

Also, Adobe Express offers robust customization options that allow you to easily adjust colors, fonts, and layouts to maintain your brand’s consistency. Additionally, it integrates with other Adobe products, making it a big plus for those already using Adobe’s software suite.

Pros:

• Drag-and-drop ease with Adobe quality templates
• Seamless integration with Adobe ecosystem
• Great for quick branded content

Cons:

• Limited compared to Adobe Creative Suite
• Some assets and features require a subscription

8. Stencil: The Social Media Design Specialist

If you’re focusing on your social media strategies, Stencil is the online design tool you need to level up your game. It is designed specifically for social media, with its array of pre-sized templates customized for various platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and X. It is also home to a massive collection of stock photos, ideal for creating stunning content.

Moreover, Stencil has a user-friendly interface and quick editing tools that let you create and customize graphics in minutes. In addition, it integrates directly with Buffer, allowing for easy scheduling and publishing of your designs from Stencil to all your social media channels.

Pros:

• Fast, lightweight tool for social media graphics
• Huge stock photo and icon library
• Browser extension for on-the-fly design

Cons:

• Limited layout control compared to Canva
• Not suitable for print or complex projects

9. VistaCreate: The Animation-Ready Design Suite

In today’s super competitive business landscape, standing out should be a priority. To do this, you must create dynamic and engaging visual content. This is where VistaCreate is the best online design software for you. It offers animated design capabilities, allowing you to add motion to your designs, perfect for captivating and grabbing your audience’s attention.

Furthermore, VistaCreate has an extensive template collection that you can use to jumpstart your design creation. Its tools are optimized for social media with pre-sized templates and easy-to-use features to help you create tailored content.

Pros:

• Canva-like interface with animated templates
• Good selection of free assets
• Ideal for social media and small ads

Cons:

• Interface can feel clunky
• Limited customization on some templates

10. Fotor: The Photo Enhancement Expert

Another online design tool for editing photos, Fotor, makes it easy for anyone to achieve professional-grade results. Its advanced tools are user-friendly yet powerful, allowing you to adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation. It also lets you do complex edits such as background removal, blemish correction, etc.

Fotor’s HDR (High Dynamic Range) feature lets you merge multiple photos to create beautiful images with depth and detail. It also offers templates that you can customize for various uses. In addition, it has an AI image generator, collage maker, AI face generator, and many other features.

Pros:

• All-in-one photo editing and collage tool
• AI-powered design and editing features
• Great for quick marketing visuals

Cons:

• Some tools hidden behind paywall
• Not suitable for detailed or vector-based design

Final Thoughts

Enhancing your business’s online presence relies heavily on choosing the right online design software. This list can help you choose, but to make everything easier and more affordable, Penji is the right choice. It is your best bet for unlimited graphic design service.

Watch our demo video here to learn more about us, or click on this link to get started.