6 Best Microsoft Designer Alternatives in 2026 (Free & Paid)
Microsoft Designer is free AI design and image app from Microsoft, built into Microsoft 365 and Copilot, priced at free plan, paid from $9.99/mo. If it is too expensive, missing a feature or simply not for you, these are the strongest alternatives we have reviewed.
1
Online design platform with templates, brand kits and built-in Canva AI tools
8.8/10
What it is Canva is an Australian online design platform with a drag-and-drop editor, millions of templates and stock assets, and a growing set of Canva AI tools. It covers social posts, presentations, video, print, documents, websites and ads, and it owns Affinity and Leonardo.Ai. It runs on the web, desktop and mobile, and Canva Offline is a new option.… Read more →
Pros
- Huge template and stock library for almost any format
- Brand Kits, approvals and team collaboration
- Canva AI 2.0 with Veo-powered video clips and Magic Studio tools
- Generous free plan and apps on every platform
Cons
- AI use is capped by a pooled allowance; Ultra AI limited to about 20-40 uses
- No choice of AI model and little model transparency
- Designs can look template-generic
- Affiliate programme closed to new applicants
Pricing: Free plan, paid from $12/mo · design templates social-media brand-kit presentations
2
AI product photo editor for sellers: background removal, staging, virtual models and batch
8.0/10
What it is Photoroom is a Paris-based AI photo editor built for e-commerce. It removes backgrounds, stages products in AI-generated scenes, puts garments on AI fashion models and batch-processes whole catalogs. It runs in the browser and on iPhone, iPad and Android, and it offers an enterprise API that the company says handles over 3 million images a day. Key… Read more →
Pros
- Purpose-built product photo tools (staging, fashion models, ghost mannequin)
- Batch editing and Shopify sync for whole catalogs
- Mobile apps plus enterprise API and MCP
- Big discount on yearly billing
Cons
- Monthly export caps (1,000 on Pro) on top of AI credits
- Video Generator and 4K only on the $99 Ultra plan
- No model transparency or choice
- Narrow focus on e-commerce imagery
Pricing: Free plan, paid from $12.99/mo · product-photos background-removal ecommerce batch-editing virtual-try-on
🔥 Deal: Save 33% with yearly billing (Pro $7.50/month billed yearly)
3
Adobe's template-based design and video editor with Firefly AI built in
7.9/10
What it is Adobe Express is Adobe's quick-design app for social graphics, flyers, short videos, presentations and simple brand assets. It works in the browser and on phones. It combines templates and Adobe Stock with Firefly generative AI and simple editing tools. It competes directly with Canva and connects to Photoshop, Illustrator and Creative Cloud libraries. Key features - Templates… Read more →
Pros
- Firefly AI built in and described by Adobe as designed to be commercially safe
- 200M+ Adobe Stock assets on Premium
- Works with Photoshop, Illustrator and Creative Cloud libraries
- 30-day free trial of Premium
Cons
- Premium includes only 250 generative credits a month
- Partner models and AI video need the $19.99 Firefly Pro plan
- Smaller template ecosystem than Canva
Pricing: Free plan, paid from $9.99/mo · design templates social-media firefly adobe
🔥 Deal: 30-day free trial of Adobe Express Premium
4
Photo, video and design editor with 140+ AI models, agents and brand kits
7.7/10
What it is Picsart is a photo, video and design editor used on mobile and the web. It began as a mobile photo-editing app and has become a large AI creative suite. It combines templates, stickers and editing tools with 140+ third-party image, video and audio models, creative AI agents and an MCP server for Claude Code, Cursor and ChatGPT.… Read more →
Pros
- 140+ image, video and audio models including Veo, Kling, Nano Banana and GPT Image
- Strong mobile apps plus web editor
- Creative AI agents and MCP support
- Brand kits and team seats on Ultra
Cons
- Pro credits cover only about 100 Nano Banana Pro images a month
- Premium video models are credit-heavy
- Commercial terms for AI outputs not stated on the pricing page
- Busy interface with many overlapping tools
Pricing: Free plan, paid from $15/mo · photo-editing design multi-model mobile ai-agents
🔥 Deal: Save with yearly billing: Pro $10.50/month (from $15), Ultra $60/month per seat (from $75)
5
Browser design editor for merch, logos and packaging with multi-model AI and vector export
7.6/10
What it is Kittl is a German browser-based design platform for typography-heavy work: t-shirts, posters, logos, packaging, labels and product visuals. It combines a vector editor on an infinite canvas with premium templates and fonts, plus an AI suite for image, vector and video generation, background removal, upscaling and vectorizing. Key features - Infinite-canvas vector editor with pen tool, shape… Read more →
Pros
- Real vector editor with SVG/PDF export on paid plans
- Many AI models (GPT Image, Nano Banana, Ideogram, FLUX, Veo, Kling) in the editor
- Commercial licence up to 500,000 copies on Pro and Expert
- Generous affiliate programme and MCP connector
Cons
- Free plan is personal use only with 100 one-time tokens
- AI tokens on Pro are limited and do not roll over
- Current prices could not be verified from the dynamic pricing page
- Unlimited-copy licence only on Max/Business
Pricing: Freemium · design merch vector typography print-on-demand
6
AI logo maker with a subscription Brand Kit of matching business and social assets
6.9/10
What it is Looka is a Toronto-based AI logo maker and branding platform. You enter your company name, pick styles and colors you like, and Looka's AI generates logo options that you can edit in its designer. The Brand Kit subscription then applies your logo, fonts and colors to hundreds of ready-made assets, and a higher tier adds an AI-generated… Read more →
Pros
- Free to design and preview before paying
- Full ownership of the purchased logo, kept after the subscription ends
- Brand Kit applies the logo to 300+ business and social templates
- Vector files (SVG, EPS, PDF) on Premium and Brand Kit
Cons
- No free download; the $35 package is a single low-res PNG
- Template-driven logos can look similar to other businesses
- Brand Kit is an annual subscription
- Limited as a general design tool
Pricing: Paid from $8/mo · logo-maker branding brand-kit small-business