You want to design something eye-catching but haven’t got the time to spend hours behind Photoshop? Don’t worry—there are plenty of great graphic design apps for Mac out there. In this roundup, we’ll cover some of our favourites, with a closer look at their features and key benefits, so you can choose the best app for your needs.
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Graphic Design Mac
- Affinity Designer
Built for creating professional artwork for screen or print
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VIEW AT MICROSOFT US
REASONS TO BUY
+Inexpensive
+Collaboration as standard
+Windows PC and Mac
As a replacement for DrawPlus X8, Affinity Designer isn’t a rehash and was built from the ground up over a five-year development project by Serif.
Specifically aimed at professional designers and how they work, this software can handle a very wide scope of design tasks, including web, branding, concept art, typography and even repeating patterns, as you might need on ceramics, wallpaper or soft furnishings.
Inherent cloud functionality also makes it a good option for teams of designers working towards a common goal. And all this functionality can be yours for a very modest price on Windows PC or Apple Mac.
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Website screenshot for Adobe Illustrator CC
(Image credit: Adobe)
- Adobe Illustrator CC
Now on the 22nd version since 1985
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Very powerful
+Consistent UI with Photoshop
+Windows and Mac
REASONS TO AVOID
-Expensive
Essentially, Adobe Illustrator is the vector version of Photoshop, and the two share many common tools and functions to aid designers who use both.
However, if you want to design graphics that are can be rescaled from a postage stamp to a giant billboard, then Illustrator is certainly the tool of choice.
There was a time when you could buy Adobe Illustrator outright, but Adobe now only offers this product on the Creative Cloud (CC) suite, and it isn’t cheap.
It might have a powerful feature set, regular updates and be available for both Apple Mac and Windows PC, but the cost is prohibitive for occasional users.
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Website screenshot for CorelDRAW
(Image credit: Corel)
- CorelDRAW
The daddy of vector design applications
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019
US$198/year
LOW STOCK
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019 Full
US$499
VISIT SITE
at Corel Corporation
REASONS TO BUY
+Easy to learn and use
+Massively featured
REASONS TO AVOID
-Expensive
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The CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is actually a software bundle rather than a single application.
The package includes Photo-Paint for photo manipulation, AfterShot to handle RAW files, PowerTRACE to convert bitmap images into vectors, and FontManager for organizing the text styles you do actually use.
The main star, of course, is CorelDRAW itself, which isn’t just a vector-drawing package but also includes a desktop publishing feature as well, so you can design projects with a multi-page layout.
The latest version includes a number of improvements, such as for handling web graphics, editing vector effects, and the template menu has been simplified. In addition to these, is the ability to easily search through your images as thumbnails.
Another plus is that after a break it has returned to the Mac with a fully functional version.
Overall, the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite offers a veteran range of software that remains very up-to-date, and widening its use to Apple users as well as Windows can only be a plus.
If you’d like to learn more, read our full CorelDRAW review.
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Website screenshot for Gravit Designer
(Image credit: Corel)
- Gravit Designer
A cross-platform vector editor that’s free
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Free
+Cross-platform and online
+Easy to learn
REASONS TO AVOID
-Complex designs make it slow
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Due to the complexity of vector illustrations, most software for creating them is locally installed, but Gravit Designer has online options too.
The cloud-based version that runs from any browser and can automatically save to the online storage or locally.
Alternatively, on Windows PC, Apple Mac, Linux and Chrome OS (which you’ll find on a Chromebook), there are installable releases that can better utilise the computer hardware.
Our experience is that the online version can get slow with complex designs, but the locally installed versions cope much better. However, with a limited free version to use, there isn’t any excuse for not giving it a try. There are plenty of impressive examples designers have created using Gravit Designer that prove it can be very effective at some jobs.
Gravit Designer PRO allows for unlimited online storage, increases resolution to upto 300dpi, increases the print options to CMYK and HSB on top of RGB, plus there’s also the ability to work offline, advanced export options, and version history, all available for a reasonable yearly subscription.
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Website screenshot for Inkscape
(Image credit: Inkscape)
- Inkscape
A free tool with plenty of useful features
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Free
+On Windows, Linux and Mac
REASONS TO AVOID
-Can be slow at times
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Most business people shy away from free software for often valid reasons, but Inkscape is certainly worth looking at before you commit to buying CorelDRAW or an Adobe CC subscription.
It’s a vector design tool that offers broad file support, extensive text manipulation and both Bezier and Spiro curve types. It also has an extension model that allows new features to be easily installed, and there are some amazing ones available.
The only reservations we have are that even on a powerful PC it can be slow at times when a complicated process involves rendering.
As a GPL licensed app, along with Windows, Linux and Apple Mac versions, you can also download the source code and compile it for whatever version of Linux you use.
To find out more, read our full Inkscape review.
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Website screenshot for Sketch
(Image credit: Sketch)
- Sketch
A vector editor designed purely for Mac
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Easy to learn
+Regular updates
REASONS TO AVOID
-Mac only
Rather than the scatter-gun approach of other applications, the creators of Sketch built a tool to address a relatively narrow requirement.
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Sketch is focused on screen design, specifically creating the icons and interface elements for websites and applications. And, as the software is exclusively available for the Apple Mac, mostly designers working on iPhone, iPad and macOS applications are going to find it useful.
That said, it can be used more generally, but its strength is creating slick user interfaces.
Sketch is available for a single user license. However, licenses for multiple devices are available.
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Xara Designer Pro X
(Image credit: Magix)
- Xara Designer Pro X
A one-stop creative document solution
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Affordable
+Extensive templates
REASONS TO AVOID
-Windows only
The company behind Xara started out on the Atari ST and Acorn Archimedes computers in the 1980s, before focusing its efforts on the PC when Windows came along.
Its latest version, Xara Designer Pro X, is a comprehensive design tool that can work with both bitmaps and vectors with equal aplomb. That means it can handle DTP (desktop publishing), graphic design, illustration and photo manipulation tasks in a single tool.
For those wanting to mock something up rapidly, a license gives you access to over a million archive photos and illustrations to incorporate, along with hundreds of template layouts and thousands of design elements.
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The price sees frequent discounts on offer. Additionally, a cut-down version called Xara Photo & Graphic Designer is available and again is frequently discounted. Pro X can also be found even cheaper on Steam.
We’ve also highlighted the best laptops for video editing and music production.
Best graphic design software free
- Adobe Ilustrator
The best graphic design software for vector editing overall
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, macOSPayment model: Subscription
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Adobe Illustrator
US$20.99/mth
VISIT SITE
at Adobe
REASONS TO BUY
+Industry-standard toolset
+Time-saving AI features
+Top vector and type tools
REASONS TO AVOID
-Requires subscription
If you want the best graphic design software for vector drawing and editing, there’s little need to look further than Adobe Illustrator. It remains the industry-standard software for a reason and still offers the most powerful range of tools and features for vector editing. Compatible with PC, Mac and even the iPads, Illustrator allows you to create everything from illustrations to logos with all the creative freedom you could wish for, while it has tons of features and shortcuts to help speed up your workflow.
Illustrator is part of Adobe Creative Cloud, and to use it you’ll need to subscribe, either for Illustrator alone or to Adobe’s full suite of creative apps, which includes Photoshop, InDesign and many more. The advantage of the subscription model is that you automatically get the latest updates to the software. The downside is that it’s fairly pricey, although Adobe does run regular offers and there’s a discount for students. See our guide to how to download Adobe Illustrator for more.
best graphic design software: Vector illustration of Asian dragon paradeCB endorsed
(Image credit: Serif)
- Affinity Designer
The best vector software without a subscription-free
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, macOSPayment model: One-off payment
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
US$38.49
VIEW AT MICROSOFT US
REASONS TO BUY
+Great value
+Lots of useful tools
+Good Illustrator compatibility
REASONS TO AVOID
-Lacks some advanced features
If you feel Adobe’s subscription model is a little too pricy then Serif’s Affinity Designer is a very strong alternative. The best graphic designs software available for a one-off payment, Affinity Designer has become very popular as it adds more and more features, coming close to rivalling Illustrator. In fact, it actually offers some tools you don’t find on Illustrator, such as infinite redos and one million per cent-plus zoom.
Affinity Designer works with both Illustrator AI and Photoshop PSD files, so you don’t have to worry about compatibility if colleagues or clients work with Adobe’s software. Chances are that you’ll find Affinity Designer runs faster than Adobe illustrator too. But the best part, of course, is that you only have to make a one-time outlay and a fairly reasonable one at that. There are no subscription fees, but you still get software updates included.
See our full Affinity Designer review for more details.
Sketch 2021 logo interfaceCB endorsed
(Image credit: Sketch)
- Sketch
The best graphic design software for UI and icons
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: macOSPayment model: one-off payment
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Good for UI and icons
+Easy to learn
REASONS TO AVOID
-Mac-only
-Lacks Illustrator’s depth
If you’re looking for the best graphic design software specifically for UI design, prototyping and/or making icons, then you might well want to consider Sketch – if you work on a Mac, that is. While it doesn’t have the depth of software like Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Designer, Sketch has everything you need for UI design, and is easier to use if you have that one specific purpose. It has a minimal interface, which makes it easy to get started, but it offers a wide range of features if you need them thanks to a big library of plugins.
The software came in for a major revamp in 2021, with the addition of new features focusing on better collaboration. For example, developers can now view, inspect, and measure your Sketch designs in any browser, on any operating system, all for free.
Read our full Sketch review for more details on this piece of software.
CorelDRAW screenshot
(Image credit: Corel Corporation)
- CorelDRAW
Storied graphic design software that’s had some major updates
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, MacPayment model: One-off purchase or subscription
REASONS TO BUY
+Feature-rich
+Strong community of users
REASONS TO AVOID
-No longer the industry standard
-Still expensive
First launched in 1989, CorelDRAW lost some of its popularity to Adobe Illustrator but it still has legions of fans, and the 2021 version of the software introduced some major updates. Long available for Windows only, a Mac version has been available since 2019, serving to broaden the appeal of a package that now has a lot of Illustrator’s features, and at a slightly more affordable price. You have more flexibility in how you pay too since you can choose between a one-off payment or a subscription.
So why is CorelDraw lower on our list of the best graphic design software? It’s actually hard to decide which is whether CorelDRAW or Illustrator is the ‘better’ tool. Both have tons of features, but the interfaces are quite different. While fans of CorelDRAW insist that it’s easier to use than Illustrator, the fact remains that Illustrator is the industry-standard tool, and in many jobs, you’ll be expected to use it.
That said, there’s no issue with importing and exporting AI and PDF files to CorelDRAW. The main reason to choose one over the other however is because you prefer the interface and workflow. If you’ve never used either and you have the time, we’d suggest signing up for the free trial of both so you can compare them for yourself.
See our full CorelDRAW review for a more detailed evaluation.
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Adobe Creative Cloud Express
(Image credit: Adobe)
- Creative Cloud Express
The best free graphic design app
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Browser and mobile appPayment model: Free and subscription
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Very intuitive interface
+Huge library of images and assets
+Free-forever plan
REASONS TO AVOID
-Occasional bugs / lag issues
-Missing some shortcuts
-No guides / margins
Formerly Adobe Spark, Adobe Creative Cloud Express (or CC Express) is the newest addition to the Adobe family, and the brand’s attempt to compete with affordable entry-level graphic design software like Canva and Picsart. Available online and as a mobile app for both iOS and Android, it takes the basic photo/video editing tools and the Asset library from across Adobe’s suite of apps and puts them into an accessible one-stop package.
Best of all the app is free to download and free to use forever – for a limited number of basic tools. You can unlock more features if you sign up for a premium CC express account for $9.99 / £10.10 a month or $99.99 / £101.15 per year. There’s a 30-day free trial of the premium version so you can try it out before you commit.
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