5 Best Free Alternatives to Adobe CC That You Should Not Miss

Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe CC) is a suite of professional creative design software offered by Adobe Systems, including well-known applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Widely used in graphic design, image editing, and video editing, these tools have become industry standards. However, there are several reasons why users might seek free alternatives: 1. **Cost**: Adobe CC's subscription fees can be high for individuals and small businesses, especially for those who don't frequently utilize all its features. 2. **License Issues**: Illegally cracking or sharing Adobe software is unlawful and can lead to legal complications. 3. **Feature Match**: Not all users require the advanced features and complexity offered by Adobe CC, and they might only need tools that meet their basic needs. 4. **Open-Source Beliefs**: Some users prefer to support open-source software, which is typically free and encourages community involvement in development and improvement. 5. **Learning Curve**: Adobe software can have a steep learning curve, and beginners may require more time to become proficient. Free alternatives could be more user-friendly, making them suitable for novices. As a result, users might turn to free alternatives like GIMP (image editing), Inkscape (vector graphics), and DaVinci Resolve (video editing) to save money, adhere to legal requirements, streamline workflows, or support the open-source movement.

When it comes to creative work, Adobe Creative Cloud is one of the go-to apps out there, and you might be wondering why, right? Well, creative pros like you use it as the industry standard for getting their projects done.

Recently, however, there has been a shift in thinking, with many creatives looking beyond the Adobe suite due to expensive monthly subscription fees and other reasons. So, if you're a creative beginner, professional, small business owner, or freelancer, you might be in the market for an Adobe Creative Cloud alternative.

It's not just an alternative; it's a cheap Adobe Creative Cloud alternative. To make things easier for you, we've listed the five best Adobe Creative Cloud alternatives in this article. Ready? Let's get started.

Here is a list of the five tools:

Here are five of the best free Adobe Creative Cloud alternatives that you definitely shouldn't miss:

• 1. Affinity Designer
• 2. Figma
• 3. Skylum
• 4. DaVinci Resolve/ Studio
• 5. Inkscape
This is an unordered list with five items, each containing a hyperlink. Here's the translation:
• 1. Affinity Designer
• 2. Figma
• 3. Skylum
• 4. DaVinci Resolve/ Studio
• 5. Inkscape
This is an unordered list with five entries, each linking to a specific anchor: 1. Affinity Designer 2. Figma 3. Skylum 4. DaVinci Resolve/ Studio 5. Inkscape

Affinity Designer is a professional graphic design software developed by Serif, designed to create vector graphics, illustrations, and designs with precision and speed. It offers a wide range of tools and features for both amateur and professional designers, providing an alternative to popular programs like Adobe Illustrator. With its intuitive interface and affordable pricing, Affinity Designer has gained recognition for its performance, reliability, and high-quality output.

Affinity Designer is one of the best alternatives to Adobe Creative Cloud you can use. It's a feature-rich creative tool designed for people like you, with intelligent controls and an enhanced user interface that lets you replicate anything you could create with Adobe Creative Cloud tools.

The alt text for this image is "affinity designer," and it has a height of 400 pixels and a width of 700 pixels.

One advantage of Affinity Designer is its ability to switch between vector and raster workspaces, enabling it to support various file types, such as SVG and AI, which sets it apart from Adobe Creative Cloud offerings.

Here are some pros and cons of Affinity Designer: Pros: 1. Affordable: Affinity Designer offers a one-time purchase price, which is significantly lower than the subscription fees of Adobe Illustrator. 2. High performance: The software is known for its speed and stability, allowing for smooth and efficient workflow without lag or crashes. 3. Vector graphics: It provides powerful vector tools for creating precise and scalable designs. 4. Pixel-perfect editing: You can switch between vector and pixel modes seamlessly, making it suitable for both design and pixel manipulation tasks. 5. Comprehensive toolset: Affinity Designer includes a wide range of tools for illustration, typography, and color management. 6. Non-destructive effects: It supports non-destructive adjustments and effects, enabling you to modify your designs without losing quality. 7. Good compatibility: Files can be easily exported in various formats, including PDF, SVG, EPS, and PSD, making it compatible with other design software. 8. Regular updates: The developers frequently release updates and improvements, ensuring that the software stays up-to-date with industry standards. Cons: 1. Steep learning curve: Although the interface is user-friendly, there might be a learning curve for users transitioning from other graphic design software, particularly Adobe Illustrator. 2. Limited integration: Unlike Adobe's Creative Cloud, Affinity Designer doesn't offer the same level of app integration and cloud services. 3. No collaborative features: There's no built-in collaboration functionality, which might be a drawback for teams working on projects together. 4. Missing advanced typography tools: While Affinity Designer has a good set of typography tools, it may lack some of the more advanced options found in Adobe Illustrator. 5. No automatic updates: Since it's a one-time purchase, you won't receive automatic software updates; instead, you'll need to manually check for and install them. These points provide a general overview of Affinity Designer's strengths and weaknesses. It's essential to consider your specific needs and workflow when evaluating whether it's the right choice for you.

Advantages:

• It's a cost-effective alternative to Adobe Creative Cloud.
• It supports multiple platforms and offers a smooth workflow.

Drawback:

There are not enough tutorials available to figure out how to use its complex features.

Figma is a cloud-based collaborative design tool used for creating and sharing interface designs. It supports real-time collaboration, allowing team members to edit designs simultaneously, and offers an extensive library of resources and components. Figma is accessible on various devices, including computers and mobile gadgets, enabling designers to work seamlessly across different platforms.

As a creative designer, Figma is one of the excellent alternatives to Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly for its flexibility in prototyping. Unlike Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma offers seamless collaboration features that facilitate remote work, maintain reusable design components, and integrate with Dropbox Paper for file storage.

(Logo: Figma)

Moreover, Figma is an innovative tool that, aside from a few features like cloud storage, is entirely free for you to use.

Advantages:

• Figma has more straightforward and flexible components.
• It has excellent team libraries and design systems.

Drawback:

Synchronization often goes awry.

Skylum

Well, with Skylum, you could say it's right up there as one of the top alternatives to Adobe Creative Cloud, especially for creative photographers. It's packed with advanced features that just simplify life. As a creative person like yourself, having the right tools at your disposal is key, and that's exactly what Skylum delivers. One sweet deal is that you can buy their tools with a one-time payment, including a lifetime license and some serious discounts, which is a pretty big departure from Adobe's subscription model.

Advantages:

• Skylum saves a lot of time.
• It supports multiple image or picture file formats.
• Responsive customer service.
• With its simple drag-and-drop feature, you can easily refine skin tones or facial hues, enhance plant appearances, and even improve backgrounds.

Drawback:

• No tilt shift, bokeh, or depth-of-field options.
• Raw-image import from the camera is much slower.

Da Vinci Resolve Studio

When it comes to affordable alternatives to Adobe Creative Cloud, DaVinci Resolve is a reliable software option. It's widely used by creative professionals like you, as well as by colorists, cinematographers, and photographers.

Unlike Adobe Creative Cloud, DaVinci Resolve allows for a one-time payment for the software with lifetime updates. It also has a free version that's perfect for beginners or anyone in the film industry. It's truly a gem for creative individuals like yourself.

Advantages:

• DaVinci Resolve features a clean and intuitive user interface with smooth navigation.
• It supports cross-platform usage.
• It also includes collaboration tools for project sharing.

Disadvantages:

• It has limited mastering and audio-mixing capabilities.

(Inkscape)

Inkscape is an open-source software tool with an impressive array of features. It has a great user interface that's very friendly to creatives like you, complete with drag-and-drop rendering tools and customizable fonts.

This image depicts the Inkscape logo. Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor used for creating and manipulating SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files.

Additionally, Inkscape comes with a powerful tool called the Bézier tool, which lets you draw and create detailed paths and artwork. Some professionals shy away from it due to slower image processing, but for a free version, it's undoubtedly the best alternative to Adobe Creative Cloud and a great choice for you as a creative person.

Advantages:

• It is simple and smooth to use.
• It is available on all operating systems (OS).

Drawback:

Some features and tools are not available in Inkscape.

Conclusions

In conclusion, with the 5 best free Adobe Creative Cloud alternatives discussed in this article, you cannot deny the capabilities of Adobe CC itself, given its built-in templates and other enviable features that provide convenience to creative individuals like you.

Furthermore, some of the factors to consider when choosing these alternatives largely depend on various aspects that are specific to you. One of these might be that some of these alternatives have free versions that you can easily utilize.

?Read more: How to Uninstall Adobe Creative Cloud