License & Deployment Mix: 15 tools – 6 OSS, 9 SaaS. (OSS and SaaS counts can overlap when an open-source tool also offers a vendor-hosted edition.)
What Are Graphic Design Tools?
Graphic design tools enable the creation and editing of visual assets: raster images, vector graphics, UI/UX prototypes, marketing materials, and diagrams. They range from full-featured desktop applications (GIMP, Inkscape) to web-based collaborative platforms (Penpot, Figma, Canva).
Key capabilities:
- Raster editing – pixel-based image manipulation with layers, masks, brushes, and filters
- Vector graphics – resolution-independent paths, shapes, and typography for logos, icons, and illustrations
- UI/UX design – component libraries, prototyping, design systems, and developer handoff
- Typography – font management, text styling, kerning, and OpenType features
- Colour management – ICC profiles, CMYK support, colour spaces, and accessibility contrast checking
- Export formats – PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF, WebP, PSD, AI, and format-specific options
- Collaboration – real-time multi-user editing, commenting, version history, and shared libraries
- Templates – pre-built layouts for social media, presentations, print, and web
- Plugin ecosystems – extensibility through add-ons, scripts, and community plugins
The information on these pages was researched by a combination of human review and large language models. To suggest an addition or correction, please contact us. Prepared by Rhodium Systems Inc., author of the ResorsIT platform — a unified IT operations management platform for IT teams and MSPs that integrates a curated suite of open-source, commercial, and SaaS applications into a single system with shared identity, single sign-on, access control, and a common audit trail. Use this catalogue only as a starting point for your own research, and review any tool carefully against your own requirements before relying on it. Catalogue data version 2026.197.
Comparison
SSO / OIDC Comparison
OIDC is the preferred SSO protocol. Only web-based tools are included here; desktop tools (GIMP, Inkscape, Krita, Affinity suite, darktable) do not require SSO.
| Tool | OIDC | SAML | LDAP | Authentik Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penpot | Yes | No | Yes | Native OIDC; recommended |
| Figma | No | Org* | No | SAML on Organization plan ($45/editor/mo) |
| Sketch | No | Biz* | No | SAML on Business plan ($20/editor/mo) |
| Excalidraw | No | No | No | Reverse-proxy auth only |
| Canva | No | Ent* | No | SAML on Enterprise plan (custom pricing) |
| Photopea | No | No | No | SaaS only; no SSO |
| Pixlr | No | No | No | SaaS only; no SSO |
* = requires premium/enterprise tier
Best SSO support: Penpot (native OIDC + LDAP; self-hosted). All other web-based tools either require expensive enterprise tiers for SAML or have no SSO at all.
Feature Matrix
| Feature | GIMP | Krita | Photopea | Photoshop | Inkscape | Illustrator | Aff. Designer | Penpot | Figma | Sketch | Excalidraw | Canva | Pixlr | Aff. Photo | darktable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raster editing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Hybrid | No | No | No | No | Basic | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vector editing | No | Basic | Basic | Basic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Basic | Basic | No | No | No |
| Layers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Collaboration | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Web-based | No | No | Yes | Web* | No | Web* | No | Yes | Yes | Web* | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Templates | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Lib | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Plugins | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lib | Apps | No | No | Lua |
| SVG export | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pro | Yes | No | No |
| PDF export | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| PSD support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | AI | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Web* = limited web version available Lib = library system (not traditional plugins or templates)
Deployment Comparison
| Tool | Type | Linux | macOS | Windows | Web | Self-Host | Docker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GIMP | Desktop | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | No |
| Krita | Desktop | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | No |
| Photopea | Web | – | – | – | Yes | No | No |
| Photoshop | Desktop+Web | No | Yes | Yes | Ltd | No | No |
| Inkscape | Desktop | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | No |
| Illustrator | Desktop+Web | No | Yes | Yes | Ltd | No | No |
| Aff. Designer | Desktop | No | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | No |
| Penpot | Web | – | – | – | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Figma | Web | – | No* | Yes* | Yes | No | No |
| Sketch | Desktop+Web | No | Yes | No | View | No | No |
| Excalidraw | Web | – | – | – | Yes | Yes | Com |
| Canva | Web | – | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Pixlr | Web | – | – | – | Yes | No | No |
| Aff. Photo | Desktop | No | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | No |
| darktable | Desktop | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | No |
No* = desktop app available but not the editor Ltd = limited web version Com = community Docker images -- = accessible via web browser on any OS
Self-hostable: Penpot (full Docker deployment) and Excalidraw (static + optional collab server).
Linux desktop: GIMP, Krita, Inkscape, darktable (all open source).
Licensing Comparison
| Tool | License | Model | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| GIMP | GPL-2.0 | Free | $0 |
| Krita | GPL-3.0 | Free | $0 |
| Photopea | Freeware | Ad-supported | $0 (Premium $5/mo) |
| Photoshop | Proprietary | Subscription | $23-55/mo |
| Inkscape | GPL-2.0 | Free | $0 |
| Illustrator | Proprietary | Subscription | $23-55/mo |
| Aff. Designer | Proprietary | Perpetual | $70 one-time |
| Penpot | MPL-2.0 | Open-core | $0 (Teams $8/user/mo) |
| Figma | Proprietary | Freemium | $0 (Pro $15/editor/mo) |
| Sketch | Proprietary | Subscription | $12-20/editor/mo |
| Excalidraw | MIT | Open-core | $0 (Plus $7/user/mo) |
| Canva | Proprietary | Freemium | $0 (Pro $15/user/mo) |
| Pixlr | Proprietary | Ad-supported | $0 (Plus $5/mo) |
| Aff. Photo | Proprietary | Perpetual | $70 one-time |
| darktable | GPL-3.0 | Free | $0 |
Open source: GIMP (GPL-2.0), Krita (GPL-3.0), Inkscape (GPL-2.0), Penpot (MPL-2.0), Excalidraw (MIT), darktable (GPL-3.0).
Most permissive: Excalidraw (MIT) – no copyleft obligations.
Best value (commercial): Affinity Designer 2 and Affinity Photo 2 ($70 one-time vs Adobe subscription at $23-55/month).
Tools
15 tools.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is the industry-standard vector graphics editor, used by professional designers for logos, illustrations, typography, packaging, and print design. It has been the leading vector tool since 1987.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas, native · SSO: OIDC, SAML
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is the industry-standard raster image editor, used by professionals worldwide for photo editing, compositing, digital painting, and graphic design. It sets the benchmark against which all other raster editors are measured.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas, native · SSO: OIDC, SAML
Affinity Designer 2
Affinity Designer 2 is a professional vector graphics editor from Serif, positioned as a one-time-purchase alternative to Adobe Illustrator.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: none
Affinity Photo 2
Affinity Photo 2 is a professional raster image editor from Serif, positioned as a one-time- purchase alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: none
Canva
Canva is a web-based graphic design platform focused on template-driven content creation. It is designed for non-designers and marketing teams who need to produce professional-looking graphics quickly without specialized design skills.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas, native · SSO: SAML
darktable
darktable is an open-source photography workflow application and RAW developer, serving as an alternative to Adobe Lightroom.
License: GPL-3.0-only (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: none
Excalidraw
Excalidraw is a lightweight, web-based whiteboard and diagramming tool that produces hand-drawn style diagrams. It is popular among developers and technical teams for quick sketches, flow charts, architecture diagrams, and brainstorming.
License: MIT (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: none
Figma
Figma is the dominant web-based UI/UX design and prototyping tool, used by most professional design teams. It pioneered real-time collaborative design in the browser, enabling multiple designers to work on the same file simultaneously.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas, native · SSO: SAML
GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a full-featured, cross-platform raster image editor. It has been in active development since 1996 and is widely regarded as the leading open-source alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
License: GPL-2.0-only (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: none
Inkscape
Inkscape is the leading open-source vector graphics editor, using SVG as its native file format. It is widely used for logos, icons, illustrations, diagrams, and technical drawings.
License: GPL-2.0-only (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: none
Krita
Krita is a professional-grade digital painting application focused on concept art, illustration, texture painting, and comics.
License: GPL-3.0-only (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas, docker · SSO: none
Penpot
Penpot is the leading open-source UI/UX design and prototyping platform. It is web-based and uses open standards (SVG) as its native format, making it a strong alternative to Figma for teams that need self-hosted or privacy-first design too…
License: MPL-2.0 (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: native, docker, saas · SSO: OIDC
Photopea
Photopea is a web-based raster and vector image editor that runs entirely in the browser. It is notable for its high compatibility with Adobe Photoshop PSD files, including layers, masks, smart objects, adjustment layers, and text layers.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: OIDC, SAML
Pixlr
Pixlr is a web-based image editor offering two main products: Pixlr X (simplified editor) and Pixlr E (advanced editor). It provides browser- based raster editing without requiring software installation.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas, native · SSO: none
Sketch
Sketch is a vector-based UI/UX design tool for macOS that pioneered component-based design workflows. It was the dominant UI design tool before Figma and remains popular among macOS- only design teams.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas, native · SSO: SAML
