Design

Design software enables individuals and companies to bring their creative visions to life. It offers a wide range of tools and features that enable graphic design, illustration, photo editing, and other artistic tasks. Whether you’re a professional designer, a marketer, or an enthusiast, design software is essential for unleashing your creativity, visually expressing your ideas, and creating stunning designs that engage and inspire.

At SaasGenius, we’re committed to helping you find the best value design software that perfectly suits your needs.

Featured Movavi logo
1. Movavi Video Editor

— Movavi Video Editor is a simple and easy to use video editor. It includes drag-and-drop filters, titles,… Movavi Video Editor Review

91%
User-friendly interface with versatile editing tools.
Rich media support and fast rendering.
Easy export to social media channels.
Starting price$54.95/year
Pricing modelPer user
Free TrialYes
Free VersionNo
Animaker
2. Animaker

— An easy-to-use animation software that can help you create stunning videos where you can choose from more… Animaker Review

83%
Starting price$20/mo
Pricing modelPer User
Free Trial30 day
Free VersionNo
Vyond
3. Vyond

— Vyond makes creating videos, MP4s, and animated GIFs an easy job with its training options and resources.… Vyond Review

83%
Starting price$49/mo
Pricing modelPer User
Free Trial14 day
Free VersionNo
GoDaddy
4. GoDaddy

— Improve your site speed using one of the largest hosting provider, GoDaddy. Not only better speed, but… GoDaddy Review

90%
Starting price$5.99/mo
Pricing modelPer License
Free Trial30-day
Free VersionYes
Camtasia
5. Camtasia

— Create, record, edit and share videos through Camtasia, a professional video capture software. It comes with everything… Camtasia Review

91%
Starting price$299.99
Pricing modelPer User
Free Trial30-day
Free VersionNo
3ds Max Design
6. 3ds Max Design

— 3ds Max Design is an animation software that offers modern tools for high-quality modeling and architectural renderings…

68%
Starting price$215/mo or $3/token starting at 500 token
Pricing modelPer User
Free Trial30 days
Free VersionNo
Maya
7. Maya

— Maya is an award-winning 3D animation software that helps create real characters, scenes, amazing landscapes, and effects…

71%
Starting price$215/mo or $3/token starting at 500 token
Pricing modelPer User
Free Trial30 days
Free VersionYes (students)
Vplayed
8. Vplayed

— Vplayed is a cloud-based video streaming software that helps businesses create, manage and distribute video content across…

75%
Starting priceContact for price
Pricing modelOne-time License
Free TrialNo
Free VersionNo
Adobe Animate
9. Adobe Animate

— Adobe Animate is worldwide famous as a photo editing and illustration tool, but it is also a…

80%
Starting price31.49/mo
Pricing modelPer User
Free Trial7 days
Free VersionNo
Restream Logo
10. Restream

— Restream is a live streaming platform that allows you to stream your content to multiple platforms simultaneously.…

80%
Starting Price$19/month
Pricing ModelPer Tier
Free TrialNo
Free VersionYes

Overview of Design Software

It’s often difficult to choose the right design software for your company or brand. In fact, there’s no “best” software out there. Some people might do well to go with a big brand name, such as Microsoft or Adobe. Others might be looking for something specific, such as photo editing, illustrations, web design, and more. 

Generally, the best design software programs are those used in professional environments. Therefore, accessibility and value depend on where you work. If you’re a freelance designer, you might not have the budget for high-end software. Those who work in-house at a large company may access better products. 

Therefore, the best thing to do here is to choose your design software based on the task at hand. Software design includes many things, such as illustrations, photo editing, and drawing. Overall, we break down the features required for design software a little later.

We have listed the best design software, so it’s easier for you to choose one that meets your needs.

Explanation

SaasGenius has done extensive research when creating this list, so there should be no issues with the design software provided. 

To make sure that you’ve got the top options, we only list the best software to offer more value to the user. The goal here is to build your business, and design software can help you achieve your goals, whether you’re a graphic designer, photographer, CAD designer, animator, or web designer.

We never put design software on the list before analyzing it in-depth. That way, you know that we check each option thoroughly before presenting it to you as a viable product for your business. This often takes many months of research on our part, but it’s crucial!

What Is Design Software?

Design software lets you create visual files. Functionality can include digital illustration, image manipulation, and page layout. Most people in creative professions use digital tools to create designs and artwork instead of traditional multimedia because software solutions are faster. 

Even though you can’t create imagery by hand, you have more functions and tools to help with software design, which can enhance your technique and skill.

Often people use software design patterns to make their lives easier. These unfinished code pieces make it faster to input designs that you use frequently. However, you must choose the best design software for that to happen.

Characteristics to Focus on for Design Software

Design software encompasses many software categories, so some of the features aren’t available with every tool. However, the ones we chose have most or all of these options, so you can use them in many settings and industries. 

That’s the goal here – you have most of the features necessary to complete your tasks. That way, you can create software design patterns that help you work quickly.

Generally, design software should include:

An Extensive Tool Kit 

Design solutions should provide many tools that mimic design using physical supplies. You may utilize a screen or tablet and a stylus to create on those platforms, but the stylus may act as various tools. 

For example, it could be a paintbrush, but you adjust the stroke width and opacity of it. Sometimes, you may use it as a pen to create anchor lines and then pull or push them in different directions. Regardless, you need tool kits that include drawing and editing options.

Significant Storage Space 

Working in the design industry requires you to upload various files, create new things, edit them, and possibly publish what you make. You may have to build from scratch on the platform, so the design software must allow users to save every edited version designed. That way, you can go back to previous options if needed. 

Some users want to make applications and images from pre-existing templates, so the software must have a template library available.

3D Objects 

Most design tools only allow you to work in 2D conditions, but some are specifically designed for 3D applications. Such products offer spaces to create 3D models and add details and depth to the objects, including texture and color.

While those are the primary three features you require, design software should offer robust capabilities. The ones listed below are common but not included with each product:

Surface Modeling 

You require this feature to design 3D objects. It lets you look at your product with solid surfaces and many angles.

Rulers and Guides 

Creating with design software lets you offer precision work. Therefore, designers and artists rely on features like guides and rulers for accuracy that isn’t possible by hand.

Layering 

Design tools for sketching allow you to work with many layers. That way, you can choose tools like pencils and paintbrushes and different colors for one image. It’s crucial to edit and blend those layers separately to come together later as a cohesive product.

3D Rendering 

This feature is vital for the 3D design process. The last step in designing the product is to render it. That way, you can see the product in a realized environment to point out flaws before taking it to market.

How to Pick the Right Design Software

At SaasGenius, we know how important it’s to choose the right design software for your creative needs. Our platform provides trusted reviews of various design software providers and helps you find the best value software that suits your needs. We evaluate factors like features, ease of use, versatility, compatibility, and customer support so you can make an informed decision. 

SaasGenius gives you the information you need to find the best value software that fits your creative workflow. Unleash your creativity and bring your vision to life with SaasGenius today.

Methodology

How does SaaSGenius bring you the best SaaS pricing information?
  • Who? We are SaaS experts: Our specialists constantly seek the most relevant information to help support your SaaS business.
  • Why? We are passionate about users accessing fair SaaS pricing: We offer up-to-date pricing data, reviews, new tools, blogs and research to help you make informed SaaS pricing decisions.
  • How? With accurate information: Our website manager tests each software to add a Genius Score using our rating methodology to each product. Our editorial team fact-check every piece of content we publish, and we use first-hand testing, value metrics and leading market data.