Free & Low Cost Tools & Software
- All Tools & Software
- Audio
- Cinemagraphs
- eCovers
- GIFs
- Graphic Design
- Graphics Tools
- Image Tools
- Infographics
- Mockups
- Video Tools
Adobe Spark
Adobe’s latest online tool is completely FREE! With Adobe Spark you can create stunning graphics, web pages, and video stories in just minutes. You can create animated Memes as an MP4 file and then convert it with one of the free Gif Creation Tools you can find on this website. The software does put “Made with Adobe Spark Video” at the end, but you can upgrade to Premium to personalize your creations with your own brand for a very reasonable monthly fee.
Animaker
Animaker is a premium online video creator with a fabulous FREE option which allows you to export up to five videos per month. They will be watermarked, but that’s no surprise considering it’s completely free. You can create six unique video styles including Whiteboard, 2D, Infographic style, Handcraft, 2.5D and Typography. You can even create and export up to 5 text to speech Voice Overs under the free plan. Premium plans are very reasonably priced and include lots more Templates, Scenes, Characters and Props but the FREE plan is a fabulous place to start, especially if you’re on a tight budget.
Audacity
Audacity® is free, open source, cross-platform audio software for multi-track recording and editing. It’s available for both Windows and Mac. In addition to recording audio from multiple sources, Audacity can be used for post-processing of existing audio tracks, including voice overs, podcasts and more by adding effects such as normalization, trimming, and fading in and out, and filtering out background noise.
Background Burner
The Background Burner tool is perfect for anyone involved in eCommerce. You can quickly remove backgrounds from any image, online, completely FREE. Simply upload your image and the background is removed automatically for you. You’ll get a choice of which thumbnail is best and you can then edit that to give a more precise finish. Output with a white or transparent background. This tool works best on objects rather than people.
BeFunky
BeFunky provides an online Photo Editing tool, a photo Collage Maker, and a Design app (which is similar to Canva) under the one umbrella. It’s hard to believe such a fantastic design and editing suite is free, but it is. There are plenty of tutorials to inspire and fuel your creativity, and to help you get the most out of all the tools on website.
Bulk Resize Images
BulkResizePhotos.com is a fantastic online tool which is not only FREE to use as much as you want, but is much quicker than waiting for PhotoShop to open and running the image processing script. You can drag and drop a whole bunch of images, choose the size you want them to be and have a zip file of resized images to download in literally seconds.
Canva Designer
Canva.com lets you design social media graphics, infographics, presentations and more with 1000’s of beautiful, professionally designed layouts. You can sign up for a free account with Facebook, Google or Email. There are plenty of free graphics and images to use, with paid options starting from only $1. You can use Canva for Personal and Business projects including Marketing materials, Online courses, Online Ads, Presentations, Print, Websites, Social Media, eBooks and more but if you want to sell anything you create you must purchase an Extended Licence.
Canva Infographics Creator
Canva is a great all around design tool with lots of templates for Infographics that help to make complex information eye catching, shareable and easily digestible. Canva’s infographic maker includes hundreds of free design elements, allowing you to experiment with data visualization to your heart’s content. Once you’re finished you can share your new Infographic online or by email, or download your work as a JPG, PNG or PDF.
Cliplets Cinemagraph Creator
If you want to create your own captivating Cinemagraphs completely free, then Microsoft Research Cliplets is the tool for you. It’s an interactive Windows only app (sorry Mac users) that uses semi-automated methods to give you the power to create “Cliplets” – a type of imagery that sits between stills and video. “The app provides a creative lens one can use to focus on important aspects of a moment by mixing static and dynamic elements from a video clip.”
Compressor
Compressor is a powerful online tool for reducing the size of your images and photos drastically while still maintaining a high quality. You’ll save hundreds of Kilobytes in storage space with almost no difference in the quality before and after compression. Compressor supports JPG, PNG, GIF and SVG formats and you can choose either lossless or lossy compression.
Crello
Crello is very similar to the Canva app mentioned previously, but it also incorporates Animated Images you can use to create social media graphics, infographics, presentations and more. There are 1000’s of beautiful, professionally designed layouts to get you started. Sign up for a free account with Facebook, Google or Email. Paid options on Crello start from a low $0.99, but there plenty of free graphics and images to use so you don’t have to pay for anything if you don’t want to. The Crello app can be used for both Personal and Business use, including Marketing materials, Online courses, Online Ads, Presentations, Print, Websites, Social Media, eBooks and more but it’s always wise to check the website for full licensing terms for your particular project.
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve 16 is the world’s only solution that combines professional 8K editing, color correction, visual effects and audio post production all in one software tool! You can instantly move between editing, color, effects, and audio with a single click. DaVinci Resolve Studio is also the only solution designed for multi user collaboration so editors, assistants, colorists, VFX artists and sound designers can all work live on the same project at the same time! Whether you’re an individual artist, or part of a large collaborative team, it’s easy to see why DaVinci Resolve is the standard for high end post production and finishing on more Hollywood feature films, television shows and commercials than any other software.
Easel.ly Infographics Creator
Easel.ly’s free account gives you 100’s of templates and graphics to create Infographics with, either from scratch or using their designs as a starting point. You can download your work for free with no watermark (high-resolution downloads must have a Pro account). You can also export your file as a native Easel.ly format and then import it for editing later or pass it on to somebody else to edit. You can also share your work with a link or an embed code.
Adazing
Primarily a resource for budding and established authors, the Adazing website features a free 3D Cover Creator which includes templates for Books, Tablets and iPhone. Choose your template, then enter your email to receive a password to access your chosen template and create your 3D image for download.
Fotor Designer
Fotor is a powerful online Design App that puts “Thousands of beautiful professional designed templates …” at your fingertips. It includes many pre-set, full editable designs ranging from Social Media covers and channel art, Posters, Cards, Banner Ads and more. It also incorporates a Collage Creator and powerful Photo Editor under the same umbrella. Be aware that anything you download under the free account will carry a watermark.
Fotor Photo Editor
Fotor describes itself as a “Revolutionary Photo Editor and Design Maker”. It’s definitely a powerful, full featured and high-performance online Photo Editor that circumvents the need to pay for Photoshop. Fotor includes the ability to edit, add effects and retouch portraits. The tool also incorporates a Collage Creator and a Design App under the one umbrella. This is one website you will be returning to again and again so make sure you add it to your bookmarks.
Freemake Video Converter
The Freemake Video Converter is a downloadable tool that converts video between 500+ different formats and gadgets completely free of charge! Convert your videos to MP4, MP3, AVI, WMV, DVD, iPhone, Android, or convert a YouTube video to any format. The software is absolutely free with no trial period or limitations on how many videos you can convert.
GIFMaker Me
GIFMaker.me is an online tool for easily creating animated gifs, slideshows, and video animations from images you upload. You don’t even have to register. With GIFMaker.me, you can create animated icons and avatars of yourself on Internet forums and discussion boards, share multiple screenshots in one URL, play a GIF online with sound, or share your life moments with your friends on Facebook. Control canvas size, animation speed and repeat times.
GIMP
Gimp is a free, open source Image Manipulation Program that you download to your desktop. It has many of the same features of Photoshop and is another great, free alternative. It’s available for both Windows and Mac users. There are lots of official tutorials available on the website itself and you’ll also find lots more on YouTube if you search “Gimp tutorials”, so you’ll never be stuck wondering how to do something or how to get the most out of this fantastic free tool.
Giphy
Giphy is both a GifCreator and a stock site for Gifs. It is the best way to search, share, and discover GIFs on the Internet. Similar to the way other search engines work, the majority of our content comes from indexing based on the best and most popular GIFs and search terms across the web. We organize all those GIFs so you can find the good content easier and share it out through your social channels. Proper attribution is essential.
Gravit Designer
Another free Adobe Illustrator alternative – Gravit Designer is a full-featured, cross-platform vector design app at your fingertips. Some people say it’s more intuitive than Adobe Illustrator and has all the tools you need, including rulers, grids, intelligent snapping and more. You can either use the Online version or you can download a version for your PC or Mac and use it as a desktop tool if you prefer to install it on your computer to use offline.
Hitfilm Express
Feeling creative and want to make something really cool? HitFilm Express is a top-quality pro-grade video editor, compositor and VFX software with a community of 3 million filmmakers and it’s absolutely FREE. Many users consider it to be a cross between Camtasia and After Effects (without the big learning curve or the price tag!). You can easily add some great effects with it easily using the included presets. There are heaps of tutorials from the HitFilm crew themselves (including Motion Graphics and demo projects to
download) and for a free tool it’s packed with awesome features and is unbelievably powerful. As well as official tutorials, you’ll also find a ton of additional tutorials posted by HitFilm users on YouTube.
OpenShot Video Editor
OpenShot is an incredible simple yet powerful free, cross-platform video editor designed to be easy to use, and quick to learn. Some of its most popular features and capabilities include video effects, animations and keyframes, 3D animations, title editor, slow motion and time effects. Amazing to think it's completely free.
IconFinder Online Editor
IconFinder designed this tool to allow you to edit their icons easily, directly from within their website, but it’s also fantastic as a standalone tool for editing any other SVG you have downloaded to your computer. You can re-color, edit and tweak icons or other SVGs easily, then export to either SVG or PNG format. You can choose from 5 pre-set sizes for your Canvas, specify custom dimensions or “fit to content”. All in all a great tool to keep in your bookmarks.
Infogram
InfoGram’s Basic FREE plan can be used to make Infographics and Charts for up to ten personal, non-commercial projects only. You can add a wide variety of media to your Infographic including thirteen map types, 37+ interactive chart types, icons, videos, and images. With the free plan you can only share your work online. Upgrade to a paid option for more features and project allowance, and to download your work.
Inkscape
Inkscape is a powerful but free open source professional vector graphics editor with very similar features to the premium Adobe Illustrator. You can download it and install it on your Windows, Mac or Linux machine. There are ample tutorials to get you going, and you’ll also find an abundance of third-party tutorials on YouTube.
InstaGiffer
Since 2013, Instagiffer has been helping thousands of people create animated GIFs from YouTube, HD video files, Vine, Netflix and more. Unlike most GIF tools, you can open video streams and files DIRECTLY, ensuring the highest possible frame rate and resolution. It’s easy to use, free to download, and doesn’t add watermarks. Add filters, text, or logos to your GIFs. Show off your digital art, or GIF your favorite music videos, TV shows, and movies. Available for both Mac and Windows.
Kuso Cartoon
If you’ve ever seen those cartoon style images of famous people and wished you could do that, now you can! With Kuso Cartoon you can turn any photograph into a cartoon style image, or create a cartoon Avatar of yourself as a vector image. This means you can even print your new cartoon on T-Shirts, mugs or anything else you want. The website also has a photo collage maker and a raster to vector conversion tool and everything is completely free to use without limitation.
Magic Mockups
The Magic Mockups website has a more limited selection of Laptops, Phones, Tablets and iMacs as well as a couple of picture frames. You’ll see how easy it is to create your mockups as soon as you land on the site, but there are full instructions on the home page should you need them. Create your mockup then simply right click to save it to your computer.
Mockups Jar
Mockups Jar has a big variety of scenes to choose from, including browser mockups, packaging, apparel, frames, books and more. There is also a paid option for additional mockups, faster rendering, transparent backgrounds and more. The Pro options are clearly marked, but there are plenty of free choices.
Photodex
Photodex is a fabulous online tool for creating video slideshows from static images. Simply upload your images, select from 40+ styles, add your own music or choose from the built-in library of 500+ royalty-free songs, add custom FX if you wish, and then render. Photodex includes built-in editing tools such as crop and color correct. The free plan lets you create videos with up to 15 images for personal use, so if you want to make longer videos for commercial use and without a watermark, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan, which is very reasonably priced and can be paid for on a month by month basis.
PhotoScissors Background Remover
PhotoScissors Online is the free version of the desktop software. You can drop your JPEG or PNG onto the canvas and the tool goes to work for you, segmenting the foreground of your image and enabling smart ways of removing backgrounds from still images. You can also download a free trial of the paid Desktop software if you want to take the more advanced features for a test drive.
