So, you are looking for the best alternatives to Adobe CC? Well, you came to the right place. Because we have a list prepared just for you.
Adobe Cloud offers some of the best tools for creative artists. Whether it is UI & UX, Graphics Design, Illustrations, 3D design, Audio, Video, etc. Adobe has it all. But one of the downsides to all of these wonderful applications is its price. But when you weigh the pros and cons, it seems the price is fair. Professionals around the world prefer using Adobe. The problem here is, many of us still cannot afford it. We need to make some money from our gigs before we can actually buy.
But you shouldn’t lose hope. There are free tools that are really great at performing the tasks of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, XD etc. In Fact, some professionals might actually prefer using those instead. So, in this article, we will explore some of the best alternatives to Adobe CC.
Adobe Photoshop
We are starting our list of the best alternatives of Adobe CC with Adobe’s most popular product. I don’t think there is any person alive who’s been working on a computer and hasn’t heard about Photoshop. But still, let me give you a quick introduction to Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor. It is the most popular and most widely used software for graphics editing and digital art.
GIMP
GNU Image Manipulation Program, also known as GIMP is considered the best alternative to photoshop. It has so many great features that you might not want to use any other graphics editor after you use it. It supports most of the known file formats and you can add plugins for added support. Some of the notable features of GIMP are:
- High-Quality Photo Manipulation
- Original Artwork Creation
- Graphics Design components
- Programming Algorithm
- Clean & Customizable Interface
- Unique Hardware Support
These are just a few examples that come to mind. GIMP is available for Windows, MAC, and Linux. So, if you want to check it out, visit this link.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is the most preferred vector graphics software in the world. It is used to create logos, vector arts, icons, product packaging and so much more. If you want to know more about Adobe Illustrator, then just look around your room. I’m pretty sure there is something that is created in Illustrator. If not, then I apologize, I can’t be right all the time (wink! wink!). Anyway, my point is, we are surrounded by arts and graphics. For example, the website you visit, the billboard you see, or even the water bottle you are drinking out of!
Inkscape
Inkscape is a vector graphics editor just like Adobe Illustrator. It is popularly used for creating vector images in SVG format. Even Though under 100MB, Inkscape has similar features of Illustrator like:
- Object Creating
- Object Manipulation
- Fill and Stroke
- Path Operation
- Complex Selection
- Render Support
If you already have used Adobe Illustrator and know your way around it. Inkscape has a similar interface therefore you won’t have that much trouble getting used to it. Inkscape is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac. If you want to check it out, visit this link.
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom is an image manipulation and organization software used by photographers and designers. Lightroom is used to create presentations and projects seamlessly. It has excellent features that allow it to capture photos from DSLR cameras. Because it has a built-in preset your workflow speed increases.
Darktable
Darktable is an open-source photography management software. Many photographers prefer using Darktable as it is designed by photographers. Some of the features of Darktable are:
- User-Friendly Interface
- Non-destructive Image editing
- Supports GPU accelerated processing
- Large Community
Darktable is available for Windows, Mac, and various versions of Linux. If you want to check out this software, visit this link.
Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects is a powerful application used for digital visual effects and motion effects. Blockbuster movies like Iron Man, The World of Tomorrow, Sky Captain, Stranger than Fictions, etc. used this software.
As far as I know, there is no free alternative that is as powerful as After Effects. However, the following software is used by many artists to produce similar results.
Blender
Blender is a 3D graphics software that is preferred by many to produce 3D visual effects and motion graphics. Some of the features of Blender are as follows:
- Real-time viewport preview
- CPU & GPU rendering
- HDR lighting support
- Geometry Node
- Multi-resolution and dynamic subdivision
- VFX – auto and manual tracking
- Animation and Rigging
Blender is truly a powerful software and a cool thing about it is it’s open-source! So, if you guys want to check it out, click on this link.
Adobe Indesign
Our list of the best alternatives of Adobe CC has brought us to the desktop publication software Adobe Indesign. Because of its publication features, it is used to create magazine designs, flyers, banners, posters, etc. It is not as popular as its other counterparts but it is used in many organizations.
Scribus
Scribus is another open-source software for designing layouts, typesetting, etc. It has a similar interface just like Adobe Indesign. It has tools like thought management, color profiles, image setting equipment, etc. Some of the more mentionable features of Scribus are:
- CMYK Colors
- Spot Colors
- ICC color management
- PDF creation
It is available for most operating systems so if you are willing to give it a try, visit this link.
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is a timeline-based video editing tool. Its powerful features can assist you to transform raw video footage into polished films and movies in a seamless workflow.
Shotcut
Shotcut is free and open-source software. Although there might be many great alternatives, but I picked Shortcut. because of its many features and everything in it is free. It is not like some other applications where you have to pay to unlock full features. Let’s look at some of the features of Shotcut:
- Wide Format Support
- Native Timeline Editing (No import required)
- Supports 4K resolution
- Unlimited Layers
- Color correction and color grading tools
- Video Transitions
- Audio mixing and filters
- Clean User Interface
Shotcut is available for Windows, GNU/Linux, and Mac. If you are interested, check out this link.
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition is the most popular software for recording and mixing audio for sound effects, podcasting, video, etc. It has powerful features like a multitrack, non-destructive mix/edit environment, and a destructive-approach waveform editing view.
Audacity
Audacity is a digital audio mixing and recording application. It is free and open-source. In my opinion, this is the best free alternative to Adobe Audition. The notable features of Audacity are:
- Live audio recording
- Spectrogram View Mode for in-depth Analysis
- Supports 16bit-32 bit
- Plugins for added support
- Easy Import/Export/Edit feature
- Light and Dark theme
- Effects
Audacity supports popular Operating systems and you guys can check it out by visiting this link.
Adobe Animation CC
Adobe Animation is used for designing interactive vectors and bitmaps for games, apps, and the web as well.
Krita
Krita is a free and open-source raster graphics editor. It is popularly used for digital painting and 2D animation. Some of the features of Krita are:
- Clean and customizable Interface
- Wide variety of Tools
- Vector tools
- Raster tools
- Canvas tools
- Guidance tools
- Selection tools
- Powerful Brush Engines
- Wrap-around-mode
- Resource Manager
If you are into character animation and design, you definitely heard of Krita. If you haven’t, well, what’s the harm in giving it a try? Click this link to try it out.
If you are into character animation and design, you definitely heard of Krita. If you haven’t, well, what’s the harm in giving it a try? Click this link to try it out.
Conclusion
Nobody can deny the power and precision of Adobe products. But not all of us have a powerful computer or the budget to run these applications smoothly. As a result of a strong community and hard-working developers, we now have free alternatives for Adobe products.
Even though some of this software started out small, today many professionals actually prefer using them. So, that’s our list of the best alternatives to Adobe CC. Tell us what you think in the comment section.