By job / Design

Create visuals and interfaces

15 tools for design, in the order I'd try them.

1. 1.

   Canva in design

   Every small business I know already uses it. The AI bits are useful, not magic.

   Free tier; Pro available

2. 2.

   Figma in design

   If you design screens, you're probably here already. The AI features are a nice extra, not the reason to pay.

   Free tier; paid plans available

3. 3.

   Midjourney in design

   Still makes the prettiest pictures. Lousy at text in images, and the web app took its time arriving.

   Paid from $10/mo

4. 4.

   Photoroom in design

   Background removal and product shots that look shop-ready without a studio. The free plan is personal-use only; pay before you put outputs on a storefront.

   Free tier (personal use); Pro from $7.50/mo billed yearly

5. 5.

   Gamma in design

   Turns a rough outline into a shareable deck or one-pager in minutes. Fine for client pitches when polish matters more than pixel control; export to PPTX when someone insists on PowerPoint.

   Free tier (400 one-time credits); Plus from $9/mo

6. 6.

   Adobe Firefly in design

   Commercially safer image generation inside the Adobe stack.

   Free tier; paid plans available

7. 7.

   Ideogram in design

   Best pick when images need legible text.

   Free tier; paid plans available

8. 8.

   Recraft in design

   Gives you vectors and icon sets that match each other, which most image tools still can't.

   Free tier; paid plans available

9. 9.

   PostNitro in design

   The quickest way I've found to get an on-brand LinkedIn or Instagram carousel out the door, and it schedules the post too.

   Free tier; paid from $15/mo

10. 10.

    Postiz in design

    Agentic social media scheduler with a public API and MCP server, aimed at agencies and solo marketers who need to post across channels without living in a dozen mobile apps. Strong for teams that already automate the rest of their stack.

    Open-source self-host free; cloud plans self-serve (check postiz.com for current tiers); API, CLI and MCP available

11. 11.

    AdGraam in design

    Paste a product link and it makes static and video ads, remakes the ad formats already working in your category, and reads your Meta data to tell you what to make next. You see the credit cost before every run, so it's easy to keep spend under control.

    Free signup credits; one-time credit packs: Starter ₹999 (100 credits), Pro ₹9,000 (1,000 credits), plus 18% GST; credits don't expire

12. 12.

    Hubitos Editor's pick in design

    Social-commerce workspace for online sellers: research a product or competitor, generate product shots, try-on images and short videos, then schedule posts and handle comments in one place. The free plan only publishes to X, so most sellers will need Pro.

    Free (1,000 signup credits + 50/day check-in, X only); Pro $39/mo ($29 first month, 15,000 credits); Max $49/mo ($35 first month, 35,000 credits); Business custom

13. 13.

    Magic Patterns in design

    AI design canvas (MagicOS) where briefs, variations and comments live in one place instead of a long Slack thread. Strong for product teams iterating UI; less of a Canva replacement for social creatives.

    Free; Starter about $20/seat/mo ($17 yearly); Business about $100/seat/mo ($85 yearly)

14. 14.

    SnapStudio in design

    Cleans up product photos: white or solid backgrounds, shadow and lighting fixes, and export sizes for Amazon, Shopify, Etsy and Instagram.

    3 free images a day; $5 for a 20-image pack; Starter $9/mo; Pro $19/mo

15. 15.

    GetRender in design

    AI rendering for architecture, interiors and landscapes: floor plan to 3D, SketchUp renders, exterior concepts and virtual staging from one credit balance. Good for client-ready concept images before a quote is signed, not for construction drawings.

    Starter $19/month (300 credits), Pro $49/month (1,000 credits), Studio $129/month (3,000 credits); large discount on yearly billing

The top spot here can be sponsored. Details.