Design tools
Last updated
Design is one of the faster-moving corners of the AI tool market, with 38 tools currently tracked in this catalog. Rather than one dominant product, the space is split between a handful of well-funded leaders and a long tail of focused, single-purpose tools.
Most design tools compete on three things: how much setup they require before they're useful, how well they fit into tools you already use, and how transparent their pricing is once you outgrow the free tier. A quick trial against a real task from your own workflow tells you more than any feature comparison chart.
Where most people start
Canva AI
Design platform with AI tools for non-designers including image generation, text-to-design, background removal, and brand-consistent creation.
Microsoft Designer
Microsoft's AI-powered design tool that generates visual content from prompts, integrated with Microsoft 365 and powered by DALL-E 3.
Uizard
AI-powered UI design tool that converts text prompts, screenshots, and sketches into interactive wireframes and prototypes.
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Filter Design tools
Design tools curated for practical business use cases.
Canva AI
Design platform with AI tools for non-designers including image generation, text-to-design, background removal, and brand-consistent creation.
Microsoft Designer
Microsoft's AI-powered design tool that generates visual content from prompts, integrated with Microsoft 365 and powered by DALL-E 3.
Uizard
AI-powered UI design tool that converts text prompts, screenshots, and sketches into interactive wireframes and prototypes.
Framer AI
AI-powered web design and publishing tool that generates complete websites from text prompts with professional animations and interactions.
Figma AI
AI features built into Figma's collaborative design platform, including visual search, design generation, and content generation within the industry-standard design tool.
Adobe Express AI
Adobe Express is the simplified creative tool from Adobe with AI features for creating social media graphics, short videos, PDFs, and branded content quickly.
Remove.bg
AI tool that removes image backgrounds instantly with a single click, used widely for product photography, profile pictures, and design workflows.
Clipdrop
AI image editing toolkit from Stability AI with tools for background removal, image upscaling, relighting, object removal, and text-to-image generation.
Galileo AI
AI-powered UI design generator that creates high-fidelity mobile and web app designs from text descriptions in seconds.
Webflow AI
Visual web design and development platform with AI features for generating website components, writing copy, and accelerating design workflows without coding.
Adobe Lightroom AI
Professional photo management and editing with AI-powered features for masking, subject selection, background removal, and smart editing suggestions.
Fotor AI
AI-powered photo editing platform with background removal, photo enhancement, portrait retouching, and image generation for non-professional users.
Picsart AI
AI-powered photo and video editing platform popular among social media creators with AI image generation, background removal, avatar creation, and template-based design.
Adobe Substance 3D AI
AI-powered 3D material and texture creation toolkit used by game developers, VFX artists, and product designers for creating photorealistic 3D surface materials with AI text-to-material generation.
Photoroom AI
AI photo editor that removes backgrounds and generates professional product photography scenes from simple phone photos, used by millions of e-commerce merchants and marketing teams.
Simplified AI
All-in-one AI content creation platform combining AI writing, image generation, video creation, social media scheduling, and design for marketing teams who want multiple content types in one tool.
Pitch AI
AI-powered collaborative presentation platform used by design-forward startups and teams for creating polished pitch decks with real-time Figma-style collaboration and high-quality templates.
Adobe Express AI
AI-powered design tool for non-designers to create social media graphics, short videos, flyers, and branded content using templates and Adobe Firefly AI generation, included in Creative Cloud.
Recraft AI
AI image generation tool specialising in high-quality vector graphics, SVG icons, brand illustrations, and design-consistent imagery for professional design workflows.
Adobe Photoshop AI
AI features embedded in Adobe Photoshop including Generative Fill for AI image generation within existing images, Generative Expand, Remove Tool, and neural filters for professional photo editing.
Luminar Neo AI
AI-powered photo editing software from Skylum that provides one-click AI sky replacement, portrait enhancement, object removal, and subject isolation with a simpler interface than Adobe Photoshop.
Pixlr AI
AI-powered online photo editor accessible in any browser without download, providing background removal, object removal, AI image generation, and professional editing tools for casual and professional use.
Glif.app
No-code AI creative workflow builder for composing multi-model image generation pipelines that can be shared and remixed as reusable creative tools by the community.
TikTok Symphony AI
TikTok's AI creative suite for advertisers that generates video scripts, creates AI avatars for ad videos, translates and localises creative, and produces complete ad videos from product information.
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Canva AI vs Microsoft Designer
Two of the top Design tools, compared side by side.
Canva AI
Canva
Microsoft Designer
Microsoft
Free plan with ~50 AI credits/month. Canva Pro $15/month or $120/year (500 credits/month, full Magic Studio, premium assets). Teams $20/user/month. Enterprise custom pricing.
Free with a Microsoft account using DALL-E 3 image generation. Premium features included with Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
Teams and Enterprise include SSO, admin controls, and brand kit management. Canva Shield for content filtering.
Microsoft 365 data security standards apply. Review Microsoft's AI data usage policy.
Review Canva's privacy policy for uploaded assets. Enterprise includes data handling agreements.
Review Microsoft's privacy policy for AI-generated content. Images generated are subject to Microsoft's content policy.
- Lowest barrier to entry for non-designers
- Tightly integrated with templates and brand kits
- Background Remover and Magic Resize save significant production time
- Strong for multi-format marketing content
- Free with Microsoft account including DALL-E 3 image generation
- Good Microsoft 365 integration for existing users
- Simple interface accessible to non-designers
- Regularly updated with new templates and features
- Shared credit pool depletes quickly across multiple AI features
- Image quality does not match dedicated AI art tools
- No credit top-ups without upgrading
- Advanced AI features require Pro plan
- Smaller template library than Canva
- Less feature depth than Canva Pro for regular design work
- Advanced customisation limited compared to professional tools
Buying Guide
How to choose a design tool
- Shortlist two or three design tools and run the same real task through each before picking one — feature lists rarely predict day-to-day fit.
- Check the pricing model closely: usage-based plans can look cheap at first and scale unpredictably once you're a regular user.
- Confirm data handling and retention policies if the tool will touch anything proprietary or customer-facing.