brand needs a memorable logo to stand out, and you can’t create one with a box of crayons. If you want a professional logo, you need professional logo design software.
But lately, the market’s been flooded with logo design software of all kinds: desktop, online, free and even AI-powered software! All of those options can be overwhelming, especially if your previous graphic design experience comes from MS Paint.
In this guide, we outline our top picks for the best logo design software on the market. We break them up by category and evaluate their pros and cons so that you can get a sense of their greatest strengths vs. their cost. Let’s dive in!
1. Gravit Designer: Best online logo software
2. Vectr: Easiest logo software to use
3. Looka: Best AI-powered logo designer
4. Hatchful: Best mobile logo creator
5. Inkscape: Best free logo design software
6. Photoshop: Best design software for logo sketches
7. CorelDRAW: Best logo design software for adapting sketches
8. Affinity Designer: Best all-in-one logo software
9. Adobe Illustrator: Best overall logo design software
Nowadays, you don’t need to download software at all—you can create a perfectly professional logo with an online app. As it happens, Gravit Designer is available both online and on desktop. But out of all the online options we reviewed, this program has the most features and tools to support custom logo design. These include selection tools, precision alignment, blending modes, symbol libraries and much more.
You do have to pay for the pro version if you want a range of design export files as well as full editing control over color, typography and vector paths. Depending on your particular needs, this might not be a concern, and the free version has enough assets to create a professional logo, provided you have the design savvy to do so.
People who have experience with vector programs or a willingness to learn—a lot of tools mean nothing if you can’t use them.
If you’re looking for an online software option that’s much simpler than Gravit, Vectr provides a streamlined interface that supports custom logo design. Their mission is to make graphic design accessible to everyone, and this translates to completely free software and an intuitive workspace that welcomes newcomers to vector art.
While the barebones toolset certainly delivers on this promise, there are limits to how far you can take your designs. But it still manages to contain a decent array of tools (pen/pencil, gradients, shadows, opacity and others), that make it a great place to start as a logo designer.
Beginning logo designers looking to get started with vector programs. Anyone who needs to create a custom logo design with no budget for or time to learn expensive software.
Of course, why bother designing your logo at all when you can get a robot to do it for you. Looka‘s online logo software is perfect if you do not have the design chops to create your logo or do not have the time or budget to hire a designer.
Right out of the gate, their preliminary questionnaire is more involved than similar platforms like Renderforest. Looka delves deeper for more accurate results about what kind of brand you are and what style suits you. But it probably comes as no surprise that the results are ultimately based on templates and the quality of these automated logos can be mixed. If you’re looking for a logo that’s fully customized and tailored to you, you may want to leave the robots behind.
People who don’t need to participate in the logo design process. Maybe you’re afraid your lack of design skill will hold you back. Maybe you just don’t have the time. Maybe creative tasks stress you out and you can’t afford to hire a freelance designer. Alternatively, Looka is perfect for when you’re on a deadline.