Free Design Tools for Indie Developers: 7 You Can Use Without a Designer

Most side projects do not die because the code was bad. They stall because the landing page looks like a school project and the builder does not know where to start. You do not need a designer. You need the right free tool for each small job: a wireframe, a logo, a social image, a diagram for the docs.

Here are seven, grouped by the job they do best.

Designing screens and layouts

Figma

The Starter plan is free, with unlimited drafts, UI kits and templates, and 150 AI credits a day up to 500 a month. A paid Full seat is $16 a month, or $192 billed annually. One Reddit commenter said that publishing libraries across several files gets limiting on the free plan. For a solo builder drawing app screens, free covers it. See Figma or visit figma.com.

Penpot

Open source design with a free plan that lists unlimited projects and files, up to 8 editors, unlimited storage and 7 days of version history. A G2 reviewer said it runs smoothly in Chrome but sometimes lags in Firefox. Pick it if you want an alternative to Figma that you can host yourself. See Penpot or visit penpot.app.

Making images, fast

Canva

The free plan lists 1.6 million plus templates, 5 GB of cloud storage, 1 Brand Kit with only 3 colors and up to 20 AI uses. Pro is $12 a month or $144 a year. A G2 write up says free plan limits show up quickly if you use it heavily. It is the quickest route to a social image, a launch graphic or a blog cover. See Canva or visit canva.com.

Diagrams and whiteboards

Excalidraw

Free forever, with the full editor, unlimited collaborators, export to PNG or SVG, local end to end encryption and 10 generative AI requests a day. The limit is 1 infinite scene, and unlimited scenes need Plus at $6 per user a month billed yearly. Its hand drawn look makes architecture diagrams feel friendly. See Excalidraw or visit excalidraw.com.

tldraw

This one is an SDK for building a canvas into your own app, and the licence is the catch. It is free in development and for hobby projects, with a 100 day trial of the full feature set. Production use needs a licence key, and the commercial price is value based with no public number. A Hacker News commenter called $6K a year a risk for small companies. Build on it knowing that. See tldraw or visit tldraw.dev.

Shipping a site or a 3D scene

Framer

Design and publish a site from one tool. The Free plan has unlimited design pages, 3 editors, a free Framer domain and 1 GB of bandwidth. A custom domain means a paid plan, starting at Basic for $10 a month. G2 users call the pricing high for personal projects and report slow loading on large ones. See Framer or visit framer.com.

Spline

3D design for the web. Free means limited personal files, unlimited viewers and web export with a watermark. A G2 reviewer called the interface clunky for simple models. The watermark alone rules it out for a clean client page, but it is a fun way to put an interactive object on a personal site. See Spline or visit spline.design.

My picks by job

• App screens and wireframes: Figma, or Penpot if you want open source.
• Social images and blog covers: Canva.
• Architecture diagrams for docs: Excalidraw.
• A marketing site you design and publish in one place: Framer, once you can afford a domain.
• A drawing canvas inside your own product: tldraw, after reading the licence.

Pick one tool for screens and one for images, and stop there. Four design apps and no shipped product is the usual way this goes wrong.