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Choosing Design & Vector Tools alternatives: 7 free/open-source options

Vector drawing, UI design, layout, engineering drafting. Below, 7 tools cover 4 vendors; 4 have been hands-on tested by us, the rest are marked "not tested yet" — no invented verdicts.

Compare at a glance

Tool	Replaces	License	Runs on	Chinese UI	Online
CADCraft	AutoCAD	Apache-2.0 (commercial use OK)	desktop	no (English UI)	desktop only
DesignCraft	Adobe InDesign	Apache-2.0 (commercial use OK)	online / desktop	no (English UI)	online, ready to use
FigCraft	Figma	Apache-2.0 (commercial use OK)	online / desktop	no (English UI)	online, ready to use
VectorCraft	Adobe Illustrator	Apache-2.0 (commercial use OK)	online / desktop	yes	online, ready to use
Figma not tested yet	Adobe XD / Sketch	Proprietary, free with paid tiers	online / desktop	yes	official online
Inkscape not tested yet	Adobe Illustrator	GPL-2.0 (commercial OK, derivatives must stay open source)	desktop	yes	desktop only
Penpot not tested yet	Figma	MPL-2.0 (commercial use OK)	online	no (English UI)	official online

Pick by need (conclusions first)

Want it now, no install: prioritize the "Online" column; for tools without an online build, use the official online version.
Need a Chinese UI: pick only rows with Chinese UI = yes; an English UI still works, but you will be reading menus by icon.
Commercial use / second-party development: check the license column — MIT / Apache-2.0 are the most permissive; GPL derivatives must stay open source.
Sensitive files: pick self-hosted or desktop tools that process files locally; avoid online services that require uploads.

All 7 tools

CADCraft

tested

Positioned against AutoCAD. Maturity: in development. Our hands-on test: the web build get

See hands-on test →

DesignCraft

tested

Positioned against InDesign. Maturity: in development. Our hands-on: the web build gets yo

See hands-on test →

FigCraft

tested

Positioned against Figma. Maturity: 'early alpha' (the least mature tier by the official l

See hands-on test →

VectorCraft

tested

Positioned against Illustrator as a vector editor; maturity: in development. Our hands-on:

See hands-on test →

Figma

not tested yet

The free plan includes 3 collaboration files; team / premium features are paid

waiting for hands-on test

Inkscape

not tested yet

Fully free and open source

waiting for hands-on test

Penpot

not tested yet

Open source and self-hostable; the official cloud has a free tier

waiting for hands-on test