Which free design tools let you export work another tool can open?
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The Short Answer
- Photopea — Photopea says it opens and saves PSD, its main format, and that files never leave the device.
- Penpot — Penpot exports PNG, JPEG, WEBP, SVG and PDF on cloud or self-hosted installations, but documents background-blur and PDF-output limitations.
- Figma — Figma says Design exports are available on any plan, while Starter limits a team to three files and 30 days of history.
- Canva — Canva says premium elements watermark a design until the element is purchased or the account is upgraded.
| Product | Best for | From | Free plan | Free-plan interoperable export |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photopea | Free PSD read and write, entirely local | Free only | Yes | Export without condition |
| Penpot | Open exports, with documented fidelity exceptions | $7/mo | Yes | Export with conditions |
| Figma | Plan-independent export; three team files | $16/mo (annual) | Yes | Export with conditions |
| Canva | Clean only when every asset is free | — | Yes | Export with conditions |
What We Tested
The question is deliberately narrower than which design tool is best. We checked whether work made on a free plan can leave in a format another tool can open, and whether the vendor documents an output condition: a watermark, a plan limit, access restriction, or known loss of fidelity. We did not run exports ourselves, so every verdict is based on the vendor’s own documentation.
An export button alone is not a clean answer. Canva makes that obvious by attaching its watermark condition to individual premium assets. Penpot makes it differently: its formats are open, but the vendor documents output differences. Figma makes export available across plans, yet the free team’s working set is three files. These are different conditions and should not be collapsed into a generic free-versus-paid story.
The file can leave, and still not be the same file
Photopea is the clearest interoperability case. It calls PSD its main format and says it both opens and saves it. Its local-processing claim also matters: the project file can move through a browser editor without first becoming a hosted vendor document.
Penpot is the corrective to the easy open-source conclusion. The same experience is available on its cloud and self-hosted paths, and its export list includes SVG and PDF. But the export documentation says background blur is not included and warns that PDF output can differ from the editor. Open formats make the result portable; they do not make every effect faithful.
Canva puts the condition in the canvas
Canva Free can produce a clean export, but only if every element in the design is free. One premium element adds a watermark until it is bought or the account changes. That is not a format limitation and not an all-or-nothing plan paywall. It is an asset audit that has to happen before download.
Figma has the opposite shape. Its export guide says exports are available on any plan, provided the file owner has not restricted copying and sharing. The free-plan constraint is mostly before that point: a single team with three files and 30 days of history.
Free PSD read and write, entirely local
1. Photopea — Free PSD read and write, entirely local
The direct choice when a PSD has to keep moving through another editor.
Best for Reads and writes PSD, free, without uploading anything
From Free only. Free plan: Free in the browser with no account. The site states "Enjoy all the premium features without spending a dime" and that files stay local — "There are no uploads. Photopea runs on your device... All files open instantly, and never leave your device.".
The answer to whether the work leaves in a form another tool can open is unusually direct here: "Photopea fully supports a popular PSD format, both opening and saving files. It is the main format of Photopea." Beyond that it lists "PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, WEBP, SVG, PDF, AI, AVIF, DDS, HEIC, TIFF, MP4, TGA, CDR, PDN, EPS, INDD, Figma and 40 other formats." No paid tier, watermark or export restriction appears on the homepage, the API page or the learn page, and /premium/, /donate/ and /pricing/ all return 404 — so there is no pricing page on which a restriction could be documented.
Pros
- Native PSD read and write at no cost, so files move both ways with Photoshop.
- Runs entirely client-side — the site states files "never leave your device" — with no account, upload or payment needed to export.
- Opens and exports 40-plus formats including SVG, PDF, AI, TIFF and Figma files.
Skip it if
- There is no pricing page at all (/pricing/, /premium/ and /donate/ all 404), so no vendor document exists to confirm what any paid arrangement would change.
- The API documentation refers to a whitelabel distributor mode that hides ads and branding, which implies the default experience is ad-supported; we found no statement either way about export.
- Documentation is thin outside the homepage and the learn and API pages.
Open exports, with documented fidelity exceptions
2. Penpot — Open exports, with documented fidelity exceptions
Portable formats on either deployment path, with caveats that should be visible before export.
Best for Open exports on cloud or self-hosted, with documented fidelity caveats
From $7/mo. Free plan: Two separate free paths. Self-hosted: the application is open source under MPL-2.0 and deployable yourself at no licence cost. Hosted: the free Professional tier is $0 per user a month for up to 8 team members plus unlimited viewers, 10GB storage and 7-day version history, described by Penpot as "Free and fully featured. No limits, no missing tools.".
- Unlimited (hosted) — $7/mo · 1 seat (Per user a month, capped at $175 a month total regardless of team size. 25GB storage, 30-day version history.)
- Enterprise (hosted) — $25/mo · 1 seat (Per user a month with a stated $950 a month minimum. Unlimited storage, 90-day version history, SSO, SCIM and audit logs.)
- Private Server — price not shown on the page we opened (Stated only as a flat annual figure — $50,000 a year for dedicated infrastructure with enterprise support. Not a monthly price, so none is recorded rather than dividing one out.)
Penpot offers PNG, JPEG, WEBP, SVG and PDF export, and its self-hosting documentation says the cloud and self-hosted experience is the same. That is not an unconditional clean-export answer: Penpot documents that background blur is not included in exports, and that PDF output can differ from the editor because of format conversion. The hosted free tier is described as "Free and fully featured. No limits, no missing tools", while self-hosting remains available under MPL-2.0; neither fact removes the documented output-fidelity conditions. Recorded as limited rather than yours because the axis asks whether the work comes out clean, not merely whether an export button exists.
Pros
- MPL-2.0 and self-hostable; Penpot says cloud and self-hosted experiences are the same.
- Penpot describes its own hosted free tier as "Free and fully featured. No limits, no missing tools."
- Exports include PNG, JPEG, WEBP, SVG and PDF.
Skip it if
- The hosted free tier caps teams at 8 members with 10GB of storage and only 7 days of version history.
- Self-hosting means running Docker or Kubernetes yourself, which is a real operating cost even with no licence fee.
- Background blur is not included in exports, and PDF output can differ from the editor.
Plan-independent export; three team files
3. Figma — Plan-independent export; three team files
A small active-file set is the free-plan condition, not a watermark on the output.
Best for Export is free on every plan; having files to export is not
From $16/mo (annual). Free plan: Starter — a single team limited to 3 files, with 30 days of version history. Includes unlimited drafts, UI kits and templates, and 150 AI credits a day. No team libraries, Dev Mode or audio conversations..
- Professional — $16/mo billed annually · 1 seat ($16 a month for a Full seat on the page's default annual view; Dev seats are $12 and Collab seats $3. No month-to-month figure rendered in the fetch we used, so none is recorded.)
- Organization — $55/mo billed annually · 1 seat ($55 a month per Full seat, billed annually only per Figma's page. Dev seats $25, Collab seats $5.)
- Enterprise — $90/mo billed annually · 1 seat ($90 a month per Full seat, billed annually only. Dev seats $35, Collab seats $5.)
Figma's help article states export is "Available on any plan" and that anyone with view access can export assets unless the file owner has restricted copying and sharing. No free-plan watermark is documented. The restriction is upstream of the export: Starter gives a single team with 3 files and 30 days of version history against unlimited paid capacity. Export is therefore plan-independent but not unconditional, and the free working set is small; recorded as limited rather than gated.
Pros
- Asset export is stated as "Available on any plan", with no watermark documented at any tier including free.
- Even view-only access can export assets, per Figma's own pricing FAQ.
- Starter includes auto layout, components and prototypes rather than a cut-down viewer.
Skip it if
- Starter is capped at a single team and 3 files, with 30 days of version history.
- No team libraries or Dev Mode on the free plan.
- Organization and Enterprise seats are billed annually only, with no month-to-month option shown.
Clean only when every asset is free
4. Canva — Clean only when every asset is free
Audit the assets, not just the account tier, before promising a clean downloadable file.
Best for The watermark is on the element, not on the plan
From —. Free plan: Canva Free includes the full editor and a large library of free photos, videos, audio and templates, with standard export formats. Premium elements can be used on the free plan, but a design containing one is watermarked at export unless that element is bought or the account is upgraded..
- Pro — price not shown on the page we opened · 1 seat (No USD figure could be read. The pricing page returned HTTP 403 to a direct fetch and geo-served KRW (₩99,000 a year) in a browser on every retry, including the en_us URL. Nothing is converted.)
- Business — price not shown on the page we opened · 1 seat (Same access problem; KRW ₩139,000 a year was shown and no USD figure was obtainable.)
- Enterprise — price not shown on the page we opened (Canva publishes no price — the page offers only Contact sales or Book a demo.)
Canva puts the paywall on the asset rather than the account, which no other product in this category does. Its help article states: "Premium elements will have watermarks (criss-cross patterns) on your design until they're purchased", and lists three ways out — "Download your design to purchase all premium elements used", "Click the Remove watermarks button on an element to purchase it", or "Upgrade to Canva Pro or Canva Teams". A second article confirms the tier condition: "Premium elements will have watermarks on your design if you're a Canva Free user." The practical effect is that a free design built only from free elements exports with no stated restriction, and one premium element marks the whole design.
Pros
- A free design using only free elements exports without any stated watermark restriction.
- Free users can download a watermarked draft to see how premium elements look before deciding to buy them.
- Individual elements can be bought one at a time, so a single premium asset does not require a subscription.
Skip it if
- Any free design containing a premium element is watermarked at export until that element is purchased or the account upgraded.
- We could not read a USD price at all — the pricing page returned 403 to a direct fetch and served Korean won in a browser on every attempt, so both paid tiers are recorded without figures rather than converted.
- Enterprise carries no published price.
Choose the condition you can live with
Choose Photopea when PSD compatibility is the requirement. Choose Penpot when SVG or PDF portability matters and the documented rendering caveats are acceptable. Choose Figma when the active collaboration set fits within three team files and the file owner allows export. Choose Canva only after checking every element in the canvas is free or licensed.
None of these conclusions says that a format resolves copyright, brand, or collaboration permissions. This page measures what the product’s plan and export policy permit; it does not replace the rights attached to the design assets themselves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which free design tool can save a PSD file?
Photopea says it both opens and saves PSD, its main format, without requiring an account. Its homepage also says processing stays on the device, so the export does not require uploading the file to a vendor workspace.
Does Figma put a watermark on free exports?
Figma's export guide says export is available on any plan. It can still be disabled by a file owner's copying-and-sharing setting; that is an access control, not a free-plan watermark. Starter also has a three-file team limit, which is why the result is conditional rather than an unrestricted answer.
Can Canva Free export without a watermark?
Yes when the design uses only free assets. Canva says a premium element leaves a watermark until that element is bought or the account is upgraded. The condition is therefore inside the canvas, not simply in the account tier.
Does self-hosted Penpot avoid export limitations?
No. Penpot says the cloud and self-hosted experience is the same, and its export documentation describes the same background-blur omission and possible PDF differences. Self-hosting changes who operates the software, not the documented output caveats.
Are Penpot exports always visually identical to the editor?
No. Penpot documents that background blur is not included in exports and that PDF exports can differ from the editor. The product can still export open formats; the page records the fidelity condition rather than pretending the formats make every design identical.
How We Keep This Updated
Prices move and vendors rewrite their plan tables, so every value on this page carries the date we read it. When a page changes, the change lands here rather than being edited away quietly. The procedure is on the methodology page. tell us and we will re-check it.
- 2026-08-06 — First published. Pricing, plan limits, export formats, watermark conditions, and self-hosting documentation were read from vendor pages. Canva's prices remain unavailable because the vendor page did not provide a readable USD value.