European design tools
European design and prototyping tools as alternatives to Figma and Adobe XD.
Design tools help you draw, edit, and prototype your ideas. Your files hold your work, which is often your livelihood. European and open tools keep that in your control. Penpot, from Spain, is a free, open-source alternative to Figma. Blender, from the Netherlands, is world-class 3D software that costs nothing. Sketch, from the Netherlands, has shaped interface design for years.
Carefully selected European alternatives, some links may earn us a small commission.
Dutch open-source 3D creation suite covering modelling, animation, rendering, video editing, VFX, and motion graphics. Maintained by the Blender Foundation, a non-profit in Amsterdam. Used by studios and individual artists worldwide. 100% free, no subscription.
Replaces: Adobe After Effects , Adobe Premiere Pro , Final Cut Pro
Free open-source non-linear video editor maintained by KDE, the German-rooted open-source community. Available on Linux, Windows, and macOS. Supports multi-track editing, wide format support, and GPU-accelerated rendering. Trusted by content creators and educators.
Replaces: Adobe Premiere Pro , Final Cut Pro , Davinci Resolve
Free open-source photography application and RAW developer. Handles photo management, RAW processing, and non-destructive editing. Community-maintained with strong European contributor base. Available on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Used by professional photographers.
Replaces: Adobe Lightroom , Adobe Photoshop
Berlin-based vector design platform formerly known as Vectornator. Includes Linearity Curve (vector design) and Linearity Move (animation). AI-powered design tools for Mac and iPad. Backed by EQT Ventures. Used by millions of creators and marketing teams.
Replaces: Adobe Illustrator , Canva , Figma , Adobe Indesign
Open-source design and prototyping platform built by Madrid-based Kaleidos. First design tool built on open web standards (SVG, CSS, HTML). Fully self-hostable with no vendor lock-in. Used by teams at Mozilla, Red Hat, and thousands of European organisations.
Replaces: Figma , Adobe Xd , Sketch , Adobe Indesign
Dutch-made macOS design tool from The Hague, long self-funded but with a 2019 Series A from US VC Benchmark. The app is local-first – your .sketch files live on your Mac – while the optional Sketch Cloud backend runs on AWS us-east-1 (US) by default, with EU hosting only on Private Cloud plans.
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