The best free alternative to Fotor: Simplified (Free Forever) vs. Fotor ($39.99 paid annually)

When it comes to design, the options and the sheer number of tools available can be overwhelming. There are many great brands out there that provide excellent design assets for free — but they’re hard to find. And when you look for design collaboration tools online or the best app for graphic design, you’re bound to get a list of apps and tools that you can experiment with. One such app that might be flagged up is Fotor – but Fotor is pricier than some other options and it doesn’t offer as many features as other tools. Simplified is a great Fotor alternative because it gives you access to a selection of unique design and copy tools, all for free!

To make sure you choose the best app for graphic design for your brand, check out our comparison between Fotor and Simplified below.

Pricing and Plans— A Powerful Free Alternative to Fotor

When you’re looking for an alternative for Fotor and other design collaboration tools, the first thing you’ll want to know is, is Fotor free? What about its alternatives? Unfortunately, Fotor only gives you a 3-day free trial. Moreover, you have to fill in your credit card details before the trial starts, meaning they will charge you automatically once those 3 days are up. With Simplified, though, it remains, well, simple! That’s why we think it’s the best app for graphic design – it’s free to sign up for it, and it stays free forever!

On Simplified’s free forever plan, you get unlimited access to millions of beautiful stock images, icons, and design elements, plus thousands of fonts and stock videos, at no extra cost. So, paying for premium stock photos and icons (if you need to) becomes worth it! And if you need an upgrade, or need the extra features that come with a paid plan, Simplified has two different plans for teams—the Small Teams plan ($12 per member per month) and the Businesses Plan ($24 per member per month)—so you only pay for the team members you need and for the type of team you are. With Simplified as an alternative to Fotor, you get more control over your plan costs and can increase and decrease team members (and therefore costs!) as needed.

Is Fotor free for commercial use? Well, no. It hardly has any commercial uses at all, since it’s not built for teams or enterprises, only for individual use.

So, if you’re looking for an all-in-one design tool that includes free design elements (and more), then Simplified might be the app for graphic design you have been looking for.

Keep reading to find out why Simplified is the best Fotor alternative when you’re looking for good design collaboration tools.

All the Features: AI Copywriting, Templates, Videos, and Assets

Now that we have the pricing covered, let’s take a look at the many features you might be looking for in an app for graphic design. In the paragraphs below, we’ll be comparing and assessing some of the most important features that a good app for graphic design should have.

AI copywriting tool

Simplified is the first combined design and AI copywriting tool in the world! On Simplified, there are a bunch of things you can experiment with. From creating brand toolkits and using free-forever templates to using an AI copywriting tool to help with content, you can do it all!

So, isn’t the best Fotor alternative an app that gives you design collaboration tools, and MUCH MORE? Think of it as an all-in-one platform for all your marketing, branding, and design needs. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re an individual working on your art project or you’re making clients happy with your professional portfolio, either! Just sign up and get designing.

Fotor doesn’t have any AI copywriting tool as of yet.

Related: What Is Balance In Graphic Design And Why Is It Important?

Templates

Are Fotor templates free? Not until you sign up! The free trial only lasts for 3 days, after which you will have to pay for at least a month’s subscription, which will cost you between $3 – $8. And even when you are only signing up for the free trial, you still have to enter your credit card details to use it.

However, on Simplified, the best Fotor alternative, you can use pretty much all its features for free, forever! There’s no cost for signing up and no details required except for your email ID! Sweet deal, eh?

Videos

Simplified’s one-click video collaboration tools make creating videos almost as easy as watching them online. Not sure where to start with your video? Browse Simplified’s free, high-quality video library that you can access at no extra charge. Thousands of videos are available to you with the click of a button. Plus, Simplified has video templates that can get you creating in an instant. Fotor, on the other hand, is a (paid) image editing tool only. There are no video editing tools available.

Resource Library

Are Fotor images copyright-free? Yes! Fotor has its own royalty-free stock image website that you can use to find copyright-free images. Simplified, on the other hand, has a stock image library is free for all and has millions of premium stock photos from all your favorite image resources. Access millions of watermark-free, stock images and videos from Unsplash, Pexels, Giphy, Storyblocks, and more for free on Simplified regardless of what plan you’re on!

Sharing: social publishing and scheduling

Now that your designs are ready to share, it is of the utmost importance that you choose an app that caters to your publishing and scheduling needs as well. Which is why Simplified is the best app for graphic design!

Fotor does not yet have a publishing integration, but Simplified, the best Fotor alternative on the market, does! Plus, Simplified’s publishing and scheduling tools are free for all users.

And naturally, to get the most out of your posting schedule, you’ll want to make sure you stay up to date with the best times to post on social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Collaboration & Organizing: Is it good for teams?

Whether you work for a small business or you’re freelancer, collaboration, feedback, and organization are crucial to the success of your projects. While Fotor doesn’t have a feature to help you collaborate or organize work with your teams, Simplified has real-time commenting, workspace sharing, and project organization tools, which are FREE for all, no matter what plan you’re on!

The best Fotor alternative allows unlimited members on all its plans. Additionally, on Simplified, you can create unlimited workspaces to separate clients, projects, or campaigns as a free user.

When working with a team, it is important to be aware of not only your own strengths and weaknesses but the strengths and weaknesses of the people you are working with. Part of being a good team player means knowing when to ask for help or delegate tasks. And part of being a good supervisor is knowing how to keep things on track while allowing for convenient and hassle-free teamwork and a space to collaborate. That’s exactly the kind of thing that Simplified can help with.

Ease of use & interface

Fotor offers tutorials for all your image editing and design needs. However, if you’re looking for a Fotor alternative, Simplified is here to make things, well, simpler! Even with its many features, it never comes across as intimidating to use. Staying true to its tagline, ‘Exceptional design, effortlessly,’ it really simplifies the design process.

While Fotor is easy to navigate and use too, the initial sign up with your credit card is something most users won’t be comfortable with. Plus, the 3 day free trial might not be long enough if you want to be sure about the app you’re going to use after paying.

Simplified, on the other hand, has great navigation that makes it quick to get started with your first design. With Simplified, every design feature and effect is accessible right at the top of your screen. Every single feature— animations, photo effects, resizing, background remover, and more— is accessible on one screen. Plus, lightning-fast hotkeys make it faster than ever to search for action. Just press Command + K to bring up anything you need.

Moreover, Simplified is the only design app that offers live, in-app chat support, so you don’t even need to leave the app to solve a problem. Simplified is the easiest choice for users who want to scale their marketing—and want to use lightning-fast editing tools, AI copywriting, the collaboration feature, and more to do it. Plus, Simplified is the only marketing tool that brings users all these features for zero cost. We hope your search for a Fotor alternative ended with this blog!