---
title: "The Designer Stack"
description: "Ditch Creative Cloud. Professional open source design tools for UI/UX, photo editing, digital art, and documentation."
---

# 🎨 The Designer Stack

**Ditch Creative Cloud.** Professional design tools that rival Adobe — from UI/UX prototyping to photo editing and digital art.

| What | Tool | Replaces |
|---|---|---|
| UI/UX Design | [Penpot](/deploy/penpot) | Figma ($15/mo) |
| Photo Editing | [GIMP](/deploy/gimp) | Photoshop ($22/mo) |
| Digital Art | [Krita](/deploy/krita) | Procreate / Illustrator ($22/mo) |
| Knowledge Base | [AppFlowy](/deploy/appflowy) | Notion ($10/mo) |

**Total saved: ~$110/mo**

## The Honest Take

Let's be real: these tools don't have feature parity with Adobe. But for 90% of design work — UI mockups, web design, photo editing, illustrations — they're more than enough. And the gap closes every month.

**Where they shine:**
- Penpot is genuinely better than Figma for developers (SVG-native, CSS grid support)
- GIMP handles 95% of what Photoshop does
- Krita is beloved by digital artists — many prefer it over paid alternatives

**Where they struggle:**
- Video editing (no open source premiere replacement yet)
- Print design workflows (InDesign still wins here)

## Deploy Guides

→ [Deploy Penpot](/deploy/penpot)
→ [Deploy GIMP](/deploy/gimp)
→ [Deploy Krita](/deploy/krita)
→ [Deploy AppFlowy](/deploy/appflowy)