The 6 Best Paid and Free DIY Book Cover Design Software

by Samantha Bale

Do you have a book that's ready to be launched, and you don't have the budget to hire a graphic designer to make a professional cover? Do you have creative ideas and some design skills but are not sure which DIY book cover software is best? Don't worry, you don't need expensive software to get your book ready for launch.

There are plenty of free and paid DIY book cover design software available online, so you can easily create a stunning book cover. In this article, we'll look at some of the best paid and free DIY book cover design software out there. We'll look at their features, price points, user-friendliness, and more. So whether you're a novice or a pro, this guide will help you choose the perfect DIY book cover design software for your needs. Plus, check out Creative Fabrica for this incredible free online design tool!

CANVA: BEST ALL-ROUNDER

The first cover design software that we have is called Canva. If you are someone who does not know about it, worry not. In simple words, Canva is an online graphic design platform with templates for all kinds of projects, from presentations to posters, business cards, flyers, and even book covers. It has hundreds of professionally-designed templates that you can use as a starting point for your designs.

The interface is extremely user-friendly and intuitive, so even if you're a beginner, you can easily create beautiful projects. Canva also offers some powerful features such as drag-and-drop editing, shapes tool, text tool, and image uploader that make it easy to customize your design.

The best thing about Canva is its price point – it's completely free! You can access all of its features without having to pay anything. The only thing that Canva charges for is stock images – but even then, it only costs $1 per image.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP: BEST FOR PROS

The second type we have is Adobe Photoshop, which like Canva, is also quite popular around the world. There are several reasons why Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular graphic design software out there and why it's perfect for creating professional book covers.

It comes with a wide range of features, including layers, masking tools, and 3D capabilities that make it easy to customize your designs and add special effects. It also has a wide selection of fonts and shapes that you can use in your designs.

The downside of Adobe Photoshop is its price – it costs $9.99 per month as part of an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. So if you're looking for an affordable option, this may not be the best choice for you.

GIMP: BEST FREE ALTERNATIVE TO PHOTOSHOP

If you want all the features of Photoshop but don't want to spend any money, GIMP is the perfect alternative for you. It's an open-source image editor with almost all the same features as Adobe Photoshop – from layers to filters to masks – but it's completely free! It also supports various file formats, such as .psd (Adobe Photoshop format), so if you already have a Photoshop file, GIMP can easily open it up without any hassle.

The downside of GIMP is its user-friendliness; while it offers many advanced features similar to Photoshop, they can be difficult to use unless you have prior experience with image editing software.

However, if cost isn't an issue and you have some knowledge of graphic design, GIMP is worth considering as an alternative to Photoshop. You may think that this software is not for fantasy book cover artists, but hopefully, the features we listed above are enough to convince you.

GRAVIT DESIGNER: BEST ONLINE IMAGE EDITOR

Gravit Designer is an online image editor that offers many features similar to Adobe Photoshop, such as layers, masks, and filters but with a more user-friendly interface than GIMP or Photoshop. The best thing about Gravit Designer is that it has several pre-made templates that make creating custom book covers very easy – all you have to do is drag-and-drop elements onto the canvas and adjust them according to your preferences!

Plus, it supports various file formats such as .pdf (Adobe Acrobat format), .svg (Scalable Vector Graphics), and .psd (Adobe Photoshop format). And like Canva, Gravit Designer is also free!

AFFINITY PUBLISHER: BEST FOR PROFESSIONAL LAYOUTS

Coming to the fifth software, we have Affinity Publisher. Affinity Publisher is a powerful desktop publishing software that makes creating professional layouts easy. It has all the usual features such as layers and masks plus advanced tools like text flow control which makes laying out pages a breeze.

Plus, it supports various file formats, including .indd (Adobe InDesign format), so if you already have an InDesign file, Affinity Publisher can easily open it up without any hassle. The downside of Affinity Publisher is its price point – it costs $25 per month or $50 per year as part of the Affinity Photo & Design Suite subscription plan, so this may not be ideal if cost is an issue for you.

DESIGNBOLD: GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY

Many individuals do not know this, but DesignBold is an online image editor with many advanced features such as layers, masks, and filters. It boasts several professionally designed templates that make creating custom book covers easy, even for beginners. It does not matter if you are an experienced editor or someone who is getting started, as DesignBold has software that makes it easy for everyone to use and benefit from.

The interface is quite user-friendly and intuitive, so anyone can get started quickly without having prior knowledge of graphic design or image editing software. Another cool feature of Plus DesignBold is that it also supports various file formats such as .jpg (JPEG), .png (Portable Network Graphics), and .pdf (Adobe Acrobat format).

And unlike most other graphic design software out there, DesignBold offers one flat fee, which is just $19 per month or $119 per year, which makes it great value for money. You are getting so much out of this software at a reasonable price.

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Conclusion

So that is it, folks! We have come to the end of this article. Now we understand that choosing the right DIY book cover design software can be tricky since there are so many options available out there today. But with this guide, we hope we've made things easier by giving you some insight into some of the best paid and free DIY book cover design software available - from Canva to Adobe Photoshop and everything in between. Whether you're looking for something basic or something more advanced, we're sure there's something here that will fit your needs perfectly.