Friday, July 24, 2015

Seven Tools for Creating Infographics Without Using Photoshop


How can you create beautiful infographics without using Photoshop?
I'm not a Photoshop expert, so I take days to create a basic infographic. I'm a Paint ninja, but I can't create nice infographics by using Paint. So I was searching for fast, easy, and cheap (even free) alternatives.
The most important aspects of each tool are outlined for each product.
Free version: Is a free version or free trial available?
Restrictions: What are the restrictions of the free version?

Price and pro functions: What are the new features if you pay?
Usability and design: What does the interface look like? Is it easy to use?
Templates: How many templates are available in the free version?
Objects: How many objects are available in the free version?
Charts: How many charts are available in the free version?
Customizability: the extent of customizability
Downloading: Are you allowed to download infographics in the free version?
Help: Are blog posts, tutorials, and/or guides available?
Here's a look at the different tools and comparisons to help you easily find the most appropriate tool for your needs.
1. Easel.ly  
Free version: free basic version, no trial
Restrictions: fewer objects, fewer templates
Price and pro functions: $36/year, more templates, access to thousands of images
Usability and design: easy-to-use, simple interface
Templates: 13 templates
Objects: small amount
Charts: five different charts
Customizability: good
Downloading: allowed in free (high-quality and PDF)
Help: blog posts, guides and tutorials to get started and to make infographics
2. Piktochart  
Free version: free basic version
Restrictions: watermark, picture size, maximum 20 photos, no export to PDF
Price and pro functions: $29/month, $290/ year, more templates, high-resolution images, export to PDF
Usability and design: easy-to-use simple interface
Templates: 11 templates
Objects: huge amount of objects
Charts: 14 different ones
Customizability: awesome
Downloading: allowed with watermark but not high resolution
Help: blog posts, guides and tutorials to get started and to make infographics
3. Infogr.am  
Free version: free basic version
Restrictions: 10 images maximum are allowed to upload to each infographic, watermark added
Price and pro functions:
  • Pro: $15/month, downloading allowed, real-time data, private infographic sharing, co-creation with team members, more than 100 icons, detailed infographic analytics, rich text editor, new themes
  • Whitelabel: $42/month, no watermark, custom logo, removed share buttons
Usability and design: simple interface
Templates: 13 free, very similar templates
Objects: no objects in the free version
Charts: 18 different ones
Customizability: restricted
Downloading: not allowed in the free version
Help: blog posts, guides, and tutorials to get started and to make infographics
4. Venngage  
Free version: free basic version, no trial
Restrictions: downloading not allowed in free version
Price and pro functions:
  • Premium: $19/month, $49/quarter, $190/year, more themes, charts, objects, downloading as PDF or PNG, and other infographic features
  • Team and Education plans
Usability and design: simple minimalist interface, easy to use
Templates: 10+ templates
Objects: huge amount of icons
Charts: six different charts
Customizability: very good, lot of options
Downloading: not allowed in free version
Help: huge knowledge base, solution for any problem
5. Canva  
Free version: You can register for free full functionality, no trial needed.
Restrictions: None. You pay after each item used. You can create infographics for free or very cheap.
Price and pro functions: You pay after each infographic created, and the price depends on the items you added.
Usability and design: nice design, easy-to-use interface
Templates: huge amount of templates
Objects: lot of objects and shapes (Most are free.)
Charts: lot of charts but without the option of adding data and tables
Customizability: good
Downloading: allowed
Help: blog posts, guides, and tutorials to get started and to make infographics
6. Visme  
Free version: free basic plan, no trial
Restrictions: up to three projects, watermark added to the infographic, max. 100MB storage space, all projects are public
Price and pro functions:
  • Visme Standard: $6/month, billed yearly (otherwise $10/month), up to 15 projects, no Visme brand on infographics, 250MB storage, download as PDF and HTML, more charts, premium support, but projects are public
  • Visme Complete: $16/month, billed yearly (otherwise $28/month), unlimited projects, no Visme brand on infographics, 1GB storage, download as PDF, HTML5, more charts, private and public projects, collaboration, premium support
  • Educational and nonprofit discount
Usability and design: easy to use, simple
Templates: five templates
Objects: huge amount of objects and shapes
Charts: 10 different charts, editing and adding data is limited (just five charts)
Customizability: good
Downloading: allowed only as JPEGs
Help: huge knowledge base, solution for any questions
7. Infoactive 
Free version: You can start using it for free.
Restrictions: Infoactive logo added, infographics are public
Price and pro functions:
  • Starter: $12/month, static image exports, interactive data exploration, unlimited graphics
  • Standard: $29/month, all Starter plan features, set passwords on infographics, remove Infoactive's logo, live data via Google Sheets
  • Premium: $49/month, all Standard plan features, direct phone support, custom data integrations, custom themes, team accounts
  • Discount for students, teachers, and nonprofit organizations
Usability and design: simple minimalist design, easy to use
Templates: two templates
Objects: no objects
Charts: 14 different charts
Customizability: very limited
Downloading: not available, just embed code or link to share
Help: FAQs and tutorial videos
* * * 
Don't like these tools? Try PowerPoint to create infographics.
HubSpot has created 10 customizable templates in PowerPoint. It is an easy way to get started. You just put the necessary information pieces into the shapes, change the colors, and fonts—and it is done.  
If HubSpot's templates are not enough, you can find more here.


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