Best Self-Hosted Graphic Design Tools in 2026

Applications for creating visual designs, illustrations, icons, and graphics for print and digital use.

The top-rated pick is Excalidraw with 122,999 GitHub stars.

4 self-hosted graphic design tools — ranked by GitHub stars. Browse all

Excalidraw

Open-source virtual whiteboard for creating hand-drawn style diagrams and sketches.

Alternative to:

Miro

Penpot

Open-source design and prototyping tool for cross-domain teams — a self-hostable alternative to Figma.

Alternative to:

Figma

miniPaint

Online image editor with layers, filters, and effects that runs entirely in the browser. An open source Photoshop alternative with no ads or account required.

Alternative to:

Adobe Photoshop

SnapOtter

Self-hosted image manipulation platform with 45+ tools, local AI, and pipelines. A privacy-first open source alternative to Canva, TinyPNG, and remove.bg.

Alternative to:

Canva

Why self-host?

Self-hosting puts you in control. You own your data, avoid vendor lock-in, and eliminate recurring subscription costs. For teams handling sensitive data or operating under strict compliance requirements, running your own infrastructure is often the only viable option.

Want to compare all open source options including cloud-hosted ones? See the best open source graphic design tools →