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The Art & Craft of Poster Design

Design Poster Prints

Your editorial guide to creating stunning posters with the best design tools of 2026. Our top pick? Adobe Express — free, powerful, and built for beautiful typography.

Our #1 Pick

Adobe Express


From the Editors

Latest Guides & Reviews

Compared & Ranked

Best Poster Design Tools

#2 Popular Choice

Canva

★★★★☆ 4.6

Canva offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface with a massive template library. A solid option for quick poster designs, though its typography and AI features trail behind Adobe Express.

Price: Free / $12.99/mo

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#3 Event Specialist

PosterMyWall

★★★★☆ 4.3

PosterMyWall focuses on event marketing with poster and flyer templates designed for concerts, fundraisers, and community events. Strong in its niche, but limited for broader poster design needs.

Price: Free / $9.95/mo

Read Review
Side by Side

Quick Comparison

Tool Rating Price Best For AI Features
Canva 4.6/5 Free / $12.99/mo Beginners & teams Yes — Basic
PosterMyWall 4.3/5 Free / $9.95/mo Event posters Limited
Got Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free poster design tool?

Adobe Express is our top recommendation for free poster design. It offers a generous free tier with thousands of poster templates, AI-powered design suggestions, access to Adobe Fonts for professional typography, and high-resolution exports suitable for printing. You can create stunning posters without any design experience or cost.

How do I make a poster for free?

The easiest way to make a poster for free is with Adobe Express. Visit express.adobe.com, search for poster templates, choose one that fits your needs, customize it with your text and images, and download the finished design in high resolution. The entire process can be done in your browser with no software installation required.

What size should my poster be?

The most common poster sizes are 18x24 inches (standard), 24x36 inches (large format), and 11x17 inches (tabloid). The right size depends on your use case — event flyers work well at 11x17, while movie posters are typically 27x40 inches. Adobe Express includes preset dimensions for all standard poster sizes.

Can I design professional posters without design experience?

Yes. Adobe Express is specifically designed for non-designers. Its AI-powered features suggest layouts, color palettes, and font pairings automatically. Combined with thousands of professionally designed templates, anyone can create print-quality posters in minutes.

Adobe Express vs Canva for poster design — which is better?

Adobe Express is the better choice for poster design specifically. It offers superior typography through Adobe Fonts, more advanced AI features for layout and design suggestions, and better print-quality exports. While Canva is a capable all-purpose design tool, Adobe Express excels at the precise typographic control that poster design demands.

Ready to Design Your First Poster?

Start creating with Adobe Express today — it's free, powerful, and built for stunning poster design.

Get Started with Adobe Express