Editorial picks · Updated continuously

Best AI design tools

Figma, v0, Runway, Midjourney and the new wave of AI-creative tooling — ranked by output quality and team workflow fit.

#1Synthesia★ Buy· professional

Enterprise AI video creation platform — the most trusted AI video tool for L&D, HR, and comms teams.

The enterprise AI video tool — clear leader
Synthesia owns enterprise AI video for L&D, internal comms, and sales enablement. 60% of Fortune 100 use it. The avatar-based workflow and 140+ language support solve real enterprise problems that creator tools don't.
View Synthesia →See Synthesia alternatives →
#2Captions★ Buy· starter

AI video creation for creators — record once, get edits, captions, and AI-powered post-production in minutes.

AI video for creators — fast, mobile-first, opinionated
Captions is the right AI video tool for solo creators and small marketing teams making short-form talking-head video. The eye-contact correction and AI Edit features are genuinely time-saving. Different category from Synthesia.
View Captions →See Captions alternatives →
#3Figma★ Cautious-Buy· starter★ 4.7 · 2,730 reviews

The collaborative design platform — UI/UX, prototyping, and now AI-powered design generation.

The default design tool, navigating an awkward middle
Figma still owns design and developer handoff, but the AI strategy has been reactive and the post-Adobe-deal era left the company in a strange place. Buy for the network effect, not the roadmap.
View Figma →See Figma alternatives →
#4Descript★ Cautious-Buy· starter★ 4.7 · 1,044 reviews

AI-powered video and podcast editor — edit video by editing text, remove filler words, and clone your voice.

The podcast editor that convinced itself it's a video editor
Descript is unmatched for text-based audio editing and podcast production. The push into video editing is real but the tool is still second-best there.
View Descript →See Descript alternatives →
#5Midjourney★ Cautious-Buy· starter

The leading AI image generator — photorealistic and artistic images from text prompts.

Still the aesthetic leader, still in Discord
Midjourney makes the most beautiful images of any model, full stop. The lack of a real API, the Discord-first UX, and weaker prompt adherence keep it from being a production tool.
View Midjourney →See Midjourney alternatives →
#6Luma Dream Machine★ Cautious-Buy· starter

AI video generation from text and image — Luma Labs' product competing with Runway, Pika, and OpenAI Sora.

AI video generation that's usable for short clips
Luma Dream Machine produces 5-10 second AI video clips with strong motion coherence. Different category from Synthesia (enterprise avatars). Compete with Runway, Pika, and OpenAI Sora; pick on output quality for your use case.
View Luma Dream Machine →See Luma Dream Machine alternatives →
#7Runway★ Evaluate· starter★ 4.1 · 26 reviews

Professional AI video generation and editing — text-to-video, video-to-video, and AI VFX tools.

The video generation tool for pros, at pro prices
Runway's Gen-3 and newer models deliver the most usable AI video for professional workflows. But generation costs add up fast and the creative ceiling still hits hard after 10 seconds.
View Runway →See Runway alternatives →
#8Canva· starter

Design platform for non-designers — templates, brand kits, and AI generation for every format.

View Canva →See Canva alternatives →
#9Flux (Black Forest Labs)· free

Open-weight text-to-image model from the Stable Diffusion creators — state-of-the-art quality, self-hostable.

View Flux (Black Forest Labs) →See Flux (Black Forest Labs) alternatives →
#10Freepik AI Suite· starter

AI generation and editing built into the Freepik stock platform — image, video, upscaling, and voice in one.

View Freepik AI Suite →See Freepik AI Suite alternatives →

Want a personalized pick?

Describe your situation. The advisor reads your goals, constraints, and existing stack — then names 3 of the above with honest tradeoffs.

Get my 3-tool shortlist →