Adobe arch-rival unveils online graphic design tool for beginners - and yes, it has a subscription

CorelDraw Go homepage showing design examples

(Image credit: Corel)

New browser-based CorelDraw Go launches for beginners
For pros, CorelDraw Web looks to help offer seamless design across devices
Subscriptions abound, and it's available now

For anyone looking for a simple way to make online designs, the options just broadened with a new graphic design tool that works in your browser.

Corel has announced the release of CorelDraw Go, which simplifies the design process with templates, drag-and-drop elements, and royalty-free stock assets. If that sounds a lot like Canva, then you’re not wrong.

Launching alongside CorelDraw Go is a new set of features for the company’s full graphics suite, including a web-based version for subscribers.

What is CorelDraw Go?

We’ve long been fans of CorelDraw - one of the best graphic design software apps around, not to mention one of the best Photoshop alternatives that we’ve tried.

CorelDraw Go is a new, entry-level browser-based graphic designer for beginners, enthusiasts, and anyone looking for simple ways to get creative. So, that means social media posts, presentations, posters, business cards, and original artwork.

According to Corel, the online designer features include realistic brushes, templates, stock assets, and masking and image editing tools among its toolset.

Comparisons to Canva are inevitable - and with good reason. I had a quick toy with the tool on a free trial (you can check it out by clicking here), and if you’ve used the likes of Canva and Adobe Illustrator, then you’re immediately in familiar territory here.

During my brief play-time, I found the fundamentals largely the same. It works across Windows and macOS devices, with Corel stating that for best results, use the latest versions of Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.

Here’s the catch: Like Adobe Illustrator and Canva Pro, this is a subscription-only tool. Current pricing for CorelDraw Go is $9.99 / €9.99 / £8.99 a month or $99 / €115 / £95 for an annual subscription.

It’s not the only online design tool Corel has released, with the company confirming the launch of CorelDraw Web - a web-based version of its graphic design software with cloud support, letting users drift from one device to another without losing their work.

In addition to this, new print to PDF tools have been integrated into CorelDraw and Corel Photo-Paint and an upgrade to the Painterly Brush tool, which adds new brush controls and an extra fifty free brushes for subscribers.

“With CorelDRAW Go and CorelDRAW Web, we’re making creativity more accessible than ever. The flexibility of these new cloud-based tools combined with the latest creative and workflow enhancements in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, reinforce our commitment to empowering design professionals and creative enthusiasts to work more efficiently and push the boundaries of what’s possible in graphic design,” said Prakash Channagiri, Senior Director of Product Management for CorelDraw.

Steve is B2B Editor for Creative & Hardware at TechRadar Pro. He began in tech journalism reviewing photo editors and video editing software at Web User magazine, and covered technology news, features, and how-to guides. Today, he and his team of expert reviewers test out a range of creative software, hardware, and office furniture. Once upon a time, he wrote TV commercials and movie trailers. Relentless champion of the Oxford comma.