# ArtCraft and GridCraft: free Adobe and Office alternatives

Source: https://somosgentedigital.com/en-us/blog/artcraft-free-adobe-office-alternatives

Date: 2026-10-11

The creator of ArtCraft launched open-source clones of Excel, PowerPoint and Word. We tried PhotoCraft at SGD and share what it means for your company.

![SGD astronaut holding a lightweight toolbox next to a huge stack of heavy boxes](https://images.prismic.io/somosgentedigital-alfa/tCUAI-E0N_LJZc_e_artcraft-2026-10-11.png?auto=format,compress)

How many people at your company pay for a Photoshop or Office license to use 10% of what it offers? That question stuck with me this week, and the news behind it comes with an in-house opinion.

## The news: after Adobe, now Office

According to [Tom's Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/software/microsoft-office/creator-of-free-adobe-clones-unveils-open-source-microsoft-office-excel-powerpoint-and-word-replications-autodesk-tools-and-other-subscription-based-services-may-come-next) (by Jhet Borja, October 11, 2026), Brandon Thomas, an engineer with 15 years of experience and creator of ArtCraft (a free, open-source suite that replicates Adobe's apps), announced three new tools: GridCraft, DeckCraft and WordCraft. Their goal is to replace Excel, PowerPoint and Word.

Key points from the article:

- They were built with help from Claude and are free on ArtCraft's GitHub.
- They run identically on macOS, Windows and Linux.
- Thomas frames them as a protest against subscription models from companies like Microsoft and Adobe. The community is already asking for a "CADcraft" to take on Autodesk.
- The article itself admits most of these apps are still far from what they aim to replace.
- It also notes that Google's free tools are online-only, which takes away ownership of your software and files.

Criticism of "vibecoded" and "AI slop" followed. Thomas replies that he does know how to code.

## What happened when Pablo, from the SGD team, tried it

This is the part we care about most. Pablo, from the SGD team, is a publicist by training, used Photoshop for a long time and makes art (hand illustrations he animates in After Effects and then brings to the web, plus logos; some of that work lives on his personal blog, [garitma.com](https://garitma.com)). He downloaded PhotoCraft, ArtCraft's Photoshop clone, and put it to work.

The first thing he noticed was the size: about 66 MB, versus the gigabytes Adobe takes up. As he puts it, it is mathematically impossible for it to have every feature.

And yet it got the job done. Pablo needed to retouch the avatars of SGD's agents and move some formats on the Somos Gente logo to create the "Made by" seal now visible at [auradesignsystem.com](https://auradesignsystem.com).

![Aura Design System Made by seal with the Somos Gente Digital logo](https://images.prismic.io/somosgentedigital-alfa/9gOrMXOhyrqutqaF_artcraft-aura-madeby-2026-10-11.png?auto=format,compress)

Every shortcut worked: cmd+shift+alt+s to save for web, selecting an element and aligning it. In Pablo's words, perfect.

His comparison is the interesting part. He couldn't get that with Affinity, because Affinity aims to be an alternative, but a "better" one. What he needed was an alternative that is the same. Alternatives have always existed, he explains, but not a lightweight one, designed as a family under a single installer, that keeps the same commands for light tasks. Others do the same things but in different places, or they run online and their performance depends on Chrome.

## What about Office?

Pablo offers a close-to-home example: his dad uses Word only to write certain official letters. A free alternative would serve him perfectly, but people don't use them because "it's what exists."

His point is simple. Not everyone uses 100% of Adobe or Word. If 66 MB does what you need, why the rest? His read is that audiences will split: professionals who will keep needing the full suite, and light-task users who will prefer something lightweight and familiar.

## Our take: this confirms what we've been saying

On the SGD blog we've already written about how AI is making custom software viable. We covered [Starbucks building internal software with AI](/en-us/blog/starbucks-ai-own-software-budget), and [Pablo using Cursor to build a home app for about 20 dollars](/en-us/blog/starbucks-ai-own-software-budget) that replaced subscriptions costing around 100 dollars a year.

ArtCraft is another piece of the same puzzle. When building software gets cheaper, the "pay because there's no other option" argument gets weaker.

## What a growing company can do

1. **Audit real usage.** Check what percentage of each licensed tool each person on your team actually uses.
1. **Separate light tasks from professional ones.** For quick retouching, simple documents or internal decks, a lightweight tool with familiar shortcuts may be enough.
1. **Keep pro licenses for those who need them.** Design, advanced editing and complex financial models still justify the full suite.
1. **Be honest about the risk.** One comment on the article sums it up: there's no support for professional companies. Before migrating, evaluate file compatibility, updates and who answers when something breaks.

This isn't about canceling everything tomorrow. It's about paying for what you actually use.

## Shall we talk?

If you want to review which tools your company is paying for, or explore whether custom software makes sense for your operation, at Somos Gente Digital we love that conversation. Write to us and let's look at it together.

## Want to review which licenses your company pays for and what could be lighter?

[Contact](/en-us/contact-us)