The best free SVG editors
The best SVG editor depends on the job. Drawing a full illustration, designing an interface, fixing a file someone sent you and preparing a cut file are different tasks, and the free tools are each best at one of them.
Inkscape: the best free SVG editor for drawing
Free and open source, for Windows, macOS and Linux. SVG is its own file format, so nothing is lost opening and saving, and it has everything a full vector drawing program needs: pen and node tools, text, layers, boolean operations, and bitmap tracing. The one to install if you draw vectors often.
Figma: best for icons and interface design
Runs in the browser with a free plan. SVGs are imported as editable layers and exported cleanly, which is ideal for icons and UI. It is a design tool rather than an SVG editor, though: some SVG features are simplified on import, so it is not the place to repair an existing file exactly as it is.
SVG-Edit: a free editor in the browser
Open source and browser-based, it edits the SVG itself, with a view of the source. Good for quick changes with nothing to install; lighter on drawing tools than Inkscape.
Adobe Illustrator: the industry standard, not free
The most capable vector program and what most print shops and agencies use, on a paid subscription. If you already have it, it edits and exports SVG well; it is not the answer to "free".
Veconvert SVG Editor: for fixing files and cut files
Runs in the browser with nothing to install and no account: open an SVG, select, move, recolour and delete shapes, drag their points, then save SVG or send it straight to DXF, DWG, PDF, EPS or G-code. It is made for fixing and preparing files, not for drawing from scratch; for that, use Inkscape.
Making an SVG from a picture
None of the editors above turns a PNG or JPG into clean vector shapes well by hand. Inkscape's Trace Bitmap works; an automatic tracer is faster. Ours traces a picture into colour or single-outline paths in the browser, and opens the result in the editor.
Try it on your own file
Open an SVG in your browser and edit it now: free, no account, nothing uploaded.