Inkscape
Draw logos, diagrams and cut files as vector paths, saved in the open SVG format
Forillustrators, makers with cutting machines and people who draw diagrams Linux, Windows, Mac, Command line
The logo looks fine on screen, and the laser cutter still has nothing to follow. Cutting plotters and laser cutters can only follow lines, so a logo saved as a photo has to be turned into lines before they can cut it. Inkscape draws with paths, the outlines such machines and printers follow. Its main format is SVG, an open standard that web browsers can display. Bitmap tracing turns an existing picture into colour or black-and-white paths.
Freehand lines come from the pencil and calligraphy tools, and the pen tool draws Bézier curves. Live Path Effects like Power Stroke or Envelope Deformation reshape a path while the original stays editable. Text can run along a path or fill a shape, and variable fonts and right-to-left scripts are supported.
The features page lists more than 150 bundled extensions. Written in Python, they add file formats or send drawings to plotters and CNC machines. Command line options convert and export files without opening the program window. Version 1.4.4 from May 2026 is a bugfix release and adds installers for Windows on Arm.
Good fit if you…
- prepare designs for plotters, laser cutters or CNC machines
- want drawings stored as SVG files that browsers and other programs open
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