Free packaging design tools for the parts that have to be exact: dielines and box templates, Nutrition Facts, barcodes and food labels. Every tool runs in your browser, needs no signup and exports vector files your printer can use.
Box structure sized for your board, from one tuck end box to a library of printable templates.
Labels on Avery sheets, Nutrition Facts and the wording food labels need, with the FDA and state rules cited.
Six FDA Nutrition Facts formats, with rounding and % Daily Values worked out.
Design product labels on 12 Avery sheet layouts and print a test page first.
Ingredients by weight, allergens and net quantity, laid out the FDA way.
The statement your state requires, word for word, for all 50 states and DC.
Retail and shipping barcodes at GS1 sizes, one at a time or in batches.
UPC, EAN, ISBN, ITF-14, GS1-128, Code 128 and QR codes, sized and checked.
UPC-A and UPC-E with the check digit, a fit check for your pack and batches of up to 10,000.
Concept art, label designs and mockups made with AI will join these packaging design tools. They will be paid features; the tools above stay free.
Describe your product and get packaging concepts, label art and mockups. Create an account now to save your designs and try the AI first.
Sign up freePackaging design software falls into four kinds of work, and most projects use more than one. This overview was checked against each maker’s own site in October 2026.
The printed graphics of a pack are drawn in vector software, so text and lines stay sharp at any size. Adobe Illustrator is the common paid choice. Inkscape is free and open source, and Affinity is free for individuals (it signs in with a Canva account). Whatever you use, keep the dieline on its own layer and never print it.
A dieline is the flat outline of a box: cut lines, fold lines and the bleed. Packaging engineers draw structures in CAD software such as Esko ArtiosCAD, which is sold to businesses, and many printers supply a dieline for their own machines.
For standard boxes, a free packaging design tool is often enough: the dieline generator sizes every panel for your board thickness and shows the inside and outside size, and the box templates print at 100% on Letter or A4.
To see a pack before printing, designers wrap the artwork on a 3D model. Adobe Dimension now comes only as part of Creative Cloud Pro, and Adobe’s newer 3D staging app is Substance 3D Stager. Blender is free and open source. To check the fold itself, the dieline generator has a 3D preview.
The words and numbers on a pack follow rules: the Nutrition Facts format and rounding in 21 CFR 101.9, barcode sizes and check digits in the GS1 General Specifications, and in many states a cottage food statement. General design software does not check them. These free packaging design tools do: the nutrition label generator, the barcode generator and the cottage food label maker.
A typical job: settle the product size and the box, get the dieline from your printer or a generator, place the artwork on its own layer over cut, crease and bleed, add the required label text and the barcode, check the fold in 3D, then approve a proof from the printer before the run.
Short answers about packaging design software and these free tools.
Browse the toolsPackaging design software covers four jobs: vector artwork (Adobe Illustrator, or the free Inkscape and Affinity), structural CAD for dielines (such as Esko ArtiosCAD), 3D mockups (Substance 3D Stager, or the free Blender) and label content such as Nutrition Facts and barcodes. The free packaging design tools here cover dielines, labels and barcodes in the browser.
Yes. Inkscape and Blender are free and open source, Affinity is free for individuals, and every tool listed above is free, with no signup, watermark or upload.
Pick the box and its size, get a dieline, draw the artwork on its own layer, add the required text, Nutrition Facts and barcode, check the fold in 3D and approve a printer’s proof. The guide above links to a free tool for the dieline, the Nutrition Facts and the barcode.
A dieline is the flat outline a die cutter follows: solid cut lines, dashed fold lines and a bleed area for the artwork. It guides the printer and is not part of the printed design. The dieline generator draws one for your box size and board.
It depends on who does the work and how many items there are; structure, artwork, plates and proofs are often priced separately. These packaging design tools cost nothing, and your printer quotes the printing.
No. Every tool works without an account. An account adds cloud saving for the nutrition label, dieline and label tools, so you can open a design on another device.
Start with the part you need: a dieline, a Nutrition Facts panel, a barcode or a food label. No signup, vector files.
