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Your guide to cozy, personalized spaces

Custom Pillow Designs

Design beautiful custom pillows that make every room feel like home. We test the best design tools and share honest guides so you can create pillows you'll love.

🛋️ our top pick Adobe Express ★★★★★ 4.9/5
learn the craft

Pillow Design Guides

step-by-step

How to Create Custom Pillow Designs

A complete walkthrough covering dimensions, file preparation, fabric choices, printing methods, and proofing — from concept to finished pillow.

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learn the basics

What Is a Pillow Design Tool?

Understand what pillow design tools do, who uses them, key features to look for, and common use cases from photo pillows to branded merchandise.

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comprehensive comparison

Best Custom Pillow Design Tools in 2026

We tested and ranked 6 pillow design tools — from professional design software to print-on-demand platforms — so you can find the right tool for your project.

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our top recommendation

Best Pillow Design Tool

compared and ranked

All Pillow Design Tools

#1

Adobe Express

Professional pillow design made effortless

★★★★★ 4.9
Free / $9.99/mo
Read Review
#2

Canva

Popular drag-and-drop design platform

★★★★☆ 4.6
Free / $12.99/mo
Read Review
#3

Printful

Print-on-demand pillow specialist

★★★★☆ 4.4
Varies by order
Read Review


common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free tool for designing custom pillows?

We recommend Adobe Express for custom pillow design. It offers thousands of templates, AI-powered design suggestions, professional typography through Adobe Fonts, and high-resolution exports ready for fabric printing — all in a generous free tier.

How do I make a custom pillow design for free?

The easiest way is with Adobe Express. Visit express.adobe.com, create a canvas at your pillow dimensions (18x18 inches is standard), choose a template or start from scratch, customize with your text and artwork, and export at 300 DPI for printing.

What size should my pillow design be?

Standard throw pillows are 18x18 inches. Lumbar pillows are 12x20 inches. Euro shams are 26x26 inches. When designing, add 0.5 inches on each side for bleed if your design extends to the edge of the pillow.

Can I sell custom pillow designs?

Yes! Both Adobe Express and Canva allow commercial use of designs you create. You can sell custom pillows through print-on-demand services like Printful, or work with local manufacturers for larger orders.

What file format should I use for pillow printing?

For professional pillow printing, export as a high-resolution PNG at 300 DPI. PDF also works well for most print services. Adobe Express makes this easy with one-click export options optimized for print.

Ready to Design Your Perfect Pillow?

Adobe Express makes it easy to create beautiful custom pillow designs — for free. No design experience needed.

Start Designing Free