What are must-haves for design freelancers?

I'm looking for apps/services that are considered essentials for freelance designers.
Stefan TheofilosUI/UX Designer, Lucro Solutions · Edited

10 recommended

11
AND CO

Invoicing, Expenses, Contracts & Payments for your business

Kunal Bhatia22Co-founder & Design Lead @SlidesUp · Written
Love the concept behind all the services at AND CO. Basically keep track of your time spent on each project, take pictures of receipts, invoice your clients and have them pay online + more. The design is slick, and you don't need to do the books yourself!
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The ideal OS for freelancers. Keeps the focus on the freelancer, not the company.
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9
Sketch

Vector only UI design

William SternlichtDangerously Curious. Stanford '17. · Written
Sketch has largely become the standard for iOS wire frames. There are tons of libraries and collections you can download allowing you to throw together some great looking wireframes within a few hours. It also integrates with Zepplin (zeplin.io) which makes transitioning from wireframes to code much easier for both designers and devs.
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5
Dribbble

Show and tell for designers (web interface inspiration)

Björn Antonissen4Designer & Developer · Written
With Dribbble Pro you can set your status to "available for hire".
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We love dribbble! :D It feels like this is the website that sets the design standard for the web.
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If you're a freelance designer and end up working with front end devs on the implementation, Zeplin is a must have.
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4
Behance

Online platform to showcase & discover creative work

Nicolas Le RouxGrowth marketer, blogger · Written
Behance is a great platform to discover new design projets and get feedback.
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3
Cushion

A forecasting app for freelancers, get better insights

Anton Stenantonsten.com · Written
Keeps track of your hours and you can send invoices (= get paid which is kinda essential)
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3
Figma 1.0

The first interface design tool with real-time collaboration

Sijvert CommandeurFounder of #JoinMungo👌 · Written
Figma is an🔥 interface design tool right on the web wich makes it possible to collaborate easily with 👪 people on the same design like google docs. It has a desktop app 💻 for both windows and Mac. It's quite like Sketch, not less. It's a great way to design brilliant web designs ⭐, gaining feedback and presenting your sketches. Hope u like it 👌
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David BaruchelCo-Founder, Bridges · Written
Invision allows you to turn your mockups into a usable (fake) app. But the best thing is that it is very simple and intuitive for clients to leave comments on different parts of the product. Really helps the test & comment workflow. They often release carefully designed new features.
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2
Sketch + InVision

Design prototyping, collaboration & workflow for Sketch

With Invision free Craft plugin for Sketch, you can easily share your work with your client, and get feedback from her !
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2
Autodesk Pixlr

All-in-one photo editor, 600+ effects, collage options

Graham Campbell3🚀 new ventures, faster · Written
Free basic photoshop functionality. You just have to put up with ads in the sidebar.
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