There’s still a play to use flyers for small business promotions. You might create one to pop into newspaper boxes in your area, to hang on community bulletin boards or to insert into giveaway bags. If you don’t want to invest a lot of cash in the design, you might want to use free flyer templates to start.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, approximately 33.2 million small businesses exist in the United States. No matter how you dice it, you have competition and you have to figure out how to stand out amongst all the advertising noise.
Using flyer templates to create an amazing promotional paper is one way you can reach your target audience. Combine with free fonts for a truly unique appearance.
The Pros and Cons of Free Flyer Templates
Flyers are a great way for businesses to communicate messages, promote events or advertise products. Many companies go for free flyer templates because they offer a quick solution without the need for extensive graphic design experience. However, free flyer templates come with their own list of pros and cons. Use this list to be sure templates are right for your business.
Pros:
- Cost-effective: One of the most evident advantages is the savings. Businesses, especially small ones or startups, can cut costs while still producing professional-looking flyers.
- Time-saving: With ready-made designs, companies can quickly modify templates to fit their needs and speed up the design process.
- Variety: Many platforms offer diverse design options, allowing businesses to choose one that best fits their brand or message.
- Ease of use: Even those with minimal design skills can easily customize their templates.
Cons
- Lack of originality: Since these templates are available to anyone, there’s a risk of using a design that other businesses may also use. This keeps your business from increasing its distinctiveness in the market.
- Limited customization: While templates offer some level of customization, there may be better options for specific branding or intricate design needs.
- Potential quality issues: Not all free templates guarantee high-quality design. It’s essential to choose from a well-known platform.
Whether you choose the free flyer template or not, ensuring they align with the company’s long-term branding and marketing strategies is crucial.
Where Can I Get Free Flyer Templates?
A search for free flyer templates returns millions of results. We’ve done the heavy lifting of visiting many different sites and seeing what each has to offer. We then narrowed the options down to those that are free and offer a nice selection for business owners.
1. Canva.com
One of Designerly’s favorite online tools is Canva.com. You can do many things for free and even upload your own custom images to insert into their templates. However, if you want to use their stock photos, you’ll pay $1 for each, making the entire digital software program extremely inexpensive for beginning designers.
Canva has 7,468 flyer templates. The software is drag and drop with additional features. The site offers filters such as size and style selections so you can easily locate the exact design you want.
2. Adobe
If you already have an Adobe Creative Cloud account, you can access a nice selection of free flyer templates. The templates are ready to plug into your favorite Adobe software, such as PhotoShop or InDesign.
Adobe does offer a free account. While it has fewer features than the paid version, you can get started and see if these templates are right for you.
3. PicMonkey
PicMonkey offers a seven-day free trial so you can see what you think about their online software/flyer maker. We wanted to include this option because it is so easy to use. Even newbies can throw together a professional looking flyer in just a few minutes.
Their basic subscription starts at $7.99 per month should you decide to use this source for additional flyers in the future. Or, use it one time and get a free flyer during the trial period.
4. VistaCreate
VistaCreate offers hundreds of templates divided by categories such as “Food,” “Sale and Promotion,” and “Events. Find a design you love and drag and drop your own details. The setup is similar to Canva, but you can try out the design space for free before deciding if you’d like to upgrade the account. You’ll find different looks than they have at Canva, too.
5. Microsoft Office Templates
If you already use a word processing program, such as MS Office 365, you likely have access to a number of free templates. They also offer premium options, but you’ll find many free ones you can tweak. You could also create your own template from scratch to save time on future flyers.
6. Piktochart
We love the professional edge these sample flyer templates have to them. While there are layers to Piktochart membership, they offer a free plan and give a number of flyers you can use to get started.
The click and drop interface lets you add your own images, change colors, add and delete elements and fully customize the flyer to suit your company’s needs.
The free plan gives you up to five active visuals, two downloads and 100 MB of image upload storage. For unlimited downloads, you’ll need to upgrade to a $14.00 per month membership. However, the Free plan is excellent for those just starting out. Try out the software and see if the templates meet your needs before committing.
7. Template.net
Are you looking for downloadable flyer templates you can edit with your program of choice? Template.net offers a wide variety of gorgeous templates for free download. This option made our list because of the huge range of formats you can download each template in. Grab a PSD and edit in Photoshop. You can also get templates for free in the following formats:
- Google Docs
- Adobe Illustrator
- InDesign
- Microsoft Word
- Apple Pages
- Publisher
There’s no need to buy or learn new software. Just select the option you already use for other projects.
8. Unblast
Unblast may not have the prettiest website design, but they offer some gorgeous template mockups so you can show off your design to your customers or clients. More of a marketing or development template, these downloadable mockups are all free.
9. Visme
Source: https://www.visme.co/templates/flyers/
Visme has around 151 flyer templates to choose from, whether you’re promoting a sales event or launching an open house. Each template has refreshing designs that are fully customizable to suit your needs. While you may have limited access to free flyer templates, you still get many options and allow up to 100MB of storage at no cost.
Visme is also easy to use. You can get started by creating a free account and choosing a high-quality design that meets your expectations. You can even choose to use its AI image generator if you want to start your design process from scratch.
10. Vecteezy
Source: https://www.vecteezy.com/search?qterm=flyer&content_type=editor_template
Vecteezy provides you with free and premium vector graphics and flyer design templates. Though you can make a free account, you may find Vecteezy quite limited. On the other hand, premium users gain unlimited access to graphics and downloads. Therefore, you might only find this tool good for a few uses each month.
Yet, that doesn’t mean it’s not an excellent design tool. You can quickly browse, select and customize your designs in an easy-to-use editor. It even allows you to tweak the graphics as necessary without needing external software.
11. Freepik
Source: https://www.freepik.com/search?format=search&query=template%20flyer&type=psd
Freepik is a go-to platform for many designers. It offers various high-quality graphics, including vectors, photos and PSD files. When choosing a free flyer template, you’ll easily find what you have in mind. The flyers are separated into categorical designs, from style to a certain type of event.
The platform also regularly updates its library, so you’ll always have free access to fresh and trendy designs. Freepik is simple to use — choose and download the flyer you want. You can download it in PSD format and make changes in Adobe Photoshop.
12. Wepik
Source: https://wepik.com/templates/flyers?q=flyer#rs=home
Freepik created Wepik as another graphic design platform with various graphic template options. You have tons of flyers to choose from, each with its own professional-looking design. While some templates are slightly generic, the good thing about Wepik is that you can customize your design within the platform.
The website itself is easy to use. To get started, you can choose the template design you like and create a free account to edit. The process is straightforward, with basic editing options to implement.
Additional Sources for Free Flyer Templates
Of course, we couldn’t fit every source we liked into a single article. Some other options that we felt deserved a mention included:
PosterMyWall
Template maker that is super easy to use. There’s nothing to download. Just hop on there and start experimenting with looks. They have some really high-end designs for free on this site.
Lucidpress
You can create up to three assets for no charge. We love the way they integrate beautiful photos into the flyer designs.
Envato Elements
If you search for “free flyer templates,” you’ll see over 100,000 results. Some of these designs are gorgeous and you can create a free account to save your favorites. You will need to subscribe to download, but there is no requirement to upgrade to a professional level account.
Ask Others
When you see a flyer design you really enjoy, ask the business owner where they found it. They may have some additional resources for templates you hadn’t thought of. You might even discover a new designer who can help you come up with unique flyers for a reasonable price.
About The Author
Cooper Adwin is the Assistant Editor of Designerly Magazine. With several years of experience as a social media manager for a design company, Cooper particularly enjoys focusing on social and design news and topics that help brands create a seamless social media presence. Outside of Designerly, you can find Cooper playing D&D with friends or curled up with his cat and a good book.