Free BioRender Alternatives for Scientific Figures

BioRender is popular for life-science figures, but many students and early-career researchers need a free or cheaper option, or a tool that can also make data charts. Here are the main choices and when each one fits.

1. Servier Medical Art (free icon library)

Thousands of medical and biology drawings (cells, organs, lab equipment) released under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. You download the pieces and arrange them in PowerPoint or Inkscape. Remember to credit the source in your figure legend.

2. Bioicons (free icon library)

An open collection of science icons in SVG format. Each icon has its own licence, so check it before use. Good for lab workflows and simple schematics.

3. Inkscape (free vector editor)

A full vector drawing program. It can do anything, but you draw everything yourself, so it takes time to learn. It is also the best free tool for final edits of an SVG figure.

4. PowerPoint or Google Slides

Already on most computers. Fine for flowcharts and simple diagrams. Export at high resolution, because the default export is often too small for journals.

5. SciFigures (AI figure maker)

Describe the figure in a sentence, upload a sketch, or upload an image made by another AI tool, and SciFigures draws a clean, labelled figure in a BioRender-like style. It also makes journal-style data charts from CSV or Excel. Paid plans export editable SVG, so you can still fine-tune in Inkscape or PowerPoint.

How to choose

Need full control and have time: Inkscape with Servier or Bioicons pieces.
Need a figure today: describe it in an AI tool, then polish the SVG.
Need charts too: pick a tool that handles data, not only icons.

Whatever you use, check every label yourself and follow your journal's rules on image licences and on AI-assisted figures. See the BioRender alternative page for a direct comparison.

Make your figure nowDescribe it or upload a sketch. Free to start. Open SciFigures