How to make an infographic: steps, tools and AI

Making an infographic comes down to seven steps: decide what you want to say, gather data with sources, choose the form, set the reading order, build it, check it and publish it with alt text. The tool matters less than it seems, and the seven whose pricing pages we could read all have a free plan with limits. Here you'll find the steps with a real data example, the free limits we could read, and what became of the 21 tools our 2016 list linked to. Several no longer exist.

Prices and limits are those shown on the vendors' pages on 5 November 2026.

Which tool for which job

The table sorts by task, not by rank. We haven't tested these tools from the inside, because several need an account and we didn't create any. The reasons come from their own pages.

Canva and Adobe Express are well-known options, but their pricing pages returned 403 to our automated browser, so we give no data for them.

When an infographic is worth it

An infographic ties several pieces of data together with one thread. Without that thread, you probably need something else:

That's our judgement. A quick test: if you can sum up your infographic in one sentence with one number, publish the sentence and a chart.

How to make an infographic in seven steps

We'll use a real example: eight queries about making an infographic in Spain, chosen by us. They aren't everything people search for. The general term infografias has 2,900 monthly searches, and we left it out because it doesn't say whether the searcher wants to make one. The data is the 12-month monthly average in Google Keyword Planner, market Spain, retrieved on 5 November 2026. The queries stay in Spanish, because they are the data.

"Con ia" means "with AI", "plantillas" means "templates", and "crear" and "hacer" mean "create" and "make".

1. Write the message in one sentence

Do this before opening any tool. In the example: "Among these eight searches on making an infographic in Spain, AI and templates rank above each classic phrasing." If it won't fit in a sentence, you have two infographics or none. That sentence also becomes the title and the basis for the alt text.

2. Gather the data with its source

For each number, note where it comes from, which market it covers and when you retrieved it. Here that's eight values from one source, chosen by us. If you show a selection, say so, because readers may take it for the total. Don't mix sources without saying so: Keyword Planner values are rounded estimates, and another tool would show other numbers. Don't simply add queries together either, since one intention can spread across several phrasings.

3. Choose the form

The question is which relationship you want to show. Eight queries compared with each other call for horizontal bars sorted from largest to smallest, because the labels are long and read without tilting your head. A pie chart with eight slices would read worse, and it would imply a total that doesn't exist here.

4. Set the reading order

Put the message at the top, the data in the middle and the source at the bottom. Group queries if that helps understanding: AI, templates, "create or make", free, software. Grouping is an interpretation and should look like one. Think about phones from the start, because a vertical column works better than a wide poster people have to zoom into.

5. Build it

Now open the tool. Starting from a template is fine, but change what doesn't fit: six blocks in a template don't oblige you to have six messages. Write values right beside each bar, so nobody has to read an axis. Use one colour for what you want to stress and another for the rest. Check which formats your plan exports first, because that may be where the free limit sits.

6. Check it

• Compare every number with the source, one by one, in the final file and not the draft.
• Open it on a phone and read it without zooming.
• Check the contrast.
• Ask someone who hasn't seen it what they understood after ten seconds.
• Check accents and special characters, especially after changing language.

7. Publish it with text and a source

An image alone can't be read by a screen reader or copied. Publish it with alt text that sums up the message, and put the data below as a table or paragraph. State the source, market, date and author. If you plan to translate it, keep an editable file.

In the example, the alt text could read: "Bars showing eight searches about infographics in Spain. infografia con ia and plantillas infografias reach 390 a month, crear infografias 210." And the source line: "Source: Google Keyword Planner, Spain, 5 November 2026. 12-month monthly average, estimated and rounded. Our selection of eight queries."

The same topic in your market

Before treating a message as general, look at another country. In the same Keyword Planner, on the same day, US demand looks like this: infographic maker 5,400 monthly searches, how to make an infographic 3,600, ai infographic generator 1,600 and free infographic templates 1,600. These aren't translations of the Spanish queries, so this is a rough comparison and not a like-for-like one. Still, in the US the AI and template phrases sit below the how-to phrase, while in our Spanish selection they lead. An infographic with data from one country doesn't automatically hold for another, which is why the market belongs in the graphic.

Design: what makes it understood

Legibility

The practical rule is that text must read on a phone without zooming. That limits what fits: fewer words, big numbers and headings that say something. "Searches by type" describes, while "AI is searched for as much as templates" makes a claim.

Contrast

The WCAG 2.2 accessibility guidelines ask at level AA for a contrast of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. That covers text in images too, so it applies directly to an infographic. Checking with a contrast tool takes a minute.

Colour

Don't rely on colour alone to separate data, and label directly instead. Anyone who struggles to tell two shades apart, or who has a poor screen, will otherwise lose the legend.

Alt text

Google says alt text is the most important attribute for giving information about an image, and that it uses it with computer vision and the page content to understand the subject. It should sum up what the infographic says without copying all its text. What doesn't fit goes on the page.

Source and author

An infographic travels alone, separated from your page. If source, date and author are inside the image, they travel with it.

AI infographics: what's on offer and what to check

Together with templates, this is the most searched item in our selection, at 390 a month. Several tools already offer it. Piktochart lists 60 AI credits on its free plan, Venngage 80 credits a day, and Infogram lists an AI infographic maker without stating a free limit on the page we read.

We haven't tested how well they do it, so there's no ranking here. We do suggest treating the output as a draft and applying step 6 more strictly. An infographic is exactly where a wrong number goes unnoticed because the whole looks convincing. Check too whether text stays editable or is baked into the image, since that decides whether you can correct it.

Free plans compared

Read on 5 November 2026, with prices in the currency each page showed. "Not stated" means it isn't on the page we read, not that it doesn't exist.

Look at the export column before you start. Piktochart's free plan includes two downloads. For Visme, the pricing table of 5 November 2026 shows an X for download formats on the Basic plan, and its FAQ of 6 November 2026 lists download options among the paid features. IONOS, in an article dated 28 July 2026, mentions limited JPG downloads. Without an account we can't settle it, so try a test download before you put in hours of work. The purpose differs too. Datawrapper and Flourish are built for embedding in a website, with attribution, and that may be just what you need.

Templates: where they come from and what you can do

All the tools in the table offer templates, and several free plans limit them: Piktochart says "Only Free Templates", Visme mentions limited templates, and Lucidchart states 100.

None of the pricing pages we read explains template licensing. Before commercial use or a campaign, read the tool's terms, especially if the template includes third-party photos or icons. One more caution: many people use a popular template at the same time, so if you only swap the text, your infographic will look like others.

If what you need is a timeline

Our 2016 list gave timelines a lot of space, and that's where most has disappeared. Of those we checked, Tiki-Toki still runs, with a free account on its site, and so does Timetoast, which describes itself as a free tool. Historypin is also active, with a free account, and aims at stories about places. Timeglider and TimeRime now lead to Preceden, a different tool. For simple cases, the templates in the general tools above will do.

What became of the 2016 list

Checked on 5 November 2026. Doubtful old links were checked twice, at least 30 seconds apart.

In ten years, a good share of a free tools list disappears or changes hands. If your infographic depends on an outside service staying alive, for example through an embed, keep the file and the data as well.

Do infographics bring traffic?

There's no guarantee, and we have no measurement of our own. What's documented is how you help Google understand an image: alt text, a descriptive file name and the content of the page around it. That way it can appear in Google Images.

The old promise that infographics go viral is one we can't back up. The sensible reason to make one is that it explains something better than text, and anything else is a bonus. If you want others to use it, make that easy: say how to cite it and offer a good resolution. If the topic fits a wider plan, see our guide to content marketing strategy or our content strategy service.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make an infographic for free?

Yes, with limits. On the pages we read, Piktochart allows 2 PNG downloads, Venngage 5 designs and Infogram 10 projects. Visme's table of 5 November 2026 shows an X for downloads, and Datawrapper adds attribution. Check what your plan exports before you begin, so you don't hit the limit at the end.

Which software is good for infographics?

It depends on the job. For something embeddable, Datawrapper or Flourish. For a finished image, a template tool such as Piktochart, Venngage or Infogram. For a single chart, a spreadsheet is enough. We haven't compared them from the inside, so we name no winner.

Can AI make a complete infographic?

It can produce a draft, and several tools offer that with free credits. We haven't checked how accurate those results are. Check every number and word in the final file, and whether the text can be edited. Data and message remain your responsibility.

How do you add an infographic to a page for SEO?

Use a normal image element, alt text that sums up the message and a descriptive file name, as Google recommends. Put the data below as text or a table so it can be read and copied. Include the source and date.

Sources

Read on 5 November 2026. Search volumes come from Google Keyword Planner, markets Spain and US, through our access.

• Piktochart: pricing
• Venngage: pricing
• Visme: pricing (table 5 November 2026, FAQ 6 November 2026)
• IONOS: tools for creating infographics (28 July 2026)
• Infogram: pricing
• Datawrapper: pricing
• Flourish: pricing
• Lucidchart: pricing
• Tiki-Toki, Timetoast and Historypin
• W3C: WCAG 2.2, contrast minimum
• Google: Images in search (updated 2 March 2026)

How this article was made

This article was first published in May 2016. It was rewritten in November 2026 with AI assistance, from the vendors' pages and a check of the old links, and reviewed before publication. We created no accounts with the tools, so we haven't tested them from the inside.