LibreOffice Draw
Shares rank 5 of 6 drawing apps by recommenders
People recommend it as a free drawing app that edits PDFs after import and is capable enough for long-term everyday use.
5 people recommended LibreOffice Draw in Hacker News comments and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 7 comments.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 1
The record
Recommended in 5 of 12 months
In 6 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 6 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 20% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 7 of the 7 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Edits imported PDFs like native files
“imports a PDF, edit it as if it were a file in its own format”
Comment from 19 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)” “I've had excellent luck with LibreOffice Draw as a PDF editor”
Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Adobe modifies hosts file to detect whether Creative Cloud is installed” Capable, satisfying use over years
“The last ten years I am more that happy with Lazpaint or Libreoffice Draw.”
Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “MS Paint and Photos inivisibly watermark even locally generated output with GUID” “LibreOffice Draw is quite capable.”
Comment from 5 Apr 2026 in “Microsoft Discontinuing Publisher. Alternatives?”
Other drawing apps people recommend
The four most recommended other drawing apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krita | 69 | 6 | 10 | 87% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Aseprite | 22 | 4 | 3 | 88% | 6 | — | — |
| Procreate | 19 | 3 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| LibreSprite | 6 | 3 | 4 | 60% | 1 | — | — |
| LibreOffice DrawThis page | 5 | 0 | 1 | 83% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 opinions about it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The last ten years I am more that happy with Lazpaint or Libreoffice Draw.”
“I use LibreOffice Draw for that.”
“I've had excellent luck with LibreOffice Draw as a PDF editor”
“LibreOffice Draw is quite capable.”
“imports a PDF, edit it as if it were a file in its own format”
“LibreOffice Draw doesn't come anywhere near it.”
“LibreOffice Draw works quite nicely as a Publisher replacement for me.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.