Canva is one of the most popular web-based tools to create images for blogs, social media, invitations, and more. It’s used by creators around the globe and rightfully so as it makes graphics creation a lot easier. However, while Canva is mostly free, it could feel limiting at times as a few good features are locked behind a premium subscription. Or if you’ve recently started using Canva and haven’t been enjoying it as much, there are many alternatives you can use. Here are some of the best Canva alternatives (free and paid) worth checking out.
Microsoft Designer
AI is everywhere these days, including in Canva. However, Microsoft’s new AI-powered Canva alternative is definitely one of the best Canva alternatives because it allows you to start designing by simply typing in what you need. It’s what all the 90s and 2000s people imagined technology to be able to do someday.
You can write things like “an invitation card for a birthday party” and it will generate a bunch of customizable templates. The more detailed description you type in, the better the target image will come out. For example, “an invitation card for Abu’s birthday party on 30th May, at 8 PM” and the generated card will have those details included.
You can also use Microsoft Designer to create YouTube thumbnails or Instagram Stories. Mentioning “thumbnail for YouTube,” or “an Instagram Story” in the prompt, allows the Designer to adjust the aspect ratio that suits the platform. Pretty smart, right? The best part about Microsoft Designer? It’s completely free!
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to use | Drafts aren’t quite accurate at times |
| Prompts generate good quality templates | |
| Free to use | |
| Generous editing options and templates |
Pricing: Free
Adobe Express
Ask any professional designer and they’ll swear by Adobe’s products for their design needs. Whether it’s Photoshop or Illustrator, Adobe’s tools are industry standards for a reason. Most Adobe stuff is a part of their Creative Cloud platform and requires downloading it onto your PC. However, if you’re looking for a high-quality tool like Canva, check out Adobe Express.
Express is a free-to-use tool that offers every feature you’d find in Canva and some more. You can start off with templates for popular things like Instagram Stories, Facebook posts, thumbnails for YouTube, and more. It even has templates for flyers, logos, book covers, and more. Besides, the overall user interface of Adobe Express will make long-term Canva users feel at home.
Apart from all the Canva-like features, Adobe Express also brings in tools such as image resizing, background removal, and more to make editing easier. Besides, you can use Adobe Firefly (Website) to generate images and use them in your Adobe Express designs. Adobe Express has a free-to-use tier, but you can subscribe to its paid plan to access more features including Adobe’s Stock library, content scheduling, and 100GB of cloud storage.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Feature-packed web-based tool | Premium plan is quite expensive at $9.99/month |
| Has templates for pretty much everything | Your images and data are used to train AI models at Adobe |
Pricing: Free, $9.99/month premium plan with a 30-day Free trial
Fotor
Fotor is similar to Canva in many ways but one of the things that sets it apart is the number of AI tools it has. From built-in AI upscaler to old photo restorer, Cartoonizer, and Text to Image, Fotor comes with lots of AI features and filters. There are tons of templates to choose from. From YouTube Thumbnails to Channel Art to Collages and Instagram Story templates, there’s everything you will ever need.
Besides the AI features, you can also make a new simple design project where you can include those templates to create beautiful designs. The user interface will remind you of Canva. Its premium subscription gives you access to all AI features plus increased cloud storage and an Ad-free experience, and the best part is that it doesn’t cost much. Overall, Fotor is easily one of the best Canva alternatives you can try.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Extensive AI features | Limited AI credits in the free version |
| Lots of templates, images, and designs to choose from | Lacking in graphic design features |
| Great User Interface | |
| The pro plan is surprisingly inexpensive for what it offers |
Pricing: Free tier available, paid plans start from $9 per month
Picsart
All the internet OGs know Picsart for its smartphone app but did you know Picsart has a web app as well? It’s a great Canva alternative that lets you create graphics and images. You can choose from a variety of image sizes, including custom templates for Instagram Stories and posts, Facebook posts, YouTube thumbnails, and LinkedIn images, and it
