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 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.
1. 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
2. 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 use AI 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 AI-generated images are very accurate Your images and data is used to train AI models at Adobe
Pricing: Free, $9.99/month premium plan with a 30-day Free trial
3. 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 shenanigans, 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 Edit in Batch, Resize, Crop, Compress, Convert all built-in. The pro plan is surprisingly inexpensive for what it offers
Pricing: Free tier available, paid plans start from $9 per month
4. 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 even has templates for Twitch banners and more.
There are a lot of templates to get a jumpstart on your design process. The UI is pretty good, and quite similar to Canva in some ways. While there’s some stuff locked behind a subscription, like Canva, most things are free. You can add photos, collages, text (with a bunch of cool fonts), background editing, and more to create the perfect flyer, poster, or social media post.
Pros Cons Lots of templates to choose from Free plan is limited Batch editing A few free AI tools for use A comprehensive library of icons, text, stickers, and elements.
Pricing: Free tier available, paid plans start at $2 per month
5. Visme
If you’re looking for a Canva alternative that will let you create infographics as well as social media posts, Visme is the tool for you. It has all the features of Canva, including templates for social media posts (think Facebook, Instagram, etc), and templates for creating presentations, infographics, charts, and more. The overall user interface of the app is pretty basic but easy to navigate.
There’s a lot more that Visme can let you create. It has templates for things like invoices, receipts, letterheads, etc., as well. Once you’ve selected a template (or a blank one), you can add things like graphics, images, data, etc. You can even change the theme colors and basically customize everything to fit your needs. Visme is no longer free though. We couldn’t download a design as it always brought up the payment banner when we tried downloading.
Pros Cons Larger template library than most competitors Paid plan is quite expensive Decent feature set Not as comprehensive as Canva Not free
Pricing: Paid plans start at $15 per month
6. VistaCreate
If the name VistaCreate sounds familiar, that’s because the tool is from a popular custom apparel seller, Vistaprint. VistaCreate is a solid tool like Canva that you can use to create designs for social media, websites, logos, business cards, and more. It even has templates to help create t-shirt designs, Zoom backgrounds, etc. You can also use VistaCreate to make animated designs. There are templates for popular ones like YouTube intros, Instagram video stories, Reels, and more.
Inside, the UI will feel very familiar to anyone who has used Canva. You can drag and drop elements such as photos, videos, music, objects, text, and more. A lot of the templates are locked behind a paywall, but there are plenty of designs you can use for free. Once done, you can download your design as a jpg, png, gif, or even a pdf, and you can share links with collaborators to easily give them access to your design.
Besides, the app also has many editing features found in Canva, besides a pretty significant library of free photos you can use. Tools such as Remove Background, and Resize, and features like Unlimited storage, high-quality downloads, and version history are all locked behind a $10/month paywall. One of the other features I love about VistaCreate and would love Canva to add someday is Color Palettes which gives you a collection of colors that go well with each other.
Pros Cons Versatile set of templates even for a free version Useful features locked behind a Premium subscription Can create animated GIFs, video posts, and more Paid plan is pricey Great user interface
Pricing: Free tier available, Pro plan priced at $10 per month
7. Kittl
Kittl is a solid Canva alternative if you’re looking for something that brings Canva-like features. It has everything you’ll need in terms of basic features. You can find templates for creating social media posts, logos, cards, labels, posters, etc., and there are a bunch of pre-made graphics for you to start with.
What’s great here is that you can design a graphic and then convert it into a mockup in just one click. Kittl supports creating mockups for t-shirts, walls, hoodies, bags, wall art, and more, and it works really well. The true USP of the tool is its AI capabilities. With this tool, you can create graphics and images for your designs by simply typing what you want to create. It’s similar to other image-creation tools on this list. You can also use Midjourney to create images and import them into your Kittl projects too.
Pros Cons Can create mockups in one click Limited AI credits in free version Lots of templates to choose from Expensive Premium subscription Exceptionally neat UI Extensive library of mockups and photos
Pricing: Free tier available, paid plans start from $15 per month
And these are some of the best Canva alternatives you can use. Canva is all about templates and design creation, and if you don’t need templates, we recommend another app called Pixlr. That said, out of all the apps on this list, VistaCreate, Fotor, and Microsoft Designer are great free tools. Sure, Fotor and VistaCreate have premium subscriptions that can unlock more features but the free versions will suffice for most users.
What are some of the other underrated Canva alternatives that deserve to be on this list? Let us know in the comments below
