9 Easy-to-Use Canva Alternatives With Similar Features

Canva is one of the best-known graphic design tools for social media posts, videos, documents, invites, presentations, and even web design. It was one of the first programs of its kind, making it the most popular. However, Canva has had growing competition in recent years, and may no longer be the best choice for your design needs.

Are you struggling to find the perfect Canva alternative with powerful features and an easy-to-use interface? We’ve got you covered. In this article, we will help you explore the top Canva alternatives that cater to your creative needs. Keep reading to find the best solution for your projects!

• Snapshot of Our Top 3 Canva Alternatives
• How to Choose a Canva Alternative?
• Best Canva Alternatives
• Best Canva Alternatives Comparison Chart
• How to Use the Best Canva Alternative
• Download the Best Canva Alternative for Free
• Canva Alternatives FAQ

Snapshot of Our Top 3 Canva Alternatives

How to Choose a Canva Alternative?

It's essential to consider several factors when choosing the best Canva alternative for your needs. Here's a more detailed breakdown of the critical aspects to remember:

Compatibility with your operating system:

Ensure the Canva alternative you choose is compatible with your device's operating system, be it Windows, macOS, or even mobile platforms like iOS and Android. Web-based platforms are generally accessible on most devices with an internet connection, but it's always wise to double-check before committing to a particular tool.

Ease of use and learning curve:

One of the main reasons to consider an alternative to Canva is to find a more user-friendly platform that suits your skill level. Look for an alternative that offers an intuitive interface and easy-to-understand tools, making it simpler for you to learn and use the software effectively. If you're a beginner, prioritize options that provide tutorials or other learning resources to help you get started.

Range of features and tools offered:

Different Canva alternatives cater to different use cases and offer varying sets of features and tools. Some might excel in video editing, while others might focus on graphic design, presentations, or infographics. Consider your specific needs and requirements, and choose an alternative that offers the features and tools you need.

Pricing and value for money:

Graphic design tools come in various pricing tiers, from free Canva alternatives with limited features to premium plans with advanced tools and resources. Evaluate the costs associated with each alternative and consider whether the features offered justify the price. Look for options that provide the best value for money while still meeting your creative needs. Free trials or freemium plans can be a great way to test out a platform before making a financial commitment.

Community and customer support:

Good customer support can make or break your experience with a design tool. Look for platforms that offer comprehensive customer support, including tutorials, FAQs, live chat, email support, or even community forums. This will ensure you can get help quickly if you run into any issues while using the tool.

Best Canva Alternatives

1. PowerDirector 365 Business - Best Overall

Key Features

• Comprehensive video editing tools
• Access to stock photos from Getty
• Cloud storage and video sharing

Compatibility: Windows

PCMag Rating: 5/5

Easy of Use: 5/5

Pricing: Free
*Premium subscription available for $12.50/month

Who It’s For

PowerDirector 365 Business is the ultimate solution for businesses looking to create professional videos and ads without prior experience. Similar to Canva, it is an all-in-one video and photo solution for any social media or marketing need. Both professionals and beginners will benefit from a user-friendly interface and millions of time-saving, pre-made design assets. This free Canva alternative has over 40 thousand (and counting) customizable templates for any platform, including video templates for intros and outros. They are organized into easily searchable categories like Restaurants, eCommerce, Travel Agency, Real Estate, Seasonal, and many more.

Why We Picked It

While Canva is known for its huge stock libraries of graphic design assets, it is pretty weak when it comes to editing, especially for videos. We found PowerDirector 365 Business to be much better than Canva because of its advanced video and photo editing tools. It comes with a vast library of photo and video effects, as well as millions of stock images, videos, sound effects, and background music tracks from world-renowned stock libraries. This Canva alternative is also unique because it provides stickers, fonts, title templates, and speech-to-text in several languages, including English, Chinese, and Japanese.

Whether your brand is a big business or an individual, you can use PowerDirector 365 Business to upload and save your brand’s color scheme, font, and logo. It offers a range of color combinations you can choose with a click to keep your branding consistent. It also comes with powerful AI tools, such as AI-powered cutout for easy background removal, and an AI art generator/sticker maker, which turns your text into fun art styles like 3D, anime, and sketch.

Bottom Line

PowerDirector 365 Business is a versatile and feature-rich Canva alternative that caters to businesses and creative professionals. It is updated monthly with new trending and seasonal design packs, so you’re never left using the same content more than once. And for those new to design, it offers tons of beginner support such as learning tutorials and blog posts filled with tips, guides, and ideas.

Its user-friendly interface, advanced editing tools, and impressive stock libraries make it better than Canva for most users, and our top choice for a free Canva alternative.

Click the link below and find out why so many users have already made the switch from Canva to PowerDirector 365 Business.

Check out these related topics for video marketing:

1. What Is Video Marketing? A Guide for Beginners + Small Businesses
2. All You Need to Know to Create Video Ads for Facebook
3. How to Download Video Editing Software for Businesses

2. Stencil - Best for Bloggers and Content Creators

Key Features

• 5K+ Google Web fonts
• Over 5 million royalty-free images from Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels
• Store multiple brand logos

Compatibility: Web Browser

G2 Rating: 4.6/5

Easy of Use: 5/5

Pricing: Free
*Premium subscriptions available for $9/month for Pro and $12/month for Unlimited

Who It’s For

Stencil is a fast and easy free Canva alternative for beginners to create eye-catching visuals for blogs and social media. The site has over 140 preset sizes for social networks, blogs, ads, and more, or create a custom size. You can use the instant resize tool to prepare the same project for multiple platforms and upload it directly to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Buffer.

Why We Picked It

We found Stencil to be similar to Canva because it has millions of royalty-free stock photos, customizable templates, fonts, icons, and graphics to use in your designs. This means you can create a unique and professional graphic design with no prior experience. Stencil is better than Canva when it comes to speed. Stencil considers itself a “lighter” Canva alternative because it only includes necessary features, allowing you to work more efficiently.

Bottom Line

Stencil offers a straightforward platform with a vast library of royalty-free images, templates, and icons that make creating visuals a quick and simple process for content creators. We found it was a great free Canva alternative if you need to work quickly, but it doesn’t offer as many editing tools or customizations as Canva or our top choice, PowerDirector 365 Business. More seasoned users who prefer creative control over speed should look elsewhere.

3. Mega Creator - Best Cutouts

Key Features

• AI-Powered tools like instant resize and face swap
• Direct uploads to social media
• Photographic and illustrated backgrounds

Compatibility: Web Browser

App Sumo Rating: 4.3/5

Easy of Use: 5/5

Pricing: Free
*Premium subscription available for $89/year

Who It’s For

Mega Creator is an online graphic design tool that is very similar to Canva. Both have millions of design elements like icons, illustrations, photos, backgrounds, and text that you can easily drag and drop onto pre-made templates. Plus, the UIs are almost identical. So why make the switch to this Canva alternative?

We found Mega Creator offers better options for cutouts, especially if you want to use a real person. You can search millions of full-body models and AI faces, all with transparent backgrounds, something Canva lacks. For example, we entered “Picnic” in the search bar, and got 114 options of 1 or 2 people enjoying a picnic or carrying a picnic basket. You can choose an image of the model enjoying a glass of wine, applying sunscreen, holding an apple - whatever you need.

Why We Picked It

Create a design from scratch, use a template, or upload your own photos. Similar to Canva, you can make adjustments to every graphic or icon by changing the colors, cropping, flipping vertically or horizontally, and adjusting the opacity. A unique feature allowed us to manipulate the models and AI faces as well, by changing the face or body. You can swap the face for an AI-generated option, a popular meme, a celebrity, or your own image.

Bottom Line

If you need a human cutout in Canva, you have to search photographs or templates, then use the background remover tool, causing extra steps. And you won’t get the option to change the model’s position or swap the face.

However, if you are thinking of making the switch to this Canva alternative, be warned there is a catch. While at first glance the price of Mega Creator is cheaper than Canva, it comes with hidden limitations. You can only use 100 design assets a month, which can add up if you are using multiple assets per project. Also, the free version is watermarked, and projects export at a low resolution. It’s also missing the video and photo editing features found in Canva and PowerDirector 365 Business.

4. VistaCreate - Best Brand Kits

Key Features

• Brand kit creator
• Animated text effects
• Basic video editing tools

Compatibility: Web Browser

G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Easy of Use: 4.5/5

Pricing: Free
*Premium subscription available for $10/month

Who It’s For

VistaCreate (formerly Crello) is designed for brand ambassadors who need a simple, intuitive platform for quick design projects and basic video editing. We chose it as the best Canva alternative for brand kits because you can upload your own brand elements or use the brand kit creator. It comes with a free logo maker that includes logo templates for those with no design experience. For brand colors, you can choose a ready-made palette, enter a HEX code, or use the provided color picker. There are 680+ font styles to choose from, or you can upload your own and set up headings, subheadings, and body text. It also lets you store 1 brand kit in its free version, a feature usually reserved for paid software (the premium version of VistaCreate will let you store unlimited brand kits).

Why We Picked It

It is similar to Canva because it has an overwhelming amount of design assets, which ensures your content will be unique. VistaCreate has millions of stock images, videos, and vectors, plus background music, sound effects, animations, and many more. It also has helpful features like a background remover and instant resizer.

Bottom Line

We picked VistaCreate as a top free Canva alternative because its user-friendly platform and large stock libraries make it easy to create visuals for social media and marketing. It also has a very robust free version, with plenty of design options for most projects.

While the sheer number of design assets is certainly a plus, it also causes some problems. First, the site uses a lot of computer resources and can cause lag, including slow exports of finished projects. And assets aren’t as easy to search for as they should be, requiring extra time and effort to find what you need.

5. Visme - Best for Presentations and Infographics

Image from Zen Flowchart.

Key Features:

• Wireframes and mockups
• AI image generator
• Branded templates

Compatibility: Web Browser

G2 Rating: 4.5/5

Easy of Use: 4.5/5

Pricing: Free
*Premium subscriptions available for $12.25/month for Starter and $24.75/month for Pro

Who It’s For

Business professionals can use Visme to create visually stunning presentations and infographics quickly and with no prior experience. It is better than Canva when it comes to data visualization. Transform stats and figures with drag-and-drop templates you can customize in minutes. This free Canva alternative has infographic templates for data flowcharts, graphs, charts, maps, and more.

Why We Picked It

Make a splash at your next meeting or conference with interactive pitch decks that go beyond the usual Powerpoint slides. Visme can make any object actionable, such as clickable menus, embedded links, interactive popups, hover effects, and animated elements.

Similar to Canva, it has excellent team collaboration tools, allowing designers and non-designers to easily work together. Lock in brand kits the whole team can use for consistency across-the-board. Leave comments, receive feedback, and get notifications when new comments are made.

Bottom Line

Visme stands out because it offers an easy-to-use platform that enables users to create stunning visuals in a short amount of time. Its extensive template library and interactive features make it a top choice for businesses to create presentations and infographics for the workplace. However, if you're looking for a Canva alternative to create promotional videos, we recommend PowerDirector 365 Business. Visme’s video templates are best for adding animated elements to flyers and slides than true video production.

6. Figma - Best for Web Design

Key Features:

• OpenType support
• Auto Layout to instantly resize items when moved
• Easily create circles and arches with Instant Arc

Compatibility: Web Browser

TechRadar Rating: 4.5/5

Easy of Use: 4/5

Pricing: Free
*Premium subscriptions available for $12/month for Professional and $45/month for Organization, and $75/month for Enterprise

Who It’s For

While both Figma and Canva offer a website builder, we found Figma is much better than Canva for businesses. Canva has quick templates for one-page sites with few interactive elements. These are great for individuals or content creators, but not for major companies or well-known brands. However, FIgma is used by major organizations for website design. It is packed with advanced features but remains easy to use for anyone with a little graphic design know-how.

Why We Picked It

Figma’s team collaboration features are second-to-none. The free version lets you invite unlimited team members to view and comment, while the paid versions grant sharing permissions, shared and private projects, and team libraries. It also supports live chat, and you can test out prototypes with shareholders before launch.

Bottom Line

This Canva alternative has advanced design tools for professionals to create from scratch, but also thousands of pre-made assets that those with less experience can simply drag and drop into place. However, if you are on a budget, Canva is the better option. While Figma’s Pro version is similar to Canva at around $12 a month, Canva’s price includes all of its tools for up to 5 users. Figma’s price is for one user only and saves its best features for the expensive Organization and Enterprise versions (including website analytics, which Canva offers for free).

7. Adobe Express - Best for Quick Edits

Image from Zen Flowchart.

Key Features:

• Quick image editing tools
• Variety of filters and effects
• Sharing options

Compatibility: Web Browser

PCMag Rating: 3.5/5

Easy of Use: 5/5

Pricing: Free
*Premium subscription available for $9.99/month

Who It’s For

Adobe Express offers quick and user-friendly editing tools, ideal for making fast changes on the go. We found it similar to Canva because it is ideal for users who need to edit their photos quickly, especially those who often use mobile devices for their editing needs. Its variety of filters and effects also offer a level of customization that many users will appreciate.

Why We Picked It

Like PowerDirector 365 Business, Adobe Express is better than Canva in the video editing department. While many beginners shy away from promotional videos because of a lack of experience, Adobe Express makes video creation easy with customizable drag-and-drop video templates and an extensive library of pre-made video clips from Adobe Stock. This Canva alternative makes it simple to combine clips, artwork, and music to create trending videos with no experience.

Bottom Line

Adobe Express is very similar to Canva for those who need a convenient, user-friendly tool for quick photo and video edits. While it may not have the extensive features of other tools, it shines in its designated use case. While we found it a great choice for beginners, it lacks the advanced tools found in PowerDirector 365 Business that allows it to grow with you as your skills develop. A lack of features is why we moved it down our list to #7.

8. Sketch - Best for Mac Users

Key Features:

• Manual and automatic resizing tools
• Powerful vector editing
• Pixel-Level zoom

Compatibility: Mac, Web Browser

Gartner Rating: 4.1/5

Easy of Use: 4/5

Pricing: 30-day free trial, then $10/month for Standard, $20/month for Business, or $120 for a Mac-Only Lifetime Licence (without collaboration features)

Who It’s For

Sketch is a native Mac app for UI design. This Canva alternative looks and feels like a natural extension of macOS, with native fonts and emojis, and built-in spellcheck. It has been optimized for Apple Silicon and is fully customizable. Mac users can customize toolbars and shortcuts, and choose a dark or light UI. You can even drag and drop content seamlessly between Mac apps.

If you create content with teammates or for clients who don’t have Macs, there is a web-based Sketch app they can use to browse and offer feedback.

Why We Picked It

Flexible artboards and templates offer a jumpstart for new designers. Connect screens and UI elements with animated interactions in just a few clicks, and re-use common elements across your prototypes. Excellent organizational tools help keep your templates, styles, and presets in one place.

Bottom Line

Sketch is a great option for Mac users, and similar to Canva, it offers both a downloadable software to use offline, and an easily accessible web version. And while it is better than Canva for web design, Canva offers a wider variety of use cases. We found our #6 option Figma, to be better for UI design overall, although Sketch is the much cheaper option.

9. Corel Vector - Best for Colors

Key Features:

• Unlimited cloud storage
• Multiple blur types for a realistic depth of field
• Photo editing tools

Compatibility: Web Browser

PCMag Rating: 4/5

Easy of Use: 4/5

Pricing: 15-day free trial, then $69.99/year

Who It’s For

Corel Vector is a web-based vector graphics program from the CorelDRAW family of software. It’s a good Canva alternative if you are looking to create design projects from scratch. Users of any skill level can create or edit graphics, illustrations, logos, and even photographs with non-destructive tools. Similar to Canva, which can pull out the dominant colors in any photo to use as a background or font color, Corel Vector can grab the 8 most dominant colors to create a palette for future designs. It also has an intuitive color picker with HEX color input and output, RGB, HSB, and CMYK modes.

Why We Picked It

Anyone who prefers a template-based approach can pull from Corel Vector’s growing, curated collection of professional designs. You can also use a photo as the background for your design, and edit images with filters, noise removal, effects, borders, and color adjustments. With this Canva alternative, you can make minute adjustments or simply swap out colors - the level of creative control is entirely in your hands.

Bottom Line

Corel Vector is a Canva alternative for illustrators and designers who want to create beautiful illustrations, typography, geometric shapes, and images with precise adjustments. Although it does come with some customizable templates, we recommend PowerDirector 365 Business as a better option for quick and easy social media posts and marketing projects. PowerDirector also has a full suite of editing tools for TikToks, Reels, and ads, while Corel is simply for print design.

Best Canva Alternatives Comparison Chart

How to Use the Best Canva Alternative

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to create a video advertisement quickly using PowerDirector 365 Business.

Click the link below to download and install PowerDirector 365 Business on your device, then follow along.

1. Launch the software, and choose Start with a Template followed by Video-Based Template.

2. Click the drop-down menu in the upper left and browse through the available template categories. Select the one that best matches your business type.

3. Explore the various templates and select the one that appeals to you the most.
4. Utilize the toolbar within the Ad Designer to personalize the video ad by modifying the text, incorporating your logo, swapping colors, and making other customizations as needed.

5. Once you're satisfied with your customized video ad, click on Produce to export it, making it ready for use across various platforms.

For more information, read our article A Simple Step-By-Step Guide to Making Videos for Small Businesses.

Download the Best Canva Alternative for Free

Now that you've explored the top Canva alternatives, it's time to choose the one that best fits your needs. To make a significant impact with stunning visuals, we highly recommend you try PowerDirector 365 Business.

PowerDirector 365 Business has the best tools to launch a video campaign for your company or brand. With easily customizable drag-and-drop templates, professionally-designed intros, and outros, millions of stock videos, images, sound effects, and background music tracks, you can create a clickable video in no time at all. This free Canva alternative comes with design assets like stickers, frames, and titles to add a unique flair to videos and photo posts. There are even AI-powered tools like an art generator for custom stickers and a powerful cutout tool.

Download PowerDirector 365 Business for free now and start impressing your audience today!