Adobe Express and Canva are two of the most popular graphic design tools on the market. Both programs offer a wide range of features and templates that can help you create stunning designs, but they each have different strengths and weaknesses.
Adobe Express integrates with millions of high-quality photos, graphics, and videos via Adobe Stock making it an ideal program to explore if you already have experience with the Adobe ecosystem, while Canva is highly accessible with both free and paid plans available, and comes jam-packed with a wide range of templates to explore.
In this article, we will compare Adobe Express vs. Canva to help you decide which tool is right for you. We will discuss the ease of use, features, templates, pricing, and overall value of each tool.
What is Adobe Express?
Adobe Express
Adobe Express is a free-to-use online design tool that allows you to create social media graphics, flyers, logos, posters, advertisements, banners, business cards, and more. It's a great way to create professional-looking content without having to learn how to use complex design software.
Adobe Express comes with thousands of templates, Adobe Stock photos, Adobe Fonts, and design assets to get you started. You can also customize your designs with your own photos, text, and colors. Once you're finished, you can share your creations directly to social media or download them to your computer.
Adobe Express is a great tool for anyone who wants to create visually appealing content. It's easy to use, even for beginners, and it offers a wide range of features to help you create stunning designs.
Adobe Express: At a glance
Key features: Thousands of templates, Adobe Stock photos, Integrates with Adobe Fonts, Photos, text, and color customization, Animations and effects, Social media sharing, Quick actions (e.g. for removing a background)
Best for: Creating social media graphics, cross-functional collaboration on design projects, creating logos, and creating slideshow presentations.
Cost: Adobe Express is available for free, but also has a premium version for USD $9.99 per month which includes premium templates, 100GB of cloud storage, social media publishing tools, and other features.
Pros of Adobe Express
Ease of use
One of the main pros of Adobe Express is its ease of use. The tool is designed to be user-friendly, even for people who have never used design software before. The interface is simple and straightforward, and there are plenty of tutorials and resources available to help you get started.
Wide range of templates
Another pro of Adobe Express is its wide range of templates. The tool offers templates for a variety of different projects, including social media graphics, marketing materials, presentations, and more. This makes it easy to get started quickly and easily, even if you don't have a lot of design experience.
Templates in Adobe Express
Integrates seamlessly with Adobe Ecosystem
Finally, Adobe Express integrates with Adobe Stock, which gives you access to millions of high-quality photos, graphics, and videos. This means that you can find the perfect images and media to use in your designs without having to search for them elsewhere.
Cons of Adobe Express
Limited features in free plan
The free plan of Adobe Express is pretty limited in terms of features. You can only create a certain number of projects, and you can't use some of the more advanced features, like animations or effects. So, if you need to create complex designs, you'll probably want to upgrade to a paid plan.
Speed
Adobe Express can be a bit slow at times, especially when you're working on large projects. This can be frustrating, especially if you're on a tight deadline. If you're working on a large project, such as a video or a presentation, Adobe Express can be a bit slow. It is meant as a lightweight alternative to other design tools, so you should keep this in mind.
What is Canva?
Canva
Similar to Adobe Express, Canva is a web-based graphic design platform that allows users to create designs for a variety of purposes, including tools for generating social media graphics, presentations, and other design elements.
Canva is a drag-and-drop tool that makes it easy to add and arrange elements in your designs. There are also a variety of templates and resources available to help you get started (more than Adobe Express, in fact.)
Canva is best suited for both beginners and enterprises, as they offer a comprehensive range of features that cater to both segments.
Canva also has a few unique AI-powered tools that can help with your design process. Features like “Beat Sync” which matches video footage to soundtracks and “Magic Eraser” which helps remove backgrounds at the click of a button.
Canva: At a glance
Key features: Pre-built templates, Collaboration features, AI-powered editing features (e.g Magic Eraser and Beat Sync), Brand Kits and Hubs for maintaining brand consistency, Wide range of customization options (colors, fonts, layout, images), Team reports and insights
Best for: Presentations, social media graphics, infographics, and other marketing material
Cost: Canva is completely free to use, but also offers a “Canva for Teams” option with added features. The big difference in Canva’s pricing model is that they charge $14.99 for teams of up to five people - this means the cost for each user is only $3 per month. This makes it an attractive option if you have a design team consisting of multiple people.
Pros of Canva
Multiple graphic elements
Canva is a great tool for creating designs, and it offers a lot more than Adobe Express or other design tools. Canva has a giant collection of stock images and videos that can be repurposed, which means you don't have to spend time creating your own graphics.
Canva also has a wide variety of templates to choose from, so you can create designs quickly and easily. Additionally, Canva is very user-friendly, so even if you're not a designer, you can create professional-looking designs with Canva.
Brand management features
Canva shines as an enterprise design tool as it offers comprehensive brand management features such as a brand kit, centralized dashboard for managing brand assets, and workflow automation options.
Canva for brand management
Integrations
Canva can be seamlessly integrated with various platforms like Dropbox, Google Drive, and social media sites, making it easier to import and export files.
AI-augmented features
Canva incorporates AI cleverly to offer features such as Magic Eraser and Beat Sync which make it easier to sync video footage with audio, erase backgrounds, and perform other edits at the tap of a button.
Beat Sync in Canva lets you sync video to music
Cons of Canva
File export limitations
Canva may not export files in some high-resolution formats, which could be a drawback for those requiring print-ready designs.
Branding limitations
The free version of Canva does not offer complete control over branding elements like custom color palettes and watermarks, which could be a concern for businesses seeking consistent brand representation.
Brand Kit is limited in Canva's free version
Internet dependence
Similar to Adobe Express, Canva operates online, so users need a stable internet connection to access and work on their designs, which can be inconvenient in areas with poor connectivity.
What are the similarities between Adobe Express and Canva?
Adobe Express and Canva are both web-based graphic design tools that allow users to create a variety of visual content. They both have drag-and-drop interfaces that make it easy to add and arrange elements, and they both offer a wide range of templates, fonts, and other design elements to help users get started.
One of the most notable similarities between Adobe Express and Canva is their ease of use. Both tools are designed to be user-friendly, even for beginners. This makes them a great option for people who want to create professional-looking designs without having to learn how to use complex design software.
Another similarity between Adobe Express and Canva is their templates. Both tools offer a wide range of templates to help users get started. These templates are designed by professional designers, so you can be sure that your designs will look great.
Finally, Adobe Express and Canva both allow users to collaborate on designs. This is a great feature for teams or businesses that need to work together on a project.
Adobe Express vs Canva: Which is better?
As a stand-alone platform, Canva is the better option in that it's highly accessible and features a great range of features of explore, particularly for businesses looking to keep their designs on-brand across teams thanks to Canva's Brand Kits and Hub functionality, but the answer does really depend on your individual needs and preferences.
If you are looking for a user-friendly tool with a wide range of features that integrates seamlessly with the Adobe ecosystem, then Adobe Express is a good option. However, if you are looking for a tool with a large library of templates at a more competitive price for multiple team members, then Canva is a superior choice.