When it comes to creating stunning visuals effortlessly, the debate between Canva vs. Adobe Express often arises among designers and businesses alike.
Both platforms offer robust features tailored to popular visual content formats such as social media graphics, presentations, flyers, brochures, and posters, which rank among the top five formats used by companies today.
In this graphic design tools comparison, we’ll break down the strengths and features of each tool to help you decide which one aligns best with your creative goals. Let’s begin!
Table of Contents
- Canva vs. Adobe Express Comparison
- Canva vs. Adobe Express Pricing Plans
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Final Verdict: Canva vs. Adobe Express
- Say Goodbye to DIY
Canva vs. Adobe Express Comparison
Here’s a head-to-head comparison of the two platforms based on the most crucial factors users consider:
1. Ease Of Use
Adobe Express and Canva have similar dashboards, so learning either tool is quite easy. Each has a menu on the left-hand side and a workspace where you can drag and drop images, insert text, upload images from your device, and more.
On both platforms, you have quick access to stock images, videos, and audio. All of these can be clipped and edited to your preferences. You can play with fonts, text effects, pre-made color palettes, shapes, and other elements until your heart’s content.
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2. Templates
Canva is the template king, offering 250,000 templates on its free plan and more on its paid plans. Meanwhile, Adobe Express offers 100,000 on its paid plan – far fewer options to choose from. But if endless templates aren’t a major concern for you, this doesn’t necessarily put Canva ahead.
If you want to make mockups for physical or digital products, Canva has more template options. However, Adobe’s can be edited to create more variations.
If you’re new to creating mockups or designing things in general, Canva is an easier tool to use. Adobe’s mockups require a little more know-how, but you can jazz up your products with both of these tools.
3. Features
Unlike our comparison of Figma vs. Canva, Adobe Spark and Canva are comparable tools. These online design platforms have a similar, if not identical, target audience, and the deliverables are largely the same. With each of these tools, you can create numerous visual elements, including:
- Social media posts
- Reels
- Presentations
- Logos
- Videos
- Flyers
Both platforms also offer collaboration with team members (including real-time collaboration).
When comparing Canva vs Adobe Express, Adobe is the king of fonts. Their 20,000 font option puts Canvas 2,000 to shame. If fonts are a big deal to you, Adobe is the better choice. Adobe even employs AI to help you pair complementary fonts together effortlessly.
4. Stock Photos and Videos
As for stock photos, Adobe offers a far wider range than Canva. Their paid plans grant access to over 160 million royalty-free photos. These images are unique and high-quality – no need to worry about cheesy stock images.
The only downside is that not every image has the same license. This means some images can’t be used for certain purposes (e.g. creating merchandise). S,o if the idea of sifting through licenses irritates you, this could put a damper on Adobe’s otherwise superb stock footage library.
Here’s a comparison of stock photos for the keyword “book” on both platforms:
As for stock videos, both platforms have limited stock videos available for free. Canva offers an extensive video library, especially for social media content. Adobe Express, meanwhile, focuses on professional-grade clips but offers a moderate variety.
5. Ensuring Brand Consistency
Both platforms offer branding kit options, which include:
- Logos
- Color palettes
- Typography
However, it’s crucial to note that creating a brand style guide requires a premium plan: That’s the Pro plan for Canva and the Premium Plan (integrates with Creative Cloud) for Adobe.
While branding kit features for both platforms are easy to use, Canva can be ideal for team collaboration. Adobe’s branding kit features, meanwhile, can be best for individual users and for those who are already working in the Adobe ecosystem.
6. Third-Party Integrations
Adobe Express is part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and more. If you’re familiar with Adobe’s products and you already use them, you could easily incorporate Express, accessing them all from one central hub.
Aside from Creative Cloud and Adobe Stock, Adobe Express also integrates with:
- Social Media Platforms (e.g., publishing to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
- Collaboration Tools (e.g, Microsoft Teams)
Canva, meanwhile, offers an extensive range of third-party integrations, including:
- Social Media Platforms (e.g. Direct publishing to Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
- Productivity Tools (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.)
- Marketing Tools (e.g., HubSpot, Mailchimp, etc.
Both Canva and Adobe Express run on Mac and PC desktops, as well as iOS and Android apps. So you can make designs from your phone, tablet, or computer.
7. Generative AI
Canva offers a number of generative AI tools to simplify design creation. These tools include the following:
- Magic Write: AI-powered content generator for creating short text, social media captions, or descriptions.
- Magic Design: Generates design suggestions based on uploaded images or text inputs.
- AI Image Generation: Allows users to create unique graphics by entering text prompts.
Adobe Express, on the other hand, integrates Adobe’s Sensei AI technology. This technology offers the following capabilities:
- Quick Actions: Automates tasks like background removal, text alignment, or resizing designs.
- Generative AI in Images: Includes options for generating custom backgrounds or applying effects with text prompts.
- Text-to-Image: Powered by Adobe Firefly, it allows for generating high-quality, copyright-safe images.
To test text-to-image AI features, we generated images using this prompt: “A cozy reading nook with a large window, a stack of books, and a cup of tea on a small table, in warm golden hour lighting.”
Here’s what Canva’s Magic Media came up with:
For some reason, the Adobe Firefly won’t process the same prompt and says one or more of the words used violate Firefly guidelines.
8. Planning & Scheduling Content
Both Canva and Adobe Express offer a content planner that allows users to schedule posts directly to various social media platforms, including:
However, content planning and scheduling features are available only to paid plan subscribers – Canva Pro and Adobe Premium.
9. Mobile App
Though you can access both tools on iOS and Android, there are differences in terms of interface and capabilities.
For one, Canva allows mobile users to access nearly all features on mobile with a user-friendly app suitable even for small screens. Adobe Express, meanwhile, offers a simplified version of its design suite but is still advanced compared to Canva.
Here’s what Adobe Express and Canva look like on mobile:
Canva vs. Adobe Express Pricing Plans
Canva offers three simple pricing tiers: Free, Pro, and Teams. The free plan is sufficient to get you started if you just want to play around and create some designs.
The biggest payoff of upgrading to Pro is that you gain access to tons of Premium designs (Canva likes to tease you by displaying these in the free plan – Premium designs have a small crown icon in the corner). The other benefit is that Canva Pro and Teams let you schedule social media content for all major platforms. This can save a ton of time. If you’re primarily using Canva for social content, you can stay on the platform and schedule it right away.
Being one of the most popular Canva alternatives, Adobe Express (aka Adobe Spark) offers an even simpler pricing plan with a free option and a monthly option for $9.99. Like Canva, Adobe offers a social media post scheduler in their paid plan.
Another unique feature offered by Adobe is Multipage. So, if you want to create the same social post for several different platforms, Adobe will resize it for you. Or you can use varying images with the same overarching theme. This automatically gets you the ideal dimensions for each social media channel.
Beyond Canva, Adobe Express offers a text-to-image AI tool, giving creators more choices when it comes to AI-powered design features.
Canva and Adobe Express run on Mac & PC desktops, as well as iOS and Android apps. So you can make designs from your phone, tablet, or computer.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Canva better than Adobe Express?
Whether Canva is better than Adobe Express depends on your design needs. Canva excels in ease of use and template variety, making it ideal for beginners, while Adobe Express offers advanced integration with Adobe’s ecosystem, appealing to users already familiar with Adobe tools.
What are the disadvantages of Adobe Express?
Adobe Express has a steeper learning curve compared to simpler platforms like Canva, especially for users unfamiliar with Adobe’s ecosystem. Additionally, while it offers robust features, its free version has limited options, which may not meet all user needs.
What is the disadvantage of using Canva?
One major disadvantage of Canva is that its templates are widely used, which can make designs appear generic. Additionally, advanced customization options are limited compared to more professional tools.
Final Verdict: Canva vs Adobe Express
So, which one is the best design software? If you’re a creator who’s looking for the best stock photos and typography, you’ll definitely want to choose Adobe. However, in terms of general features, Canva has more. These include:
- Product mockups
- Whiteboards
- AI content generator
- Brand Controls for teams
While Canva offers a range of design features, some advanced ones are limited in the free version. Canva Pro unlocks additional features. Adobe Spark may be better suited for users who want to create more sophisticated designs. It offers some advanced features like motion graphics and the ability to add voiceovers to videos.
Adobe is exclusively a design tool. Meanwhile, Canva has a few other perks that business owners and creators often need. This makes it a slightly more useful and versatile platform. And while Adobe Cloud has an entire suite of great design tools, you’ll have to buy each individually. or sign up for a Creative Cloud All Apps bundle (currently priced at $82/month).
To sum it up, in the battle of Canva vs Adobe Express, Canva wins by a hair. Of course, you don’t have to take our word for it. Try out the free versions of both visual content creation tools to see what you like better.
Say Goodbye to DIY
Amid the choice between Adobe Express vs. Canva, there’s another side to the story that needs to be addressed. DIY graphic design platforms may be popular, but they come with challenges that can impact the quality and efficiency of your designs.
Here’s why DIY may not always be the best choice:
- Time-Consuming: Creating polished designs requires significant time and effort, especially if you’re not a professional designer.
- Limited Expertise: Without formal training, it’s easy to overlook key design principles like balance, hierarchy, and color theory.
- Generic Results: DIY platforms rely on pre-made templates, which can result in designs that lack uniqueness or a tailored approach to your brand.
- Inconsistent Branding: Maintaining cohesive branding across all designs can be difficult without a dedicated team to manage visual assets.
- Hidden Costs: While DIY platforms are often marketed as free, premium features, stock images, and fonts typically come at an additional cost.
If doing your own design work is getting tedious, or you want to free your team to focus on more important tasks, Penji can make it happen. From packaging design to custom illustrations, we’ve got you covered.
As a Canva or Adobe Express user, you might think Penji is expensive. But with our unlimited graphic design service, you will get as many designs as you want for a flat monthly fee. No hidden charges!
Here are a few samples of designs we’ve done for our clients:
Sample designs by Penji
Just give us your brand guidelines (or the guidelines of your clients) and we’ll create customized content you can use. Wanna see how it works? Check out a demo and learn how to submit unlimited design requests on our platfform.
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Try Penji risk-free for 30 days and get all your design projects done
