Canva vs. Penji Competitor Analysis: Which Is Better in 2026?

TL;DR: Here is a complete analysis of Canva and Penji to help you decide on which platform to use.

Finding the right graphic design services is like finding a needle in a haystack. With so many options, it’s challenging to find the right fit. This is reason enough for some to DIY their visual assets. This may well be why Canva has gained popularity. It lets users create professional-looking designs without breaking the bank. However, a good contender for this scenario is Penji’s unlimited graphic design services. Let’s find out who wins in this head-to-head comparison.

What is Canva?

A premium software design tool, Canva lets you create designs by just dragging and dropping. This is an excellent solution for business owners who don’t have the budget to hire a professional graphic designer. There is a free version, and then there’s the pro, which offers advanced AI features like Magic Design, Magic Write, AI image generation, and automated resizing—giving users more power and flexibility at a relatively low cost.

The pro version of Canva will give you access to the following:

• 610,000+ premium templates
• 3,000+ fonts
• 125+ million premium photos, videos, audios, and graphics
• 1TB of cloud storage
• Priority support

What is Penji?

An on-demand graphic design service, Penji offers unlimited graphic designs at flat monthly rates. It works like a graphic design subscription, giving you access to professional designers without the high costs of hiring in-house. On-demand, because in just 24 to 48 hours, you’ll get your design. No need for you to wait weeks to get what you need. Its fixed rates mean you only pay a single fee for all the designs you’ll get in a month, revisions included.

In a nutshell, here’s what you’ll be getting when you subscribe to Penji:

• 120+ categories of custom graphic design services
• 100% custom illustrations (no stock or templated art)
• 100% custom website and app design
• Hundreds of vetted professional designers
• Priority support
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Canva vs. Penji

While Canva lets you do your own designs, Penji has a team of pro designers who will create the designs for you. What makes these two different is that with them, you can get good designs at a fraction of the cost—a complete about-face from hiring in-house designers or getting the services of a design agency.

Both design partners offer something different and valuable. It’s a matter of choosing which one fits your brand the best. But before making a choice, it’s only fitting to know what each has to offer. Read on as we get Penji and Canva head-to-head and see what makes them tick.

To get more savings, sign up for Penji by clicking on this link.

Each has its advantages as a graphic design collaboration. For example, Penji takes the guesswork out of the process, submits a request and awaits completion, and you have a professionally designed project; this is straightforward and low-key. Conversely, Canva expects you to create everything independently. While some might find this inconvenient, many people who appreciate the do-it-yourself aspect of design like that Canva is an all-in-one platform where they can create their own.

The Costs

As with many business owners or marketers, the cost of design is one of the most vital factors in choosing their design partners. Again, this is the primary reason most businesses on tight budgets decide to do the designs themselves. They have resigned to the fact that great design doesn’t come cheap, and in most instances, this is true.

If you’re looking for affordable designs that are high in quality, Canva and Penji are the top choices. Let’s take a look at the pricing of both to give you an idea of which would be more cost-effective for you.

Canva Pricing

With unlimited access to its design tools and content, Canva’s $15 monthly fee is a steal. Take a look at their pricing plans:

A 16% discount is what you’ll get when you pay annually. While the free version offers impressive features, these are limited and can sometimes be frustrating, aesthetically speaking. A subscription will give you more design options, and with this discount, you can definitely get your money’s worth. 

Canva lets you cancel your subscription any time you need to. But the better option would be to pause it. Canva enables you to pause your subscription for up to three months and automatically resume after.

Penji Pricing

With three plans to choose from, Penji offers excellent graphic design services at affordable rates. Its pricing page shows us this:

Penji is offering a money-back guarantee after 30 days of use. This allows you to try out the service and see for yourself if this is what you need.

Also, Penji does not tie you down with contracts. You can cancel anytime you want to. After cancellation, Penji will store your designs for up to 90 days. This is especially helpful when your company’s need for designs gets low. You can subscribe anew when the workload gets back up again.

Pricing Takeaway

When placed side by side, Penji’s pricing plans may seem a little steeper than Canva’s. This is because when you subscribe to Penji, more than a hundred professional designers are at your disposal. If you want a quick and easy way to get graphic designs and illustrations, Penji is the most suitable choice for those looking for a reliable graphic design subscription service.

On the other hand, if you want to get designs with the least cash out possible, Canva is for you. It is ideal for those on a very tight budget but willing to spend time and energy designing. Instead of purchasing expensive software, Canva has made it simple for non-designers.

The Sign-Up Process

Canva and Penji both have an easy sign-up process that lasts a little over two minutes and can be done in a few easy steps.

Canva

Signing up for Canva involves choosing a plan, verifying your email via a code, and then setting up your account.

Penji

Similarly, Penji’s sign-up requires you to choose a plan, offers a field for entry (good for promo codes), requires payment information, and upon sign-up, you can start requesting designs right away.

Getting Your Designs

Canva and Penji require you to receive designs in very different ways.

Canva

For example, Canva allows you to design yourself, select a template, edit fonts, colors, and layouts, or start from a blank canvas. However, if you’re merely using a template that someone else used before, your project may not be as original.

Penji

Penji allows you to submit a request for your project via a brief, uploading examples, and requesting variations. Then a designer does all the work for you, yet they take less credit for your work because a live person creates it for you instead of you just manipulating online tools.

Final Designs

Getting the logos from Canva and Penji proved to be smooth and uncomplicated. I was expecting some kind of roadblocks for each and found out that there are none. The whole process was even enjoyable, especially when I saw the results.

Canva

In as little as ten minutes (maybe less), I created a logo from a template using Canva Pro. Here’s what I got:

Penji

Submitting a request from Penji was effortless compared to Canva. After I wrote a brief to describe what I wanted, the designers took the reins from there. I requested the designs at around one in the afternoon and got them when I opened the Penji dashboard in the morning. Here are the final results:

Getting a Second Design

Getting the next design is also crucial, as this will determine if Canva and Penji can deliver during crunch times. I went on to create a new design on Canva, and rightly so, I got what I needed in just a few minutes. The only thing that kept it longer was my indecisiveness in choosing the templates, colors, fonts, etc.

As for Penji, not even 24 hours passed, and I got the logo I requested. However, I found out that you can already send a second (or even third) request even if the first isn’t done yet. You can even line them up without waiting for one to get done. This will ensure that the designers will have something to work on as soon as one gets completed.

Communications

Contacting a design partner is also a significant factor when deciding on one. Good communication is the key to superb designs. This will get you excellent outputs right the first time. This will also keep you away from revisions, which could take unnecessary time.

That being said, you won’t have communication problems with Canva, as you alone will be the one responsible for your designs. You won’t be working with a designer. Therefore, no miscommunication on Canva’s part.

On the other hand, Penji has team members you will be chatting with. From your project description to revisions of your design, you will be communicating with Penji’s designers.

Testimonials and Ratings

Canva and Penji both earn strong reviews from users across different platforms.

Canva

Canva has high ratings: 9.2/10 on TrustRadius, 4.7/5 on Capterra, from over 13,000 users, and 4.6/5 on Google from more than 24.5 million reviewers.

Penji

Penji also consistently receives positive feedback, scoring 4.8/5 on Trustpilot, 4.7/5 on G2, and 4.5/5 on Clutch, indicating that users are generally very satisfied with its services.

Final Thoughts

If you look at the reasons Canva and Penji were founded, you’d find out that they have a common denominator. The founders were frustrated with getting high-quality graphic designs that were affordable. But the similarities end here.

Canva is an online design website with tools to let you go DIY in your designs. It’s free to use, but the paid version offers many possibilities that you wouldn’t think of hiring a designer. With it, you can just do all the designing yourself.

As for Penji, there is a team of pro designers to create your designs. The ultimate difference here is the quality of the designs that you can get. This can never be done by non-designers, however good the software they use is.

I liked that with Canva, you’re free to do whatever you want for just a minimal price. You can play around with colors, fonts, icons, images, and other visual assets. However, unless you’re a professional designer, you’ll encounter times when you’ll get stumped.

In addition, designing will surely take up a chunk of your time when you could be doing something else for your business. Canva is so good that even professional designers love it. If you’re on a budget with the slightest hint of designing talent, Canva is your best bet.

On the other hand, if you want to have unique designs with that professional touch, Penji is the best way to go. You’ll have more time to focus on business instead of spending time designing a logo. 

While you won’t get your design instantaneously as with Canva, the output from Penji will definitely look better.

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