PicMonkey and Canva are essential for businesses and designers, offering tools to create professional-quality visuals and websites. We'll compare PicMonkey's photo editing and design capabilities with Canva's website builder to determine the best option for your needs. Stay tuned for an in-depth analysis of both platforms.

A Quick Overview of PicMonkey and Canva

What is PicMonkey?

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PicMonkey is a company that provides photo editing and design tools aimed at helping users create professional-quality images for personal projects or business campaigns. Their tools are designed to be easy-to-use yet powerful, catering to a wide range of needs from social media posts to business branding.

PicMonkey offers an extensive template library for various needs, including flyers, Instagram posts, YouTube thumbnails, presentations, logos, and invitations. One unique feature that separates PicMonkey from competitors is its comprehensive brand kit functionality, allowing users to stash their logo, fonts, and colors in one place for easy access.

What is Canva?

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Canva is a design platform that offers a wide range of tools for creating visual content. It provides solutions for various needs, including business, education, marketing, and personal projects.

Canva offers a vast library of designer-made, fully responsive website templates that are free to use and customizable for any occasion. Its AI writer and text generator, Magic Write™, allows users to generate, summarize, expand, and re-write text quickly, enhancing the content creation process.

Features of PicMonkey and Canva

Similarities

PicMonkey and Canva are both powerful design platforms that cater to a wide range of creative needs. They share several key features that make them popular choices for individuals and businesses alike.

  • Templates: Both platforms offer thousands of customizable templates for various design needs, including social media posts, logos, flyers, and presentations.
  • Photo Editing Tools: Comprehensive photo editing tools are available on both platforms, featuring filters, cropping, exposure adjustments, background removal, and color changing.
  • Branding Tools: Both PicMonkey and Canva provide tools to create and manage brand assets, such as logos, business cards, and brand kits.
  • Stock Photos and Videos: Extensive libraries of stock photos and videos are available to enhance designs on both platforms.
  • Social Media Design: Specialized tools and templates for creating engaging social media content across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are offered by both PicMonkey and Canva.

Differences

PicMonkey and Canva each offer unique features that set them apart. Here are the most significant differences between the two platforms:

  • Touch Up Tools: PicMonkey provides specialized tools for retouching photos, such as blemish removal and teeth whitening, which Canva lacks.
  • AI-Powered Text Generation: Canva's Magic Write™ allows users to generate, summarize, and re-write text quickly, a feature not available in PicMonkey.
  • Website Builder: Canva offers a fully integrated website builder with customizable templates and free domain options, a feature PicMonkey does not provide.
  • Artsy Effects: PicMonkey includes unique effects like Edge Sketch and Posterize, which are not found in Canva's toolkit.
  • Real-Time Collaboration: Canva supports real-time collaboration, enabling multiple users to work on a design simultaneously, a functionality missing in PicMonkey.

User Interface and Usability

PicMonkey's user interface is straightforward, with a clean layout and easy navigation. The design is intuitive, allowing users to find tools and templates quickly. However, the lack of real-time collaboration can be a drawback for team projects. The user experience is generally smooth, but some advanced features may require a learning curve, which could be a barrier for beginners.

Canva's interface is also well-organized, featuring a top menu bar and clear categorization of tools. The drag-and-drop functionality and real-time collaboration enhance usability, making it more accessible for users of all skill levels. While the platform is user-friendly, the abundance of features might overwhelm new users initially. Overall, Canva offers a more versatile and collaborative user experience.

Canva has a better user interface and usability over PicMonkey.

Collaboration

PicMonkey lacks real-time collaboration features, making it challenging for teams to work together simultaneously. While it offers a variety of templates and design tools, the absence of collaborative functionalities means users must rely on external communication methods to share and review designs. This can slow down the workflow and create inefficiencies in team projects.

Canva, on the other hand, excels in collaboration with its real-time editing capabilities. Users can invite team members to work on designs simultaneously, streamlining the creative process. The platform's easy sharing options and integrated brand kit further enhance teamwork by ensuring consistency and accessibility. Overall, Canva is better suited for collaborative efforts.

PicMonkey and Canva Pricing

PicMonkey offers three subscription plans: Basic at $72 annually or $7.99 monthly, Pro at $120 annually or $12.99 monthly, and Business at $228 annually or $23 monthly. Each plan includes a 7-day free trial, with the Business plan providing additional team collaboration features. The pricing is straightforward and caters to different user needs.

Canva provides four plans: Free, Pro at $120 annually, Teams at $100 per person annually (minimum three people), and Enterprise with custom pricing. Canva also offers a 30-day free trial for Pro and Teams. The pricing structure is designed to accommodate individual users and larger teams, making it versatile.

Overall, Canva's pricing is more flexible, especially for teams, while PicMonkey's plans are simpler and more focused on individual users.

Comparing PicMonkey and Canva to Piktochart

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Piktochart transforms complex ideas into captivating visuals that inform and engage your audience. With Piktochart AI, you can create stunning infographics, reports, and presentations in seconds, perfectly aligned with your brand. No design experience required.

Pros of Piktochart

  • AI-Powered Design Generator: Piktochart's AI-powered design generator allows users to create stunning visuals quickly, saving time and boosting productivity.
  • Extensive Template Library: With a wide variety of customizable templates for infographics, presentations, social media posts, and more, Piktochart caters to diverse design needs.
  • Video Tools: Piktochart includes video tools such as a screen recorder, social media video maker, video cropper, and video to text converter, making it a versatile platform for video content creation.
  • Sector-Specific Support: Piktochart offers tailored solutions for various sectors, including education, healthcare, marketing, and nonprofits, ensuring that users from different fields can find the tools they need.
  • Discounted Plans: Special discounted plans are available for students, teachers, education staff, and registered nonprofits, making Piktochart an affordable option for educational and nonprofit organizations.

Piktochart's Pricing

  • Free: $0 (Free forever)
  • Pro: $29 per member/month (billed monthly) or $14 per member/month (billed annually)
  • Business: $49 per member/month (billed monthly) or $24 per member/month (billed annually)
  • Enterprise: Custom Pricing (Contact for details)

What Are Others Saying?

PicMonkey Reviews

Overall, users have given PicMonkey a rating of 4.4 out of 5. While many appreciate its ease of use and intuitive design, frustrations include limited features, performance issues, and high costs.

"The limited features and templates make it hard to justify the price." - John D., 3.5/5

"Performance issues like lagging can be frustrating during detailed edits." - Sarah M., 3.0/5

"The phone app has synchronization issues, which can be a hassle." - Alex P., 3.8/5

Find more of PicMonkey reviews on G2!

Canva Reviews

Overall, users have given Canva a rating of 4.7 out of 5. While many appreciate its ease of use, some find the limited features in the free version and slow customer support frustrating.

"Sometimes customer support is a little slow to respond." - Jasmine M., 3/5

"The free version of Canva doesn’t have all the features I sometimes want." - Jayson Mavrick A., 3/5

"Some of the 'magic' tools have a little way to go." - Frank C., 3/5

Find more of Canva reviews on G2!

Piktochart Reviews

Our users have given Piktochart an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5. They appreciate its ease of use and the variety of templates available. Here are some of the sentiments from our customers:

  • "Easy to create content even if you're not a designer." - Jessica D.
  • "My Go-To for ALL Professional Presentations!" - Jennifer K.
  • "Incredibly intuitive design app." - Katie S.

Find more of our reviews on G2!

Why choose one over the other?

Why Choose PicMonkey Over Canva:

  • PicMonkey is ideal for users who need specialized photo retouching tools like blemish removal and teeth whitening, which Canva lacks. It's perfect for individuals or businesses focused on detailed photo editing and social media content creation.

Why Choose Canva Over PicMonkey:

  • Canva is better suited for users who require a comprehensive design platform with real-time collaboration and website building capabilities. It's ideal for teams and businesses that need versatile tools for various design projects, including websites and marketing materials.

Why Choose Piktochart Over Canva and PicMonkey:

  • Piktochart is perfect for users who need to create a wide range of visual content, including infographics, presentations, and videos, with the help of AI-powered design tools. It's ideal for educators, marketers, and professionals who want to transform complex ideas into engaging visuals quickly.

PicMonkey, Canva, or Piktochart: Which is the best platform for you?

While PicMonkey and Canva offer impressive features for various design needs, Piktochart stands out with its AI-powered tools and extensive template library, making it a versatile choice for creating engaging visuals. Whether you're an educator, marketer, or professional, Piktochart simplifies the design process, allowing you to transform complex ideas into captivating content effortlessly. Any of these platforms can serve you well, but we believe Piktochart provides the most comprehensive and user-friendly experience.