Adobe Express vs. Pixabay

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Express
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is a task-based, web and mobile product used to create and share rich multimedia content – from social media posts and stories to invitations to marketing materials like logos, flyers and banners.
$0
Pixabay
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Pixabay headquartered in Germany offers a digital content platform, which they present as a community for sharing copyright-free images and videos. All contents are released under Creative Commons.N/A
Pricing
Adobe ExpressPixabay
Editions & Modules
Free
$0.00
Premium
$9.99 / $99.99
per month
Teams
$9.99
per month per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe ExpressPixabay
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsContact Adobe directly for Enterprise pricing plan details.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe ExpressPixabay
Considered Both Products
Adobe Express
Chose Adobe Express
I can input creative content and files I've made in other Adobe programs directly into Adobe Express, which helps me create more authentic, original content.
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Workfront and Adobe PhotoShop
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Firefly, Frame.io, Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Stock
Chose Adobe Express
Express is very similar to Canva. I like to express more, except that Canva makes it easier to ensure that text/images are centered and aligned, and that the spacing is correct.
Chose Adobe Express
Express has put all the tools a design agency will need for day-to-day operations, production, and creation. And with the addition of the Calendar, scheduling these posts is a breeze and very important in a designer's tool belt. We used other products before and found ourselves …
Chose Adobe Express
The feature of using the library in Adobe Express helps me to manage my content easily, and the content can be used across all other Adobe apps. Which can be benificial than using Canva.
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Express integrates very well with other products like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Firefly. The Images from the other Tools can be integrated in new projects or edited out of Adobe Express into those Adobe Tools. Also the Files can be managed and rearranged in the Creative …
Chose Adobe Express
In addition to Adobe Express, I have also used Canva because both platforms are quite similar. Basically, the application that I use is typically based on the clients needs, however my personal preference is Adobe Express because I find it too intuitive to my creative persona.
Chose Adobe Express
I think they all have a different target audience and a different use for them. I love crafting posts with Figma but i think the "figma look" is a bit cold and super recognizable for my taste. I think creating something with Illustrator still gives me the most options in terms …
Chose Adobe Express
I use Adobe Express for designing social media content, appreciating its ready-made templates which save time and effort. It solves creative blocks by providing design ideas, and I love its voice character feature for making animations. However, the layering feature feels basic …
Chose Adobe Express
I think Adobe Express is a bit behind Canva, but as an Adobe Community Expert, I try to provide as much feedback as I can to help improve Adobe Express. ADobe Express does a better job than InShot and a few other apps, but isn't quite there against Canva, I'm sorry to say!
Chose Adobe Express
In my opinion, Adobe Express blows it away. Canva is great and all and gets the job done. But it lacks the additional value offered by Adobe Express and Adobe. Canva's stock asset library doesn't come close to Adobe's stock asset library, and the Creative Cloud makes using …
Chose Adobe Express
I like them both equally, but Adobe Express is free because I have Creative Cloud, so I prefer it.
Chose Adobe Express
Software like Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects are indispensable for my needs. I used Canva to streamline the process of creating carousels, mainly, and Express effectively replaces Canva. The advantage of having everything under a single subscription was crucial for …
Chose Adobe Express
It's very easy to generate images or graphics and find them on Adobe Express.In the application, in "Your stuff" > Files section, you'll find all the creations you've made with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, and you can use them directly in Adobe Express. No need to …
Chose Adobe Express
Maybe because I use other Adobe products, but I find that Adobe Express is more intuitive than Canva, especially when trying to format text. As for Adobe Express versus other Adobe products, well I think there is a place for them all. There are just certain things that you …
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Express has better integration with other Adobe product I use, however it is lacking in the templates area.
Chose Adobe Express
I prefer adobe products but Canva for quick purposes seems to be a better UI and UX
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Express is faster easier and better
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Express is incredibly similar to Canva. Both tools are something that makes design easy for anyone to do as well as provide templates and pre-made graphics to assist in the design process. However, Express still feels limited compared to Canva and Illustrator. Illustrator …
Chose Adobe Express
In my view, they are essentially the same.
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Express stands out for me. This product is amazing!
Chose Adobe Express
Overall Adobe Express offers a more polished finished product but does take a little time to learn. But worth the time spent to have more unique content
Pixabay
Chose Pixabay
The Pixabay interface is easier to use compared to other products. Their site is also very fast, meaning I can spend more time growing my business and less time searching for the perfect image. Their licensing is also easier to understand.
Chose Pixabay
Pixabay is one of several sites I visit when I need content. I don't necessarily select it over others all the time - sometimes they have the image I want and sometimes I find it elsewhere - but they're always one of the ones I check with when I need media.
Chose Pixabay
We selected Pixabay due to its affordability, clear licensing, and vast range of imagery that fit our needs. Unsplash and Pexels were on par for affordability and licensing, but we felt Pixabay had a broader range of content. Shutterstock and Getty were coat prohibitive for our …
Chose Pixabay
In my opinion, stock photos are kind of all over the place, depending on how specific of an image you're looking for. I think Pixaby is on the higher / more positive side of the scale -- there are definitely sites that are not offering as polished of photos or the variety that …
Chose Pixabay
Pixabay is a far more legit and easy-to-use free stock photo platform than the others I have listed above. Before using it I made sure that I was abreast of certain issues within the rules and systems that need to be followed by the letter. If you do not do this you will have …
Chose Pixabay
I think that Fotor is my favorite because of the way it allows the easy editing and collection of pictures. Pixabay is really not as well suited for photo editing but it is still like great resource for free pictures. Shutterstock has better images, but is more expensive. …
Chose Pixabay
I use Pixabay in 2 scenarios. The first is when I've done a bunch of searching on iStock already and can't find anything. You wouldn't think Pixabay could show up then, but sometimes it hits. The other time is when I'm in a rush and just doing general Google searches for …
Chose Pixabay
Canva has many more options for pictures available on their pro platform. For my business, it is easier to justify the cost of Canva as it includes other features like photo editing and graphic design. Pixabay does have pictures, and videos, and expanded into gifs but can be …
Chose Pixabay
I selected Pixaby because with it's easier to find free images with excellent quality. Also, in Pixaby the indications for free or paid images is more clear than in the other platforms.
Chose Pixabay
Pexels is free and fully licensed for commercial use, as is Unsplash to a certain extent. I generally open all 3 to search for free stock images for budget-sensitive clients; that being said, I always find myself searching Pixabay first. They have the best user interface of …
Chose Pixabay
Pixabay gets around the language barrier by being available in more than 20 different languages. The website doesn't have any ads. They do have "sponsored images" from Shutterstock, but I really like that there are no other ads. When I download an image, I can choose from a …
Chose Pixabay
Pixabay is free, easy to use, and has images, videos, vectors, illustrations, music, and sound effects—basically everything you need to make content on a budget. Getty only licenses images and videos, so I'd have to go elsewhere to find music and sound effects (and likely pay a …
Chose Pixabay
Pixabay has a few key features that stand out. The search results load fast, with an easy user interface and advanced filtering options. I often travel as I work, and at times my internet connection can be slow or unstable. Even on a slower connection, the search results are …
Chose Pixabay
Overall, I really like Pixabay as the quality of images has never let me down. On top of that, I really love the community/creators as they're very supportive. I would say that you will have not many problems or complaints when you use Pixabay and will definitely help in your …
Chose Pixabay
The filtering system is a little bit better on Pixabay and I use that lot. Some of Unsplash's photos can be a little higher quality
Chose Pixabay
I have not used the artist much yet but I have a heard lot about Artlist from other travel videos maker in the community about how good this website is. Based on my little experience of using Artlist, I would say Pixabay has a lot fewer sound effects and music selections …
Chose Pixabay
Pixabay is a very user-friendly site, and feels less 'business' orientated and approachable. The graphic designers that used it got to grips with it very quickly and found a decent range of stuff. However, there were occasions when we needed to go somewhere else to find the …
Chose Pixabay
Pexels is very high quality but has a less professional collection of images. Most of the images in Pexels feel like they would be more at home in a local coffee shop or Millennial hangout. While Pexels' image offering is stunning, the images do not fit in alongside data sets …
Chose Pixabay
Pixabay is adequate but needs to up its image game in order to compete with other free stock sites, which have more extensive and better quality imagery available. I personally moved from using Pixabay to other free image sites due to the quality and range of images not …
Chose Pixabay
The thing I like about Pixabay over Canva is the music available and the photos are not the same ones that Canva has. Sometimes I feel like Canva is so much more well-known that everyone uses them and then their social media posts start looking the same. It doesn't help you …
Chose Pixabay
Being a user of this image bank is really useful since if we need different illustrations for a wide variety of contexts, we have images at hand. It is an indispensable tool for companies and individuals, every day at least five new high-quality photos appear. Its main function …
Chose Pixabay
We also looked at Adobe Stock and Freepik. Adobe Stock has a better breadth of images available on their site, but they can be expensive depending on your needs. Sometimes, if Pixabay doesn't have an image that matches what I need I may use Adobe Stock or Freepik. Freepik is …
Chose Pixabay
iStock doesn't offer free options. Hence we use Pixabay more often, especially with a tight budget.
Chose Pixabay
Pixabay is my starting point for any image search as it provides cross-over/reference to other sites but isn't so overwhelming with images. I feel with the other sites I could get lost in the endless pages of stock imagery, especially when they seem so similar.
Best Alternatives
Adobe ExpressPixabay
Small Businesses
Pexels
Pexels
Score 8.1 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 8.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Pexels
Pexels
Score 8.1 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 8.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Pexels
Pexels
Score 8.1 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 8.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe ExpressPixabay
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe ExpressPixabay
Likelihood to Recommend
Basically, I truly find that Adobe Express is pretty much great for all professional scenarios because it offers many creative options and comes with an extremely robust collection of assets (stock photos, videos, music, and graphics) all of which can be edited and enhanced within Adobe Express if needed. One project that it was quite helpful with utilizing was creating a logo for one of our clients. I was able to create the prototype and then offer several iterations of said logo to help the client quickly decide on its official branding. By having all of my assets neatly stored right on my Adobe Express project folder it was very easy for me to remain organized when creating various outputs.
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Pixabay is excellent for those trying to create content on a budget, whether for yourself or for a client. It has a huge library of high-quality images and videos for use in creative applications. Beyond that, Pixabay also has a library of free music and sound effects, which is enormously helpful for people trying to create content on a budget without worrying about getting in copyright trouble. Also, due to the fact that you can sort images by "transparent," it's easy to find cut-out images to use in composites.
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Pros
  • Brand Kit: provides quick access to approved fonts, logos, colors, and other assets
  • Libraries: syncs will with other Adobe Tools
  • Animation: provides a decent collection of modifiable motions for objects in the design
  • Social Media-ready Layouts: being able to design graphics of multiple sizes/Layouts within the same document is a GOD-SEND
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  • Pixabay License: Pixabay has its own license which allows the use of the content for commercial and personal use without any attribution. However, attribution supports the talented creators behind the content.
  • Pricing: Pixabay is completely free for everyone.
  • High-resolution: Photos and videos on Pixabay are of high resolution, especially several videos in 4K, which makes them perfect to use in bigger projects.
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Cons
  • It could have a search bar which searches through other Adobe products (esp for Stock images, videos, audio) from within Adobe Express.
  • It could make it so switching between Adobe products from within Adobe Express almost like a tab function is smooth.
  • It could partner with other companies to allow for company specific events in exchange for valuable products or programs.
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  • One thing that kind of sticks out is that with so much to choose from, you can feel overwhelmed.
  • Some of the photos I sometimes can find separately by googling. In the music business, it seems like many photos rotate on the web so there isn't as much to pick from.
  • I didn't see an option for more vertical videos for use in Instagram or TikTok.
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Likelihood to Renew
i love express!!! i use it every day and will continue to use it even if my job doesn't pay for it, although i hope i never have to pay for it haha. even though the updates are sometimes frustrating, i think for the most part i get used to/like the updates. it's easy to use and i like the change to projects instead of sharing a brand with collaborators
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Usability
The user interface is pretty straightforward to use. It has easy to navigate navigations, and the canvas UX is also pretty good. One thing i would like to add it to use shortcuts to add elements on canvas. Like if I am on canvas and I press 'T' on my keyboard the text box should be added automatically
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A lot of times, it can be difficult to find things on a website. Pixabay search works extremely well. This way we don’t have to search and keep searching. The results along with the recommendations are very tailored and work well
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Support Rating
Overall, the Adobe Creative Cloud Express is worth a try and may be a good fit for many organizations and businesses. At a monthly rate, the cost is not prohibitive, but the tools are somewhat limited and not necessarily worthwhile when compared to standard applications and software that are often available free or through a package of services commonly found on workplace computers.
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Alternatives Considered
Express has put all the tools a design agency will need for day-to-day operations, production, and creation. And with the addition of the Calendar, scheduling these posts is a breeze and very important in a designer's tool belt. We used other products before and found ourselves importing, exporting, editing and then exporting again a bit tiresome. We only need one app: Adobe Express.
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Pexels is free and fully licensed for commercial use, as is Unsplash to a certain extent. I generally open all 3 to search for free stock images for budget-sensitive clients; that being said, I always find myself searching Pixabay first. They have the best user interface of the three and generally have the best image options. Adobe, Shutterstock, and iStock have better images, and I use those for clients who are less budget-sensitive.
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Return on Investment
  • Positive: Time and working for a nonprofit with minimal staff this is essential.
  • Negative: There are certain features that I need to find in other Adobe products like layer masking.
  • Positive: It makes content creation less intimidating for our newer staff.
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  • We don't lose any money trying to buy images
  • Our videos get more views if we put the good quality images we find in Pixaby
  • The posts we make with their images always get a professional aspect, and get more engagement from a diverse social media users.
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ScreenShots

Adobe Express Screenshots

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