Likelihood to Recommend I would say that Canva is best suited for beginner and Novice level applications. If you're an experienced designer, there's definitely no point in using Canva as it's developed for designers entering the field. OR, if you want to experience that flexibility while you designing and let the creativity flow, You shouldn't consider Canva as your Choice. If you feel like delivering quick and not spend your time on deciding on 'How to Design', then you should go for Canva.
Read full review This is my go-to mind mapping tool, and I use this both for business-related work and personal though organization and brainstorming. Can't think of any scenario where it is less appropriate, except for maybe, a larger enterprise where data confidentiality may be an issue.
Read full review Pros Provides readily accessible approved fonts and colors for our university publications. A great selection of templates to select from. Lots of resources for design, like photos, clip art, backgrounds, and other design elements. The ability to share your design with others at the university. The ability to download your design as a png, pdf, jpg, svg, even MP4 video or gif. Easy to edit and alter the design and not lose what you had by creating clones of previous designs and then make the changes. Read full review Simple to use Tons of uses Can be customized with themeing Can organize all your boards pretty much however you want Read full review Cons Some pretty basic fonts are missing from the database, which proves to be annoying when trying to stay on brand Pre-grouping sections of templates can be a hassle to figure out Creating your own template from scratch can have it's hiccups, but that could be my lack of design experience. Read full review It can be a little frustrating trying to line things up exactly right but that's probably more user error than anything Read full review Likelihood to Renew The ease of use makes Canva a powerful tool for manipulating images, creating original content, and testing ideas without requiring the involvement of graphic design or more time-intensive image editing software such as Photoshop. While it doesn't have the full functionality of a mature software, such as Photoshop, The speed and simplicity of Canva makes it a necessity in a business of any size
Read full review Usability It is super easy to use, but it could be limiting if you're on a small device. It is easier on a bigger device because you can resize graphics and text easier than with your fingers on a small device. I do think it's perfect and easy for non-designers who don't have any training. As long as you have a good eye for visuals, Canva is a wonderful substitute for graphics programs on-the-go.
Read full review Whimsical is overall very easy to learn and remember. One issue with the usability occurs when you attempt to move connected boxes around the workspace. Frequently connections break or do not add easily, causing further disconnects. You can manually fix these issues, but it's a oprobem that seems would have an easy fix
Read full review Reliability and Availability I have yet to encounter Canva being offline in at least 6 years of using it regularly. They also announce well in advance if there may be upgrades to the code and the hours during which there may be issues accessing the service.
Read full review Performance I haven't ever had issues with a slow-loading site and there haven't been any lag issues within the software. There have been maybe a handful of times over the past six years where I have tried to upload a large image and it will slow down as it loads the last megabyte, but I have yet to have the system time out or require any interference by me
Read full review Support Rating Overall, Canva is easy to use, easy to train others to use, allows for creativity with a professional look without enormous associated costs. The mobile apps works almost as easily, but at a minimum allows for easy review and downloading in a pinch. Really, anyone can learn to use Canva quickly and will immediately benefit from the results.
Read full review I reached out to support, as I was interested in possibly investing in the organization, and they quickly and happily informed me they are a bootstrap organization and do not take on investors at this time. The swift response and information readily available for my consumption was extremely helpful and shows how solid the team behind it is.
Read full review Implementation Rating Remember to download the mobile app onto your phone for easy image manipulation on the go. Adding company colors, logos, and typefaces to your company account is an easy process. When images are uploaded, these can also be shared between accounts within a company, as can canvases you've created for easy editing among teams.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Canva is faster and easy to use. There aren't complex menus like Adobe products and everything is generally intuitive. Menus are mostly open and visible or relatively small. Small changes to the program add to it's usability rather than detract. I also appreciate that Canva helps the user become more creative through use. By giving you editable examples through templates you can choose to re-design something ir create something from scratch w/ a similar concept or feel. Canva often gives me ideas that I can implement into my design or into the entire project even. I also like how Canva is intuitive in it's approach. The program gives you suggestions when it comes to graphics, etc. without getting in your way if you know what you already want
Read full review Whimsical is so much easier and has a better interface, so I think it's more suited to our workflow if compared to other tools like
Google Charts . I really love this tool and I'm looking to learn and use it even more, as it helps us optimize our time, planning, and delivering more efficiently.
Read full review Scalability Very easy to add accounts and share content between them. Collaboration is also easy to manage and can be done on a project-by-project basis. The cloud-based software means it is incredibly fast to add a coworker and have them editing images within minutes. A live internet connection is required to access Canva so this is something to consider if expecting to use the software while on journeys without access to wifi etc
Read full review Return on Investment As far as ROI is concerned, Canva has proven itself time and time again as having a positive impact for business. Just yesterday, I had to prepare an hour-long presentation on the fly; the great reviews of the presentation and the materials (all made in Canva) only served to advertise for Canva and it proves that Canva is a smart investment. I don't think in the time that I have been a Canva pro user that I can say that my ROI has been negatively impacted. Highest recommendation. The software more the casually pays for itself time and time again. Read full review No hard numbers I can quote. Other than the free plan has been adequate for my needs. It's my go to mind mapping tool. Read full review ScreenShots