Still a good choice in the market they helped create
April 02, 2019
Still a good choice in the market they helped create
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Canva
We used Canva to generate all of our social media graphics and images. Currently there are three of us who need access to the designs, and we're all able to use designs out of a shared folder so that we can keep everything in the same place. As far as I know, it's the market leader (and it certainly was the pioneer) in the "visual design for amateurs" category.
- allows just about anyone to create just about any kind of social media image asset
- size templates take the guesswork out of dimensions
- drag and drop interface makes it simple enough for anyone to figure out
- they continue to innovate the product despite many "me-too" products
- they struggle do differentiate in the market that they essentially created
- image editing options still somewhat limited compared to more robust traditional editors
- no help with design -- it's still too easy to create something hideous
- We don't measure social media ROI so it's hard to tell, but it's definitely helped bring a visual element to our SMM
- Their generous free tier means all it takes is time
- It allows anyone to look more professional
The others I've used are Design Bold and Relay That (only Promo Rebublic, which isn't exactly the same, was listed). Promo Republic is primarily a scheduling tool with an image designer built in. It's not a good comparison because it's not a direct competitor. Design Bold is a canva clone, and achieves the same basic functionality. I believe they and others have caused Canva to expand their feature set. I mostly recommend Relay That, which is also not a direct competitor -- you actually can't design your own images -- but you upload colors, images, icons, logos, etc, and it uses AI to generate thousands of graphics for you, which you can then tweak. Use Canva if you have an eye for design, but Relay that if you don't.