Canva Vs PicMonkey: Which Is Better For Small Business
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning that at no additional cost to you, we might receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Read the full disclosure here
Hey there, fellow small business owner! We know that creating unique and memorable branding is super important to help you stand out from the crowd. But let’s face it, picking the right design tool to create your small business branding or marketing materials can be a bit of a headache.
There are so many options out there, and it’s tough to figure out which one’s the best fit for you.
But don’t worry! We’ve got your back. In this blog post, we’re going to compare two popular design tools, Canva and PicMonkey, so you can decide which one’s right for your small business needs.
Key Takeaways:
- Canva offers a user-friendly interface, over 250,000 templates, and strong collaboration features, making it ideal for graphic design work, social media graphics, printed materials, and presentations.
- PicMonkey has powerful photo editing tools, such as background removal, retouching, and special effects, making it suitable for designs based on photos.
- Canva is generally more expensive than PicMonkey, but offers more features and customization options.
- PicMonkey’s interface is more complex compared to Canva’s, but offers a range of tutorials and resources for users.
- The choice between Canva and PicMonkey depends on the specific needs of the user and the type of design work they are doing. Both platforms are user-friendly and easy to use with practice.
Main Features
Canva and PicMonkey are both powerful graphic design tools, but they have different strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a peek at some of the best things both platforms have to offer.
Canva
Canva is this awesome online graphic design platform that’s super popular, and for good reason. It’s got a crazy easy-to-use interface and tons of cool features that let you whip up all kinds of visual content in no time. Let’s dive into some of the main features that make Canva so great:
Drag-and-Drop Magic: Canva’s got this super user-friendly interface that lets you drag and drop design elements right onto your canvas. It’s so easy, even if you’re not a graphic design whiz!
Ready-to-Use Templates: Canva’s packed with tons of pre-designed templates for all kinds of stuff, like social media posts, presentations, posters, invitations, business cards, and more. Just tweak the text, colors, and images to make ’em your own.
Images Galore: Canva’s got you covered with a huge collection of stock images, illustrations, and icons. Just search for what you need and pop it into your design. Some are free, but others need a premium subscription.
Text and Typography: Canva offers a bunch of text tools, including loads of fonts, pre-designed text styles, and customization options like size, color, alignment, and more. You can even add effects like shadows or curves to make your text pop.
Design Elements: Canva comes with a whole library of design elements like shapes, lines, stickers, and charts. Add these to your designs to make them look even better and communicate more effectively.
Teamwork Made Easy: Canva lets you collaborate with others on design projects in real-time. Share your designs with your team, give feedback, and edit together to streamline the whole process.
Export and Share: Canva gives you tons of export options, so you can download your designs in formats like PNG, JPG, and PDF. You can even publish directly to social media platforms or share via email or a shareable link.
PicMonkey
PicMonkey is this pretty cool photo editing platform that’s got some serious editing chops. It lets you do all sorts of stuff like removing backgrounds, retouching photos, adding special effects, and tweaking brightness, contrast, and color. Plus, you can use all sorts of filters and effects to make your images really stand out. Let’s break down some of its coolest features:
Advanced Photo Editing Tools:
Background Removal: Wanna remove the background from an image? No problem! This tool makes it super easy to focus on the subject or mix it up with other images or design elements.
Retouching: PicMonkey’s got you covered with retouching tools for things like removing blemishes, smoothing skin, whitening teeth, and adjusting makeup effects. Perfect for upping your selfie game!
Special Effects: Add some pizzazz to your images with cool effects like light trails, bokeh, and lens flares.
Image Adjustment: Get your images looking just right with tools to adjust brightness, contrast, exposure, and color balance.
Filters and Effects:
One-click Filters: Transform your images in a snap with presets like vintage, black and white, or cinematic.
Texture Overlays: Add some depth with texture overlays like grunge, paper, or fabric.
Light Effects: Make your images pop with lens flares, sunbursts, or light leaks.
Frames and Borders: Give your images a polished look with a variety of frames and borders.
Customizable Effects: Tweak the intensity, color, and other settings for filters and effects to get the perfect look.
So, if you’re looking for a powerful platform to create some seriously professional-looking images and designs, PicMonkey is definitely worth checking out!
Templates
So you’re wondering whether Canva or PicMonkey has more design templates, right? Well, I’ve got the answer for you! In short, Canva totally takes the cake when it comes to offering a larger number of design templates compared to PicMonkey.
Just to give you an idea, Canva boasts a massive library of over 250,000 templates for pretty much any design need you can think of, like social media graphics, presentations, posters, you name it! Plus, Canva lets you play around with customization options, so you can really make your designs stand out and reflect your personal style.
On the flip side, PicMonkey has a smaller selection with just over 4,000 templates. Don’t get me wrong, PicMonkey still offers some great customization options and tools, but it might not be the best choice if you’re looking for a wide variety of designs.
But wait, there’s more! Canva isn’t just about the templates; it also has some cool collaboration features that make working on designs with your team a breeze. And to sweeten the deal, Canva integrates with other tools like Dropbox and Google Drive, making sharing and collaborating on designs super easy and convenient.
So, in a nutshell, Canva is definitely the way to go if you’re looking for a platform with a larger selection of design templates and some extra handy features.
Printed Materials
Not only does Canva rock as a design platform with tons of digital design creation tools, but it also lets you customize and order printed materials right from the platform. Yep, you read that right! This makes the whole design process so much easier, and you get to turn your digital designs into high-quality physical stuff without any hassle.
But wait, it gets even better! Canva teamed up with some FedEx locations so you can print and pick up your materials locally. How convenient is that? Just head over to a nearby FedEx spot and grab your freshly printed items.
You can choose the size, paper types, and folding options that work best for you. Canva offers all sorts of printed materials, like:
- Business Cards
- Flyers
- Brochures
- Postcards
- Invitations
- Posters
- Menus
- Custom Stickers
So whether it’s for personal or professional use, Canva’s got you covered as an all-in-one design and print solution.
Now, let’s talk about PicMonkey. As of now, it doesn’t have integrated printing services like Canva. Sure, you can create and export your digital designs, but you’ll need to go to an external printing service to get physical copies. That means a few extra steps for you if you’re looking to create printed materials.
Photo Editing
When it comes to graphic design, photo editing is a pretty big deal. So, let’s talk about the photo editing tools that both Canva and PicMonkey offer, and figure out which one’s better for your needs.
PicMonkey is all about those powerful photo editing tools. It lets you remove backgrounds, retouch photos, and add special effects. Plus, it’s got a bunch of filters and editing tools to tweak brightness, contrast, and color.
Canva’s got some basic photo editing tools too, like cropping, resizing, and color adjustment. But, it’s not really on the same level as PicMonkey for photo editing. Canva’s more about the graphic design side of things, so it’s great if you’re working with graphics instead of photos.
So, here’s the bottom line: if you’re looking for advanced photo editing features, PicMonkey is probably the way to go. But if you’re more into graphic design and don’t need all those fancy photo editing tools, Canva might be your new best friend.
Pricing
Price is an important factor to consider when choosing a graphic design tool. Both Canva and PicMonkey offer a range of plans at different price points, but is Canva more expensive than PicMonkey? Let’s take a closer look.
Canva offers a free plan that allows you to create designs with limited features. Its paid plans range from $9.95 to $30 per month, depending on the features you need. Canva’s paid plans offer additional features such as the ability to create custom templates, advanced analytics, and more storage.
PicMonkey also offers a free plan with limited features, as well as paid plans that range from $7.99 to $23.99 per month. PicMonkey’s paid plans offer additional features such as advanced photo editing tools, the ability to use your own fonts and graphics, and more storage.
When comparing the two platforms, it is clear that Canva is more expensive than PicMonkey. However, Canva also offers more features and customization options compared to PicMonkey. Canva’s collaboration features, as well as its library of templates and resources, make it a better choice for teams that need to work on designs together.
In addition to its paid plans, Canva also offers a range of add-ons and elements that can be purchased for an additional fee. These add-ons include premium templates, stock photos, and more.
PicMonkey, on the other hand, does not offer as many customization options and features as Canva, but it may be a more affordable option for those who only need basic design and photo editing tools.
Comparison Table
In the chart below, we break down the key features and differences between Canva and PicMonkey.
| Feature | Canva | PicMonkey |
| Design templates | Offers over 250,000 templates | Offers over 4,000 templates |
| Price | Plans range from $9.95 to $30 per month | Plans from $7.99 to $23.99 per month |
| Printed materials | Offers a range of printed materials, Partners with Fedex for some printing options | No integrated printing services offered |
| Photo editing | Offers basic photo editing tools | Offers powerful photo editing tools |
| Collaboration features | Allows multiple users to work on a design at the same time | Does not offer collaboration features |
Expert Analysis
As a seasoned expert in graphic design tools, I’ve spent countless hours working with both Canva and PicMonkey. After thoroughly exploring the ins and outs of each platform, I can confidently say that they are both really great design tools.
Canva was a little easier to work with and offers a larger variety of pre-made templates, but that could also be seen as a downside. It takes more effort to customize to create a truly unique design that differs from what someone else would create for their small business. Canva’s collaboration features are a game-changer, and this really helped me get real-time feedback from my team when working together on a project.
PicMonkey, on the other hand, shines when it comes to photo editing. The more advanced toolset helped me to create flyers and social media graphics with ease. I found that I didn’t need to open Photoshop or Affinity to edit the images to suit my project.
So this leads me to the final thoughts of which tool would suit you best.
Final Thoughts
So if you’re trying to decide between Canva and PicMonkey, the best one for you really depends on what you need and the kind of design work you’re doing.
If you’re all about customization options, templates, and working with your team on designs, Canva is probably your jam. Plus, it’s great for creating printed materials and presentations.
On the other hand, if you’re into photo editing and need powerful tools for that, PicMonkey might be a better fit. It’s also easier on the wallet if you’re just looking for basic design and photo editing tools.
At the end of the day, it’s all about what works best for you and your design needs. Both Canva and PicMonkey are super user-friendly, so with a little practice, you’ll be cranking out amazing designs on either platform in no time!
You Might Also Like:
