Anyone can try their hand at graphic design nowadays—thanks to tools like Adobe Express and Canva. With a computer and internet connection, you can whip up social media ads, TikTok videos, or even good old-fashioned flyers. For those who’ve never touched a design tool before, these platforms are an inexpensive and (mostly) dummy-proof way to start.
However, not all design tools are created equal. Whether you’re after affordability, simplicity, or robust features, the debate over Adobe Express vs Canva is ongoing. So, let’s dive into the costs, the features, and frustrations of these two platforms to help you decide.
Spoiler: At the end, I’ll recommend another option if you’re looking for a more powerful design solution.
Adobe Express vs Canva: Pricing
For starters, Adobe Express and Canva have similar pricing structures. They both offer a Free plan, a Premium/Pro paid plan, a plan for Teams, and an Enterprise tier (you can get a custom quote by contacting Sales on both platforms).
When it comes to actual pricing, Canva is the more expensive option.
Let’s compare.
How much does Canva cost?
Let's review the pricing of Canva on their annual and monthly plans.
Canva Pricing on a monthly plan
Canva Pro: $15/month
Canva Teams: $10/month/user (three-person minimum)
Canva Pricing on an annual plan
Canva Pro: $120/year
Canva Teams: $100/year/user (three-person minimum)
How much does Adobe Express cost?
Now let's go over the costs of Adobe Express on their monthly and annual plans.
Pricing on a monthly plan
Adobe Express Premium: $9.99/month
Adobe Express Teams: $4.99/month/user for the first year, then $7.99/month/user (two-person minimum)
Also, note that the Teams plan is an annual commitment, but you’ll be billed monthly. So if you cancel the plan prematurely, a fee will apply.
Pricing on an annual plan
Adobe Express Premium: $99.99/year
Adobe Express Teams: $49.99/year/user for the first year, then $79.99/month/user (two-person minimum)
Even though Adobe Express is considerably cheaper, you may be wondering why that is. Let’s delve into some features so you can decide if the prices are justified.
Comparing Design Elements, Assets, and Storage
Both tools hold their own as far as built-in design assets, font libraries, templates, and even AI-powered shortcuts. But let’s see how they stack up against each other in these key areas.
Adobe Express
Assets: Access to over 200 million Adobe Stock photos, videos, music tracks, and design elements.
Fonts: Users get the complete Adobe Fonts collection with over 30,000 fonts.
Templates: 350,000+ templates curated by Adobe professionals, plus access to all premium static and video templates.
Imports: Since Adobe Express is a member of the Adobe family, it gives you the unique ability to import .psd and .ai files as easily as any other traditional file format.
Storage: 5G for the free plan, 100GB on the individual plan, and 1TB on the Team plan.
Resize and bulk generation: Not only can you resize designs, but you can do it in bulk for multiple social channels and generate images in bulk to speed things up.
Canva
Assets: Canva gives you over 100 million photos, videos, graphics, and audio elements, about half as many as Adobe Express.
Fonts: Access to more than 3,000 fonts—again, nowhere near as many as Adobe Express, but Canva Pro users can also upload custom fonts.
Templates: With over 3.8 million templates, Canva easily provides more variety than Adobe.
Imports: You can import the usual JPG, PNG, PDF files, and a few other video files. But it doesn't natively support .psd or .ai file imports like Adobe Express.
Storage: 5G for the free plan and 1TB for all paid plans.
Magic Tools: Canva's suite of AI-powered tools, known as Magic Tools, help you create layouts, remove and add objects to images, and generate text and videos within seconds. Adobe Express has similar AI features, but not as many.
Comparing Ease of Use and Intuitiveness
For the most part, you’ll be able to get started with both Canva and Adobe Express without needing to read a guide or watch any tutorials. Both platforms are designed for people without extensive design experience, so the drag-and-drop builder and editing tools are pretty straightforward.
One thing I love about Adobe Express’s interface is that you can easily select individual layers and elements using the carousel to the right of your design.
In Canva, you have to click the item itself to select it, which becomes more challenging when you have layers stacked on top of each other.
Another common difference between the two that many users bring up is the load times. The lag is much more noticeable with Adobe Express, from opening up a design to loading templates and elements, whereas Canva is almost instant most of the time.
Overall, I’d say the layouts of Adobe Express and Canva are so similar that if you’ve used one before, you’ll pick up the other fairly quickly.
Adobe Express’s main editor
Canva’s main editor
Comparing Video Creation and Editing
Even if you’ve never edited a video before, the two platforms make it easy to hit the ground running, especially with thousands of templates.
You have your essential editing tools like trimming, cropping, and splitting. Adding text and overlays, transitions, audio tracks, sound effects, automatic captions, and timing to different elements is also easy.
One primary difference is that Canva allows you to upload videos to the platform, so as you edit, you can see all your clips off to the left. This gives you a more holistic view of what clips you have as you’re editing.
Adobe Express forces you to upload videos directly to the timeline, making it harder to see all the footage you’re working with.
Regardless, these are both rudimentary video editors, best suited for making short videos that don’t require much splicing or special effects.
Comparing Collaboration Features
Adobe Express and Canva are neck and neck for the most popular collaboration features. Teams can design together in real-time, leave comments, plan projects on virtual whiteboards, assign tasks directly within projects, and generate links to view, comment, or edit.
Adobe Express
If your team is already working within the Adobe ecosystem, it’s easy to connect to other Adobe apps from Adobe Express and collaborate across multiple platforms. You also get asset encryption, detailed content logs, and advanced user authentication.
Canva
Canva takes collaboration up a notch by letting teams quickly switch from “Editing” to “Suggesting” mode, similar to Google Docs. The platform also offers individual or group design approvals and enables you to manage who can access specific content or templates within your teams.
Adobe Express vs Canva: Export and sharing options
Adobe Express
Exporting static designs is easy with the typical JPGs, PNGs, or PDF options. For videos, you can download MP4 files in 720P, 1080P, or 4K quality.
If you want to export a GIF, you’ll need to upload a video first and then convert it, which means you can’t export any graphics with animated elements that you create within Adobe Express as GIFs.
When it comes to sharing, you’ve got plenty of options: send a link, share a QR code, schedule a social media post, or stash your files in Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, or Issuu.
Canva
Canva gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to exporting. You can save designs as JPG, PNG, PDF, SVG, PPTX, GIF, or MP4 files—and for videos, you can pick resolutions between 480P to 4K.
Sharing is just as simple. The same features available in Adobe Express are here, too, plus you can present your designs live or record them while presenting.
One last service both apps offer is print-on-demand, so you can place an order and have designs shipped right to your doorstep. This includes business cards, t-shirts, flyers, posters, invitations, and a whole lot more.
Comparing Integrations
Which apps integrate with Adobe Express?
Adobe Express integrates with some popular apps, like Google Workspace, Slack, and Instagram, but unlike Canva, it doesn’t have a central hub to search for and connect to third-party apps. Instead, you’ll have to hunt a bit to find out if there’s an existing integration process or develop your own, which can be a bit more complex.
But, as expected, you can smoothly integrate with all Adobe Creative Cloud apps, and find them in one location. Just remember that you’ll need active subscriptions to these other Adobe apps to properly use them with Adobe Express.
Which apps integrate with Canva?
Canva’s App Marketplace is packed with hundreds of apps that integrate directly with the platform, including Google Workspace, Mailchimp, Dropbox, Instagram, and many more. It definitely makes connecting to apps you already use convenient because they’re all in one easy-to-find place.
Comparing Brand kits
With Adobe Express, you can upload all your logos, fonts, and other assets or choose color palettes and templates, and store them in one organized place.
Canva is much of the same, with the addition of icons and a description of your brand voice. If you want to add multiple brand kits, for some reason, you need to go to the home page, then the Brand page to do so, whereas Adobe Express lets you add multiple within the main editor.
Adobe Express vs Canva: AI-powered features
Despite how dynamic these two platforms already are, you can tap into some useful AI-powered features that will allow you to edit designs like a professional with a click of a button.
Adobe Express’s AI tools
Adobe Express won’t give you as many AI capabilities as Canva, but it does have the ones most people are familiar with. For example, generating images from text prompts, removing unwanted objects in a picture, or generating editable templates for graphics.
Canva essentially has all these features, too. Still, since Adobe Express is powered by Adobe Firefly, you might notice its generative AI results are more visually rich and photorealistic than Canva’s.
Canva’s AI tools
Canva is rich with AI design features for both graphics and video. With a paid plan, you can expand a picture past its frame, hone in on a single object in a photo and move it around, and generate entire videos just from a text prompt. And these features are just scratching the surface.
Of course, the AI features on both platforms have their limitations. It’s not unusual to get some funky-looking results, especially with more complex designs, but at the very least, you can experiment and make basic edits.
Are there any better alternatives to Adobe Express and Canva?
Other DIY design platforms like Adobe Express and Canva are popular for their affordability and easy access, but they come with limitations. If your team is stretched thin, lacks design expertise, or simply needs high-quality, on-brand designs delivered reliably and quickly, it’s time to look beyond templates and drag-and-drop platforms.
This is where Teamtown comes in—a professional design solution created to meet your needs without compromising on quality or speed.
Adobe Express and Canva: DIY Platforms
- Limited expertise and time-consuming: You’re doing the work yourself. While Adobe Express and Canva provide templates and tools to get you started, you're relying on your own creativity and skill to produce professional-grade designs.
- Generic designs: Templates can be overused by other brands, leading to assets that lack originality or don’t align well with your brand identity.
- Collaboration hurdles: Real-time collaboration is limited, and staying on-brand across a team can be challenging without dedicated design support.
Teamtown: Your Personal Design Team
- Expert Designers On-Demand: With Teamtown, you’re the visionary. Our professional design team brings your ideas to life, delivering polished, high-quality designs that elevate your brand.
- Real-Time Collaboration: You can easily give our designers notes and feedback through a dedicated Slack channel or our design portal.
- Fast Turnaround: Most designs are delivered within 24-48 hours, with revisions often completed the same day.
- Dedicated Team Support: You’ll know your designers by name. Unlike generic platforms, you work with a dedicated team, including a Project Manager who oversees the entire process.
- All-Inclusive Expertise: From brand identity to motion graphics, infographics, packaging, and even video editing—Teamtown handles it all. No need for juggling multiple platforms, freelancers, or agencies.
Test the Waters Without the Risk
We’ve helped more than 200 brands achieve design excellence with over 5,000 completed projects. Give Teamtown a try for one month—if it’s not exactly what you need, you get your money back.
