Canva vs Recraft
We give Canva a 3.2 GPA and Recraft a 2.6, out of 4.0. Canva grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. Recraft grades higher on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Canva
Template-based design platform for slides, graphics and video
Recraft
Image and vector generator built for designers and brand work
How we grade them
| 3.2GPACanvaVery good | 2.6GPARecraftGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DThe only price on record for Pro is $14.99 to $18.00 a month on the US App Store, and $14.99 is exactly where this category's dearest tenth starts, against a $9.99 middle. Several amounts for one plan, with no word on why. Google Slides, in the same category, does slides for nothing. | BBasic is $10 a month on yearly billing ($12 monthly) for 1,000 credits, level with this category's cheaper quarter of $9.99. That's about 500 Recraft V4.1 images, plus partner models, private images and commercial rights. Video needs Pro at $16. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree forever, with templates, photo and video editing, live collaboration and 5 GB of storage, and one person can genuinely live on it. The caps are real, mind: 5 GB, and Background Remover, Magic Resize, Brand Hub and the Scheduler are all Pro. | CDaily credits on Recraft's own models, vectors included, but only 3 uploads a day and 2 images per prompt. Free images are public, belong to Recraft and can't be used commercially. |
| Features | AIt covers slides completely, presenter notes that track your speaking time and live collaboration included, then does what no other slide tool here does: social posts, docs, whiteboards, video, websites and print from the same editor, AI drafting from one typed line, translation into 100-plus languages. | BEditable SVG icons, logos and illustrations, raster-to-vector, custom styles and brand palettes, editing, mockups, an assistant mode, and video on Pro. It covers the job, with vectors as its edge. |
| Ease of use | A4.9 from about 3.6 million App Store ratings, plus an Editors' Choice from Apple, and that's the top rating in this category by a distance. Pick a template, change the words, done. An 11-year-old reviewer makes flyers and invitations on it. | CNo App Store rating on record. Styles, palettes, mockups and a canvas give a designer plenty to set up before it pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | ABrowser, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android and Chromebook, so everything bar a Linux desktop app. Developers get REST APIs, apps that run inside the editor and an MCP server so AI assistants can create and export designs. | BWeb, iPhone, Android and a Chrome extension, with plugins for Figma, Framer, Google Docs and Google Slides and a separate API. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | good-looking slides when you're no designer | icons and logos as editable vectors |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Canva and Recraft. How we grade
Where they differ
- Canva starts at $14.99 to $18.00 / month for Canva Pro, as listed on the US App Store. Recraft starts at $10 per month for 1,000 credits, billed annually ($12 billed monthly).
- Only Canva lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Only Recraft lists a browser extension.
- Canva also covers templates, video editing and presentations.
- Recraft also covers image generation and video generation.
At a glance
| Canva | Recraft | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $14.99 to $18.00 / month for Canva Pro, as listed on the US App Store | $10 per month for 1,000 credits, billed annually ($12 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free account with templates, photo and video editing, real-time collaboration and 5 GB of cloud storage. Scheduler, Brand Hub, Background Remover and Magic Resize are marked as Canva Pro features. | Limited daily credits, 3 image uploads a day and up to 2 images per prompt, Recraft models only. Free images are public, owned by Recraft and not licensed for commercial use. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Canva Pty Ltd | Recraft, Inc. |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | recraft.ai |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Canva
- People without design training who build slides from templates
- Teams that make presentations, social posts and video in one tool
- Teachers and students: Canva for Education is free for eligible K-12 users
Recraft
- Designers who need icons, logos and illustrations as editable vectors
- Brand teams keeping a set of images on one style and palette
- Figma and Framer users who want generation inside their design tool
Worth knowing
Canva
- Prices here are in-app purchase amounts from the US App Store listing, which shows several for Canva Pro; prices on Canva's own website may differ.
- Scheduler, Brand Hub, one-click Background Remover and Magic Resize are listed as Canva Pro features, not part of the free account.
- Cloud storage on the free account is 5 GB.
- The download page lists apps for Mac, Windows 10 and later, iOS, Android and Chromebook; no Linux desktop app is listed.
Recraft
- Free-plan images are public, belong to Recraft and cannot be used commercially.
- Video generation needs Pro or Teams; Basic covers images only.
- Monthly credits do not roll over. Top-ups cost $2 per 200 credits, never expire and are sold only on paid plans.
- Teams credits are assigned per seat and cannot be shared between members.
Key features
Canva
- Presentation templates
- Presentations and slideshows start from professionally designed templates, each of which can be adapted to a brand and style.
- Presenter notes
- Presenter notes can be written with custom AI prompts and track speaking time for each slide.
- Magic design tools
- Magic Design builds designs from an uploaded image, Magic Edit swaps or adds objects in a picture, Magic Eraser removes them, and Translate converts a design into more than 100 languages.
- AI image and video generation
- A text-to-image generator creates pictures from a prompt, and Veo 3 generates video clips with sound from a text description.
- Real-time collaboration
- Team members can work on the same design at once, share it and collect feedback from wherever they are.
- Developer platform
- The Canva Developers SDK covers apps that run inside the editor, REST APIs for connecting other platforms, and an MCP server that lets AI assistants create, edit and export designs.
Recraft
- Vector generation
- Generates editable SVG icons, logos and illustrations, and converts raster images to vectors. Vector tools are on every plan, including Free.
- Custom styles and palettes
- Pick from a style library or create your own style from reference images, and set brand color palettes to keep a set of images consistent.
- Editing tools
- Edit with plain-language instructions, erase or modify areas, extend images, remove or replace backgrounds and upscale.
- Mockups
- Generate a product mockup and apply your own design to it inside Recraft Studio, at 2 credits per mockup.
- Agentic and manual modes
- Chat with an assistant that sets up generations over several turns, or control model, style, aspect ratio and artistic level by hand.
- Plugins and API
- Plugins for Figma, Framer, Google Docs, Google Slides and Chrome use your plan's credits; a separate API is billed in prepaid units.
Plans
Canva
Canva Free$0
Templates, a free library of images, video and audio, photo and video editing, real-time collaboration and 5 GB of cloud storage.
Canva Pro$14.99 to $18.00
per month on the US App Store; $119.99 to $143.99 per year
Premium templates and stock media, one-click Background Remover, Magic Resize, Brand Hub and post scheduling. The store lists several amounts for this plan.
Canva Business$25.00
per month on the US App Store; seat basis not shown
Canva's site lists Business alongside its Pro and Enterprise plans. The App Store listing gives a monthly price but not what the plan adds over Pro.
Recraft
Free$0
Daily credits for Recraft's own models, vector generation and basic editing; personal use only.
Basic$10
per month for 1,000 credits, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Partner image models, private images with commercial rights, credit top-ups. About 500 Recraft V4.1 images a month.
Pro$16
per month for 2,000 credits, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Adds video models such as Kling and Veo and priority generation. Price rises with credits: $128 a month yearly at 16,000.
Teams$18
per seat / month for 2,000 credits, billed annually ($22 monthly)
Shared workspace and custom styles, central billing, SSO and 24/7 support. Credits are per seat. Minimum 2 seats.
Ways to pay less
Canva
- Annual discount
Yearly Canva Pro costs less than paying monthly
The US App Store lists Canva Pro at $119.99 to $143.99 per year against $14.99 to $18.00 per month, so a year paid up front is cheaper than 12 monthly payments at any of the listed amounts.
- Education
Canva for Education free for K-12
Canva's App Store listing describes Canva for Education, a school- and district-managed version, as free for eligible K-12 teachers and students.
Recraft
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with annual billing
Annual billing brings Basic from $12 to $10 a month, Pro from $20 to $16 and Teams from $22 to $18 per seat.
