Photoshop is so successful that the name of Adobe’s image editing program has become a deonym: Anyone who says “This image has been photoshopped” actually means “This image has been edited.”

Much like Kleenex, Photoshop is frequently used colloquially for the entire product class. So it’s no wonder that Photoshop is the benchmark when it comes to image editing.

While Photoshop is an indispensable tool among photo professionals, we can think of a few reasons why Canva might be much better for you.

1. Ease of use

Let’s get this straight from the start: When it comes to pure photo editing, Canva can’t hold a candle to Photoshop. But Canva is so much more than just a photo editing program, which is why we think it’s much more suitable for a large target group.

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Whether for the marketing department in a large company, social media influencers or for private use: Canva’s intuitive operation and therefore fast results are particularly impressive. Absolutely no prior knowledge is required to create your next social media post — whether as an image or video.

There are a hundred different ways to achieve your goal in Photoshop — and that can quickly become overwhelming and frustrating.

2. More than just image editing

Simon Lohmann

Simon Lohmann

Simon Lohmann

With Canva, you can at best be overwhelmed by the wide range of templates and possibilities that the program offers.

While Adobe focuses on image editing with Photoshop and offers additional program for video, special effects, and graphics with Premiere Pro, After Effects and Illustrator, Canva includes so many functions in one program:

Visual documents (such as presentations, whiteboards, PDF editor, graphics, and diagrams)Photos and videos (photo and video editor, YouTube video editor, photo collages)Printing (business cards, cards, invitations, mugs, T-shirts, hoodies, calendars)Marketing (logos, posters, flyers, social media, websites, QR code generator)

You can also use Canva on your smartphone or tablet via the app, as well as via the browser — particularly practical if you start a project and want to continue working on it on another device. Although Adobe also recently launched a Photoshop app, it is anything but easy to use, even for Photoshop experts.

3. Countless templates and layouts

As already mentioned, Canva offers a large selection of templates:

Instagram posts for the feed, as stories and reelsFacebook posts and cover imagesTikTok videosYouTube thumbnails and introsAnimations for social media useTwitter postsLinkedIn background photos

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You can also create your own templates and thus create posts with a uniform design more quickly. The Canva templates are also perfect for inspiration, as you can add or replace them with your own images or logos.

4. Costs

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Whether Photoshop or Canva, neither program is a one-off purchase as they are based on a subscription model. However, you can also use Canva free of charge with a limited range of functions. The free version includes:

Simple customization with the drag-and-drop editorMore than 250,000 free templatesMore than 100 design types (social media posts, presentations, letters, etc.)More than one million free photos and graphicsAI-powered design tools Collaboration for joint design Numerous printable products5GB cloud storage

You can also upgrade to Canva Pro for $14.99 per month. The Pro version includes:

Unlimited access to premium templates and over 100 million premium photos, videos, audio, graphics, and moreUp to 100 brand assets with logos, colors and fonts for your brand’s visual identityResize your designsRemove backgrounds from images and videos with just one clickOver 20 AI-powered toolsSchedule social media content for eight platformsCloud storage (1TB)Customer support around the clock

If you want to use Canva for your business, Canva for Teams for $29.99 per month is probably the best option.

Subscriptions to both Photoshop and Lightroom cost significantly more. If you want to achieve your goals quickly and easily and need more than just photo editing tools, Canva is definitely the better choice.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

Author: Simon Lohmann, Redakteur

Liebt alles, was mit Technik zu tun hat. Schreibt seit 2015 für die Macwelt.

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