Designers and content creators are constantly seeking tools that maximize productivity without compromising quality. While Canva has become a household name in graphic design tools due to its ease of use and extensive features, it’s not the only player in town. Many professionals rely on lesser-known but equally powerful alternatives that bring unique strengths to the table—sometimes outpacing Canva in specific areas such as speed, customization, or collaboration.
TL;DR
If you’re looking to diversify your design toolkit beyond Canva, there are several underrated alternatives worth exploring. Tools like Crello, Easil, and DesignBold offer intuitive interfaces with feature-rich environments ideal for faster creation. Others like Vectr or Snappa provide more niche capabilities that professional and semi-professional designers love. Discover six standout Canva alternatives that creative professionals use for high-quality visual content without the usual drag.
1. Crello (Now VistaCreate)
Best for: Creating Social Media Graphics Quickly
Crello, recently rebranded as VistaCreate, mirrors Canva’s interface but comes with exclusive animations and design templates. What gives VistaCreate a competitive edge is its library of animated templates and intuitive video editing tools. It’s a go-to tool for marketers and social media managers who need to push out visual content rapidly but don’t want to sacrifice flare for efficiency.
- Over 50K templates
- Background remover with Pro plan
- Custom fonts and branding kits
Unlike Canva, VistaCreate is specifically optimized for animated stories and short-form videos, making it ideal for Instagram and TikTok marketing.
2. Easil
Best for: Teams Needing Brand Control
Easil offers pixel-perfect designs with advanced team controls and brand locks, which is a rare feature among drag-and-drop design tools. What makes Easil particularly appealing to professionals is its meticulous attention to design elements that follow a strict branding guide.
- Drag-and-drop editor with grid alignment
- Advanced brand locking controls
- Easy creation of multi-page documents
This platform helps ensure that no team member “goes rogue” with fonts and colors when creating marketing materials. Its smart templates and style guides make it a marketing coordinator’s best ally.
3. Snappa
Best for: Speedy Creation with Simplicity
Snappa is designed for speed. It strips away the excess and offers a minimalist interface tailored for quick outputs. If you’re frequently working on turnaround graphics for emails, blog posts, or online ads, Snappa is an exceptional pick.
- Simple and intuitive user interface
- Access to over 5 million stock photos
- Preset dimensions for ads and social posts
While it doesn’t support advanced animations like Crello, Snappa makes up for it with one-click background removal and instant downloads, helping solo designers shave minutes off every project.
4. DesignBold
Best for: High-Quality Print Designs
DesignBold focuses on high-resolution outputs and is a favorite among professionals seeking print-quality graphics without resorting to Adobe suite complexity. Its interface is similar to Canva but offers greater precision when adjusting text styles, alignments, and resolution.
- Massive 20,000+ templates library
- Resolution settings up to 300 DPI
- Custom template creation
Whether you’re designing a flyer, magazine spread, or restaurant menu, DesignBold delivers fuss-free output with a professional polish. It’s particularly friendly for users with mid-level graphic design experience who want more technical control.
5. Vectr
Best for: Free Vector Graphic Design
If you’re looking to get into vector design without shelling out hundreds on Adobe Illustrator, then Vectr is your go-to tool. Operating on both the web and as a downloadable app, Vectr is great for creating accurate wireframes, icons, logos, and mockups.
- 100% free to use
- Real-time collaboration
- Simple interface for scalable vector graphics
Vectr may not have the bells and whistles of traditional graphic design platforms, but its collaborative workspace and ability to export high-quality SVGs make it powerful in the hands of skilled designers and startup founders alike.
6. Pixelixe
Best for: Automated Visual Content via API
Pixelixe is not your typical graphic design tool. What sets it apart is its automation-first mindset. It offers a robust API that lets marketers and developers automate visual content creation at scale—a game changer for blogs, programmatic advertising, and SaaS dashboards.
- Design Editor and Automation API
- White-label integration
- Great for unique template-based workflows
If you manage dynamic content updates for hundreds or thousands of templates regularly, Pixelixe enables on-the-fly regeneration of banners, social images, or product mockups without manual labor.
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Final Thoughts: Which Canva Alternative Should You Try?
Finding the best Canva alternative depends on your unique design requirements. For instance:
- Need quick animations? Try Crello/VistaCreate.
- Want more control over brand safety? Choose Easil.
- Handling simple, fast-paced tasks? Go with Snappa.
- Do a lot of print-ready designs? Choose DesignBold.
- Into scalable graphics? Vectr is your ally.
- Need design automation with APIs? Pixelixe is unmatched.
While Canva will likely remain a top player in the drag-and-drop design tool arena, these underrated alternatives present impressive options for specialized needs, speed, and creative autonomy. Exploring them can give designers and marketers a serious edge in productivity and output quality.
