Canva vs GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Photoshop

CorelDRAW

Adobe Express

PicMonkey

Pixlr

Compare Canva and GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

Adobe Photoshop is an image editing and graphic designing software that helps businesses streamline photo editing and compositing processes and create digital paintings and animations. The artificial-intelligence (AI)-enabled platform lets designers invite external stakeholders to edit documents and share projects via live streaming functionality.

Adobe Express is the quick and easy app that empowers every team to self-serve on-brand content, amplify audience engagement, and get to market faster — all integrated with the world’s leading creative and marketing solutions.

Elevate your visual presence everywhere you tell your story with eye-catching images made in PicMonkey. Photo editing and design tools go from simple, one-click magic to sophisticated high-end capabilities that let you create unique looks that stand out from the crowd.

Graphic design and video editing tool for creating and publishing marketing material, presentations, social media content, and a range of printed products, using a drag-and-drop editor and a library of customizable templates.

Access Controls/Permissions

Animation

Approval Process Control

Artwork Management

Asset Categorization

Asset Library

Asset Sharing

Audio File Management

Autosave

Brainstorming

Brand Guidelines

CAD Tools

Change Management

CMS Integration

Collaboration Tools

Content Import/Export

Content Library

Content Management

Content Sharing

Custom Fonts

Customizable Branding

Customizable Templates

Customization

Data Import/Export

Data Visualization

Design Management

Design Templates

Digital Asset Management

Digital Signage

Drag & Drop

Email Distribution

Employee Photos

File Management

File Sharing

Image Editing

Image Library

Media Library

Media Management

Mind Maps

Mobile App

Multi-Channel Marketing

Offline Editing

Offline Presenting

Org Chart Creation

Pattern, Color & Art Storage

Pre-built Templates

Presentation Tools

Preview Functionality

Print Management

Printing Services Integration

Publishing/Sharing

Real Time Editing

Search/Filter

Smart Chart Legend

Social Media Integration

Step-by-Step Wizard

Template Management

Templates

Text Editing

Version Control

Video Editing

Video Support

Visual Discovery

Watermarking

Website Publishing Options

Workflow Management

Canva

Android

Web-based

Windows

iPad

iPhone

marketing specialist

There is a problem with Arabic text when exporting the photo. It makes the design has a bad look and there is a problem with the pixels.

Technology/STEAM Teacher

And, best of all if you are an educator you can apply for an education license giving you all the benefits of a pro version of Canva. Finally, Canva has amazing customer support.

Owner, Freelance Writer

Sometimes it will crash or slow down without warning while I am working on a more graphically-intense project, such as an animated image.

Self

I hate the fact that we have to pay for certain fonts... thats very annoying and having to pay in general.

Owner

Super easy to use and learn, and the pro version adds a lot of extra features. Background remover is easily the best feature and worth the price if you do your own product photos.

Chiropractor/Owner

You are able to change the text, colors, and layouts. It has been such a wonderful experience that I highly recommend this to anyone who owns a business and needs help with social media posts.

Honours Student

But styling is so important to make a good impression and engage your viewer, so it's great that CANVA does the work for you and you can focus on content.

Assistant Director of Auxiliary Programs

I love this program and how easy it is to make professional looking graphics. I love all the options you can use, the functionality and ease of putting together flyers, booklets, etc.

Business Manager

I absolutely love everything about Canva. It is so easy to use and there are thousands of templates for creating great advertising and marketing material.

Director 

This is an amazing software that enables you to create and design off an already amazing template. I highly recommend this to anyone.

Programme Content Producer 

The software is super easy to use and helps anyone to create beautifully designed posters, leaflets etc. without any graphic design knowledge.

Owner, Expressly Written

I'm not particularly talented with computers and design apps so I was thrilled with how easy it was to learn and use. The quality of the product is amazing and it's free.

Beauty Advisor

I love Canva for making graphics and now they have added animation on there. They keep improving and I might try the paid version since the free version is so good.

Clinical research coordinator 

There is nothing that I can say bad about this product. I have yet to have a problem with anything as of yet.

Teacher

Fonts are pretty good as well. Definitely worth the price if you are creating ads for Facebook, Instagram or any kind of desktop publishing.

Groomer/Owner

Very happy with everything. The price is affordable the software works well in the customer service is great.

Chief Financial Officer 

I love this software because it integrates well a lot of the software we use at our firm. Very easy to use and actually fun to compose.

Associate Manager, Instructional Development

Canva is a great "swiss army knife" tool for designers and can help rapidly develop beautiful designs.

Canva screenshot: Get access to more than hundreds of professional templates via iPad and tweak them to suit any need

Canva screenshot

Canva screenshot: Share directly to social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Non Profit

Public Administrations

Small Business

CoreIDRAW is a graphic design software which enables users to create professional designs with vector illustration, layout, photo editing, typography, template tools, and more. CoreIDRAW allows users to create, access and store artwork, web graphics and prints in the cloud, via the web app.

Adobe Creative Cloud is a graphic design and video editing suite that enables businesses to publish print layouts, edit images, manage PDF documents, and collaborate with team members using various mobile and desktop applications.

Pixlr is a free online photo editor that offers web, iOS and Android app editions. The platform includes a variety of stock photos and templates, and is applied for editing images to be used in poster designs, cards, and other graphic design projects.

GIMP is an open-source image manipulation software that enables businesses, graphic designers, scientists, illustrators, and photographers to edit and retouch images, design icons, create free-hand artworks, and convert files into various formats.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Linux

Graphic Designer

I was pleasantly surprised by GIMP. It's a powerful tool with a lot of advanced features, and I love that it's free.

Sales

I love the variety of features it offers. It allows you to create your ideas with ease and have them look clean and professional.

Editorial Cartoonist

As I've gotten to know it, I have come to appreciate it. It's a great program and a great price.

IT Systems Supervisor

I love that it is free and easy to use. I have used this for various projects over the years to make fun and wacky images that I have shared for various uses.

You can have it 100% for free. It's the best solution in linux environments, and it can help with most of the basic photo editing stuff.

Owner/Creator

Amazing is the level of detail that can be done to images as well as the (#3) High Resolution of the image to be saved, or exported to a different format.

étudiant

The program is starting to get old, and we can see it. Just by starting it, it lags behind, but it could be worse.

Author

I'm really happy that GIMP exists because it pretty much gives you the opportunity of creating beautiful images without having to buy expensive software.

Marketing Manager

The fact that GIMP is very powerful while also being free helps look beyond any cons the software might have. It's a great way to minimize cost and still have the ability to do what you want to do.

ServiceDesk Jr

I'm not an advanced user of this application, but I've seen that GIMP is a great free option compared to paid software, it has a great learning community.

Independent Beauty Consultant

My only frustration with GIMP is that it can be confusing to use at times.

Blogger

There are a lot of tools that seem difficult to master. The side panels are way too confusing and difficult to navigate.

What I don't like is the lack of integration with other programs on the market, which can delay the workflow during the day.

Web developer

The internal window handling is not very clear for me, I have to activate the single window mode because otherwise the usability is very poor. The problem is this option is not enabled by default.

Attorney

In terms of features, there are probably too many for my needs. I will never use them all, and I sometimes get lost poking around.

Developer

A powerful tool for image editing with a large only community, which proves useful when you need to search.

I've tried GIMP on different projects and I believe it can be a solid free alternative to other Graphics software.

Real Estate Agent

GIMP is easy to use and integrate into your business as an alternative to Photoshop for certain media projects.

Canva vs GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) Comparison (2026)

Canva

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives