There are so many great graphic design software out there these days that you can’t decide which one to choose. If you are hesitating between Canva and Photoshop, read the comparison article below.
In this article, we’ll discuss the differences between Canva and Photoshop to find out which is the best fit for you.
1. What is Canva?
Canva is a free, online graphic design platform. The application helps users to create flyers, business cards, presentations, book covers and even online content like Instagram, Facebook posts.
You can create your own projects with Canva’s incredibly easy-to-use tools. Or simpler: apply a pre-designed template. Canva’s stock of templates is extensive and almost meets all your needs.
1.1 Strengths of Canva
One of Canva’s biggest advantages for design needs is that it’s free. Canva does not require you to purchase software or pay a monthly subscription fee.
- No need to download software
You’ll do all of the design and creative work on Canva’s web platform, so there’s no need to download any software.
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Canva is extremely easy to use and doesn’t require too many tutorials for you to understand its features. Simple drag and drop interface, help you design quickly. If you need a little more help, check out the instructions from the supplier. In short, you don’t need to be a graphic designer to create professional projects with Canva.
- There are many models available
If you’re not a pro or don’t have time to start from scratch, you can choose a pre-designed template. Canva offers thousands of options. Just choose a template, then do a few taps, and you’ve got the design you want.
- Photo editing function
With Canva, you can easily upload photos and add them to your design projects. Your photos will be saved to Canva’s cloud for easy reuse. Canva’s photo editor supports cropping, resizing, and some brightness, contrast, and color adjustments.
- Can be used on the phone
The Canva mobile app also has all the functions you need, no less than Canva on the web browser. So you don’t have to worry about getting equipment ready for your design.
1.2 Weaknesses of Canva
The free version of Canva has many options and should suit most of your basic design needs. However, if you’re looking for more functionality and expansion, you’ll need to buy Canva Pro. Even so, you still don’t get the powerful editing and virtualization capabilities of professional photo editing software (such as Photoshop).
Anyone can use Canva’s free templates. So maybe you will encounter duplication from people around. So, to create a publication of your own, you still have to have prior design competence.
- Restriction of elements
When you use Canva, you’ll come across elements – lines, circles, frames, stickers, and more. While Canva has so many options, it’s almost impossible to freely redraw these elements. You can only resize, color, rotate, etc.
Canva alignment is not really optimal, making the placement of objects sometimes inaccurate.
2. What is Photoshop?
Photoshop is a professional graphic design and photo editing software. It has been developed over many decades, becoming the standard of the profession. You can create any image, from a flyer or a true art piece. Photoshop is also used for photo editing and manipulation.
2.1 Strengths of Photoshop
- Professional, meet all design needs
All design and photo editing needs can be done in Photoshop. From detailed photo editing to graphic design, the software can do it. The only limit is your imagination. With Photoshop, you have complete control over everything.
- Almost all image formats are supported
You can open and make advanced edits to any image format. If there is an unsupported image format, you can use a plugin to make Photoshop do it.
- Amazing photo editing capabilities
When it comes to photo editing, this is Photoshop’s main competency, which makes it outstanding. Skin tone adjustment, teeth whitening, blemish removal, background adjustment, etc., is there anything else you want to do?
If your video editing needs are not yet advanced, Photoshop can also meet them. The video editing features that Photoshop supports include: trim or crop video, edit colors, filters, enhance audio and insert music.
2.2 Weaknesses of Photoshop
You must purchase Photoshop by paying for a subscription, monthly or yearly. As a general assessment, Photoshop is quite expensive if you are not making any income from it.
- Not New User Friendly
This software is professionally designed. With a multitude of tools and functions, Photoshop can be overwhelming for new users and takes time to get used to. Nor is there a template available for quick editing. You can only find templates on forums and most are paid.
- Need a lot of disk space
Photoshop will take up about 4GB of disk space. But for the software to work smoothly, you need to prepare more than that, along with some sufficient RAM.
- Not suitable for creating logos
Photoshop is based on raster graphics, so it is not suitable for creating large logos or billboards. Image quality may be affected when scaling is adjusted. You can learn more in the article Compare Photoshop and Illustrator.
- Mainly used on PC
Photoshop Express is a free app that runs on Android and iPhone. However, it cannot be as fully functional as the PC version. Additionally, it can be difficult to edit photos or make highly precise changes because of screen size limitations.
Now that you have a better understanding of the differences between Canva and Photoshop, make the choice that’s right for your needs. For someone who has little knowledge of graphic design, or needs to “quickly shorten”, Canva is extremely suitable.
Meanwhile, Photoshop is for professional graphic designers who have more detailed and specific needs. They also need a greater creative freedom, to create their own works.
If you decide to learn about Photoshop, Thuthuatphanmem.vn also has a lot of tutorial articles available for your reference. (here). Good luck!
