Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Canva VS Designlab

Compare Canva VS Designlab and see what are their differences

Canva logo Canva

Canva is a graphic-design platform with a drag-and-drop interface to create print or visual content while providing templates, images, and fonts. Canva makes graphic design more straightforward and accessible regardless of skill level.

Designlab logo Designlab

Learn design by doing, with hands-on projects & mentorship
  • Canva Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-10

Canva is a web-based design platform allowing users to quickly and easily create stunning visuals. With various templates and tools, businesses can create professional designs for social media posts, presentations, flyers, and more. Canva also allows users to save templates and collaborate with other designers, making it great for teams working together on projects. Not only is Canva easy to use, but it is also affordable, making it an excellent option for businesses on a budget. Use Canva Teams to connect with your team members and work on a project from different locations, making tracking progress and managing deadlines easy. You can also upload and store files, assign tasks, and communicate with each other in one centralized place. With Canva Teams, you can quickly and easily create stunning visually pleasing visuals that effectively communicate the project's message.

  • Designlab Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-16

Canva

Website
canva.com
$ Details
freemium $12.99 / Monthly (Pro)
Release Date
2013 August
Startup details
Country
Australia
City
Sydney
Founder(s)
Mel Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, Cameron Adams
Employees
2,000 - 4,999

Designlab

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Release Date
-

Canva features and specs

  • Document Creation
    Writing AI
  • Custom Prints
    Over 30 products to pick from
  • Presentations
    magic shortcuts, animations, recording
  • Websites
    Performance Tracking
  • Video Editor
    One-click video background remover, animations
  • Social Media Content Creation
    Resizing options, content planner
  • Whiteboards
    Flowcharts, planning, and brainstorming
  • HEIC to JPG Converter
    Convert HEIC to JPG to easily share images on any platform or device using Canva's HEIC to JPG converter
  • PDF to JPG Converter
    Convert PDF to JPG to easily share images on any platform or device using Canva's PDF to JPG Converter

Designlab features and specs

  • Comprehensive Curriculum
    Designlab offers a well-structured and comprehensive curriculum that covers a wide range of design topics, enabling students to gain a solid foundation in various design disciplines.
  • Mentorship
    Students have access to experienced mentors who provide personalized feedback, guidance, and support throughout their learning journey, enhancing the overall educational experience.
  • Project-Based Learning
    The platform emphasizes hands-on, project-based learning, allowing students to work on real-world projects that help build a strong portfolio.
  • Career Support
    Designlab provides career services, including portfolio reviews and mock interviews, to help students transition into the design industry and improve their employability.
  • Flexible Scheduling
    The program offers flexible scheduling options, making it accessible for students with different time commitments and allowing them to learn at their own pace.

Possible disadvantages of Designlab

  • Cost
    The courses can be relatively expensive compared to other online learning platforms, which might be a barrier for some potential students.
  • Time Commitment
    The immersive and intensive nature of the programs requires a significant time commitment, which could be challenging for individuals with busy schedules.
  • Limited Advanced Content
    While the basic and intermediate topics are well-covered, the platform may offer limited advanced content for those looking to specialize deeply in niche areas of design.
  • Self-Motivation Required
    As with many online learning platforms, students need a high degree of self-motivation and discipline to stay on track and complete the coursework.
  • Variable Mentor Quality
    While mentorship is a key feature, the quality and availability of mentors can vary, potentially impacting the learning experience for some students.

Canva videos

Canva Review

More videos:

  • Review - Canva Pro | 7 Reasons To Upgrade To Canva Pro

Designlab videos

My first month at DesignLab's UX Academy 2020

More videos:

  • Review - Designlab Online Design Bootcamp - Design 101 Course Content

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Canva and Designlab)
Design Tools
99 99%
1% 1
AI
100 100%
0% 0
Education
0 0%
100% 100
Image Editing
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Canva and Designlab

Canva Reviews

  1. Ai-doc-suite
    ยท Working at AI Doc Suite ยท
    Powerful design platform with great usability

    Canva is one of the most accessible design platforms available today. It significantly lowers the barrier to creating presentations, social graphics, marketing materials, and even short videos.

    The interface is intuitive, especially for non-designers. Templates are well organized, and collaboration features make it practical for teams.

    Strengths: - Very easy to use - Large template library - Strong collaboration tools - Fast cloud-based workflow

    Limitations: - Advanced layout control is sometimes restricted - Heavier projects can feel limited compared to professional desktop tools

    Overall, Canva succeeds at simplifying design for everyday creators while maintaining enough flexibility for professional use cases.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: Google Docs, Notion, Smallpdf, Adobe Express
  2. AbigailLaurens
    Easy and Versatile Design Tool โ€” Great for Quick Projects

    Iโ€™ve been using Canva for everything from social media graphics to presentations and simple flyers, and itโ€™s one of the most accessible design tools Iโ€™ve encountered. The drag-and-drop interface makes it really easy to produce clean, visually appealing designs even if you donโ€™t have a background in graphic design. The huge template and asset library means I rarely start from scratch.

    It integrates well with cloud storage and collaborative editing, which makes working with team members or clients straightforward. For quick turnaround projects, Canva gets me from idea to finished design in minutes โ€” no steep learning curve.

    That said, some of the better assets and premium features (like certain templates, background removers, and export options) are locked behind Canva Pro, which adds ongoing cost. And while Canva is excellent for basic to intermediate design, it doesnโ€™t replace professional tools like Adobe Illustrator or InDesign when you need fine-tuned control or advanced features.

    Overall, Canva is a fantastic tool for fast, easy design work โ€” especially for non-designers

    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Extremely user-friendly drag-and-drop design interface.
    ๐Ÿ‘Ž Cons:    Ome useful features and assets are locked behind the pro plan.
  3. Yansiliang
    ยท Working at Xspiral ยท
    Good

    good


From Static to Magic: Top 4 AI Image to Video Generators Tested (2026 Tech Review)
Everybody knows Canva. It is the undisputed king of democratized graphic design. But recently, Canva integrated some serious artificial intelligence firepower directly into its ecosystem.
Source: dicloak.com
7 Best Pinterest Pin Generators in 2026 (AI + Free Options)
VistaCreate (formerly Crello) is a Canva competitor that offers a solid library of Pinterest pin templates at a lower price point. Like Canva, itโ€™s a design tool rather than a true pin generator โ€” so it wonโ€™t automate your workflow โ€” but itโ€™s a budget-friendly option for creators who want more template variety without paying Canva Pro prices.
Source: techinkers.com
Best Database Diagram Tools โ€“ Free and Paid
Canva: Although primarily known for graphic design, Canva offers templates and easy-to-use features that can be adapted for creating simple ER diagrams, especially for presentations or non-technical stakeholders.
Source: blog.devart.com
12 Best Free PosterMyWall Alternatives and Competitors
Canva is a user-friendly tool that helps people create stunning, creative content without any hassle. Itโ€™s great for making social site images, posters, videos, websites, and much more. Whether youโ€™re a beginner or a pro, Canva can boost your design skills.
Source: mockey.ai
Top 10 Best Animoto Alternatives For Stunning Video Creation
The graphic deยญsign king offers more than images now. Canva provideยญs video editing capabilities also. Add moveยญment to social campaigns. A library of premade videยญo styles awaits within its interface. Making eยญye-catching videos is approachable for all skill leยญvels through Canva.
Source: sharetool.net

Designlab Reviews

We have no reviews of Designlab yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Canva seems to be a lot more popular than Designlab. While we know about 227 links to Canva, we've tracked only 1 mention of Designlab. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Canva mentions (227)

View more

Designlab mentions (1)

  • course recommendation
    I've been mentoring students on http://trydesignlab.com/ for a while (until I launched my own course) and it's a great point to start. They have a UX Academy where you learn from the basics to create a fully-functional portfolio site with 3-4 case studies. Source: about 5 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Canva and Designlab, you can also consider the following products

Adobe Photoshop - Adobe Photoshop is a webtop application for editing images and photos online.

Product Disrupt - A design student's list of resources to learn Product Design

PicMonkey - PicMonkey is a feature-rich online photo editor that works right in your browser; no downloads...

Webflow University - Teaching the next generation of web design with Webflow

Piktochart - Piktochart for Business Storytelling

Dribbble - Shots from popular and up and coming designers in the Dribbble community, your best resource to discover and connect with designers worldwide.