Free software can be a bit of a minefield. In general, you have to sacrifice some features and privacy privileges to take advantage of the low price point. Luckily, when it comes to the best free photo editors, there are many good choices – maybe too many to choose from.
To make your decision a little easier, we’re comparing two of our favorites from the list: Canva and Fotor.
Below, we’ll break down their features, unique selling points, and reliability—because who wants to undo all their edits if the app crashes before you can save? Let’s start with the main differences between the apps.
Canva vs Fotor: What’s the Key Difference?
Canva is a free tool designed to be used in your web browser. This makes it extremely accessible, but it also means you miss out on some features that you would find in dedicated photo editing software.
Still, it’s a great choice for those who need quick yet stylish edits on the go, as it offers users a wide range of robust templates. Also, it has a really easy-to-navigate interface that makes it pretty beginner-friendly.
Fotor is also a browser-based tool that allows users to edit photos quickly. Other than that, Fotor isn’t identical and is more of a photo-specific editor with a wider range of tools and filters to get that one specific task done. Unfortunately, it also doesn’t offer templates to make your editing easier, and you don’t have options to create and edit videos either.
What are Canva’s strengths?
Canva is perfect for people working with a specific brand or project. With your own images and the wide range of free filters, templates, images and pre-made animations, you can quickly create professional-looking social media posts, banners and videos.
The same tools can also be used to create personal posts like collages of snaps from your recent trip or an invitation to your upcoming party.
Unfortunately, it relies a little too heavily on templates, so you might end up asking for more of it. It lacks the fine-tuning that comes with alternative apps, but if you’re satisfied with getting close to your vision, the tools at your disposal on Canva will help you achieve it with ease
Plus, thanks to the surprisingly powerful phone app and free cloud storage, you can finish your designs on the go without having to carry a laptop around.
What are the strengths of Fotor?
Fotor is a better choice for single-image editing. You can process multiple images at once, but that can be unwieldy, and there’s no need to create templates to create specific social media posts without entering dimensions yourself, either
As such, it’s less versatile than Canva, but more than makes up for it with its suite of editing tools. You can crop, rotate, clone and apply a variety of filters on the fly, and rely on a ton of fine-tuning options to get everything just the way you want it. In that regard, you can think of Fotor more as a traditional photo editing tool.
If you have a specific vision for your editing project, Fotor will help you achieve your goal without compromise.
Canva vs Fotor: What’s the Price Difference?
Though both are free to begin with, both apps have tiers where you can unlock new features and benefits.
If you want to use Canva’s paid tier, you’ll need to pay $120/£100 per year for the Pro version, or $150/£130 for the Team Edition (which includes access to Pro for five users). These are essentially the same services, except the Team version offers better collaboration between users and access to team reports and documents so you can keep your designs in sync.
Fotor also offers two tiers. There is the $9 / £6.50 per month Fotor Pro and the $20 / £14.50 per month Fotor Pro+ tier. In general, Fotor Pro is worth a look if you plan on using it often, as it gives you access to exclusive effects, filters, and tools. Fotor Pro+ offers the same tools, but also gives you access to millions of photos to help you with editing.
Conclusion: Is Canva or Fotor Better?
This question is difficult to answer as it mostly comes down to your personal needs.
Canva is great for creating content across a range of media types that share a common design thread, making it perfect for brands and projects. However, overuse of templates is both a blessing and a curse – it’s easy to use but may not be able to perfectly replicate your vision.
Fotor, on the other hand, offers a lot more control over editing individual images and gives you a wide range of tools (especially if you pay for Fotor Pro). It’s not as versatile as Canva, but it’s great at what it can do.
Actually, the best option is to rely on both apps and use a combination of the two to achieve your photo editing goals — and since both are free, there’s no reason you couldn’t use both Canva and Fotor.
