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Side-by-side comparison · Image, Logo & Design

Adobe Express vs Figma vs Topaz Labs

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Adobe Express

4.0

From $9.99/mo

Best overall

Figma

4.1

From $16/mo per full seat

Topaz Labs

3.7

From $19/mo or $199/yr

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best valueEasiest to use

Pick it if: Small businesses and marketers who want Canva-style design for less, especially anyone who already pays for Adobe.

Best overall

Pick it if: Founders and teams designing a website, app or product, or working closely with developers.

Pick it if: Photographers, video editors and marketers who need to rescue small, noisy or old images and footage for print or a big screen.

Figma scores highest overall, but Adobe Express gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

AttributeAdobe ExpressFigmaTopaz Labs
In one lineAdobe's answer to Canva: templates, quick edits and Firefly AI, cheaper than Canva Pro.The design tool product teams use, now able to turn a prompt into a working prototype.Sharpen, denoise and upscale blurry photos and old video so they look like new.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumPaid
Starting price$9.99/mo$16/mo per full seat$19/mo or $199/yr
Free plan Yes Yes No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeAdobe ExpressFigmaTopaz Labs
Overall rating4.04.1Winner3.7
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
3.0
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.0
5.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
4.5
4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
4.0
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
3.0
4.0
3.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeAdobe ExpressFigmaTopaz Labs
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes No
Mobile app Yes Yes Yes
Desktop app– Yes Yes
Browser extension Yes No No
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes Yes
Understands images Yes Yes Yes
Makes images Yes Yes No
Makes video Yes No No
Writes code No Yes No
Runs agents or automations No No No
Learns your brand or style Yes Yes No
Works in many languages Yes Yes–
Capabilities score13/ 1713/ 178/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeAdobe ExpressFigmaTopaz Labs
Plans

Free

Free

Occasional posts and trying it.

Starter

Free

One person learning or sketching a first product.

Topaz for Web, Image

$19/mo or $199/yr

Occasional photo upscaling in the browser.

PremiumOur pick

$9.99/mo

One person making marketing content each week.

ProfessionalOur pick

$16/mo per full seat

Small teams designing a real product.

Gigapixel

$29/mo or $149/yr

People who mainly need images enlarged.

Teams

$7.99/licence/mo, billed yearly

Small teams sharing a brand.

Organization

$55/mo per full seat, billed yearly

Companies with several teams.

Topaz PhotoOur pick

$39/mo or $199/yr

Photographers fixing noise, blur and size.

Enterprise

Custom

Large organisations on Adobe.

Enterprise

$90/mo per full seat, billed yearly

Large organisations with security and governance needs.

Topaz Video

$59/mo or $299/yr

Video editors upscaling and restoring footage.

Topaz Studio

$69/mo or $399/yr

Anyone working on both photos and video.

Topaz Studio Pro

$799/yr

Businesses over $1M revenue and studios.

Which plan to pickCheck whether your Creative Cloud or Firefly plan already includes Express Premium before paying. If not, Premium at $9.99 a month is cheaper than Canva Pro and enough for one person. Teams is good value for two or more people who need locked brand templates.Start on Starter if it is just you. Move to Professional when you have a developer or second designer involved, and put them on a cheaper dev or collab seat rather than a full seat. Organization and Enterprise are for companies, not small businesses.If you only fix photos, Topaz Photo on yearly billing is the sweet spot. Add video and Topaz Studio costs less than buying Photo and Video separately. The standard plans only cover businesses under $1M a year in revenue, so bigger companies need a Pro plan.

Key features

AttributeAdobe ExpressFigmaTopaz Labs
Standout features
  • Templates and Adobe Stock
  • AI Assistant
  • Firefly and partner models
  • Quick actions
  • Brand kits and scheduling
  • Works in AI chats
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Figma Make
  • Dev Mode
  • Claude Code connection
  • Design systems
  • FigJam and Slides
  • Topaz Photo
  • Gigapixel
  • Topaz Video
  • Starlight models
  • Web and mobile
  • Plugins and API

Pros and cons

AttributeAdobe ExpressFigmaTopaz Labs
Pros
  • Cheaper than Canva Pro, and often free with Creative Cloud
  • Adobe Stock, Adobe Fonts and Firefly are built in
  • Moves cleanly to and from Photoshop and Illustrator
  • Works inside Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot
  • Templates feel less overused than Canva's
  • The industry standard, so designers and developers already know it
  • Collaboration is as easy as a Google Doc
  • Figma Make turns a brief into a testable prototype quickly
  • Official Claude Code connection for design-to-code
  • Starter plan is generous for a solo person
  • Still the reference for photo and video restoration according to most photographers and editors
  • Desktop apps render unlimited images locally with no credits
  • Covers photos, enlargement and video in one bundle
  • Web and phone versions mean you don't need a fast computer for images
  • Works as a Lightroom and Photoshop plugin
Cons
  • Frequent 2026 reports of freezing, failed downloads and slow loading in the browser
  • Smaller template library than Canva
  • Lags on longer videos and multi-page projects
  • Some users report exports coming out downscaled or blurry
  • 250 AI credits a month on Premium runs out quickly if you generate a lot
  • Steep learning curve for anyone who is not a designer
  • Seat types and per-seat pricing are confusing for small teams
  • AI features and the Claude connection are tightly limited on the free plan
  • Overkill for social posts and flyers
  • No more one-off licences, and many long-time users resent the switch to subscriptions
  • Can invent detail, give faces a plastic look or change things that were never there
  • Video renders are slow and need an expensive graphics card, and recent updates brought crash and export errors for some users
  • Confusing range of apps, models and plans, with the best video models locked to Pro plans
  • Standard plans only allow commercial use for businesses under $1M a year

Who each one is for

AttributeAdobe ExpressFigmaTopaz Labs
Best for
  • Social posts and flyers from templates
  • Adobe and Creative Cloud users
  • Cheaper Canva Pro alternative
  • Commercially safe AI images with Firefly
  • Website and app design
  • Clickable prototypes
  • Handing designs to developers
  • Design systems and brand assets
  • Enlarging small photos for print or billboards
  • Cleaning up grainy low-light and event photos
  • Upscaling old or phone video to HD and 4K
  • Restoring family photos and archive footage
  • Upscaling AI-generated images for print
You'll find it used by
  • Small business owners
  • Marketers
  • Teachers
  • Adobe users
  • Social media managers
  • Product teams
  • Founders
  • Developers
  • Agencies
  • UX designers
  • Photographers
  • Video editors
  • Archivists
  • Marketers
  • AI artists

Questions people ask

Which is better, Adobe Express, Figma or Topaz Labs?

Figma scores highest overall in our ratings (Adobe Express 4.0/5, Figma 4.1/5 and Topaz Labs 3.7/5). Adobe Express is best for social posts and flyers from templates and adobe and Creative Cloud users. Figma is best for website and app design and clickable prototypes. Topaz Labs is best for enlarging small photos for print or billboards and cleaning up grainy low-light and event photos.

Which is cheaper, Adobe Express, Figma or Topaz Labs?

Adobe Express: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9.99/mo. Figma: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $16/mo per full seat. Topaz Labs: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $19/mo or $199/yr.

Which is easier to use, Adobe Express, Figma or Topaz Labs?

Adobe Express rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small businesses and marketers who want Canva-style design for less, especially anyone who already pays for Adobe.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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