Side-by-side comparison · Image, Logo & Design
Canva vs ChatGPT Images 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.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Anyone who needs good-looking marketing material regularly and doesn't have a designer on call.
Pick it if: Anyone who already uses ChatGPT and wants quick, accurate images without learning another tool.
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.
Overview
| Attribute | Canva | ChatGPT Images | Topaz Labs |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Make social posts, decks and flyers from templates, with AI that writes and edits for you. | Make and edit images inside ChatGPT by describing what you want, words included. | Sharpen, denoise and upscale blurry photos and old video so they look like new. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | $144/yr for one person | Free | $19/mo or $199/yr |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Canva | ChatGPT Images | Topaz Labs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.5Winner | 4.2 | 3.7 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 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. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Canva | ChatGPT Images | Topaz Labs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | 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 | Yes | No |
| Writes code | No | Yes | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | Yes | No |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | – |
| Capabilities score | 13/ 17 | 16/ 17 | 8/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Canva | ChatGPT Images | Topaz Labs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Occasional posts and trying it out. | Free Free A few images a day. | Topaz for Web, Image $19/mo or $199/yr Occasional photo upscaling in the browser. |
ProOur pick $144/yr for one person Anyone making marketing material every week. | Go See website Light users who hit the free limits. | Gigapixel $29/mo or $149/yr People who mainly need images enlarged. | |
Business $250/yr per person Teams who need shared brands and approvals. | PlusOur pick See website Most marketers and business owners. | Topaz PhotoOur pick $39/mo or $199/yr Photographers fixing noise, blur and size. | |
Enterprise Custom Large organisations with security requirements. | Pro See website Heavy daily users. | Topaz Video $59/mo or $299/yr Video editors upscaling and restoring footage. | |
Business See website Teams who need shared workspaces and admin. | 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 pick | Use Free until you find yourself fighting it, usually over the brand kit or background removal. Pro pays for itself the first time you skip a stock photo subscription. Business only makes sense once two or more people are working in the same brand. | Free is enough to find out if the quality suits you. Plus is the one to buy if you make images most days, because the limits stop getting in the way and you get the whole assistant too. Pro is only for people living in ChatGPT all day. | 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
| Attribute | Canva | ChatGPT Images | Topaz Labs |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Canva | ChatGPT Images | Topaz Labs |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Canva | ChatGPT Images | Topaz Labs |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Canva, ChatGPT Images or Topaz Labs?
Canva scores highest overall in our ratings (Canva 4.5/5, ChatGPT Images 4.2/5 and Topaz Labs 3.7/5). Canva is best for social media posts and stories and quick decks and one-pagers. ChatGPT Images is best for mockups and signage with real text and editing an image by describing changes. Topaz Labs is best for enlarging small photos for print or billboards and cleaning up grainy low-light and event photos.
Which is cheaper, Canva, ChatGPT Images or Topaz Labs?
Canva: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $144/yr for one person. ChatGPT Images: It's free to use. Topaz Labs: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $19/mo or $199/yr.
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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