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

Canva vs Midjourney vs Recraft

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

Best overall

Canva

4.5

From $144/yr for one person

DetailsVisit

Midjourney

4.1

Free to start

DetailsVisit

Recraft

3.8

From $12/mo

DetailsVisit

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Canva

4.5
Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

Pick it if: Anyone who needs good-looking marketing material regularly and doesn't have a designer on call.

Midjourney

4.1

Pick it if: Marketers, founders and creators who want imagery that doesn't look like generic stock.

Recraft

3.8

Pick it if: Designers, marketers and founders who need brand assets they can keep editing.

Overview

AttributeCanvaMidjourneyRecraft
In one lineMake social posts, decks and flyers from templates, with AI that writes and edits for you.Type a description and get striking, artful images that look nothing like stock photos.Generates logos, icons and illustrations as editable vector files you can keep working on.
Pricing modelFreemiumPaidFreemium
Starting price$144/yr for one personSee website$12/mo
Free plan Yes No Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes No Yes

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeCanvaMidjourneyRecraft
Overall rating4.5Winner4.13.8
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
5.0
3.5
3.5
FeaturesHow much it can do, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.0
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
5.0
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
3.5
3.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.5
4.5
4.0

Feature comparison

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

AttributeCanvaMidjourneyRecraft
Access & platform
Free plan Yes No Yes
Mobile app Yes No No
Desktop app Yes No No
Browser extension No No No
API access Yes No Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes No Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes No Yes
Connects to other apps Yes No 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 Yes
Makes video Yes Yes No
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations No No No
Learns your brand or style Yes Yes Yes
Works in many languages Yes No No
Capabilities score13/ 175/ 179/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeCanvaMidjourneyRecraft
Plans

Free

Free

Occasional posts and trying it out.

Basic

See website

Trying it out and light monthly use.

Free

Free

Learning the tool on personal projects.

ProOur pick

$144/yr for one person

Anyone making marketing material every week.

StandardOur pick

See website

Most marketers and creators.

BasicOur pick

$12/mo, or $10/mo billed yearly

Founders and marketers making occasional brand assets.

Business

$250/yr per person

Teams who need shared brands and approvals.

Pro

See website

Agencies and anyone doing client work.

Pro

From $20/mo, or $16/mo billed yearly

Designers producing assets every week.

Enterprise

Custom

Large organisations with security requirements.

Mega

See website

Heavy daily production.

Teams

From $22/seat/mo, or $18/seat/mo billed yearly

Design teams who share a house style.

Which plan to pickUse 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.Standard is the sweet spot because relax mode means you never run out. Go to Pro if you make images for clients, since Basic and Standard publish everything you make to the public gallery. Yearly billing takes a chunk off every plan.Basic is the sensible start for a business because it unlocks private images and commercial rights, and 1,000 credits goes a long way on stills. Pick Pro only if you are generating daily. Teams is for agencies where several people need the same brand style.

Key features

AttributeCanvaMidjourneyRecraft
Standout features
  • Templates for everything
  • Brand Kit
  • Canva AI
  • Magic Resize
  • Docs, sheets and video
  • Claude connection
  • Image quality
  • Style and character references
  • Web editor
  • Personalisation
  • Video
  • Stealth mode
  • Vector output
  • Custom styles
  • Icon and illustration sets
  • Mockups
  • Image tools
  • API

Pros and cons

AttributeCanvaMidjourneyRecraft
Pros
  • Nobody needs training to use it
  • The free plan is big enough to run a small business on
  • Brand Kit and Magic Resize save hours every week
  • Covers decks, documents and simple video as well as graphics
  • Works with Claude, so designs can start from a chat
  • Consistently the most attractive output of any generator
  • Style and character references keep a campaign looking like one set
  • Relax mode on Standard and above means unlimited generations
  • The editor handles extending and fixing parts of an image well
  • Real, editable vector files, which almost no other generator does well
  • Custom brand styles keep every asset consistent
  • Paid plans include clear commercial rights and private images
  • API makes it useful inside developer workflows
Cons
  • Template designs can look generic unless you customise them
  • Fine control over type and layout is limited next to Figma or Adobe
  • Built-in image generation is a step behind the dedicated generators
  • AI features burn through credits faster than you expect on Free
  • No free plan or trial
  • Text in images and exact layouts are unreliable
  • Your images are public unless you are on Pro or Mega
  • The learning curve is real if you want control rather than luck
  • No API or integrations with other tools
  • Free plan is unusable for business: images are public, owned by Recraft and not for commercial use
  • Busier interface than the simpler generators
  • Credits run down faster on vector output and image tools
  • Photoreal images are not its strength

Who each one is for

AttributeCanvaMidjourneyRecraft
Best for
  • Social media posts and stories
  • Quick decks and one-pagers
  • Resizing one design for every channel
  • Simple logos and brand kits
  • Hero images for websites
  • Brand and campaign visuals
  • Mood boards and concepts
  • Illustration styles
  • Logos and icon sets
  • Illustrations in a consistent style
  • Vector graphics for print
  • Brand-matched assets
You'll find it used by
  • Small business owners
  • Marketers
  • Social media managers
  • Teachers
  • Agencies
  • Marketers
  • Brand designers
  • Founders
  • Content creators
  • Designers
  • Brand teams
  • Founders
  • Developers

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability. The "Visit" buttons may use affiliate links, which never affect a score.

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