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

Canva 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.

Best overall

Canva

4.5

From $144/yr for one person

Topaz Labs

3.7

From $19/mo or $199/yr

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

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

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

AttributeCanvaTopaz Labs
In one lineMake social posts, decks and flyers from templates, with AI that writes and edits for you.Sharpen, denoise and upscale blurry photos and old video so they look like new.
Pricing modelFreemiumPaid
Starting price$144/yr for one person$19/mo or $199/yr
Free plan Yes No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeCanvaTopaz Labs
Overall rating4.5Winner3.7
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
5.0
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.5
3.0

Feature comparison

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

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

Pricing

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

AttributeCanvaTopaz Labs
Plans

Free

Free

Occasional posts and trying it out.

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.

Gigapixel

$29/mo or $149/yr

People who mainly need images enlarged.

Business

$250/yr per person

Teams who need shared brands and approvals.

Topaz PhotoOur pick

$39/mo or $199/yr

Photographers fixing noise, blur and size.

Enterprise

Custom

Large organisations with security requirements.

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 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.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

AttributeCanvaTopaz Labs
Standout features
  • Templates for everything
  • Brand Kit
  • Canva AI
  • Magic Resize
  • Docs, sheets and video
  • Claude connection
  • Topaz Photo
  • Gigapixel
  • Topaz Video
  • Starlight models
  • Web and mobile
  • Plugins and API

Pros and cons

AttributeCanvaTopaz Labs
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
  • 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
  • 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 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

AttributeCanvaTopaz Labs
Best for
  • Social media posts and stories
  • Quick decks and one-pagers
  • Resizing one design for every channel
  • Simple logos and brand kits
  • 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
  • Social media managers
  • Teachers
  • Agencies
  • Photographers
  • Video editors
  • Archivists
  • Marketers
  • AI artists

Questions people ask

Which is better, Canva or Topaz Labs?

Canva scores highest overall in our ratings (Canva 4.5/5 and Topaz Labs 3.7/5). Canva is best for social media posts and stories and quick decks and one-pagers. 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 or Topaz Labs?

Canva: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $144/yr for one person. Topaz Labs: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $19/mo or $199/yr.

Which is easier to use, Canva or Topaz Labs?

Canva rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who needs good-looking marketing material regularly and doesn't have a designer on call.

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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