Picsart vs Canva: Which Ecommerce Design Tool Reigns Supreme?

picsart vs canva

Picsart & Canva are two of the most widely used online design tools in the ecommerce world, but which one is going to give you the most bang for your buck when it comes to whipping up high-converting product visuals, marketing collateral and social media posts?

I’ve spent a long time putting both platforms through their paces in all sorts of ecommerce design scenarios – from giving product photos a facelift to launching full-scale ad campaigns – and the bottom line is, they each have their unique strengths.

If branded content, team collaboration and speed are your main concerns, Canva is your go-to.

On the other hand, if advanced photo editing tools, AI image features and more creative freedom are your jam, Picsart is the better bet.

Let’s break down the key differences & which tool is best for your ecommerce needs.

Picsart vs Canva: Our Quick Verdict

  • Canva – Top Choice For ecommerce Teams Needing Quick, On-Brand Designs En Masse
  • Picsart – Top Pick For Product Photos, Creative Visuals & Social-Media-Focused Content

Quickfire Comparison: Picsart vs Canva

Get a quick rundown of each tool & who they’re best for:

FeatureCanvaPicsart
Best ForBranded templates, team design workflowsProduct photos, effects, AI image edits
AI FeaturesTemplates, magic resize, text genAI replace, image gen, background swap
Background RemovalAvailable in Pro plansFree & Pro (better precision)
Social Media DesignExcellent (sized templates, stories, reels)Great (mobile-first features, filters)
Photo Editing ToolsBasicAdvanced (filters, retouch, overlays)
Templates250,000+ templates across categoriesTemplate library is smaller
Ideal UserEcommerce teams, marketers, brand managersCreators, content editors, small store owners
Mobile AppYesYes (more mobile-focused)
PricingFree or $12.99/month ProFree or $11.99/month Gold

This table gives you a quick look at which platform is best for your ecommerce workflow.

Keep reading for a deeper dive into each area with real-world examples, pros and cons, and practical recommendations.

Best for Ecommerce Product Design: Canva

Canva Homepage

If your main goal is to create clean, consistent product visuals, marketing banners and social media content fast – Canva is the clear winner.

Canva is all about speed. Its massive template library, brand kits, and AI-powered tools make it super efficient for ecommerce workflows.

Why Canva Kills it

  • Template-Driven Design
    Canva’s got over 250,000 ready-made templates for ecommerce banners, social ads, emails, and landing pages. Just slap in some images & away you go.
  • Brand Kit Management
    With Canva Pro, I can lock in logos, brand colors & fonts so my whole team uses the same assets – no question.
  • Magic Resize
    Create a Facebook ad once, then automatically convert it into Instagram Story, Pinterest Pin or YouTube thumbnail formats – all in one click.
  • Smartmockups
    Drop your product images into realistic scenes (lifestyle, tech, apparel) – saves me hours in post-production or photoshoots.
  • Content Repurposing
    I use Canva to quickly generate design variations for A/B testing – without ever touching Photoshop.

Canva helps ecommerce businesses speed up repetitive design tasks while looking super pro across every touchpoint. It’s one of the most efficient tools I’ve used for campaign-level design production.

Real Ecommerce Use Cases

  • Building product banners for Shopify or Amazon
  • Designing Facebook/Instagram ads
  • Creating email headers & sale graphics
  • Mocking up new packaging designs
  • Repurposing influencer photos into social content

These use cases are super useful for businesses running weekly promotions or frequent launches. Canva’s prebuilt layouts take care of the structure so I can focus on the content.

Verdict

Canva is best if you want a clean, scalable design system for your store, ads & marketing materials. It’s fast, pro-looking, and doesn’t require design experience.

Best for Product Image Editing: Picsart

Picsart Homepage

Picsart comes into play when you need to give your product images a serious makeover.

Where Canva helps you package a message, Picsart helps you polish the visuals – whether it’s removing a background, cleaning up lighting, or adding effects for TikTok.

Why Picsart Stands Out

  • Advanced Photo Editing:
    Picsart includes tools for retouching, filters, light adjustments, object removal, and more. It feels closer to Photoshop than Canva.
  • AI Replace Tool:
    One of the most impressive features. You can highlight part of an image and type in what you want instead. For example, swap a white backdrop with “tropical beach” or “wooden table.”
  • Trending Filters and Overlays:
    Perfect for ecommerce brands that lean into aesthetics (fashion, beauty, lifestyle). You can stylize your content with one tap.
  • UGC Editing:
    I often use Picsart to enhance photos sent by influencers or customers before publishing them as part of a campaign.
  • Batch Editing:
    You can apply the same edits to multiple images in a single session, saving serious time when cleaning up product catalog photos.

Picsart is more creative and gives you tools to make your visuals stand out in crowded social feeds. It’s less structured but way more flexible for hands-on photo work.

Real Ecommerce Use Cases

  • Tearing down those messy photo backgrounds for Amazon listings
  • Giving your TikTok thumbnails or Instagram reels a bit of a style upgrade
  • Touching up model photos for DTC fashion brands
  • Creating UGC-style posts with stickers and text overlays
  • Editing those product lifestyle shots from a shoot

It’s especially useful for brands that shoot their own photos or source user-generated content. Instead of having to hire a designer, you can polish your visuals on your own with hardly any learning curve – just that and a few minutes.

The Verdict

Picsart is probably your best bet if your ecommerce store relies on high-quality, stylized images or influencer content. It’s got the visual editing power that Canva just doesn’t.

Pricing: Which One Offers Better Value?

Both Picsart and Canva follow a similar pricing structure – a freemium model with optional upgrades that can be tweaked to suit your business needs.

PlanCanvaPicsart
Free PlanYes (limited features)Yes (limited features)
Paid Plan$12.99/month for Pro$11.99/month for Gold
Free Trial30 days7 days
Background RemovalPro onlyFree + higher quality in Pro
AI FeaturesIncluded in ProIncluded in Gold

I found Canva’s pricing was better suited for teams and businesses who need to manage brand assets and templates, while Picsart is ideal if your primary focus is photo editing and content creation.

Most ecommerce sellers could get by with the free versions to start off, but Pro upgrades are worth it if you’re handling high volume or doing regular product launches – time aside, the return on investment is huge.

The Verdict

It’s a tie on price. Both offer great value depending on your workflow. But if you’re managing a team, Canva Pro edges out thanks to collaboration tools.

Ecommerce Workflow Comparison

Let’s walk through a common ecommerce workflow and see how each tool holds up.

TaskCanvaPicsart
Create social ad set⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (fast & templated)⭐⭐ (requires manual layout)
Retouch product image⭐⭐ (limited tools)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (photo editing is strong)
Generate product mockup⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Add effects & overlays⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Team collaboration⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (shared folders, comments)⭐⭐
Resize design for channels⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Edit UGC-style content⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This table highlights why most ecommerce brands end up using both tools together. Canva gets your campaigns out the door, while Picsart perfects your source images.

If you’re handling both image creation and brand management, using both tools can cut your workflow time in half. They complement each other really well in day-to-day operations.

The Verdict

Use Canva for brand-driven tasks (ads, templates, team workflows).

Use Picsart for asset-driven tasks (photo edits, UGC, filters).

AI Tools: Head to Head

Both Canva and Picsart are rolling out AI features at full speed – but they serve different purposes.

AI ToolCanvaPicsart
Magic ResizeYesNo
Background RemoverYes (Pro)Yes (Free + Pro)
AI Image GeneratorYes (Photos & Art)Yes (Photos, art, style effects)
AI Replace ToolNoYes
Text Generator (Copy)Yes (Magic Write)No

The Verdict

Canva’s AI tools help you produce more, faster.

Picsart’s AI helps you get more creative.

The AI’s on both platforms are evolving at a breakneck pace, but right now Canva’s tools feel like they’ve been put through a final polish, while Picsart’s still feel like they’re in beta.

Depending on what you’re after, that can be either a blessing or a curse.

Templates & Design Assets

canva templates

Canva just trounces Picsart in this department – its library is absolutely vast, with templates for just about every ecommerce format you can think of.

Picsart has templates too, but they seem to be geared more towards short-form social content rather than anything serious.

CategoryCanvaPicsart
Social Media5,000+ templatesSeveral hundred
Ecommerce BannersYesLimited
Email HeadersYesNo
InfographicsYesNo
Product PackagingYesNo

If you need to get a lot done quickly and you do the same thing over and over, Canva’s asset library is basically worth the subscription on its own. You’ll get a lot more done in less time.

The Verdict

Canva’s got a stranglehold on this one, what with all those neatly pre-arranged templates for ecommerce and marketing. If speed & consistency are key, then this really matters.

Which One Should I Choose?

Here’s a quick checklist to help you decide:

  • Use Canva if:
    • You’ve got multiple campaigns chugging along each week
    • Your brand needs to look consistent across everything
    • You want a single tool that can handle all your ads, emails & socials
    • You manage a team and need to be able to collaborate easily
  • Use Picsart if:
    • You work with raw product photos or user generated content
    • You want to throw some advanced edits or AI magic at your pics
    • Your content is going to be super visually-driven (fashion, lifestyle, beauty)
    • You’re posting a lot on Instagram, TikTok & Pinterest

No matter which one you end up with, both are super easy to use, affordable and packed with value for ecommerce sellers.

You don’t have to pick one – they actually play really nicely together.

The Final Verdict: Canva vs Picsart

If I had to pick one tool for running an ecommerce business right now, Canva’s the way to go – especially if you’re building a brand and need to get some serious design consistency going across your campaigns.

Now, Picsart brings some serious editing muscle to the table that Canva just can’t match.

If you’re really focusing on visual quality & making something totally unique, it’s a great 2nd tool to have.

But you know what? The smartest option is probably to use both – Picsart to knock your images into shape, Canva to let you churn out a gazillion designs.

Bogdan Rancea is the founder and lead curator of ecomm.design, a showcase of the best ecommerce websites. With over 12 years in the digital commerce space he has a wealth of knowledge and a keen eye for great online retail experiences. As an ecommerce tech explorer Bogdan tests and reviews various platforms and design tools like Shopify, Figma and Canva and provides practical advice for store owners and designers. His hands on experience with these tools and his knowledge of ecommerce design trends makes him a valuable resource for businesses looking to improve their online presence. On ecomm.design Bogdan writes about online stores, ecommerce design and tips for entrepreneurs and designers.

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