Choosing between Canva and Shopify? Dive into our detailed analysis to make an informed decision for your design and frontend needs.
Irvin Zhan
•
2025-01-13
When it comes to creating and managing online content, Canva and Shopify are two popular platforms. Both offer unique features and cater to different needs. In this article, we'll compare their key features, pricing, limitations, and user reviews to help you make an informed decision.
Canva: Overview and Key Features
Canva is a user-friendly graphic design platform known for its versatility and ease of use.
Drag-and-Drop Interface: Canva's intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows users to create designs without any prior design experience. It simplifies the process of adding elements like text, images, and shapes.
Extensive Template Library: Canva offers a vast library of templates for various purposes, including social media posts, presentations, and marketing materials. These templates are customizable to fit specific needs.
Stock Photos and Graphics: Users have access to millions of stock photos, illustrations, and icons directly within the platform. This eliminates the need to source images from external sites.
Collaboration Tools: Canva supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on a design simultaneously. This feature is particularly useful for team projects and remote work.
Brand Kit: Canva's Brand Kit feature lets users store brand assets like logos, fonts, and color palettes. This ensures consistency across all designs and saves time on repetitive tasks.
Custom Dimensions: Canva allows users to create designs with custom dimensions, making it suitable for any project, from business cards to large banners.
Download and Share Options: Users can download their designs in various formats, including PNG, JPG, and PDF. Canva also offers direct sharing options to social media platforms and email.
Mobile App: Canva's mobile app provides the same functionality as the desktop version, enabling users to create and edit designs on the go.
Canva's Reviews
Overall, user feedback on Canva highlights its ease of use and extensive template library, though some users note limitations in advanced features.
G2: 4.7/5
Hasan T. (3.0 out of 5): "Canva is a good tool for non-professional editors. Easier to use than other professional platforms. Lacks some important editing features like box shadows."
Anuja S. (5.0 out of 5): "Most recommended. Best app for designing everything from posters to wedding invitations. Easy to use."
Arjun H. (5.0 out of 5): "Flexible, helpful, quick fix for creatives. No need to depend on design team for short timeline projects."
Rafeh S. (5.0 out of 5): "Using Canva is typically a smooth and intuitive experience. Accessible for everyone, regardless of design skill. Some advanced features locked behind a paid subscription."
Nihal S. (5.0 out of 5): "My go-to app for graphic design. Simple and easy-to-use with thousands of elements and templates. No downsides."
Positive Aspects:
Ease of use
Wide variety of templates
Useful for non-professional editors
Accessible for everyone regardless of design skill
Integration with third-party apps
Common Concerns:
Limited advanced features
Reliance on internet connection
Some premium features locked behind a paywall
Limited customization options
Occasional drop in quality when exporting designs
Shopify: Overview and Key Features
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform designed to help businesses create and manage online stores efficiently.
Storefront Themes: Shopify offers a wide range of customizable themes, allowing businesses to create visually appealing online stores without needing design expertise.
Payment Processing: Shopify supports multiple payment gateways, including Shopify Payments, PayPal, and Stripe, ensuring secure and flexible payment options for customers.
SEO Tools: Shopify includes built-in SEO features such as customizable title tags, meta descriptions, and URL handles, which help improve search engine rankings and drive organic traffic.
App Store: Shopify's App Store offers thousands of plugins and integrations, such as Oberlo for dropshipping, Yotpo for customer reviews, and Mailchimp for email marketing, enhancing store functionality.
Mobile Responsiveness: Shopify ensures that all storefronts are mobile-friendly, providing a seamless shopping experience across devices, which is crucial for capturing mobile traffic.
Customer Support: Shopify provides 24/7 customer support through live chat, email, and phone, ensuring that businesses can resolve issues promptly and maintain smooth operations.
Shopify's Reviews
Overall user feedback on Shopify highlights its ease of use and comprehensive features, though some users note high costs and limited customization options.
G2: 4.4/5
Shimonta D. (5.0 out of 5): "Shopify is easy to use and provides a professional look for the business. However, it lacks some features like multiple-print capability of shipping labels."
Verified User (5.0 out of 5): "Scales with the business and is relatively easy to set up."
Ashley C. (2.5 out of 5): "The page is easy to learn and train on."
Keyan S. (5.0 out of 5): "Comprehensive features and helpful customer support, but the fee structures are not favorable."
Lisa K. S. (1.0 out of 5): "Poor customer service and issues with the blog functionality, leading to additional costs for third-party apps."
Positive Aspects:
Ease of use
Comprehensive features
Scalability
Quick setup and easy integration
Strong customer support
Common Concerns:
High costs, including fees for apps and themes
Limited customization options
Poor customer support experiences
Issues with data access and transparency
Need for third-party apps to access certain functionalities
Feature Comparison: Canva vs. Shopify
Similarities
Despite targeting different user bases, Canva and Shopify share several important features:
User-Friendly Interfaces: Both platforms offer intuitive, drag-and-drop interfaces, making them accessible to users without technical expertise.
Customizable Templates: Each provides a wide range of customizable templates, allowing users to create professional designs or storefronts effortlessly.
Collaboration Tools: Both support real-time collaboration, enabling multiple users to work together on projects seamlessly.
Mobile Accessibility: Canva and Shopify offer mobile apps, ensuring users can manage their projects or stores on the go.
Brand Consistency: Each platform includes features to maintain brand consistency, such as Canva's Brand Kit and Shopify's customizable themes.
Comprehensive Support: Both provide extensive customer support options, including help centers, tutorials, and community forums.
Differences
Critical differences between Canva and Shopify will likely influence your choice.
Primary Focus: Canva is centered on graphic design and content creation, while Shopify is dedicated to e-commerce and online store management.
Website Building: Canva offers a free website builder with customizable templates and drag-and-drop tools, whereas Shopify provides a comprehensive platform for creating and managing online stores, including payment processing and inventory management.
AI Tools: Canva includes AI-powered tools for photo editing and graphic creation, which are not a focus in Shopify's feature set.
App Store: Shopify has an extensive app store with over 13,000 apps for additional functionalities, unlike Canva, which integrates with a limited number of external apps.
Customer Support: Shopify offers 24/7 customer support through multiple channels, while Canva provides support primarily through its help center and community forums.
Pricing Comparison: Canva vs. Shopify
Canva Pricing
Canva offers a range of pricing plans to cater to different user needs, from individuals to large enterprises.
Canva Free: $0 per year for one person
Easy drag-and-drop editor
1M+ professionally-designed templates
1000+ design types (social posts and more)
3M+ stock photos and graphics
AI-generated writing and designs
Design printing and delivery
5GB of cloud storage
Canva Pro: $120 per year for one person
Everything in Free, plus:
Unlimited premium templates
100M+ photos, videos, graphics, audio
1000 Brand Kits to manage your brand
Quickly resize and translate designs
Remove backgrounds in a click
Boost creativity with 20+ AI tools
Plan and schedule social content
1TB of cloud storage
Online customer support
Canva Teams: $100 per year per person (minimum 3 people, $300/year)
Everything in Pro, plus:
Scale your brand and centralize assets
Ensure brand consistency with approvals
Edit, comment, and collaborate in real time
Generate on-brand copy with AI
Team reports and insights
Pay as you grow
1TB of cloud storage
Online customer support
AI Admin Controls
ISO 27001 certification and SOC 2 Type II compliance
Canva Enterprise: Pricing not specified; requires contacting sales
Everything in Teams, plus:
Centrally manage multiple teams and brands
Set individual or group design approvals
Manage access to the Canva content and template library
IP indemnity content control
SSO
Automate license provisioning with SCIM
Custom apps and integrations
Priority customer support
Design support from Enterprise Studio creative team
Dedicated customer success manager
Shopify' Pricing
Shopify offers a variety of pricing plans to accommodate businesses of all sizes and needs.
Up to 88% shipping discount, insurance, 3rd-party calculated rates
10 inventory locations
Enhanced 24/7 chat support
Localized global selling (3 markets) + add markets for $59 USD/mo each
15 additional staff accounts
10x checkout capacity
POS Lite
Plus Plan: $2,300 USD per month (on a 3-year term)
For more complex businesses
Card rates: Competitive rates for high-volume merchants
Up to 88% shipping discount, insurance, 3rd-party calculated rates
200 inventory locations
Priority 24/7 phone support
Localized global selling (50 markets)
Unlimited staff accounts
Customizable checkout with 40x capacity
Up to 200 POS Pro locations
Sell wholesale/B2B
Subframe, a Better Alternative to Canva and Shopify
Subframe is a visual UI design tool that syncs with code in real-time. We offer a drag-and-drop editor that lets you create pixel-perfect, responsive layouts effortlessly. Our platform translates your designs into clean, production-ready React and Tailwind code, eliminating the need for handoff and speeding up your workflow.
Subframe's Features
Subframe is the UI design tool for the AI era, offering a seamless blend of design and code.
Component-Based Design: Create user interfaces with real, reusable components instead of static mockups, ensuring precision and efficiency.
Pre-Built UI Templates: Access a library of customizable templates inspired by established design patterns, built with reusable components to speed up the design process.
Code Export: Generate clean, production-quality React and Tailwind code, allowing designs to be copied directly into a codebase, reducing time spent on handoff and manual CSS adjustments.
Free to Get Started: Enjoy free access to visual design tools with no credit card required, making it easy to begin your design journey.
AI-Powered Design: Leverage AI to quickly transform ideas into interfaces, with features like prompt to UI, real prototypes, and adaptive design.
Subframe's Pricing
Subframe pricing is designed to cater to different user needs:
Free: $0 per user/month
1 project
Up to 3 page designs
Up to 3 team members
100s of UI templates
Limited AI features
Pro: $29 per user/month
Up to 3 projects
Unlimited page designs
Unlimited team members
Custom components
100s of UI templates
Full AI beta access
Custom: Contact for pricing
Unlimited projects
Unlimited page designs
Integrate your components
Dedicated Slack support
Figma plugin
Unlimited AI
For more information, visit the Subframe pricing page. Book a demo with Subframe to see how it can transform your design workflow.
Subframe's Reviews
Users have shared positive feedback about Subframe, noting its user-friendly interface, time-saving tools, and the quality of the UI designs it produces. The platform has earned a 5/5 rating on Product Hunt. Customers especially value the visual editor, drag-and-drop functionality, and AI features that help refine designs based on user input.
"Subframe helped us make a super clean UI for our console without designers." - Carl Peterson
"Huge shoutout to Subframe guys! Super easy to create UI, and the support is great. Highly recommend!" - Amartya Jha
"Without Subframe, the frontend build of this tool would've taken a lot longer and a lot more financial resources." - Erin Kim
Canva, Shopify or Subframe? Which is The Best Tool For You
Canva excels in graphic design and content creation, offering a user-friendly interface and extensive template library. Shopify is a robust e-commerce platform, ideal for businesses looking to manage online stores with comprehensive features like payment processing and inventory management. Subframe stands out by seamlessly integrating design and code, allowing users to create production-ready React and Tailwind code with ease.
If you prioritize graphic design and ease of use, Canva is a great fit. For comprehensive e-commerce solutions, Shopify may be the better choice. But for those looking for a tool that combines design flexibility with efficient code generation, Subframe stands out.
Get started on Subframe for free to see how it can streamline your workflow and elevate your design process.
Join thousands of happy builders.
Subframe lets you build stunning UI with beautifully crafted components and a drag-and-drop visual editor.
