With tools like Canva and Kittl, anyone can create amazing designs for their project or business even with zero design skills.
These two platforms have been truly helpful for people unable to hire professional designers but still desirous of creating unique designs.
They are packed with templates from world-class designers and all you need to do is tweak or customize them to your taste. Whether it’s for social media content, presentations, flyers, logos, or printed products, they both have you covered.
Kittl and Canva have lots of similar features that could leave you wondering which of them is better. I have asked the same question too which is why I have taken my time to explain my findings in this article.
I’m going to analyze their features, ease of use, functionality, and pricing including their similarities and differences.
In the end, you will have enough details to make an informed decision on which design tool to go for.
Now, without much ado, let’s dive right in!
Kittl vs Canva – Introduction
What is Kittl?
Kittl was launched in 2020 by Tobias Saul and Nicolas Heymann. They wanted to create a platform that simplified a complex design process and made it more accessible and faster.
So far, the platform has empowered a lot of people to bring their creative ideas to life regardless of their design experiences.
Kittl has a lot of tools and resources for users to create remarkable designs and it’s equally easy to use. There are thousands of templates that you can use for creating eye-catching graphics, illustrations, and designs that will grab your audience’s attention.
Kittl also infuses artificial intelligence to make your design process smoother, faster, and more creative. Aside from generating vibrant illustrations, you can convert images to vectors, create text layouts, and even remove backgrounds from your photos.
The templates by professional designers are there for you to explore. Additionally, there are a lot of built-in effects you can use on your designs to make them stand out and have additional depth.
There is a search bar where you can easily type in any asset you want for your creative process.
Overall, Kittl is your creative playground where your creativity knows your bounds. Also, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a novice or pro designer. The tool is limitless with opportunities.
What Is Canva?
Launched in 2013, Canva is a super user-friendly design tool that allows you to create all sorts of designs from posters to presentations, business cards, social media posts, and more. One thing about this tool is that it’s like having a digital art studio at your fingertips.
There are a lot of pre-designed templates for whatever digital content you need. If you’re creating an Instagram post, all you need to do is to pick an Instagram post template and it’s already the right size and shape for Instagram. It’s the same for Twitter, Facebook, and social media stories.
After picking your desired template, you can customize it to fit your style by changing the colors, text, and images and also inserting your logo. You only need to drag and drop each element and your design is ready in just a few minutes.
Canva is such a lifesaver, especially for non-professional designers. It’s incredible how it has a huge library of elements like icons, illustrations, and photos that you can add to your design.
You can also work with a team once they accept your invitation. When your work is ready, you can easily download it in any format (JPEG, PNG, or PDF) and share it across your social media pages.
Overall, Canva makes graphic design accessible to everyone, whether you’re a small business owner, student, blogger, or just someone who wants to create beautiful visuals without dealing with the headache that comes with using complex software.
It’s all about making creativity and design fun and easy!
Also Read: Can You Use Canva Images For Commercial Use?
Kittl vs Canva – Features
While Kittl and Canva were both created with the same goal in mind which is to simplify the graphic design process, they also have different features that make them stand out. I’ll explore them here.
Kittl
Rich professional template and illustration library
Kittl has lots of high-quality illustrations, frames, icons, and templates at your fingertips ready to catch you as you jumpstart your creative journey.
Grand selection of fonts
Kittl is also known for its beautifully crafted fonts with shading effects that will make your designs more detailed and unique.
Photo Catalogue
Kittl’s photo catalog contains more than three million high-resolution images from photographers worldwide. The best part is that these pictures are free from copyright and you can use them without paying a dime.
Text decoration effects
If you want to add an extra “wow” factor to your designs, Kittl’s text-decoration effect will do that efficiently. This artistic touch makes your message truly stand out.
Magic recoloring
This is another fascinating feature of Kittl. It’s like having a magical paintbrush for your designs. You can effortlessly update the colors in your designs and replace them with trending color palettes with just one click. This way, your creations stay fresh and on-trend.
Upload custom graphics
If you don’t want to use the tool’s built-in graphics, you can easily incorporate your graphics either in JPG, PNG, or SVG formats.
In the same vein, if you are a young artist, you can also upload your hand-drawn illustrations or personal branding logo seamlessly.
Text texture
Kittl helps to enhance your designs with textures like noise, paper, partners, or grungy. It adds more layers and depth to your work.
Also Read: Can You Sell Canva Designs On Etsy?
Download and share your work
When you’re done designing, Kittl makes sure that your work can be downloaded either as JPG, PNG, SVG, or PDF Files. In addition to that, you can share your creations on social media or send them to friends, clients, or customers.
It is AI-powered
Kittl leverages artificial intelligence to boost and supercharge your design skills. If you don’t want to use an image from the photo catalog, you can simply use its AI image generator tool to come up with stunning images for your projects.
You can also use AI to generate vector graphics, quotes, logos, clipart, and backgrounds for your designs. The best part is that you can easily convert your favorite images into vector format.
For example, if you have a hand-drawn illustration that you’d like to use on a professional project, Kittl AI can vectorize it for you. How amazing!
Canva
In-built templates
Canva has different templates for various purposes. Whether you want to create social media posts, flyers, logos, or presentations, there are thousands of templates to choose from and customize to your taste.
Drag-and-drop editor
Canva’s drag-and-drop editor makes it super easy for you to customize your desired template. Adding elements like text, images, and shapes is as easy as pie. You just need to drag and drop them onto your canvas.
Image Library
There are thousands of photos and illustrations available on Canva, all for free. The platform already partnered with Pixabay and Pexels to deliver non-copyrighted images that you can use in your designs. There are also free elements such as stickers, shapes, and icons that will enhance your designs.
Invite and collaborate with team members
This feature is highly helpful if you’re working with a team. You can easily invite them to your account and share your designs with them, collecting real-time feedback.
Export and download designs
Canva’s download process is straightforward. Once your design is complete, you only need to click on the share button and you’ll get a prompt to choose your desired format to download. You can also share your works across all social media platforms.
Video and animation
Canva also allows you to create animated designs and videos including GIFs and social media stories. And like other forms of content, there are templates reserved for that.
Brand kit
Canva has been such a lifesaver to small business owners. Even without the services of a professional designer, you can easily brand your business. You can store your brand colors, fonts, and logos in Canva’s brand kit and easily apply them to your designs.
Filters and effects
Canva doesn’t just allow you to use images from its library, you can also edit them to your taste. You can apply filters and effects on them to adjust their appearance in your designs. You can also crop, resize, and adjust the colors of the pictures.
Mobile App
Canva allows you to create on the go with its mobile app. You can download the app from either the Play Store or the Apple Store, log in with your details, and you’re good to go.
Social media scheduling
Canva comes with a scheduling option that allows you to schedule and publish your designed social media posts directly from the platform. It saves you the stress of signing up for different scheduling tools.
Integration
If you’re an online course creator, you can easily integrate Canva with your learning management system and deliver your courses.
It will work well if you’re a visual art facilitator. The platform seamlessly integrates with platforms like Schoology, Canvas, Google Classroom, and more.
Education and non-profit plans
Through this feature, Canva has reiterated its desire to support education and inspire the next generation of students. The platform has special plans for educators and non-profit organizations to help them create engaging designs for free.
Kittl vs Canva – Ease of use
Kittl
Kittl has everything needed to make your designs as easy as pie but beginners will need more time to master it.
The drag-and-drop feature makes it pretty easy to design your work. Once you get to the homepage after signing up, you can quickly locate the template you want by typing a matching keyword in the search box.
You’ll be presented with numerous template designs to choose from and customize. Afterward, you can export and download it in your desired format.
Kittl is still pretty new in the design industry and I believe that with time, users will get accustomed to it.
To get started, you should first watch the beginner tutorial to better understand how the platform works.
Also Read: Why Are My Canva Images Blurry?
Canva
Canva on the other hand has been around for a while and has become the home for small business owners, social media content creators, event planners, schools, and even non-profit organizations.
The platform is encompassing as you can design anything you want and it’s not as complicated as Kittl. The interface is clean and simple. Your work tools are adequately arranged on one side, allowing for easy focus.
Canva’s drag-and-drop feature is also very seamless to use. It eliminates the need for advanced design skills. So, you can achieve polished results even if you’re not a professional designer.
Finally, there are tutorials, articles, and how-to guides that will help you learn and improve your design skills on the platform. The mobile app makes it much more convenient to use, unlike Kittl.
Kittl vs Canva – Functionality
Kittl
Kittl stands out for its AI features. From generating images to vectors and quotes, there’s a lot you can achieve here. You only need to input a proper description and have numerous options pulled out for you.
Kittl also vectorizes images and removes backgrounds. Additionally, the platform is known for its text transformation feature.
It doesn’t just limit you to basic text designs but allows you to experiment with other unique typography that will empower your message and make it stand out.
Kittl also dictates the format in which you should export your designs once you’re done working. For example, if you’re working on a flyer or poster, you can only download the PNG or JPG format. You can’t go for PDF or MP4 video formats.
And while you can share your designs across your social media platforms, you can’t schedule them.
Another fascinating functionality of Kittl is that it is only focused on posters, logos, thumbnails, social media posts, prints, flyers, cards, and labels.
The template hub isn’t as rich as Canva. However, there are standard presets for you to choose from if you’re designing your work from scratch.
Check Out: Best Canva Audio Tracks
Canva
Anyone from any sector can use Canva. The platform houses all kinds of templates from presentations, videos, posters, logos, infographics, documents, whiteboards, social media covers, resumes, proposals, and many more.
You’re free to choose a custom size if you’re designing your work without a template.
Even after working on your designs, you can export them in any format you want. If you’re working on a flyer, for example, you’re free to download it as either a PDF file or an MP4 video.
Canva also allows you to schedule your designs to be published across your social media pages directly from the platform.
There’s also a brand kit for you to store your brand colors, fonts, logos, and other brand assets for consistency in your designs.
You’ll find this useful if you’re a small business owner looking to maintain a consistent brand identity. Canva can also be integrated into several platforms for more seamless usage especially if you’re in the educational sector.
Aside from integrating it into your learning management system, teachers and students are also entitled to free templates to collaborate and work with. Overall, Canva has extensive functionality that makes it a valuable design tool for all kinds of projects.
Kittl vs Canva – Pricing
Kittl
It’s exciting that Kittl comes with a free plan that allows you to create stunning designs using any template of your choice or simply starting from scratch.
However, the free plan is quite limited as you’re only entitled to work on 20 projects with 50MB upload space and low-resolution image export.
Aside from that, if you’re using any image from the platform, you must attribute it. Even the AI feature limits you to just 15 single-use credits.
To fully enjoy Kittl, you need to upgrade to either the Pro plan which costs $10 per month, or the Expert plan which goes for $24 per month.
If you run a business and want to have all your team members on one account, you can upgrade to the Business plan.
Canva
Canva also has a free plan to get you started on the platform. For a beginner, the free plan has you covered.
You have more than 250 free templates to work with including more than 100 design types and a million photos.
You can also invite and collaborate with your team in real-time and still enjoy up to 5Gb of cloud storage.
However, if you want to access more templates and photos, you should upgrade to the Pro plan which costs $14.99 per month.
It also allows you to schedule and you can also remove backgrounds from your images and videos. If you’re working with a team and need more flexibility, you should upgrade to the Canva for Teams plan which goes for $29.99 per month.
Kittl vs Canva – Pros and Cons
Pros and Cons of Kittl
Pros
- It is AI-powered.
- Kittl comes with a free plan.
- The library is rich with free images, graphics, and illustrations.
- It has a drag-and-drop editor.
- Kittl also has a collection of unique fonts and text decoration effects.
- You can download and share your work.
Cons
- You can’t schedule your designs on social media.
- It does not have a mobile app.
- There’s also no presentation mode.
- The template formats are quite limited.
- It doesn’t cater to schools and non-profit organizations.
Pros and Cons of Canva
Pros
- Canva is free to use.
- It comes with a brand kit for seamless branding across your business.
- You can easily schedule your work from the platform.
- You can invite and collaborate with other team members.
- There are different template formats for you to explore.
- It is super easy to use.
- Schools and non-profit organizations can use the tool for free.
Cons
- There’s usually a watermark on the free plan.
- You can’t use AI to generate images.
Kittl vs Canva – Similarities and Differences
Similarities
- Both are free design tools with thousands of templates, images, illustrations, and vectors.
- Canva and Kittl also have free plans that enable you to test the platform before subscribing to the paid plans.
- Both of them allow you to export and download your work.
- You can also invite and collaborate with your team members.
- It’s also easy to remove the background from both pictures and videos on both platforms.
Differences
- While Canva has a mobile app available on both Apple Store and Play Store, Kittl doesn’t.
- Unlike Canva, Kittl also doesn’t allow users to schedule their work from the platform.
- While Canva is not entirely AI-powered, Kittl is heavily powered by AI such that you can generate AI images, quotes, and even vectors.
- Canva allows for all content formats including images and videos, Kittl is only limited to images and there’s no presentation mode either.
- Canva has a free plan for schools and non-profit organizations whereas Kittl doesn’t.
- With Kittl, while creating a new design from scratch, you can’t choose a custom size unless you upgrade. But that’s not the same with Canva. You can choose a custom size regardless of your free plan.
Kittl vs Canva – Conclusion
Canva is a better option than Kittl especially if you’re a small business owner. Not only does the platform have a free plan to get you started, but it is also easy to use and has thousands of templates in different formats for you to explore.
Kittl on the other hand is a great choice if you want fancier designs and wouldn’t mind the complications when you’re first learning how to use it.
At least, it gives you the creative freedom to create an image from scratch rather than sticking to the ones available in the catalog.
However, Kittl’s free plan won’t get you very far. You still need to upgrade to the Pro plan to fully enjoy the features without limitations.
That’s not the case with Canva. Even with its free plan, you can still enjoy the tool to its fullest plus you can work with your smartphone anytime, anywhere.
Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing. I started my first e-commerce company in college, designing and selling t-shirts for my campus bar crawl using print-on-demand. Having successfully established multiple 6 & 7-figure e-commerce businesses (in women’s fashion and hiking gear), I think I can share a tip or 2 to help you succeed.