Choose Figma when the work is real design: interfaces, brand systems, files a developer will build from. Choose Gamma when the output is a presentation and you want it drafted from an outline. Choose Beautiful.ai for client decks with enforced layouts, if you accept no free plan. Choose Midjourney when you need original images, not templates. For social posts and everyday graphics, stay on Canva.
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Canva is hard to beat at what it does: it is extremely easy, the free plan is real, and Pro costs €12 a month on the French page. People outgrow it in three directions: design work that needs precision and handoff, presentations that should build themselves, and visuals that do not look like a template.
Each tool below goes further than Canva in one of those directions and is worse than Canva at everything else.
The picks that stand out
Figma
Clients comment without installing anything, the free Starter plan covers solo client work, and it is the industry standard, so whoever comes next understands the handoff. Professional is €20 per Full seat a month on monthly billing. It is overkill for simple marketing graphics, and real proficiency takes weeks.
Gamma
Gamma turns a rough outline into a presentable deck faster than a template, and the deck works as a link. The free plan includes one-time starter credits; Plus is €10 a user a month on monthly billing. Generated layouts need editing before a client sees them.
Beautiful.ai
Auto-layout keeps every slide aligned, which suits proposals sent under a deadline. Pro is $14.50 a month billed annually; the only month-to-month option is $45 a month. There is no free plan, and the 14-day trial asks for a card.
Midjourney
Known for image quality and consistent style (not tested here), for visuals that should not look like stock or templates. Basic is $10 a month on monthly billing, with no free plan, and writing good prompts takes practice.
At a glance
| Criterion |  Canva | Figma | Gamma | Beautiful.ai | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Used mainly for | Social graphics, AI image generation | Client mockups and wireframes, design handoff | Client proposals, pitch decks | Presentations, slide decks | Image generation, concept art |
| Entry price | €12.00/mo · Pro | €20.00/mo · Professional | €10.00/mo · Plus | $14.50/mo equivalent · Pro | $10.00/mo · Basic Plan |
| Free plan | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✕No | ✕No |
| Free trial | ✓Yes | ✕No | Not stated | ✓Yes | Not stated |
| Works on | Web, iOS, Android, Desktop | Web, macOS, Windows | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web, Discord |
| Documented integrations | Google Drive, Slack, Social platforms | Slack, Jira, Notion, GitHub | PowerPoint export, PDF export, Google Drive, Slack | Google Slides, PowerPoint, Zoom | Discord, Web |
| Setup | Easy: minutes | Moderate: 1-2 hr | Easy: minutes | Easy: 15 min | Moderate: 30 min |
| Main limitation | AI features capped on the free plan | Overkill for simple marketing graphics | Credits on the free plan are a one-time allowance, with no monthly refill | Less manual layout control | No free plan |
| Our evidence level | Vendor documented | Vendor documented | Vendor documented | Vendor documented | Vendor documented |
| Try it | Try Canva ↗ | Try Figma ↗ | Try Gamma ↗Partner link | Try Beautiful.ai ↗Partner link | Try Midjourney ↗ |
Every cell comes from the tool's record, built from its official documentation and pricing page. The integrations listed are the ones the vendor documents, not tested by us.
Canva is a generalist; the alternatives are specialists
Canva does social posts, flyers, simple decks and quick edits well enough for most small businesses. The alternatives here each do one thing better: Figma design, Gamma and Beautiful.ai presentations, Midjourney images. Replacing Canva entirely usually means paying for two of them.
Adding one is often better than switching
Canva Pro and Midjourney Basic together cost €12 plus $10 a month on monthly billing, and cover templates and original images. That is often a better answer than abandoning a tool the whole team already knows.
Watch the free plans
Canva, Figma and Gamma have free plans; Beautiful.ai and Midjourney do not. Gamma's free credits are a one-time allowance with no monthly refill, so it behaves like a trial for regular use.
Keep Canva, add one, or replace it
Most small businesses do not need to leave Canva; they need one specialist next to it.
- Social graphics every week, one person: stay on Canva Pro, 110 € a year on yearly billing.
- Client decks every month: add Gamma Plus at 96 € a year on yearly billing, or Beautiful.ai Pro at $174 a year.
- Brand or interface design handed to a developer: Figma Professional is 192 € per Full seat a year on yearly billing.
- Original images rather than templates: Midjourney Basic is $96 a year on yearly billing.
When to stay on Canva
If your output is social posts, simple documents and the occasional deck, and nobody on the team is a designer, no tool here will save you time. Canva's ease is the product.
Pricing side by side
Figma Professional · in euros
Gamma Plus · in euros
Each tool's paid entry plan multiplied by the number of seats, free plan and tax excluded. One currency for all: the bars share a scale and compare directly. Prices read on the official pages (25.10.2026).
| Tool | Verified price | Billing condition | Free | Checked | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canva | €12.00/mo · Pro | for one person, billed monthly; Pro+ is 17 EUR per person a month for teams; annual billing is 110 EUR/year for Pro and 170 EUR/year per person for Pro+ (Canva advertises "save 16% or more") | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗ |
| Figma | €20.00/mo · Professional | 20 €/month per Full seat billed monthly; 16 €/month billed annually. Dev seat 15 €, Collab seat 5 € (monthly) | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗ |
| Gamma | €10.00/mo · Plus | €10 per user/month billed monthly; €8 per user/month billed annually (€96 per year) | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗Partner link |
| Beautiful.ai | $14.50/mo equivalent · Pro | $14.50/mo billed annually; the Pro card is annual-only, and a separate month-to-month option for one-off projects costs $45/mo | No | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗Partner link |
| Midjourney | $10.00/mo · Basic Plan | billed monthly; yearly billing takes 20% off (Basic $8, Standard $24, Pro $48, Mega $96 per month) | No | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗ |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free alternative to Canva?
For design work, Figma's free Starter plan. For presentations, Gamma's free plan, whose credits do not refill. Beautiful.ai and Midjourney have no free plan.
Is Figma harder than Canva?
Yes. Figma is a professional design tool and real proficiency takes weeks, not hours. It is the better choice when files go to a developer or a brand system needs to stay consistent; for marketing graphics it is overkill.
Which Canva alternative is best for presentations?
Gamma if you want a deck drafted from an outline and shared as a link; Beautiful.ai if you want layouts that stay aligned on their own and accept an annual plan or $45 a month.
Can I use Midjourney instead of Canva?
Not as a replacement. Midjourney generates images; it does not lay out posts, documents or decks. Most small businesses that use it keep Canva to put the images to work.
Recently at these tools
Figma: Gemini 4 Argon is rolling out in Figma Make's model picker, on all plans. Source ↗
Figma: The Figma agent leaves beta: it can search Figma files from a chat and take user-set guidelines about design libraries. Source ↗
Gamma: Native iOS and Android apps, and Gamma can be mentioned in Slack to create a deck, document or page from a prompt or from the thread. Source ↗
Beautiful.ai: Beta: start from a Beautiful.ai template and let AI adapt its content to your topic, or use the template as it is. Source ↗
Beautiful.ai: AI presentation creation now adapts to the starting point: questions to clarify a rough idea, direct generation from a finished outline, and the Brand Kit chosen earlier so it guides the content from the start. Source ↗
Read on each vendor's official changelog, not tested by us.