Image editors and desktop publishing tools keep getting better all the time. While I love a good dedicated publishing tool like Scribus, sometimes I need something quick to test layouts or make images/videos fast. There are plenty of image editing tools out there, but Canva and PenPot are two of the most powerful that I've used. So I decided to compare them and see how they both fit into my workflow.
I'm running this test on my desktop computer, running Linux Mint as the primary OS and self-hosting whenever possible. I am using the free versions of any software mentioned here. I did not evaluate either app on mobile.
Pinta is my Photoshop stand-in of choice, but sometimes I like to dig a little deeper with my design software. I've heard nothing but good things about Penpot and I have extensive experience using Canva, so I figured I'd test both out.
Canva launched in 2013 and became a very popular editing tool for web pages, images, video, and so on. It's intuitive, the interface makes sense, and you can get in and get out with a decent-looking image in a few minutes. I like it because it makes complex design more accessible and I do use it occasionally.
Unfortunately, Canva lost me a bit with the AI features. I even find background removal useful, but I don't like generating things. Plus, they're all locked behind a paywall and the last thing I need is another subscription.
PenPot hasn't been around as long as Canva, but its development can be traced back quite a few years before its general release. Today, it's open-source, you can self-host it (I'm going to use Docker), and it's free on the Professional tier according to the most recent sign-up page I used. There are plenty of subscription options that offer more features.
In PenPot, I wanted to do something a bit more complex with the tile card. First off, I find PenPot's shortcuts much simpler. It took a moment to get used to the concept of boxes (the canvas within a canvas where you build your project). I'll say up front that there is a bit of a learning curve compared to Canva, but once you get into the workflow, it's actually quite simple.
The interface is less cluttered and most of the menus I use don't require a shortcut or even an extra click to open. Layers, Assets, and Tokens are always available on the left, the canvas/work areas sit in the middle, and design elements live on the right side of the screen.
I put together a thumbnail for a Linux-related video. I started with the background design, which I made transparent and cropped tightly to provide a nice blue background. Then, I added a PNG image featuring various Linux logos. After that, I put my favorite TV static image as an overlay and changed the transparency. No slider or bar; I just hit 2 to get it how I wanted it. I applied a similar change to the background (9 this time). I also put a color burn on my static overlay.
It turned out great, but exporting was a little bit of a challenge.
For this test, I made two YouTube title cards with a canvas size of 1280 x 720. The first, in Canva, is for a retro-game themed video. In Canva, I used layers and transparency to build out the design. It handled the background image quite well, but it did give me a little bit of trouble with saving and refreshing.
It was incredibly easy and intuitive to adjust layer transparency, re-arrange assets, and get the overall look/feel of my design. Overall, Canva is quite good for making this kind of multi-layered image.
One thing I dislike about modern apps is the icon-based menu layout. I prefer shortcuts or labeled menus. I looked up a shortcut that I found useful in Canva: ALT + 1 for the layer menu. On the downside, the shortcut support in Canva feels a bit limited for certain actions. Tools like crop and resize are easily found in the menu, though.
It's no secret that I prefer self-hosting and using open-source software whenever possible. That doesn't mean I won't use a subscription or a cloud-based app. I do on occasion, especially if I'm away from my desktop computer.
Canva honestly gets a bit of an edge for its mobile app. If I'm out and about, I can quickly and easily put together an image. This can come in handy for folks who are mobile-first/prefer mobile or if you can't be near your computer. The desktop version is easier for me to navigate than the app, but it offers similar features. Since Canva is SaaS software, you sadly can't self-host it.
