Canva and Adobe Express both help you make social posts, flyers, menus and short videos without hiring a designer. Both have free plans and paid plans. The free plans differ more than you might expect, and that is often what decides it for a small business.
All facts below come from the Canva pricing page and the Adobe Express pricing page, as of October 2026. Prices can differ by country.
The short verdict
- Pick Canva if you want a very large template library, a team plan with brand controls, or you already share designs with people who use Canva.
- Pick Adobe Express if you want background removal and post scheduling on the free plan, or you already use other Adobe apps.
Free plans
Canva Free includes:
- Templates and stock media, with a smaller library than the paid plans.
- 1 Brand Kit for your colours, fonts and logos.
- 5GB of cloud storage.
- Limited use of Canva's AI tools.
The Canva free plan does not include Magic Resize, the photo background remover or the Social Content Planner.
Adobe Express Free includes:
- Templates, Adobe Stock assets and more than 4,000 fonts.
- Image background removal as a quick action.
- A content scheduler for 1 account per social network.
- 5GB of storage.
- Free daily AI generations, with limits.
If you want to cut out product photos and schedule posts without paying, Adobe Express's free plan covers both. On Canva, those start on Pro.
Paid plans
Canva has three paid plans:
- Pro, for one person. Adds Magic Resize, photo and video background removal, the Social Content Planner, 5 Brand Kits, 100GB of storage and more AI use.
- Business, for individuals and small teams. Adds team invites, Brand Controls, 100 Brand Kits and 500GB of storage.
- Enterprise, for larger organisations, priced by talking to sales.
Canva shows prices in your local currency, so check the pricing page for yours. Pro and Business both have a free trial, and paying yearly costs less than monthly.
Adobe Express has two paid plans for most small businesses:
- Premium, US$9.99 a month in the US, billed monthly with no annual commitment. Adds premium templates, more than 30,000 fonts, one-click resize, image and video background removal, 250 generative credits a month and scheduling for 3 accounts per social network. There is a 30-day free trial.
- Teams, priced per seat with a minimum of 2 seats. Adds brand controls and template locking, and 1TB of storage per user, pooled across the team.
Brand consistency
Both tools let you save your logo, colours and fonts so every design matches. Canva calls these Brand Kits: 1 on Free, 5 on Pro, 100 on Business. Adobe Express includes brand kits on Premium and Teams, and Teams adds template locking.
If you have not written your brand basics down yet, start with a brand style guide. It makes either tool faster to use.
Making one design fit every channel
A post for Instagram, a story and a LinkedIn image all need different sizes. Canva's Magic Resize and Adobe Express's one-click resize both do this on paid plans. On the free plans, you resize by hand or start a new design.
Scheduling posts
Canva's Social Content Planner is included from Pro upward. Adobe Express includes a content scheduler on every plan: 1 account per network on Free and 3 on Premium. If you only need simple scheduling, this may save you a separate tool. For more scheduling options, see Hootsuite alternatives for small business.
How to decide
- List what you make most. Social posts, flyers, product images or short videos.
- Check what you need for free. Background removal and scheduling are the big differences.
- Think about your team. One person, or several people who need the same brand files.
- Make the same design in both. Pick a real task, such as a sale post, and see which feels quicker.
Good photos help in either tool. See product photography tips and pair your designs with strong Instagram captions.