Krita is the better app overall, scoring 8.7 to 8.5. Krita wins on 2 of the 5 scores, Canva on 3.
Digital painters and comic artists on a PC, Mac or Linux machine
Small businesses, students and creators making social posts, slides and flyers
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Krita | Canva |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Design & Creativity | Design & Creativity |
| Category rank | #5 of 10 | #7 of 10 |
| Developer | Krita Foundation | Canva |
| Pricing | Free | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | — | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Krita better than Canva?
Krita is the better app overall, scoring 8.7 to 8.5. Krita wins on 2 of the 5 scores, Canva on 3.
Which is cheaper, Krita or Canva?
Krita: Free from krita.org; optional paid store versions and donations fund development. Canva: Free plan; Pro and Business add premium content, brand tools and more AI use. On value for money, Krita scores higher.
Do Krita and Canva work on the same devices?
Only Krita runs on Linux. Only Canva runs on Web, iPhone & iPad.
Which is more private, Krita or Canva?
Krita scores higher on privacy (9.9/10). Krita says it does not access, collect, use, share or transmit any personal information. The Mac App Store label reads Data Not Collected, and Google Play lists no data collected.
Strengths and weaknesses
Krita
- Free and open source, with nothing paywalled
- Collects no personal data at all
- Runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android tablets
- Interface can feel cluttered and slow to start
- Android version is a tablet-only beta
- No iPad or iPhone version
Krita gives Windows, Mac and Linux painters a serious studio for free. You get flexible brush engines with stabilizers, drawing assistants, animation with onion skinning, comic panel tools and PSD support, and the 2026 releases rewrote the text tool. It's open source and collects no data at all. Expect a busier interface than Procreate, and the Android build is still a beta for tablets and Chromebooks only.
Full Krita review
Canva
- Very easy for non-designers to get good results
- Free plan covers most everyday projects
- Works on web, phone, tablet and desktop
- Content may train AI unless you opt out
- App Store label lists tracking identifiers
- Paid AI features draw reliability complaints
Canva makes it easy to produce a good-looking flyer, slide deck or Instagram post when you aren't a designer. Pick from a huge template library, drag in your photos and let the AI assistant draft designs for you. It also covers docs, websites, sheets, video and forms. The free plan goes a long way. Mind the privacy defaults: Canva can train AI on your content unless you opt out.
Full Canva review
