While Canva remains a popular option to use for social media management, there are also a lot of other tools available online that are worth looking into. Some of these options may have some additional features not offered in Canva, while others might just be easier to use.
Regardless, we’re going to take a look at 5 different alternatives to Canva that can help you enhance your social media management. Let’s dive in!
1. Buffer
Buffer is a social media management tool that allows users to create, publish, analyze, and engage with various online content. While users cannot create their content on Buffer itself, it remains an effective tool that can help with managing promotional business content online.
Why Choose Buffer Over Canva?
✅Scheduled Posts
✅Analytics and Insights
✅Collaboration Feature
With these features in mind, however, it should be noted that Buffer itself can be integrated with Canva. So, while you may want to use Buffer as your social media management tool, you can still use it with Canva for designing purposes.
2. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a marketing platform that can help businesses with managing content online. Particularly, Hootsuite allows social media managers to keep track of various accounts as well as implement scheduled posts, and track analytics simultaneously.
Why Choose Hootsuite Over Canva?
✅Manage various social media simultaneously
✅Schedule and post content
✅Audience engagement features
Similar to Buffer, Hootsuite is a great option if you’re simply looking for a social media marketing platform that can accompany your designs on Canva. Through its integration feature, you can simply load up your designs from Canva on Hootsuite with ease.
3. Later
Later is another marketing management tool that helps businesses schedule and monitor social media posts and insights from one dashboard. As opposed to other platforms, Later is more focused on businesses that mainly market their content on Instagram and TikTok.
Why Choose Later Over Canva?
✅Analytics and Data on Social Media Platforms
✅Campaign Collaboration
✅Schedule and auto-post
While the two share similar features, Later is the better option if you are looking for a platform that can help you manage your social media content. Unlike Canva, Later can help you monitor your content rather than just help you create it.
4. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a useful tool for businesses to keep track of and manage various social media pages simultaneously. Sprout Social also helps with managing audience engagement through its AI-automated chatbots.
Why Choose Sprout Social Over Canva?
✅AI-powered analytics tools
✅Social Listening
✅Multiple social media platform integration
If you’re looking for a marketing tool that can help you in terms of publishing, monitoring, and analytics, Sprout Social is the better choice over Canva. While you cannot design content directly on the app, it is better in terms of enhancing your audience engagement across various platforms.
5. PosterMyWall
PosterMyWall is an all-in-one and affordable social media marketing platform that can help businesses create content as well as post it on their social media pages. Through PosterMyWall’s thousands of free templates online, businesses can easily create promotional content that they can post directly from the app.
Why Choose PosterMyWall Over Canva?
✅AI writer, AI images, AI background remover, AI subtitles, AI voice
✅Social media publishing tools
✅Design and publish emails
Among the other options, PosterMyWall stands as the most similar to Canva in terms of acting as a design software. If you’re looking for an all-in-one marketing tool that can help you generate and manage content like AI images, however, PosterMyWall is the better option. Unlike Canva, PosterMyWall is simply equipped with more marketing tools that can be especially useful for business promotion.
Comparison of Features
Depending on your business needs, one social media marketing tool may work better for you than others. To help you decide which app you can best utilize, here is a more detailed breakdown of each platform and its corresponding features:
| Feature | Buffer | Hootsuite | Later | Sprout Social | PosterMyWall |
| Social Media Graphics | ❌Integration with design tools only | ❌Integration with design tools only | ❌Integration with design tools only | ❌No design tool | ✅All-in-one design tool for social media marketing ✅Templates and layouts for all marketing niches |
| Generate Captions | ✅AI assistant | ✅AI Caption Generator for Different Social Media Platforms | ✅AI Caption Generator specifically for Instagram | ✅AI caption generator | ✅AI writer |
| Schedule Content/Post | ✅Schedule post on top platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. ✅Auto-publish ✅Calendar view | ✅Schedule post to top platforms simultaneously ✅Bulk schedule up to 350 posts | ❌Schedule post on Instagram and TikTok only | ✅Plan and schedule posts in advance across various social media | ✅Content planner ✅Design and publish emails ✅Social media publishing and scheduling tools |
| Audience Engagement | ✅Respond to comments from dashboard | ✅Respond to comments from dashboard ✅Social listening feature for important keywords, mentions, and hashtags | ❌Reply on Instagram and TikTok only | ✅AI-powered replies and message priority features | ❌Respond to comments from dashboard |
Which Can Work Best for You?
If you’ve already compared the specific features per platform but are still confused about which can best work for your business, here are a few more details you may want to consider when choosing your perfect Canva alternative:
| Feature | Buffer | Hootsuite | Later | Sprout Social | PosterMyWall |
| Pricing | ✅Free ✅Essentials: $5/ month ✅Team: $10/ month | ❌Free ✅Professional: $99/month ✅Team: $249/month ✅Enterprise: Custom | ❌Free ✅Starter: $16.67/month ✅Growth: $30/month ✅Advanced: $53.33/month ✅Agency: $133.33/month ✅Enterprise: Custom | ❌Free ✅Standard: $199/month ✅Professional: $299/month ✅Advanced: $399/month ✅Enterprise: Custom | ✅Free ✅Premium: $9.95/month ✅Premium Plus: $29.95/month |
| Ease of use | Best for medium to large businesses | Best for medium to large businesses | Best for small to medium businesses | Best for large businesses | Best for small to medium businesses |
| AI-driven functionality | ✅AI assistant | ✅OwlyWriter to generate captions, match style, and eliminate typos | ✅AI Writer for Instagram only | ✅AI tools for engagement, publishing, analytics, social listening, and advocacy | ✅AI Background remover ✅AI writer ✅AI image generator ✅AI voice ✅AI subtitles |
Best AI-Powered Canva Alternative Depending on Your Needs
Depending on the nature of your business, certain applications may benefit you more than others. So, if you’re still searching for the best AI-powered Canva alternative for your marketing needs, here are some recommendations for different cases:
Business Size
The size of your business will play a key role in choosing which AI-powered tool you want to invest in. Here is a quick guide that can help you see which apps can fit your business size:
- Best for medium to large businesses: Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social
- Best for small to medium businesses: Later and PosterMyWall
Goals
Your business goals will also greatly affect which apps you should invest in. Here are some sample goals your business might have and which apps can best suit them:
- Primarily AI-powered functionality: Sprout Social and PosterMyWall
- Focus on Instagram and TikTok Marketing: Later
- Wide-range social media marketing: Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and PosterMyWall
- Content creation and social media marketing: PosterMyWall
Budget
Since not all marketing budgets are made equal, you’re going to want to invest in an app that can give you the maximum advantages for the most affordable price depending on your needs. Here is a quick reference guide in terms of the costs of each app:
- Small budget: Buffer and PosterMyWall
- Medium budget: Later and Buffer
- Large budget: Hootsuite and Sprout Social
Enhance Your Social Media Management Today
While certain marketing apps may be more popular among businesses, it’s important to remember that your mileage may vary when it comes to your promotional goals. So, take a look at these apps and get started with revamping your marketing strategy today!