A free Canva alternative
A design canvas on your computer, with no subscription, using your photos and your logo. Whatever you design can still be moved and changed.
A design you can keep editing
You don’t get a flat PNG back: every box, text and color stays editable. When it’s ready, export it as PNG, SVG or PDF.
With your photos and your logo
The desktop app finds the photo you describe on your drive, so the design starts from your own material. For a cover, a thumbnail or a social post, that matters more than having a million stock images.
What it does well
Social posts with big text and a logo, covers and thumbnails with their variations, simple presentations, diagrams and one-page PDFs. For diagrams, in fact, Excalidraw beats Canva.
Polimake and Canva, side by side
| Polimake | Canva | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free with limits; Pro is paid |
| Templates | No template library | Hundreds of thousands |
| Stock photos and videos | Not included: you use your own | Yes, many of them in Pro |
| Where it runs | Windows, offline | Browser and apps |
| Real-time collaboration | No | Yes |
| Design file format | Open (Excalidraw) | Canva’s own |
When Canva is still the better choice
- If you work from templates: there’s no template library, and that’s the biggest difference.
- If you need stock photos and videos included.
- If your team edits the same design at the same time.
- If you’re after refined typography or a luxury look: Excalidraw’s natural style leans toward sketchy.
Download
Free, no card and no trial. Windows only for now.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a free app like Canva with no subscription?
- Polimake’s desktop app includes a free design canvas for Windows, with no subscription and nothing to upload. It doesn’t have Canva’s template catalog: it’s built for designing with your own material.
- What formats can I export to?
- PNG, SVG and PDF. The original design is saved in Excalidraw’s open format, so you can reopen it and keep editing.
- Can I import my Canva designs?
- Not directly. You can reuse the original images and logos you have on your computer.
- What other free Canva alternatives are there?
- Adobe Express, the most similar, with templates and a free plan; Microsoft Designer, with AI image generation; and Photopea, a Photoshop-style editor that runs in the browser. All three work in the cloud. Polimake is the pick if you want to design on your computer, with no subscription, starting from your own photos.