If you're looking to create stunning presentations, mock-ups, or graphics for social media, Canva is undoubtedly one of the go-to platforms.
With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface and vast library of templates, Canva has become a favorite for beginners and seasoned creators alike—myself included! I use it for practically everything design-related.
However, when it comes to video creation, Canva might not always offer the depth or specialized features some creators need. Whether you're aiming for a more professional touch or a tool specifically built for video, there are several fantastic alternatives that can make the process smoother and more customizable.
In this article, I’ll introduce you to the five best Canva alternatives for video creation, each with unique tools and features to help you take your projects to the next level.
What is Canva?
Canva is a popular online design tool that’s transformed how people create visuals, no matter their skill level. Launched in 2013, Canva quickly became a go-to for beginners and pros alike, thanks to its super-easy drag-and-drop interface, huge library of templates, and straightforward design tools.
If you’re not a pro at Photoshop or Illustrator, Canva makes creating high-quality designs accessible and fun.
With Canva, you can put together just about anything: social media graphics, presentations, posters, business cards, invitations, and more.
It offers a massive selection of pre-made templates to choose from, so if you’re short on time or ideas, there’s plenty to get you started. Even its free version gives you access to a wide range of resources, while Canva Pro unlocks even more templates, custom fonts, brand kits, and storage.
One of Canva’s biggest strengths is its simplicity.
It’s designed so anyone can quickly add, move, resize, or edit elements on the canvas.
You can personalize colors, fonts, and layouts, plus use handy extras like background removal, animations, and free stock images. It’s also fantastic for collaborating—teams can work together, leave comments, and make edits in real-time, which is ideal for marketing, educational, or business projects.
But, while Canva is an awesome all-around tool, it’s not perfect for everything—especially when it comes to video creation.
Canva does offer basic video tools like trimming and adding animations, but it lacks some of the control and advanced features needed for high-quality, professional videos.
For companies with strict brand guidelines, Canva’s templates and effects might feel too limited, especially if you need consistent, custom brand elements like lower-thirds or specific color grading.
That’s where some of Canva’s alternatives come in, offering specialized video editing tools with more options for customization and polish. In the next section, we’ll dive into five of the best options out there for creating videos that look great, feel unique, and meet any professional or brand standards you have.
What makes the best Canva alternative for video creation?
When choosing a Canva alternative for video creation, it’s helpful to look for features that not only enhance quality but also make it easier to maintain brand consistency.
Here’s what makes a standout alternative:
- Automated editing tools: For those looking to streamline the video creation process, automated editing tools are a huge advantage. These tools take care of the fine details—like smooth transitions, balanced color grading, and consistent formatting—ensuring that even non-designers can achieve a polished, professional finish. By automating aspects of the editing process, these tools help avoid the choppy or inconsistent look that can sometimes happen without design experience.
- Brand customization: For businesses with strict brand guidelines, brand-specific customization is essential. The top alternatives offer options to save brand colors, fonts, logos, and overlays, so you can create videos that reinforce your brand identity. This consistency makes it easier to apply brand assets to any project while keeping the overall look unified.
- User-friendly interface: Even with powerful features, the best tools are designed to be intuitive and easy to use. A great alternative combines advanced functionality with a user-friendly interface, making it possible to dive into video creation with minimal learning curve.
- Template variety and brand-friendly design: Unlike Canva’s broad, freeform customization, the best video platforms often feature structured, brand-friendly templates. This is especially useful for businesses, as these templates provide enough customization to make the video unique while keeping it on-brand. Structured templates help prevent off-brand designs and ensure a cohesive, professional look across all your content.
- Export and sharing options: Look for tools that offer flexible export settings and various file formats, so you can easily optimize videos for platforms like YouTube, Instagram, or internal presentations. Many top alternatives also include direct sharing options to simplify workflows.
- Collaboration features: For teams working together on video projects, collaboration tools are invaluable. The best Canva alternatives allow team members to comment, edit, and provide feedback in real time, which makes the production process smoother and more efficient.
- Stock media library: Access to a quality stock media library—complete with videos, images, music, and sound effects—can be a huge time-saver. The top alternatives come equipped with diverse, royalty-free assets that you can incorporate into your videos with ease.
Alternative 1: Storykit
Storykit description:
Storykit leverages AI to transform text into high-quality videos, streamlining the production of professional content for marketing and communication needs. It enables brand managers to efficiently scale video creation across their entire organization, maintaining consistent and on-brand messaging. By utilizing AI-driven templates, users can effortlessly convert various types of content—such as case studies, press releases, articles, and product details—into branded videos with just the input of text.
Storykit benefits:
- Ensures strict brand consistency
- Scalable video creation to meet high demands
- Supports multi-format video production from a single content input
- Large library of stock images and music
- Automatic resizing for different channels
- No video editing experience required
Storykit pricing:
- Storykit offers a trial period for new users and various payment plans tailored to the company's size and needs.
Alternative 2: Invideo review
Invideo description:
Invideo offers an extensive collection of templates, customizable elements, and editing tools, making it popular among content creators and businesses. It is good for creating content tailored for social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Invideo benefits:
- User-friendly and intuitive interface
- Extensive media library with high-quality stock videos
- AI-driven video creation
- Real-time collaboration tools
- Wide selection of video templates
- Real-time collaboration tools
Invideo pricing:
- Invideo offers a free plan along with paid plans ideal for small businesses, educators, influencers, agencies, and larger teams.
Alternative 3: Promo
Promo description:
Promo features a vast library of templates, music tracks, and stock footage, allowing businesses to quickly assemble high-quality videos optimized for social media. Promo also includes marketing analytics tools to help track video performance.
Promo benefits:
- Extensive range of templates and stock imagery
- Direct posting from the platform
- Brand extraction from your website
- AI creation capabilities
Promo pricing:
- Promo offers free and paid options depending on the number of users and features needed.
Alternative 4: PlayPlay
PlayPlay description:
PlayPlay is an online video creation tool that features customizable templates for various needs. It incudes special features such as an AI-powered video assistant and a premium stock library.
PlayPlay benefits:
- Simple drag-and-drop functionality
- Wide range of templates for different business needs
- AI-powered features
- Premium stock library
- Automatic subtitling
PlayPlay pricing:
- PlayPlay provides a free trial for new users and various paid plans based on company size and requirements.
Alternative 5: Lumen5
Lumen5 description:
Lumen5 takes text and transforms it into video presentations. The platform extracts media from content pages using AI and recommends relevant images and video clips, simplifying the video creation process. This makes it a helpful tool for marketers looking to repurpose content.
Lumen5 benefits:
- Intuitive user interface
- Talking head abilities
- Video creation from blogs
- Automatic caption generation
- Drag-and-drop templates
Lumen5 pricing:
- Lumen5 offers three distinct paid plans tailored to meet the needs of individuals and companies.
Choosing the best Canva alternative for you
Canva is a great platform for designing creative videos, but if you're still undecided, consider trying the free plans and trials offered by these alternatives. While comparison guides are helpful, hands-on experience is the best way to find the right tool for you.
Start a free trial or book a demo with Storykit to discover its full potential for your business.
