Crello Review (2024) – Best Canva Alternative?

Crello is an online graphic designing tool that has gained a lot of popularity in the past few years.

They claim that with Crello, it’s easy to create unique and professional-looking designs in a variety of formats, anywhere and anytime!
It’s time to find the truth!!!

I’ve used online design tools such as Canva Pro and Pixelied in the past. Now, after using Crello for a few months to design images for my blog, social media, and YouTube, I am here with the Crello Review.

In this Crello Review, we will talk about Crello’s user interface, discover its distinguishing features, check out its Customer Support and Pricing plans, go over its 6 pros and 2 cons, and find out if it is worth purchasing!
AND is this the perfect alternative for Canva?  

P.S. 1 – I have also compared the Free and Pro plans of Crello to help you decide which one’s suitable for you. So, wasting no more time, let’s just get straight into our Review.

P.S 2 – I also have a special Crello Pro Coupon code for you.

Crello Review

Kripesh Adwani

Templates
Ease of Use
Pricing
Support
Animated Templates

Summary

Crello really shines in providing unique image templates & animiated video templates. Their animated collection is really good for a budget design tool.

3.9

Disclaimer : I strongly believe in transparency. If you buy using the links on our site, we may earn a small commission without any extra cost to you. This helps me to keep producing honest reviews. Read More >>

About Crello

Crello is a cloud-based graphics and image editing tool launched by DepositPhotos, a royalty-free stock photos company. According to a recent update in October 2023, Crello has been acquired by Vista and is now rebranded as VistaCreate.

With this new update, Vista, as a company will become unbeatable in the design market. They now have three powerful and efficient tools for freelancers and small businesses including:

  • VistaCreate for creating unique and professional designs
  • 99 Designs by Vista for getting logos and brand assets designed by professionals.
  • VistaPrint for digitally printing designs on siting cards, pens, flyers, stickers, mugs, etc.

With Crello, you get access to a fully integrated design library of 50 million royalty free files. You can quickly create professional-looking social media posts, blog covers, ads, flyers, marketing materials, ebooks, magazines, storyboards, and a lot more!

You don’t need professional designing skills to create graphics anymore! Choose from thousands of ready-made attractive templates, or design beautiful images from scratch using the powerful editing tools of Crello.

Crello Interface

The interface of Crello is attractive, clean, and easy to use even for a beginner who has used no graphic designing tools before.

Crello Web UI

On the top-left corner, you have the option to select from 16 different languages. This is highly convenient for users belonging to different countries!

An easily accessible search bar helps you quickly type in your keyword and filter the results according to various design formats.

Crello has placed the remaining tabs on the header section, so the interface doesn’t look cluttered. 

Crello Web UI templates

If you scroll down the home page, you will find their featured templates, latest added templates, and their template collection arranged according to post formats.

I really liked the Interface of Crello. It’s pleasing, organised, and user-friendly.  

Crello Editor

Crello’s Editor supports the drag-and-drop upload function, so you can save up the time spent in selecting and uploading your files. The Editor also has loads of features and settings that you can tinker with. 

The left side panel features all the design elements that you can use, like images, videos, animations, music, text, and more. I have discussed them below in detail. So keep reading!

Crello Editor

It also has helpful features like:

  • Fill function: Fills color into any design element
  • Flip function: Flips any element vertically or horizontally
  • Transparency: Adjusts visibility of any element on a scale of 0-100
  • Animation Effects: Help create interactive designs

And not just that, you also get options to 

  • Crop an image
  • Add borders of varying thickness, types, and colors.
  • Adjust photo settings
  • Apply filters
  • Adjust layers
  • Set an alignment
  • Lock your primary layer, and 
  • Copy or trash any element from the page.
Crello Editor 2

Finally, on the top right corner, you get options to

  • Resize
  • Download
  • Share, or
  • Present

your created design! 

So, the Crello Editor is jam-packed with powerful and useful features to make your editing experience even more smooth!

Now, let us dive into all these features in detail.

Crello Features

1.Templates

Crello has an immense collection of 30k+ static and animated graphic design templates! 

Crello Templates

You can swiftly create elegant and striking designs for around 80 image formats. 

These include Facebook posts, Instagram stories, Blog banners, YouTube channel art, Business cards, Invitations, Tiktok video, ads, flyers, banners, animated logos, certificates, T-shirt prints, E-book covers, resume templates and so much more!

Crello’s templates are unique and innovative, unlike Canva, which has very common templates easily identified by literally anyone. 

3.Import and Export Functions

Crello is quite good in terms of file import features. You can easily import image files up to 50 MB size in PNG, JPG, and JPEG formats.

For video files, up to 200 MB of files can be imported in MP4 and MOV formats.

I wish Crello had the option to import SVG files as well. Both Pixelied and Canva Pro support SVG file imports. I hope they integrate this feature in their software soon. 

Crello Export

Talking about the Export functions, Crello lets you export your files in the following formats:

  • JPG
  • PNG
  • PNG Transparent
  • PDF standard
  • PDF print
  • MP4
  • GIF

Well, I find Pixelied, which is a new tool, better than Crello in terms of Export functions. It even supports the modern formats like SVG and WEBP for its users’ convenience!

3. Photos

Crello holds a vast collection of over 650k+ premium stock photos provided by Lightfield Productions (developed by DepositPhotos), so you will never run out of inspiration. 

Crello Photos

While looking for images, you can either use their collection of free stock images or download their Premium images from DepositPhotos at a small price. 

I found their photos collection to be unique. You can surely make use of them to make your designs stand out!

4. Videos

Want stock video footage for your designs? Crello features over 32k+ full HD videos and animations so you have unlimited options to choose from and create the perfect design!

Crello Videos

To preview a particular video or animation, you can hover your mouse pointer over it. It’s a very simple and friendly feature. 

5. Music

You would agree that music plays a very important part in creating an impactful video. 

Crello Music

With Crello, you can choose your favorite soundtracks from 29 different genres including Calm, Ambient, Disco, Classical, Pop, Sad, Scary, and more! Along with that, you are free to upload your own music in MP3 or WAV formats as well.

6. Animations

Under animations, you will find thousands of animates objects, from emojis, to stickers, frames, banners, shapes, and web elements! 

Crello Animations

Just type in your keyword in the search bar, and you will find an animated object to use in your design. Hovering over it will preview the animation. 

Their animation collection is so much fun to use! It’s useful while creating social media posts, Instagram stories, etc.

7. Objects

The Principles of Graphic Design suggest that every good design needs to have some essential elements. You will find them in all Crello’s Objects tab.

Crello Objects

Crello Objects includes everything from shapes, and lines to web elements, icons, frames, charts, arrows, emojis, stickers, doodles, illustrations, etc. 

You won’t need another software for designing graphics when you can effortlessly design alluring images with the Crello tool!

Honestly, Crello is far more advanced than Pixelied’s illustrations or Elements collection, but I prefer the Icons collection of Pixelied more.

8. Backgrounds

This is one of Crello’s features that I fell in love with! Unlike Pixelied or Canva that only provide basic colored backgrounds and images, Crello offers advanced filters and categories for Backgrounds.

Crello Background

You can either 

  • Choose solid colors from the color palette
  • Try out color variations from the presets 
  • Select from hundreds of striking Patterns , or
  • Choose premium photos for backgrounds (on extra charges)

9. Text

Crello uses the Google Font Library, so you can find a wide range of fonts here.

Crello Text templates

Along with that, it has over 75+ pre-designed text templates to choose from, and you can even upload your own fonts in TTF or OTF formats.

Overall, the Text templates are decent, but they definitely improve their collection.

10. Resize tool

Sometimes we accidentally end up creating an image in the wrong format. But how to fix this? Use Crello’s Resize tool.

Crello Resize tool

Click on the Resize button available on the top right corner. Choose your preferred format over 60+ design formats, and it’s done! It works smoothly in both the web version and the mobile app.

Crello’s Resize tool is useful while creating the same designs for multiple social media platforms.

However, it only resizes the canvas and not the elements present on it, which is somewhat inconvenient. Canva Pro’s Resize tool works much more efficiently!

11. Crello Presentation

While creating videos, animated graphics, or presentations comprising multiple pages, the Present feature is really helpful. 

Crello Present feature

Clicking on the Present icon lets you view your designed image/video as a slide show in the full-screen mode!

I found Crello’s Presentation feature quite basic. Canva, on the other hand, lets you record and present your slideshows even with its free plan!

12. Crello Sharing 

Crello allows you to share your design 

  • through a link
  • Share on Facebook or Facebook Ads Manager
  • Directly share to other social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, and Pinterest!
Crello Sharing

These social media integrations make file sharing fast and convenient.

Well, these were the features available in the free version. Now let’s talk about some advanced features available in the Pro Version.

13. Background Remover 

With the Background Remover tool of Crello, erasing backgrounds from any image is a cakewalk!

Crello Background Remover Tool

Though it takes some time to work, the end results are satisfying! And unlike Pixelied’s Background Remover, there are no limit on background removals per month.

However, Canva Pro’s Background Remover even offers an erase function to manually remove anything you wish from the image. I wish Crello could add that functionality too!

14. Collaboration

Just like Canva and Pixelied, Crello provides collaboration options to their Pro plan users too. 

Crello Collaboration Feature

With a Pro Subscription, you get access to a Team account, where you can invite up to 10 people to collaborate on your designs. 

I think it’s a very useful feature. You can work together with your graphic design team on a single space using this feature! But, the collaboration functionality is limited to its website, and cannot be accessed on its mobile apps.

15. Brand Kit


If you are a company or own a brand, then this feature is for you! Crello has recently introduced its Brand Kit feature that lets you align all your designs as per your brand’s identity in no time!

Crello Pro brand kit


Crello allows you to create unlimited Brand Kits where you can:

  • Add unlimited colors to its color palette
  • Add unlimited number of brand logos
  • Choose from a variety of fonts for headings and general text

I liked using this feature, but it’s not as convenient and simple as the Brand Kit of Canva Pro.

It doesn’t apply all changes with a single click, and also doesn’t support uploading custom fonts. I hope they will bring more improvements to their Brand Kit soon.

16. Crello Unlimited

After a lot of requests, Crello has finally launched the most awaited feature! Crello Unlimited works like an enormous stock asset library for the Crello users.

Crello unlimited

You can now download media files including images, vectors, and videos from the Crello Library in high resolution and use them on your projects. These assets can be filtered by theme, mood, and categories. 

But, that’s not all. Do you know what’s the best part? There are no limits on the number of downloads. So, if you are a Crello Pro user, you can actually enjoy unlimited downloads from their collection of over a million assets! 

Crello Folder Management

The Folder Management is quite basic. You can create multiple folders and rename or delete them. However, advanced functions like creating sub-folders inside folders are not available. 

Crello Folder Management

Canva feels much better in terms of Folder Management. It lets you create sub-folders within folders. You can easily create, manage, share, or delete folders even from their mobile app!

Crello Mobile Apps 

Crello offers powerful mobile apps for Android and iOS devices, so you can swiftly design any time, anywhere from the comfort of your mobiles. 

Crello Mobile Apps

Though the mobile apps are quite heavy and lack some functions like animation, collaboration, backgrounds, etc, the user experience is super smooth and satisfying! 

I didn’t get to see any lags or bugs on its apps at all!

Crello Tutorials

Crello Design Tutorials

Crello Tutorials is a platform dedicated to educational content, where you can find some really informative video tutorials on topics like designing, basics of working with Crello, etc. 

Crello Pricing

Crello Free Plan: With the new upgrades to Crello, you now get unlimited downloads per month, along with access to 1 million stock images, videos and graphics, Background Removal Tool, Brand Kit, and a 10 GB of storage space on its free plan.

Crello Pro Plan: Its Pro plan is priced at $10/month, where you get access to over 50 million royalty free files, team accounts, background remover, multiple brand kits, premium design templates, videos and an additional collection of premium stock images!

If you’re interested, you can purchase Crello Pro through my link, and get an extra 25% discount on its yearly pricingThis will bring down the price to $72 per year for Crello Pro.

Crello also offers a 7-day free trial, so you can try out all its pro features and decide if it suits your needs.

And finally, if you’re really interested in buying this tool, you can purchase the Yearly Pro plan from AppSumo for just $67/year right now! 

Crello Coupon Code

Use my link to get Crello Pro at 25% OFF for $72 per year.

Crello Free vs Crello Pro

Crello FreeCrello Pro
Monthly Pricing$0$10
Background RemoverYesYes
SupportCan contact support by submitting email ticketOnline help with Live Chat support and priority support
CollaborationNoCan add up to 10 members for collaboration

How to Use Crello?

Crello is an extremely easy-to-use tool for beginners. You don’t need to know any designing skills to work with it. I loved experimenting with the variety of backgrounds and the resize tool.

If you wish to know more about how to use Crello, then you can follow their official Crello Tutorials page. 

Crello Referral Program

Crello offers a decent Referral Program. When you register on Crello, you get a unique referral link, using which you can refer up to 3 people to Crello. 

For every person you invite, you get 10 bonus downloads. So, with your Crello account, you can get upto 30 free downloads in total. 

Crello referral program

Later, if any of your referred users upgrade to a Pro plan, or renew their subscription, they get a 25% discount on their purchase, while you get to enjoy 30% of the commission. 

You can easily transfer this Bonus referral amount to your PayPal or Skrill account, or use it to upgrade your own plan, or even buy premium DepositPhotos images with it!

Crello Support

Crello recently added Live Chat support for its users. So, now you can easily get all your queries solved in no time!

You can submit your queries through an email ticket. They usually reply within a few hours.

Crello Support

Additionally, there are short, informative articles and FAQs on their Help Center to address the common questions and doubts. They also have a blog that is frequently updated with articles on design and general topics. 

Crello Pros

1.Mind Blowing Stock Collection

Crello has an outstanding collection of stock photos, videos, and animations to choose from.

2. Unique Templates

You can find a wide range of unique and interesting pre-designed templates to suit every post format!

3. Powerful Mobile Apps

It features powerful, complete, and smooth functioning mobile apps for Android and iOS.

4. Easy to use Interface

With convenient features like Search bar for all elements, drag-and-drop upload, hover to preview feature, and an overall organised look, Crello offers a user-friendly interface.

5. Helpful Collaboration Feature

With the Pro subscription, you can collaborate on your designs with a team of upto 10 members.

6. Decent Import and Export Options 

Though, it’s not as advanced as Canva Pro or Pixelied, the import and export formats offered are more than enough for normal users!

Crello Cons

1. Editing limited to Device

As of now, it’s impossible to view and edit the designs created on the Crello Mobile app in the web version, and vice versa. However, they are working on integrating this function into all devices. 

2. Functions Missing in Mobile App

The mobile app is powerful, but some features like Collaboration, Folder Management, Animation effects, Pages addition, Backgrounds, etc are not available. I hope they integrate them soon! 

Should You Use Crello?

Yes, absolutely! Crello is a powerful tool for creating engaging designs and animations on the go. 

It would be a perfect fit for graphic designers, social media marketers and managers, bloggers, content creators, students, YouTubers, small businesses, and anyone whose work revolves around visual content!

Overall, Crello is an amazing tool, and anyone having no prior knowledge of designing can use it. 

Conclusion

Crello is a impressive design tool which gives you access to over 50 million royalty free files, unlimited storage space, multiple brand kits and a variety of features to help you design more conveniently

. Where it really shines in is giving us unique templates and animated video posts in budget. I like the collection of animated templates & graphics.

So I suggest just browse through the Crello template section and see if they are of any help in your usage. If yes, then by all means go for Crello Pro. But at present, Canva Pro looks like a more affordable option!

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and found it informative. I hope this helps you decide if Crello is a suitable designing tool for your requirements. 

If you wish to stay updated with similar content, subscribing to my Newsletter would be a good decision!

So, will you be trying out the Free/Paid version of Crello? What other designing tools have you used? Let me know in the comments section below.

This is Kripesh signing off! Take care, keep learning, and I’ll be back with more insightful content soon. See you! 🙂 

Crello copy

 Crello Pros (+)

  • Mindblowing Stock Collection
  • Unique Templates
  • Powerful Mobile Apps
  • Easy to Use Interface
  • Helpful Collaboration Feature
  • Decent Import and Export Options

 Crello Cons (-)

  • Editing Limited to Device
  • Functions Missing in Mobile App

Photo of author

Kripesh Adwani

Kripesh Adwani is a digital tool expert who buys, tests, and reviews SAAS tools for small businesses. Based on 10+ years of experience in tech he provides insightful reviews. His content is widely consumed, serving millions of users each month. Kripesh has also been featured in more than 50 publications, including The Economic Times, The Free Press Journal & Cloudways.

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