Canva Craft AI image generator tested against ChatGPT's free tool

Canva launches Craft, its first AI image model

Canva has launched Canva Craft, the design platform's first in-house AI image generator. The model creates visuals to drop straight into design projects, and Canva highlights uses such as social media posts, marketing materials, lifestyle photos, digital art, characters and nature scenes.

The launch prompted TechRadar to run a comparison. The publication pitted the free version of Canva against the free version of ChatGPT across five image tests, using prompts that reflected the examples Canva gave in its announcement, such as product photography and blog imagery.

How the head-to-head test worked

According to TechRadar, Canva Craft presents several options each time it generates an image, while ChatGPT usually produces one, occasionally offering two side by side and asking the user to pick a favourite. In each test the reviewer took the first option from both tools to keep the comparison fair.

A winner was chosen for each prompt based on the reviewer's personal preference, weighing how realistic the result looked, whether it matched the brief, and whether it could realistically be used in design work.

ChatGPT wins on realism, Canva Craft keeps it close

The two tools performed most evenly on product photography. TechRadar reports that both produced convincing images of a silver flip phone on a stone pedestal, with believable lighting and textures. Anyone wanting a specific real product would still need a very detailed prompt, since the phones in the images do not exist.

A flat lay of desk items showed sharper differences. Both results looked plausible for a blog or social post, but the reviewer felt Canva's version was less realistic when zoomed in, particularly the textures and the coffee, although its lighting was more interesting.

The clearest gap appeared in a lifestyle photo of a woman outside a café. TechRadar judged Canva Craft's image as basic, with overly smooth skin and a mouth that did not line up properly. ChatGPT's version, by contrast, showed natural skin texture and no visible inconsistencies the reviewer could find.

Posters and surreal images split the results

On a poster design for a fictional art exhibition, both tools rendered text correctly and chose almost identical colour palettes and layouts. TechRadar found Canva's version slightly busier with extra detail, while the ChatGPT poster felt more impactful, though only narrowly.

For a surreal, nostalgic blog image, the reviewer was not satisfied with either result. Canva Craft was judged marginally better because its picture followed the brief more clearly, whereas ChatGPT's output came across as too distorted. Overall, the reviewer preferred ChatGPT's image generation but was surprised by how close Canva Craft came and how realistic its results were.

Usage limits favour ChatGPT for most people

The practical difference lies in pricing and allowances. Canva gives every user a monthly AI allowance. On the free plan that allowance is small: TechRadar notes a free user can expect to use it up in about five prompts, since each prompt returns several options, working out at roughly 20 images a month.

Paying Canva users get a larger allowance that depends on their plan. TechRadar cites Canva Pro at $18 in the US, £13 in the UK and AU$20 in Australia, though its notes cut off before detailing the full allowance. For most people, the reviewer concluded, ChatGPT makes more sense on usage, but the choice may come down to whether a user already works inside Canva.