Alternatives · Last reviewed October 20, 2026

PicMonkey alternatives for photo editing, design and AI edits

PicMonkey is a web and mobile photo editor and graphic design maker for social images, ads, logos and branding, with Shutterstock stock images and an iOS app sold by Shutterstock. People look elsewhere because downloading or sharing an image requires a subscription, the background remover is Pro only and not in the trial, and its homepage mentions no AI image generator or prompt-based editing. Canva is the closest design suite with AI tools, Adobe Express fits template work with free daily AI generations, BeFunky fits photo editing with Smart Edit, and Pixlr fits low-cost editing with many AI tools. ImageQuarry fits people who want to make and change images by describing them.

We make ImageQuarry, one of the alternatives below. PicMonkey and each alternative were compared on photo editing and design tools, AI editing, downloading without a subscription, background removal, platforms and price, using each vendor's public pages, checked October 20, 2026.

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Last updated October 20, 2026

PicMonkey alternatives at a glance

Tool	Best for	Price from	How it differs
Canva	Brand and social designers who want PicMonkey's design side plus AI tools	Free plan; Pro at US$18 a month month to month on its indexed pricing page (as of 2026-10)	Design suite with a free plan, Canva AI chat and Magic Edit
Adobe Express	Social and marketing designers who want templates and AI without a card	Free plan, no card required; Adobe Express Monthly $9.99 in the iOS app (as of 2026-10)	Templates and Firefly AI features on a free plan without a credit card
BeFunky	Photo-first editors who also make collages and graphics	Free with no account; Plus US$14.99 a month billed monthly (as of 2026-10)	Editor, collage maker and designer with Smart Edit, usable without an account
Pixlr	Budget users who want a browser editor with many AI tools	Free version; ad-free Plus at $2.49 a month billed monthly (as of 2026-10)	Browser editor with AI generation, generative fill and background removal
ImageQuarry	Making social and campaign images from a description and refining them in words	Monthly subscription: Starter $9, Pro $29 (as of 2026-10)	Create an image from words, then refine it version by version

What is PicMonkey?

PicMonkey says it lets you "Power your brand with photo editing and design", covering social images, ads, logos and branding. It offers templates, touch-up tools, Primo effects, a font library, a one-click background remover, Smart Resize and brand kits, plus stock images from Shutterstock. Business adds real-time co-editing, commenting and shared folders for teams. It runs on the web and in apps for iPhone and Android, and its iOS app is sold by Shutterstock Inc.

PicMonkey is an editor and design maker; its homepage does not mention generating images or editing them from a written prompt.

PicMonkey pricing

PicMonkey's pricing page metadata says subscriptions start at $72.00 a year or $7.99 a month; Pro and Business amounts load client side and were not visible, so the Pro prices below come from the US App Store listing. You can create for free, but downloading or sharing needs a subscription. A 7-day free trial is advertised. Prices as of October 2026, from picmonkey.com. Check the vendor for current pricing.

Product	Plan	Price	Includes
PicMonkey	Basic	$7.99 per month	1 GB storage, JPG or PNG exports, templates and touch-up tools; from $72.00 a year
PicMonkey	Pro (iOS)	$12.99 per month	PicMonkey Pro Monthly; Pro Yearly $119.99; Basic Annual $71.99 in the app
PicMonkey	Pro features	Not shown on the web per month or year	Unlimited storage, PDF export, Smart Resize, Brand Kit, background remover
PicMonkey	Business	Not shown per for teams of 2 or more	Multiple brand kits, real-time co-editing, commenting, shared folders, seat management

Prices as of 2026-10

What PicMonkey does well

Editing and design in one tool

PicMonkey combines photo editing with templates and design for social images, ads, logos and branding.

Shutterstock stock built in

The homepage offers stock images from Shutterstock, and the iOS app is sold by Shutterstock Inc.

Brand tools on Pro

Pro adds Smart Resize, a Brand Kit, unlimited storage and PDF export from the web.

Built for teams on Business

Business adds real-time co-editing, commenting, shared folders and seat and permission management.

Web, iPhone and Android

The desktop editor, design tools and collage maker run on the web, with apps for iPhone and Android; the background remover is in both apps too.

Where PicMonkey falls short

Downloads need a subscription

You can create for free, but "when you want to download or share an image, you'll need to subscribe".

No AI generation or prompt editing mentioned

The homepage mentions no AI image generator, text to image or prompt-based editing, and the background remover is described as automatic without calling it AI.

Background remover is Pro only

The background remover is included with Pro and is not available in the trial.

Basic exports are limited

Basic exports JPG or PNG only and has 1 GB of storage.

Web prices are partly hidden

Pro and Business amounts render client side and were not in the fetched pricing page.

Why people look for a PicMonkey alternative

You want to download finished images without paying first, and PicMonkey requires a subscription to download or share.
You want AI tools such as image generation or edits you describe, which PicMonkey's homepage does not mention.
You need background removal without moving up to Pro, and it is not in the trial either.
You want to compare plans before signing up, and PicMonkey's Pro and Business web prices were not visible.

The 5 PicMonkey alternatives

Ordered by how much of PicMonkey's editing and design work each one covers while also answering the reasons above (downloads before paying, AI tools, background removal). ImageQuarry is last: it answers only the AI editing reason and has no templates or design tools.

1. Canva

Best for: Brand and social designers who want PicMonkey's design side plus AI tools

How it differs from PicMonkey: Canva covers the same brand and social design work as PicMonkey and adds AI on top. Its indexed help pages describe text to image generation, Magic Edit for changing a brushed area by description, and Canva AI 2.0 for refining a design in chat, and its free plan includes up to 20 AI tool uses a month.

Price: Free plan; Pro at US$18 a month month to month on its indexed pricing page (as of 2026-10)

Limitation: Canva's pricing comes from search indexed copies of its page that disagree with each other, and chat refinement with Canva AI needs a paid plan.

Visit Canva

2. Adobe Express

Best for: Social and marketing designers who want templates and AI without a card

How it differs from PicMonkey: Adobe Express is a template-based design app for social posts, images, videos and flyers, close to PicMonkey's use. Its free plan needs no credit card and includes free daily generations for Generate Image, Insert and Remove Objects and background removal, which PicMonkey keeps behind Pro.

Price: Free plan, no card required; Adobe Express Monthly $9.99 in the iOS app (as of 2026-10)

Limitation: Free version history lasts 10 days, and typed editing through the AI Assistant is a limited beta for Premium on desktop in US English.

Visit Adobe Express

3. BeFunky

Best for: Photo-first editors who also make collages and graphics

How it differs from PicMonkey: BeFunky combines a photo editor, collage maker and graphic designer, much like PicMonkey, and lets you use it with no account. It adds Smart Edit, where you describe a change in natural language, plus a Background Remover, Object Eraser and Image Expander.

Price: Free with no account; Plus US$14.99 a month billed monthly (as of 2026-10)

Limitation: BeFunky names none of its AI models, and monthly AI credits do not roll over.

Visit BeFunky

4. Pixlr

Best for: Budget users who want a browser editor with many AI tools

How it differs from PicMonkey: Pixlr is a browser editor and collage maker with 20+ tools, usable without an account, and it adds what PicMonkey's homepage does not mention: an AI image generator, Generative Fill, an AI Assistant that applies a described change, and background and object removal. It also runs on iOS, Android and desktop.

Price: Free version; ad-free Plus at $2.49 a month billed monthly (as of 2026-10)

Limitation: Pixlr's terms give it a broad license over AI content you publish on the platform, and Plus includes only 80 AI credits a month.

Visit Pixlr

5. ImageQuarry

Best for: Making social and campaign images from a description and refining them in words

How it differs from PicMonkey: PicMonkey starts from your photo and a template and you edit by hand. ImageQuarry starts from a description or an uploaded image: you ask for a change, such as a new color direction, each request makes a new version, and finished work settles into named collections with its prompts and versions.

Price: Monthly subscription: Starter $9, Pro $29 (as of 2026-10)

Limitation: ImageQuarry has no templates, stock library or design layouts, and every plan is paid.

Who should stay with PicMonkey

You rely on Shutterstock stock images inside your editor.
Your team uses Business for real-time co-editing, commenting and shared folders.
You edit by hand with templates and touch-up tools and do not need AI generation.

How to try an alternative alongside PicMonkey

Download the designs you want to keep while your subscription is active, since downloading needs one.
Export layouts you may print as PDF from the web on Pro; Basic exports only JPG or PNG.
Note your Brand Kit colors and fonts so you can set them up again in the alternative.
Rebuild one social post and one photo edit in the alternative before you cancel; PicMonkey says you can cancel at any time.

Does not carry over: PicMonkey templates, Brand Kits, Shutterstock stock and shared folders stay in PicMonkey.

PicMonkey alternatives: questions

Is there a free alternative to PicMonkey?

Yes, as of October 2026. Canva lists a free plan on its indexed pricing page, Adobe Express has a free plan with no credit card, BeFunky works with no account, and Pixlr's free version needs no account. PicMonkey itself requires a subscription to download. Every ImageQuarry plan is paid.

Which PicMonkey alternative has AI image generation?

Canva and Adobe Express both list AI image generation, BeFunky has an AI Image Generator on its paid plans, and Pixlr names models such as Flux and Nano Banana 2. PicMonkey's homepage does not mention an AI image generator.

Which alternative removes backgrounds without a Pro plan?

Adobe Express gives free users free daily background removals, and Pixlr includes background removal among its tools. PicMonkey's background remover is Pro only and not in the trial.

What is the cheapest PicMonkey alternative?

Pixlr Plus costs $2.49 a month billed monthly, against $7.99 a month for PicMonkey Basic. Pixlr also has a free version.

How does ImageQuarry compare with PicMonkey?

PicMonkey is a hands-on editor and design maker with templates and stock. ImageQuarry creates an image from a description or an upload and changes it when you ask in words, keeping each version in projects. You pay $9 a month for Starter or $29 a month for Pro.

Sources

Checked October 20, 2026. Recheck public pages before making a buying decision.

Checked October 20, 2026

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Create an image. Edit it with words. Keep refining.

Start a social image from a sentence

Describe the image you need, ask for each change in words, and file the finished version in a collection.

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