Linearity
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it if you design on iPad or Mac and want AI-assisted, editable on-brand campaign graphics without Adobe's subscription.
New check
Comparison
Linearity vs Canva
Linearity lands on Depends, and Canva lands on Worth it.
Canva
Worth it
Confidence: High
Buy if you're a non-designer or small team cranking out social posts, decks, and docs . reviewers rate it 4.7/5 for ease of use.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Solo designers on iPad/Mac | Non-designers making social graphics |
| Who it's not for | Windows or Android-only teams. Linearity is Apple-first | Professional designers needing pixel-level control . Reddit's design communities openly resent it |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.12 | 2019 data breach exposed user credentials; recent information-disclosure CVEs in Affinity; Canva publishes a trust portal and is now a CVE Numbering Authority. |
| Support quality | No support evidence in sources | No reliable support evidence found |
| Public sentiment | Users praise Linearity's intuitive iPad design experience, but many complain about forced cloud storage and steep pricing.¹ | Mainstream users rate it 4.7/5 and love the ease, while professional designers and some long-time users complain about creative limits and recent changes. |
| Biggest gotcha | Pricing anger is common. 'Their pricing is surreal'. Check renewal costs before committing.² | Price hikes up to 300% triggered public backlash; existing subscribers were hit hardest |
Pick Linearity when
- Solo designers on iPad/Mac
- Marketing teams needing on-brand campaign graphics
- Startups wanting an Illustrator-lite
- Beginners in motion graphics (Move)
When Linearity is not a fit
- Windows or Android-only teams. Linearity is Apple-first
- Pros needing full Illustrator or After Effects power
- Teams that require local file storage, cloud is forced
- Budget buyers tired of subscription pricing
Pick Canva when
- Non-designers making social graphics
- Small marketing teams
- Quick presentations and docs
- Solopreneurs on the free tier
When Canva is not a fit
- Professional designers needing pixel-level control . Reddit's design communities openly resent it
- Anyone needing a true offline workflow . it's browser-based
- Price-sensitive teams locked into per-seat billing during hikes
- Buyers wanting simple, stable pricing . hikes hit up to 300%
Sources
review
review
- Reddit . The forced Linearity Cloudreddit.comreview
- Macline . Linearity has become the everything app for designmacline.substack.comreview
- Paperlike . Linearity Curve Review 2026paperlike.comreview
- Capterra . Reviews of Linearity Curvecapterra.comreview
- App Store . Linearity Curve ratings and reviewsapps.apple.comreview
- Linearity . Pricing planslinearity.ioofficial
- Linearity . Switching from Starter to Prolinearity.ioofficial
- Linearity Support . Payments and planssupport.linearity.ioofficial
- Linearity . Product security pagelinearity.iosecurity
official
review
- Canva Review (2026) . All the Pros and Consstylefactoryproductions.comreview