Is Avnac really free?

Yes. Avnac is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Canva Pro, on the other hand, costs €12 a month.

Do I need to code to install Avnac?

No. The level is beginner and the install takes about 5 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.

How is it different from Canva Pro?

Avnac does most of what Canva Pro does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.

Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.

Free alternative

Free alternative to Canva Pro

Canva Pro costs €12 a month. Avnac does the same job for free, in open source: you install it on your machine or a small server, and you stop paying.

Public entry price, taken from Canva Pro’s website (canva.com). Over a year, that is €144 that stays in your pocket.

What replaces Canva Pro

The main alternative

Avnac

🟢 Beginner⏱️ ~5 min to installSave €12/mo

Avnac is a Canva-style visual editor, but open and lightweight: you go to avnac.design, click “Open editor”, and you are in the editor. No account, no email, nothing to install. You place text, shapes, images, vectors, align, rotate, add shadows, crop, even generate a QR code, and export to PNG, JPG or WebP. Your projects are saved in your browser's local storage, so on your machine, not with them. It is a React app with a small server behind it, which you can also run locally or on your VPS, and a desktop fork, Avnac Studio, exists for Windows, macOS and Linux. The project is young: AGPL-3.0 licensed, about 1,500 stars, built for desktop (blocked on phones), and its main repo has not moved since May 2026. No template or photo library like Canva: you start from a blank canvas.

Loucash’s verdict on Avnac

6/10

Avnac's real argument is zero friction: you click a link and you are creating, no account, nothing to install, and your files do not leave your machine. For a title on an image, a story, a simple poster, it is faster than opening Canva. But let us be honest about what it is not. You mostly pay Canva for its templates and its image and photo library. Avnac has none: you start from a blank canvas with your own images. No mobile app either, and the project is young, 1,500 stars, run by one person, with a main repo that has not moved since May 2026. A desktop fork, Avnac Studio, takes over for those who want a native app. My take: if you pay Canva for visuals you build yourself, Avnac gives you the subscription back. If you pay it for the templates, keep Canva, or look at Penpot for more advanced design.

Who it is for: You make your own visuals, on a desktop, with your own images, and you want an open editor without an account rather than a subscription.

See the full page →See the tool ↗

Avnac versus Canva Pro: the match

Price
Avnac
€0, in the browser
Canva Pro
€12 a month, €110 yearly
Account
Avnac
None, you open the page and create
Canva Pro
Required
Where your files live
Avnac
In your browser, on your machine
Canva Pro
With them

Canva Pro ↗

VS	Avnac	Canva Pro ↗
Price	€0, in the browser	€12 a month, €110 yearly
Account	None, you open the page and create	Required
Where your files live	In your browser, on your machine	With them
Templates and stock images	None, blank canvas	Millions, that is their strength
Export	PNG, JPG, WebP, transparent background included	Transparent background is Pro only
On a phone	No, desktop only	Yes, mobile app

The prompt that installs Avnac

Paste this prompt into Claude: it checks the repository, asks you its questions and installs the tool step by step.

Installe Avnac (l'éditeur de visuels open source façon Canva, repo GitHub xt42io/avnac) sur ma machine, en suivant le README du dépôt. Pars de zéro : vérifie que Git et Node.js (version 20 ou plus) sont installés, sinon installe-les. Clone le dépôt, puis dans le dossier backend fais npm install, copie .env.example en .env et lance npm run dev (port 3001) ; dans le dossier frontend fais npm install et lance npm run dev (port 3300). Ouvre http://localhost:3300 et vérifie qu'on peut créer un visuel avec un texte et une forme, puis l'exporter en PNG. Si je veux le mettre sur mon serveur pour mon équipe, construis le frontend avec npm run build, sers-le derrière un reverse proxy Caddy en HTTPS avec le backend, et explique-moi comment le mettre à jour. Explique chaque étape simplement, je débute.

Review the GitHub repository and check whether it is safe to install given my machine and my infrastructure. Ask me as many questions as possible, using widgets, to clarify my request and be as precise as you can.

Frequently asked questions

Is Avnac really free?: Yes. Avnac is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Canva Pro, on the other hand, costs €12 a month.
Do I need to code to install Avnac?: No. The level is beginner and the install takes about 5 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.
How is it different from Canva Pro?: Avnac does most of what Canva Pro does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.
Do I own my data?: Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.