Mate vs. Canva
Which tool is a better match for unified content creation in your team? Find out in our detailed comparison which software suits you and your use cases.
Not every software is suitable for every application and Mate is not the right tool for every use case. In the following, we will compare Mate in detail with Canva to illustrate which unique selling point Mate has to offer and in which case you should rather choose Canva or other tools.
What is Canva and how is it different from Mate?
Canva is a platform where any layman can get into graphic production. You could also say Canva is a slimmed down, simplified version of Adobe Creative Cloud. So with Canva, any private person without design knowledge can create flyers, business cards, logos and many other graphics and layouts and even have them printed without any background knowledge.
The generic template library in Canva
Canva offers a wide range of generic templates for many different design areas, such as whiteboards, documents, social media graphics, logos, and more. Users get a media library filled with generic templates to work with.
Here, Canva offers users a choice from a portfolio of fonts and graphics, which they can then use to create layouts independently in the editor.
High error potential for non-designers
If you want to use individually generated templates in Canva, this is only possible to a limited extent. Similar to Mate, Canva offers users the option of receiving templates designed by Canva in the look and feel of their own brand, but Canva only provides a company with one template per application area. So users get 1x social media template, 1x business card template, 1x stationery template etc. in the corporate design of their own brand. Alternatively, you can of course decide to use the generic templates of the large Canva template library or play designer and create your own templates. However, here again you have the problem of high potential for errors and inconsistency in content creation.
Even the templates designed by Canva in the corporate design of your own brand, are not indestructible. This means that it is possible to freely move all elements and freely add graphics. This can lead to personal tastes destroying the look and feel of the brand, or to image and graphic errors.
Canva, unlike Mate, doesn't give you the option to discuss the look or function of your templates in advance and have them designed. As a result, you get templates that roughly match the look and feel of your brand, but are absolutely not application-specific or individual.
In conclusion, Canva is optimal for people with some design experience, but who are not familiar with Adobe Creative Cloud. However, Canva is not suitable for people without much design knowledge who want to create digital content consistently in a team.
What is mate and what is it best for?
Unlike Canva, Mate focuses on working and communicating as a team with non-designers who want to create consistent content with the look and feel of their brand. Mate doesn't rely on every individual spending hours trying to be a designer and tinkering with layouts. With Mate, you get application-specific templates for any communication medium. With our smart design systems, graphic or design errors are completely eliminated and consistent, worldwide content creation in your brand's corporate design is assured.
Mate provides you with a stripped down template library that makes your content creation as effective as it can be, with no opportunity for personal tastes to be incorporated into your company's corporate design. Mate takes the burden off your marketing team and speeds up the content creation process by providing you with robust templates designed by world-class designers that marketers can't break.
So you see, Mate is not a design tool like Canva, but an efficiency tool. Mate stands for creating content in less than 5 minutes without any design effort from anyone around the world. With Mate, you have the ability to create content with your marketing team and share live feedback as you create.
Features in comparison
As you can see, there are big differences in the use cases and features between Mate and Canva.
Here is an overview of the most important differences.
Specialized in unified team content creation
Our software picks up right where you reach your limits with Canva.
Mate specializes in teamwork, and unlike Canva, Mate doesn't aim for every individual to spend hours trying to become a designer. Mate specializes specifically in the use cases of B2B companies, and in doing so, it empowers every employee in a company to create high-quality social media content, and to do so completely without the possibility of producing image or graphic errors.
Mate is perfectly suited for businesses with multiple locations and takes the burden off your marketing department's team by making the content creation process much simpler and more efficient. Mate provides your team with robust templates designed by world-class designers that are indestructible in all formats and dimensions. As a result, any missing capacity in the social media marketing department can be easily filled by Mate.
Mate is constantly developing
Our developers are working every day to improve Mate and add new features. That's why you can expect a lot of new features and enhancements again this year.
Upcoming Mate Updates
And the best is yet to come...
Our product team is working every day to further improve Mate and add new features. That's why you can expect a whole host of new advancements this year that will make it even easier for you to communicate with the look and feel of your brand.
• Chat/Comments - Communicate more effectively with your teammates & answer questions about content directly in Mate
• Video - Upload videos to your Mate templates in the editor and edit them
• More flexibility in your templates - Combine slides flexibly as needed to tell your story in a more customized way
• Integrations - Whether interfacing with your post planning tool or your existing asset management system, we have a lot planned. Feel free to contact us if you want to integrate existing software with Mate.
