Design & creative: build, buy or switch?
4 tools compared on 3-year cost, cheaper options and risk. Prices checked October 2026.
| Tool | Verdict | From | Buy, 3 yrs | Build, 3 yrs | Cheapest option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Creative Cloud | SWITCH | $19.99/seat/mo | $2,520 | $3,925 | Affinity (free) |
| Canva | BUY | $12/seat/mo | $432 | $3,745 | Adobe Express (free) |
| Figma | BUY | $16/seat/mo | $1,728 | $12,025 | Penpot (open source) |
| Miro | SWITCH | $8/seat/mo | $1,440 | $3,745 | Excalidraw (open source) |
3-year costs use each tool’s typical plan and team size and $30/hour for your time. Open a tool to change them.
Adobe Creative Cloud
Design & creative
Switch to Affinity. It is free for photo, vector and layout work, against $69.99 a month for Creative Cloud Pro.
- Buy, 3 yrs
- $2,520
- Build, 3 yrs
- $3,925
Canva
Design & creative
Buy it. Canva Pro is $12 a month, and a homemade design tool costs nearly 9 times that over 3 years.
- Buy, 3 yrs
- $432
- Build, 3 yrs
- $3,745
Figma
Design & creative
Buy it. A shared design canvas is one of the hardest things to build, and the Starter plan is free to try.
- Buy, 3 yrs
- $1,728
- Build, 3 yrs
- $12,025
Miro
Design & creative
Switch to Microsoft Whiteboard, FigJam or Excalidraw. Each is free or a fraction of Miro’s price for everyday whiteboarding.
- Buy, 3 yrs
- $1,440
- Build, 3 yrs
- $3,745
Paying for more than one of these?
Stack Scan spots tools that do the same job and shows what you’d save by keeping one.
Verdict key: BUILD = Build it · BUY = Buy it · HYBRID = Hybrid · SWITCH = Switch. How we score.