Image & Design comparison · 2026

Draw Things vs Microsoft Designer

Compare Draw Things and Microsoft Designer as Image & Design tools on fit, pricing, and the capabilities that actually overlap in 2026. Pick Draw Things for teams generating concept art and illustration on an iPad without an internet connection and animating a finished still into a short video clip inside the same app. Pick Microsoft Designer for small business owners and social media creators who need a publish-ready post or invitation from a written prompt without hiring a designer or learning a full editor..

Updated Aug 22, 2026

Draw Things
drawthings.ai

Private, offline AI image generation for iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Starts at $0/month·Image & Design

Microsoft Designer
designer.microsoft.com

Stunning designs in a flash

Starts at $0/month·Image & Design

At a glance

Draw ThingsMicrosoft Designer
CategoryImage & DesignImage & Design
PricingStarts at $0/monthStarts at $0/month
Free tierYesYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Windows, iOS, Android
Suitable forTeams generating concept art and illustration on an iPad without an internet connection and animating a finished still into a short video clip inside the same appSmall business owners and social media creators who need a publish-ready post or invitation from a written prompt without hiring a designer or learning a full editor.
CompanyDraw Things, Inc.—
Founded—2022

How they differ

Shared Image & Design rubric, filled from each listing. Not a score.

Generate

Draw ThingsMicrosoft Designer
Text to imageYesYes
Image to imageYesNot published
Inpaint / outpaintYesLimited
UpscaleNot publishedNot published
VariationsNot publishedYes
Background removalNot publishedYes

Control

Draw ThingsMicrosoft Designer
Style referenceLimitedNot published
Character consistencyLimitedNot published
Pose / structure controlNot publishedNot published
Negative promptsNot publishedNot published
Seed controlNot publishedNot published
Custom model trainingYesNot published

Design

Draw ThingsMicrosoft Designer
TemplatesNot publishedYes
Brand kitNot publishedLimited
Vector / SVGNot publishedNot published
LayersNot publishedNot published
TypographyNot publishedYes
MockupsLimitedNot published

Rights & output

Draw ThingsMicrosoft Designer
No watermark on paidNot publishedNot published
Print resolutionNot publishedNot published
Transparent PNGNot publishedNot published
Batch generateLimitedNot published
Training opt-outNot publishedNot published
IP indemnityNot publishedNot published

Access

Draw ThingsMicrosoft Designer
Public APINot publishedNot published
Official SDKNot publishedNot published
Self-serve signupYesYes
Free trialYesNot published
Team workspaceNot publishedNot published
SSO / SAMLNot publishedNot published
Mobile appsYesYes
Browser extensionNot publishedLimited
Self-host / on-premLimitedNo

Commercial

Draw ThingsMicrosoft Designer
Commercial licenseNot publishedNot published
Usage-based pricingLimitedNot published
Invoice / PONot publishedNot published
SOC 2Not publishedNot published
GDPR / DPANot publishedNot published
Audit logNot publishedNot published
Role-based accessNot publishedNot published

Features

These listings describe different capabilities. What each one ships:

Only Draw Things

  • Image Generation: craft a simple prompt and watch words materialize into images
  • Image-to-video: create video clips straight from images with no complex editing
  • Infinite Canvas: expand the canvas endlessly and fill any part of an image
  • Style Your Image: transform a photo into classic animation or countless other styles
  • Try It On: prototype apparel and craft detailed character concepts
  • LoRA Training: train LoRAs entirely on-device to keep creative control and privacy
  • Local compute generation on iPhone, iPad, and Mac hardware
  • Model downloads from the Draw Things model server

Only Microsoft Designer

  • Prompt-to-design generation that turns a text description into finished layouts
  • AI image generation for original visuals inside the same canvas
  • Templates for social media posts, invitations, digital postcards, and graphics
  • Multiple design variations produced from a single prompt
  • Photo editing helpers including background removal and object erase
  • Text restyling and typography effects for headlines
  • Brand color and palette adjustment across a generated design
  • Browser-based editor that requires no desktop install

Use cases

These listings describe different use cases. What each one ships:

Only Draw Things

  • Generating concept art and illustration on an iPad without an internet connection
  • Animating a finished still into a short video clip inside the same app
  • Outpainting a tight crop into a wider composition using Infinite Canvas
  • Restyling personal photos into animation or painted looks
  • Prototyping apparel designs and character sheets with the Try It On workflow
  • Training a personal style or character LoRA locally so source images never leave the device
  • Offloading a heavy batch render to Draw Things Cloud Compute from an older iPhone
  • Deploying Draw Things inference on an organization's own on-premise servers

Only Microsoft Designer

  • Producing an Instagram or LinkedIn post graphic from a short prompt
  • Designing a birthday, wedding, or event invitation without a designer
  • Making digital postcards and holiday greetings for family or customers
  • Creating promotional graphics for a small business sale or launch
  • Cleaning up a phone photo with background removal before posting
  • Generating original AI imagery when stock photos do not fit the message
  • Building a quick flyer or announcement for a club, class, or community group
  • Resizing and restyling one concept into several social formats

Integrations

These listings describe different integrations. What each one ships:

Only Draw Things

Nothing exclusive in this list.

Only Microsoft Designer

  • Microsoft account sign-in
  • Microsoft 365
  • Microsoft Copilot
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Windows
  • OneDrive

Plans

Draw Things

  • Free Edition $0/mo or $0/yr

    Use local Compute to generate · Download models from our server · Infinite canvas · Train LoRAs locally

  • Community $0/mo or $0/yr

    Free account · Use Cloud Compute for free · Access Lab Hours · Everything in Free Edition

  • Draw Things+ $8.99/mo

    Increased Cloud Compute limits · Use your own LoRAs with Cloud Compute · Boost compute limits on demand · Privacy Pass · Everything in Community Edition

Microsoft Designer

  • Free with a Microsoft account $0/mo

    Access to the Microsoft Designer web app at designer.microsoft.com · Prompt-to-design generation for social posts, invitations, postcards, and graphics · Template-based editing, text restyling, and photo editing tools · AI image and design generation limited by a monthly AI credit allowance · No pricing page was published on designer.microsoft.com at crawl time, so credit counts are not stated

  • Microsoft 365 subscription uplift Not published on designer.microsoft.com

    Larger monthly allowance of AI credits for image and design generation in Microsoft Designer · Billed through a Microsoft 365 consumer subscription rather than a Microsoft Designer plan · Exact credit counts and the subscription price are not stated on the Microsoft Designer homepage

Draw Things strengths

  • The Draw Things app is free and the Free Edition needs no account at all
  • Generation runs on-device and offline, so prompts and images stay local by default
  • LoRA training happens on-device rather than requiring an upload to a vendor
  • The Draw Things privacy policy states no third-party analytics or advertising frameworks are used for tracking
  • One app covers text-to-image, image-to-video, outpainting, style transfer, and training
  • Cloud Compute is available free on the Community tier for people whose hardware is slow
  • Apple handles payment processing, so Draw Things does not store card details

Watch-outs

  • Draw Things ships only for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, with no Windows, Android, or web client
  • The Draw Things pricing page publishes no numeric Cloud Compute quota for Community or Draw Things+
  • Lab Hours are listed as a Community perk but the pricing page never defines their duration or schedule
  • No annual billing option is shown next to the $8.99/mo Draw Things+ price
  • Custom LoRA uploads to Cloud Compute are locked behind the paid Draw Things+ tier
  • Local generation speed is bound by device silicon, so older iPhones render far slower than Apple silicon Macs
  • Vendor contradiction: the Draw Things homepage says the product is "completely free" while the same page and the pricing page list a paid $8.99/mo Draw Things+ tier and a quoted Enterprise edition
  • The Enterprise edition has no published price and requires contacting Draw Things

Microsoft Designer strengths

  • Free entry point with a Microsoft account, so testing Microsoft Designer costs nothing
  • Prompt-to-layout flow produces usable social graphics in a few minutes
  • AI image generation and layout editing live in the same Microsoft Designer canvas
  • Runs entirely in the browser with no install or high-end hardware requirement
  • Ties into an existing Microsoft account, avoiding a separate creative login
  • Photo cleanup tools such as background removal reduce round trips to another editor

Watch-outs

  • Microsoft Designer publishes no pricing page on designer.microsoft.com, so plan names, credit counts, and prices are not verifiable from the product site
  • AI generation is metered by AI credits that reset on a cycle rather than accumulating, so heavy prompt use stalls mid-project
  • The larger credit allowance is bundled into a Microsoft 365 consumer subscription instead of a standalone Microsoft Designer plan, forcing a broader purchase
  • Brand kit, shared asset library, and multi-seat approval features are thinner than tools built for marketing teams
  • Commercial usage rights for AI-generated output depend on Microsoft service terms rather than a clear statement on the Microsoft Designer homepage
  • Template and stock libraries are smaller than long-established design catalogs
  • No published offline or desktop application for Microsoft Designer; the workflow assumes a live browser session
  • AI image and design generation limited by a monthly AI credit allowance

Draw Things vs Microsoft Designer verdict

Who each product is for, then labeled AI takes. Not a generic winner.

Bottom line

Pick Draw Things for teams generating concept art and illustration on an iPad without an internet connection and animating a finished still into a short video clip inside the same app. Pick Microsoft Designer for small business owners and social media creators who need a publish-ready post or invitation from a written prompt without hiring a designer or learning a full editor..

Who Draw Things is for

Teams generating concept art and illustration on an iPad without an internet connection and animating a finished still into a short video clip inside the same app

Private, offline AI image generation for iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Who Microsoft Designer is for

Small business owners and social media creators who need a publish-ready post or invitation from a written prompt without hiring a designer or learning a full editor.

Stunning designs in a flash

AI take on Draw Things

As of August 2026, Draw Things stands out for local-first creative AI, though its cloud tier details need far more transparency.

AI take on Microsoft Designer

As of August 2026, Designer’s appeal is its unusually direct idea-to-post workflow; its trade-off is a lighter, credit-metered creative environment.

Draw Things vs Microsoft Designer FAQ

Common questions when choosing between Draw Things and Microsoft Designer.

Is Draw Things or Microsoft Designer the better Image & Design tool?

Pick Draw Things for teams generating concept art and illustration on an iPad without an internet connection and animating a finished still into a short video clip inside the same app. Pick Microsoft Designer for small business owners and social media creators who need a publish-ready post or invitation from a written prompt without hiring a designer or learning a full editor..

Which is cheaper, Draw Things or Microsoft Designer?

Draw Things starts at $0/month. Microsoft Designer starts at $0/month. Confirm current pricing on each vendor site.

Who should choose Draw Things?

Teams generating concept art and illustration on an iPad without an internet connection and animating a finished still into a short video clip inside the same app

Who should choose Microsoft Designer?

Small business owners and social media creators who need a publish-ready post or invitation from a written prompt without hiring a designer or learning a full editor.

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