Adobe Express vs Gamma

Adobe Express is Adobe's online and mobile design app for quick, template-based content. It launched under that name in December 2021, replacing Adobe Spark, and has since been rebuilt with Firefly generative AI built in. Its core job is letting non-designers make social posts, flyers, presentations and short videos without learning Photoshop.

Express offers a large template library, drag-and-drop editing, one-click quick actions such as background removal and resizing, Firefly text-to-image and generative fill, video editing with captions and animations, brand kits, PDF quick actions, a content scheduler for social channels and real-time collaboration. The free plan includes core tools, 5 GB of storage and limited AI generations. Premium adds premium templates and fonts, 250 generative credits a month, brand kits, one-click resize and video background removal; Firefly Pro bundles Premium with 4,000 credits and Photoshop on web and mobile; Teams adds pooled storage and an admin console.

Express fits teams already paying for Creative Cloud, since it opens Photoshop and Illustrator assets through Creative Cloud Libraries. Canva has a larger template and stock library, a more mature whiteboard and docs suite and stronger team workflows; Figma is a professional interface design tool rather than a template editor. Express can feel less polished than Canva for multi-page documents.

Buying tip: Premium comes with a 30-day free trial, and Express Premium is also included in Creative Cloud Pro, so check whether your team already has access before buying separate seats.

Gamma is an AI-native tool that turns a prompt, outline, notes or an uploaded document into a finished presentation, document, social post or one-page website. It was founded in San Francisco in 2020 by Grant Lee, Jon Noronha and James Fox, and in November 2025 it raised a $68 million Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz at a $2.1 billion valuation, saying it had passed $100 million in annual recurring revenue and 70 million users.

Instead of fixed slides, Gamma uses flexible cards that resize to content, with themes, AI-generated or stock images, charts, embeds and analytics on who viewed what. You can edit with an AI chat, translate content, export to PowerPoint, Google Slides or PDF, or publish as a web page on a custom domain. AI actions spend credits: the free plan gives 400 once, Plus adds 1,000 a month and removes the Gamma badge, Pro adds 4,000 credits, the API and custom domains, Ultra unlocks the most advanced models, and Business adds SSO and shared themes per seat.

Gamma suits founders, marketers, consultants and educators who need good-looking decks fast and care more about speed than pixel control. Designers will find layout control limited, exports to PowerPoint can need cleanup, and heavy users burn through credits. Canva offers far more design freedom and templates, Komodo Decks targets polished business presentations, and ChatGPT can draft outlines but not designed decks.

Prices on gamma.app vary by visitor location. Start on free credits, then pick Plus unless you need the API or custom domains.