Looka vs Photopea
Pricing
Looka: Free to design, from $20 one-time for basic logo
Photopea: Free with ads, Premium $5/mo
Description
Looka: AI-powered logo maker and brand kit generator: pick styles, get dozens of logos in seconds
Photopea: Free browser-based image editor that supports PSD, XD, Sketch, and AI files (no install, no account needed)
Pros
- Generates 100+ logo variations in under a minute based on your preferences
- Brand kit includes business cards, social media templates, and brand guidelines
- One-time purchase model: no subscription for the basic logo package
- Opens real PSD files with layers intact, the only free tool that does this reliably
- Runs entirely in the browser with no signup, no download, no waiting
- Supports an absurd range of formats: PSD, XD, Sketch, AI, WEBP, SVG, PDF
Cons
- Logos can look generic since the AI remixes a finite set of icons and layouts
- Premium Brand Kit subscription is $96/year, which adds up for what you get
- No way to fine-tune logo details beyond swapping colors, fonts, and icon placement
- Ad-supported free tier shows banner ads that can distract during work
- Performance drops with large files (200MB+) since everything runs client-side in the browser
- Built by one developer: bus factor of one for a tool you might rely on
Details
Looka gets you from “I need a logo” to “here are 100 options” in about two minutes. You pick some styles you like, choose icons related to your business, select colors, and the AI generates a wall of logo options. Some look surprisingly professional. Others look like clip art. The quality depends on how picky you are about filtering.
The basic logo package at $20 gives you high-res PNG files. The $96/year Brand Kit adds SVG files, business card designs, social media templates, and a simple brand guidelines document. For a solo founder launching a side project who needs a logo this week, Looka beats spending $500+ on a freelance designer. For a serious brand you plan to grow, the AI output is a starting point at best. You will probably want a real designer eventually.
Photopea is what you reach for when someone sends you a PSD file and you do not have Photoshop. It opens in a browser tab and handles Photoshop files with layers, masks, and effects intact. It also opens Sketch, XD, and Illustrator files, which makes it the universal translator of design file formats.
Built and maintained by a single developer, Ivan Kutskir, Photopea earns roughly $1M per year from ads alone. The $5/month premium removes ads and gives you higher-resolution export options. For solo founders who need occasional image editing but cannot justify Adobe’s $23/month Photography plan, this covers 90% of what Photoshop does at a fraction of the cost, or free.
Verified
