The blog.
Deep dives, comparisons, and roundups on the AI tools worth paying for. Only what we'd actually buy — no SEO sludge, no influencer demos.
Best AI Design Tools: 8 Picks, 5 Tested, Sorted by the Job
The best AI design tools by job: Canva for layouts, ChatGPT for images with exact text, Lovable for working apps. Five tested, three read, each one labelled.
NotebookLM Review: Gemini Notebook Cites Well, Meters Hard
A NotebookLM review, now Gemini Notebook: five test questions, four Studio outputs, and an audio overview estimated at 45% of a five-hour limit.
Canva Background Remover: How to Use It, Tested on 3 Photos
Canva background remover, step by step: where the button is, what it costs, how to get a transparent PNG and how it did on three hard photos. Plus Magic Eraser.
Canva Code: What It Builds, and What One App Cost Me
Canva Code turns a prompt into a working web page. I built a pricing calculator on a Pro trial: correct sums, hard-to-read totals, 43% of the AI allowance gone.
Canva Pro Price: $144 a Year, and What Canva Leaves Out
Canva Pro price in the US: $18 a month or $144 a year. Business is $25 per person. Plus the $100 AI Pass, seat billing and the refund rule, all sourced.
Canva Review: Great Editor, but the AI Runs on a Meter
A Canva review from a Pro trial: nine hands-on tests, exact US prices, and six AI requests that used 56% of the trial's allowance. Plus what the trial hides.
Adobe Express Review: Generous Free Plan, Shaky AI Hand-Off
An Adobe Express review from the free plan: free background removal, an AI Assistant that got the brief right in all four designs, and an editor that lost text.
Canva Alternatives: 9 Picks, and the Catch in Each Free Plan
The best Canva alternatives by reason for leaving: Adobe Express for price, VistaCreate for teams, Affinity for pro work. Plus what each free plan holds back.
Cancel Canva Subscription: The Steps, and the Refund Rule
Cancel a Canva subscription on the web, iPhone or Android, stop a free trial before it bills, and what Canva's refund page says. Steps from Canva's help pages.
Canva vs Adobe Express: Same Prompts, Opposite Strengths
Canva vs Adobe Express on the same prompts: Canva's AI spelled 11 of 11 text lines, Adobe's default model 0 on its first image. Express costs less.
Adobe Firefly Review: Safe to Use, Shaky With Words
An Adobe Firefly review from the free plan: three generations a day, a default model that isn't Adobe's, and a café menu Firefly Image 5 could not spell.
Best AI Image Generator: 9 Picks, Two Tested Head to Head
The best AI image generator is ChatGPT for exact briefs and Nano Banana for free, fast images, both tested. Plus Midjourney, Ideogram, Firefly and four more.