Recraft vs Coolors
Recraft and Coolors are complementary tools rather than direct competitors. Recraft generates visual assets — icons, illustrations, and vector art — while Coolors generates color palettes and handles color theory. Most design workflows benefit from both: pick your palette in Coolors, then generate on-brand graphics in Recraft.
Recraft
Choose if: You need to generate actual visual assets like icons, illustrations, or vector graphics for your project.
AI vector art, icon, and illustration generator
Coolors
Choose if: You need to define, explore, or standardize a color palette before designing anything else.
AI color palette generator
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Recraft | Coolors |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | AI vector art & icon generation | Color palette generation & management |
| AI capability | Text-to-image generation (SVG & raster)✓ | AI Color Bot for palette suggestions |
| Free tier | 30 daily credits (non-commercial) | Unlimited palette generation, 10 saved✓ |
| Starting price | $12/mo | $5/mo✓ |
| Output types | SVG, PNG, Lottie files | HEX/RGB values, CSS, SCSS, SVG, PDF |
| Accessibility tools | None | Contrast checker, WCAG compliance✓ |
| Community library | Public gallery of generated images | 10,000+ curated community palettes✓ |
| Track record | Founded 2022 | Founded 2014 — 10+ years established✓ |
Pricing Comparison
Recraft
| Free | $0 |
| Basic | $12/mo |
| AdvancedPopular | $33/mo |
| Pro | $60/mo |
| Teams | $55/mo |
+ Free tier images are public with no commercial license, Teams plan requires minimum 3 seats ($165/mo minimum), Annual billing saves ~20% but requires upfront commitment
Coolors
| Free | $0 |
| ProPopular | $5/mo |
+ Free tier includes ads and promotional banners, Some advanced tools like AI Color Bot are Pro-only
Pricing last verified: 2026-04-04
Recraft: Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Only AI tool generating production-quality SVG with real editable paths
- +Supports vector art, raster images, icons, illustrations, and 3D graphics
- +Export to SVG, PNG, and Lottie animation files
- +Built-in color palette editing and background removal tools
Limitations
- -Generated SVGs often have excessive anchor points requiring cleanup
- -Free plan images are public with no commercial license
- -Desktop-first — poor experience on tablets and smaller screens
- -Inconsistent prompt reliability and occasional dimension drift
Coolors: Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Extremely fast spacebar-driven palette generation with instant results
- +AI Color Bot suggests harmonious palettes from natural language descriptions
- +Extract palettes from uploaded photos automatically
- +Built-in contrast checker, gradient maker, and palette visualization on mockups
Limitations
- -Free tier limited to 5-color palettes and 10 saved palettes
- -AI suggestions can be hit-or-miss — results should be manually verified
- -Aggressive cookie prompts and upsell banners on free tier
- -Limited to color work — no broader design capabilities
Which One Should You Pick?
Recraft is best for: Designers and developers who need production-quality AI-generated vector art and SVG icons.
Coolors is best for: Designers and developers who need fast, accessible color palette generation.
Last updated: 2026-04-04