soona and Vexels solve two very different creative problems. soona is your on-demand studio for ecommerce photo and video. Vexels is your design library for print-on-demand merchandise. The choice is simple: do you need real photos or digital designs?
Best for: Ecommerce brands needing a constant stream of photos and videos., Teams frustrated with slow, expensive agency turnaround times.
Best for: Print-on-demand sellers on Etsy and Amazon Merch, Designers who need a massive library of editable templates
Fast, ecommerce-focused content creation.
We found soona delivers on its promise of speed and simplicity for ecommerce brands needing reliable photo and video assets. The live collaboration and channel-specific optimization are standout features. Overall, it's a strong choice for teams prioritizing a streamlined, fast-to-market content workflow.
Excellent tools, support is unreliable.
We found Vexels excellent for accessing high-quality, readily available POD designs and specialized creation tools. We must note, however, that the platform suffers from alarming reports of poor customer service and billing irregularities, especially for high-tier users. Overall, Vexels provides strong design assets but must seriously improve its administrative reliability.
✨ soona is a creative platform designed specifically for ecommerce brands. It connects you to a network of expert photographers and models to produce professional photo and video content.
Think of it as your on-demand content studio. You can plan a shoot, attend virtually, and get finalized assets optimized for all your sales channels.
Vexels is the ultimate Print on Demand (POD) merch design tool. It offers an extensive library of high-quality designs and powerful online resources. This platform makes merch creation simple for everyone, whether you are tweaking text or transforming templates. You can use it to upgrade your merch strategy with professional designs and AI-enhanced graphics.
It’s built for immediate use with major POD companies, including Etsy, Shopify, Printful, Printify, and Amazon Merch. 💡
We highlight the main differences and pick a winner for each feature.
soona is a streamlined booking and shoot platform. Vexels is a design tool with a massive template library.
soona's interface is built for planning and executing shoots. You book, collaborate live, and manage your final assets in a clean dashboard. The process is designed to be simple and fast. Vexels centers around browsing and editing. You search a library of 500,000+ designs, then use online editors like the T-Shirt Maker. The tools are intuitive for customizing templates. The key difference is purpose. soona manages a service workflow, while Vexels is a self-serve creative toolkit. Both are praised for being easy to use for their respective goals.
soona offers real-time live collaboration. Vexels has no collaborative features.
soona's standout feature is the live virtual shoot. You can join your session, give feedback to the photographer, and approve selects as you watch. This ensures the final content matches your vision perfectly. Vexels is a solo experience. You browse, download, and edit assets on your own. There is no mechanism to collaborate with other users or the Vexels team in real-time. If working with a team or creative partner is critical to your process, soona is the only option. Vexels is designed for individual creators.
Both use AI differently. soona automates content optimization. Vexels automates design creation.
soona uses AI for analysis and generation. Listing Insights audits your existing content for performance issues. AI Scenes can generate new visuals from your photos. It helps improve and scale your content. Vexels uses AI to create new designs from scratch. The AI Design Generator creates printable merch based on prompts. You can apply over 20 different AI styles. It's a rapid prototyping tool. soona's AI optimizes what you have. Vexels' AI creates new assets. Your choice depends on whether you need to analyze current photos or generate new graphics.
soona provides AI-powered listing insights. Vexels has no analytics features.
soona's AI Listing Insights tool is a major differentiator. It scans your product pages and flags issues like poor image quality or missing lifestyle shots. This provides actionable data to improve conversions. Vexels focuses solely on creation and download. There are no tools to analyze design performance or provide data on your POD listings. The platform is about asset generation. For data-driven decisions about your visual content, soona is clearly superior. Vexels doesn't offer any reporting capabilities.
soona has responsive onboarding support. Vexels has widely criticized, unreliable support.
soona users frequently praise the responsive support, especially during onboarding and shoots. Enterprise customers get dedicated account management. The general sentiment is helpful and professional. Vexels reviews are filled with complaints about support. Users report unreturned emails, unhelpful bots, and no response to critical billing issues. High-tier custom design requests also reportedly lack quality feedback loops. The support experience is night and day. soona provides a reliable service backbone. Vexels' support is a significant risk factor, especially for paying customers.
soona uses per-asset pricing plus memberships. Vexels uses flat-rate tiers or one-time payments.
soona's pricing is usage-based. You pay a Studio Pass ($149) or membership ($13-$49/month) to book shoots. Then you purchase individual assets: $39 per photo, $93 per video. Costs can add up with volume. Vexels offers simpler tiers: $10.50-$49/month subscriptions or $550-$1500 lifetime plans. You get fixed monthly downloads and AI credits. There's no per-asset fee. soona's cost is tied directly to output. Vexels is a fixed subscription. High-volume users might find Vexels more predictable, while sporadic users might prefer soona's pay-for-what-you-use model.
soona integrates with major sales channels. Vexels integrates with print fulfillment partners.
soona connects directly to your Shopify and Amazon stores. This allows you to pull product data and manage assets for those specific marketplaces seamlessly. It's built for sellers. Vexels integrates with the POD production chain. Designs are guaranteed compatible with Etsy, Shopify, Printful, Printify, and Amazon Merch. It's built for creators supplying those platforms. Both have strong integrations, but for different audiences. soona connects you to where you sell. Vexels connects you to how you produce.
No clear mobile app for either. soona's live shoot may require a browser. Vexels is web-based.
soona's live collaboration is browser-based, so you can join from a phone or tablet. The core platform is likely best used on desktop for planning and asset management. A dedicated mobile app isn't highlighted. Vexels is entirely a web-based tool. All design and browsing happens in your browser. This works on mobile, but the experience is likely optimized for desktop screen size and mouse/keyboard. Neither platform emphasizes a native mobile app. For on-the-go management, soona's live shoot access from a mobile device gives it a slight edge for flexibility.
Both are designed to be easy. soona guides you through shoots. Vexels provides self-serve tools.
soona simplifies a complex process. The steps (plan, live shoot, review) are clearly laid out. Customer support guides you through onboarding. The goal is to make professional shoots accessible. Vexels puts a massive library and multiple tools at your disposal. The T-Shirt Maker and AI generators are designed to be intuitive. Finding and editing templates is meant to be quick. Both tools aim for low friction. soona requires learning a specific workflow. Vexels requires familiarizing yourself with its suite of creative tools. Neither is overly complex.
soona offers custom shoots with live direction. Vexels offers template editing and custom design requests.
soona provides ultimate customization through live collaboration. You direct the photographer, choose models, and give real-time feedback. The final product is 100% custom-shot for your brand. Vexels lets you customize templates using the T-Shirt Design Maker. You can change text, colors, and elements. For fully custom work, higher plans include 'Custom Design Credits' to request unique graphics from their team. soona's customization is infinite but requires a shoot. Vexels' customization is template-based but faster for graphics. Custom requests on Vexels have reported quality issues.
soona pricing: soona offers flexible creative memberships starting at $13/month annually, plus a one-time Studio Pass option for $149 per booking. Content is purchased individually starting at $39 per photo or $93 per video clip after your shoot is complete. \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\ Plans range: $1–$500/month Billing options: Free plan, Monthly subscription, Yearly subscription, Usage-based pricing

Vexels offers monthly subscription plans, billed annually, ranging from $10.50/month to $36.75/month, alongside one-time lifetime options up to $1,500.
All plans include unlimited access to templates, the online designer, and the mockup generator. Here's a look at the details included within each of the main subscription and lifetime options.
Price: $10.50/month (Billed $126 annually) Best For: New users or small-scale entrepreneurs Other Features:

Based on Trustpilot reviews, users frequently praise soona for its speed, quality, and ease of use. The platform is often called a "game-changer" for its fast turnaround and the professional look of the final assets.
🎯 Many appreciate the live shoot collaboration, which gives them control and direct input. However, a recurring theme is confusion over pricing, particularly the per-asset costs, which some feel are not transparent upfront.
The turnaround time is incredible. We got stunning, on-brand photos in 24 hours, which was a total game-changer for our launch.
Vexels enjoys a "Great" 4.0 rating on Trustpilot, largely driven by satisfied users who praise the platform's utility and design quality. Many reviewers highlight the robust selection, daily uploads, and the constant updates to the online tools, including the new AI features.
Users feel the service offers excellent value for the price point. ✨ However, external feedback reveals serious deficiencies in customer service and responsiveness. Recurring complaints cite awful technical support, unreturned emails, and frustrating interactions with bots instead of real help.
I'm very happy with this platform. If you take full advantage of all the tools and features, it really pays for itself. For the price point, the value is definitely there.
There's no universal winner here. soona and Vexels solve completely different problems. Your choice depends entirely on what you're creating. soona's superpower is speed and quality for physical products. It delivers professional, channel-optimized photos and videos in 24 hours. The live collaboration ensures you get exactly what you need. Vexels's superpower is instant access to a design universe. With over 500,000 templates and AI tools, it's perfect for spinning up new merchandise concepts in minutes. It's built for the print-on-demand creator. The deciding factor is your output. If you need real photography and videography to sell physical goods, choose soona. If you need digital graphic files to print on t-shirts and mugs, choose Vexels. Final verdict: For ecommerce brands, soona is the clear choice. For print-on-demand entrepreneurs, Vexels is the essential toolkit. Just be wary of Vexels' customer support.
No. Vexels provides graphic design templates and tools for print-on-demand, not product photography. For Amazon-optimized photos and videos, soona is the platform built for that purpose.
soona would be more expensive. At $39 per photo, that's $1950/month just for images. Vexels' top subscription is $49/month, but it doesn't provide real photos.
Yes, but they serve different purposes. soona's AI helps analyze and optimize existing content. Vexels' AI generates entirely new graphic designs from scratch.
If you sell physical products needing photography, soona. If you sell print-on-demand items needing graphic designs, Vexels. Both integrate with Shopify, but their core functions differ.
Switching isn't straightforward because they serve different needs. You'd be moving from a content creation service to a design asset library. They aren't direct competitors.
soona is far superior based on reviews. Users praise its responsive team. Vexels has widespread complaints about unreturned emails, bots, and unresolved billing issues.
Both tools have their strengths. Choose based on your specific needs.