Infographics: A look at Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogram

When creating a visual representation of data for consumers to easily absorb and digest, there are many platforms that can be accessed free of charge, though paid subscriptions unlock a host of further templates, tools, and options. Three of these platforms popular among users are Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogram, and for the purpose of my reviews, I am only comparing the free options.

Easel.ly is good for a beginner level infographic creator, and further, its paid options are very inexpensive. There are a number of free templates to choose from depending on the type needed, though not all are fitting to longer, more complex information. Though seemingly simple, it appears to have fewer available free options, but specifically markets its services to educators with a “pro” account for only $4 per month, if there are no hidden fees, and 30 student accounts included. This really seems like the best option of the three for education purposes, so I decided to utilize this platform for my example infographic with an eye toward a possible pro account in the future.

Piktochart is not extremely different in its offerings, however, right away it is clear that paid subscriptions are more pricey, usually indicating that the free options are going to be more limited. In this case, however, it still offers opportunities to unpaid users, with options to create charts of varying sizes and uses. At about $25 per month, I definitely wouldn’t choose it for my purposes, but found that “special” pricing is offered for educators and nonprofits. Thus, I would be willing to consider an actual paid subscription for my purposes, but found that “special” pricing is only available by request.

Infogram is also not inexpensive for paid subscribers, and playing with the options, right away it struck me as better suited to more experienced creators. While all three are very similar, it seems to have the most options for various uses, various sizes and presentations, and collaboration among users. Of course upon further examination, I found that many of the plentiful options were not available to unpaid users. Since plans start at a minimum of $19 per month, I’d be less likely to use it extensively in the long-term as an educator.

All of the platforms are similar in their basic offerings, with drag-and-drop editing, premade templates, icons, etc., some animation, and embedded videos. What struck me about Easel.ly was its catchy name, quite honestly, its inexpensive offerings for educational purposes, and ease of use that didn’t strike me as too glitchy or difficult to maneuver when experimenting with it. However, if you wish to download your final product in high definition or as a PDF, you will have to “go pro” at the $4 per month rate; otherwise, you can only download a jpeg in low resolution.

Cited

Create Infographics, Presentations & Flyers. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://piktochart.com/

Easel.ly: create and share visual ideas using infographics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.easel.ly/

Infogram: Create engaging infographics and reports in minutes. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://infogram.com/

Malamed, Villar, M. A.. (2018, January 23). ELC 010: How To Design Real (Not Fake) Information Graphics. Retrieved from http://theelearningcoach.com/podcasts/10/

Vernons. (2019, March 6). Easelly - Students and Teachers Using Easelly. Retrieved from https://www.easel.ly/blog/students-and-teachers-using-easelly/