Design Huddle
vs. Polotno
Whether simplifying creative editing for your users, powering web-to-print personalization, or scaling design and video production with automation, Design Huddle offers the flexibility of custom development with the speed of a turnkey solution.
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Embeddable, white-labeled design and video editor
A fully branded, flexible media creation platform that’s ready to launch without building from scratch. Hosted on Design Huddle’s cloud infrastructure — reducing development time, costs, and maintenance while ensuring speed and reliability.
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Powerful API and JavaScript SDK
Build custom user experiences, automate creative production, and integrate with your existing systems.
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Template-based Media Creation
Import from PDF or create templates for any design, video, print, or presentation use case. Admins can easily add locking, placeholders, and variable elements.
| Design Huddle | Polotno |
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| Feature | Design Huddle | Polotno |
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| Dedicated Account Manager Across All Plans Dedicated Account Manager Across All Plans | ||
| Embeddable Editor, Fully Customizable for your Site or Platform Embeddable Editor, Fully Customizable for Your Site or Platform | ||
| Cloud-hosted backend with built-in admin portal to manage users, assets, template, and project workflows. Cloud-hosted backend with built-in admin portal to manage users, assets, template & project workflows. | ||
| Developer-focused - Build Custom Integrations with Complete Access to API & Javascript SDK Libraries Developer-focused - Build Custom Integrations with Complete Access to API & Javascript SDK Libraries | ||
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Import PDF Design Files
Maintain Color Profiles | Import Custom Shape | Large Format Printing | Advanced Text Effects Import PDF Design FilesMaintain Color Profiles | Import Custom Shape | Large Format Printing | Advanced Text Effects |
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| Granular Locking on Templates & Design Elements Granular Locking on Templates & Design Elements | ||
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Creative Automation and Real-time Previews
Easily tag variable text, media, and colors in your templates for creative automation. Generate real-time previews of personalized designs. Creative Automation and Real-time PreviewsEasily tag variable text, media & colors in your templates for creative automation. Generate real-time previews of personalized designs. |
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Support for Standard Print Use Cases
CMYK | Layered Print-ready PDFs | Maintain Vector Graphics | Bleed Markings in PDF Exports Support for Standard Print Use CasesCMYK | Layered Print-ready PDFs | Maintain Vector Graphics | Bleed Markings in PDF Exports |
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Support for Advanced Print Use Cases
Large Format Printing | Variable Data Printing | Custom Shape Stickers | Design on Custom Product Backgrounds | Spot Support | Custom Registration Marks Support for Advanced Print Use CasesLarge Format Printing | Variable Data Printing | Custom Shape Stickers | Design on Custom Product Backgrounds | Spot Support | Custom Registration Marks |
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Import & Edit Motion Graphics with Lottie
Files
Change Text, Color, and Images in the Animation Import & Edit Motion Graphics with Lottie FilesChange Text, Color & Images in the Animation |
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| Access to Royalty-free Stock Media Libraries Access to Royalty-free Stock Media Libraries | ||
| AI Tools for Image Generation, Alteration & Background Removal AI Tools for Image Generation, Alteration & Background Removal | ||
| Month-to-month Contract Options Month-to-month Contract Options |
Design Huddle vs Polotno FAQ
What is the main difference between Design Huddle and Polotno?
Design Huddle is a turnkey, embeddable design and video platform built for businesses that need scalable creative tools and automation. Polotno is a Javascript framework that developers use to build and host their own design editor, with a backend built from scratch. Design Huddle offers a complete admin portal to manage users, media assets, templates (locking and brand controls), and projects, out of the box, while Polotno offers maximum flexibility but requires more development time.
What makes Design Huddle’s template creation process better?
Design Huddle makes template creation fast and designer-friendly. You can import designs created in any tool via PDF—no need to recreate them from scratch. This means your team can continue using their preferred creative workflows while quickly turning static designs into editable templates.
Designers can easily configure the editing experience inside the template—adding locking, placeholders, and variable fields for creative automation—without requiring any custom development or SDK changes per template.
Why is cloud-based storage for project assets important?
Cloud-based storage ensures fast, reliable performance—no need to worry about managing servers, hosting assets, or maintaining infrastructure. Your projects, templates, and media render quickly and consistently, even at scale. It also enables seamless collaboration, versioning, and access from anywhere.
What is unique about Design Huddle’s project export options?
It’s designed for creative outputs that are production-ready, whether you’re printing, sharing, or publishing.
- Vector graphics are preserved in PDF exports—no flattening or rasterizing
- CMYK color support ensures files are print-ready
- Export both designs and videos—customized by the user or auto-generated via API
- Download instantly, export via API, or post directly to social platforms
Can I customize the editor UI with Design Huddle?
Yes! Design Huddle offers a fully embeddable editor that can be customized to match your platform’s branding and user experience. You can show/hide tools, configure permissions, and more—all through our locking features and SDK configuration settings.
Can I use Design Huddle without exposing an editor to the end user?
Absolutely. Design Huddle supports headless media generation via API—you can generate personalized images and videos programmatically, without using the visual editor at all.
Does Polotno include template management or a backend?
No. Polotno is frontend-only—it does not include template management, asset storage, or user permissions. You’ll need to build and host your own backend to support those features.
Which tool is faster to integrate and launch?
Design Huddle is much faster to deploy. You can be up and running in days with a fully branded editor and built-in automation tools. Polotno requires more time and engineering resources to build a complete media creation, user, and management experience from scratch.
Can I lock elements in templates using Polotno?
Polotno allows locking via the SDK, but it must be implemented programmatically on a per-template basis—it's not something designers can easily configure without developer support. Design Huddle, on the other hand, includes built-in, designer-friendly locking tools that can be configured directly in the admin portal to ensure brand and design integrity.
Can I try Design Huddle before committing?
Yes, we offer access to a demo account and paid pilot programs so you can evaluate Design Huddle. Additionally, our default month-to-month contracts allow you to reduce risk. Get in touch to schedule a personalized walkthrough.
Which is better for developers: Polotno or Design Huddle?
It depends on your goals. If you want full control and are comfortable building the entire media creation, user, and management experience, Polotno is great for developers. If you want to save time and focus on integrations and automation, Design Huddle gives you powerful APIs, a customizable editor, and production-ready features out of the box.
What media creation use cases is Design Huddle best suited for?
Design Huddle is built for both user-driven design and fully automated media creation—all within a single platform. Some typical use cases include:
- Web-to-print platforms offering editable templates for print products
- Social media content creation tools
- Social media content creation tools
- Brands, agencies, and franchises offering branded templates for self-serve creative
- SaaS and technology providers looking to add media creation to their product
6 Reasons Why Customers Love Design Huddle
See why Design Huddle is a customer favorite with unrivaled support, seamless PDF imports, granular template locking, and time-saving creative automation.
Read the ArticleTrusted by teams at
“Hero of a product design experience.”
“Empowers product teams to build robust in-app design tools quickly & efficiently.”
“Powerful product, & simple to integrate. GREAT communication and support.”