alternatives
PicCollage alternatives for iPhone and iPad
PicCollage is fast and free, and the two things people want to escape are the ads and the grid. Here is what to use instead.
The short answer
PicCollage is built for collages you post the same day: grids, stickers, and a quick export. People look for alternatives when they want a blank canvas instead of a grid, no ads, or somewhere their collages accumulate over time rather than disappearing into a camera roll.
Disclosure: Nooka is our app, so read this with that in mind — including the places below where the honest answer is another app. Prices were checked in August 2026 and change often; confirm before buying.
Why people look for a PicCollage alternative
The free tier has ads
Ads between edits interrupt exactly the kind of slow, fiddly work collage is. Removing them means VIP at $4.99 a month or $35.99 a year, and at that point people reasonably start comparing what else that money buys.
Everything starts as a grid
PicCollage is organized around layouts you drop photos into. That is why it is fast. It is also why pages come out looking like a photo grid rather than something arranged by hand, and freeform mode does not fully escape it.
It is built for posting, not for keeping
Finished collages export to your camera roll and the app moves on. There is no structure that holds a year of them together, which is what people mean when they say they want something more like a scrapbook.
Export sizes are social-shaped
Layouts and output are built around social posts. On an iPad that shows — you have a large canvas producing phone-shaped results, which is the wrong way round.
When to keep PicCollage instead
- You want a collage finished in under five minutes
- You want a very large sticker and background library
- You are posting to social media rather than building an archive
- You need Android — Nooka, Procreate, and Paper are Apple-only
PicCollage: iPhone, iPad, Android · Free with ads; VIP $4.99/month or $35.99/year · Go to PicCollage
Which alternative, depending on why you left
The ads and the grid send people to different places, so start with which one actually bothered you.
You want a blank canvas instead of a grid
Nooka
Nooka has no grid at all. You cut subjects out of photos and place them freely, overlapping and rotating as you like, then draw and sticker over the top. It is slower than a grid on purpose — that is where the handmade look comes from.
The ads were the whole problem
Nooka or Shuffles
Neither shows ads at any tier. Nooka is free to download with an optional Pro subscription and no advertising anywhere; Shuffles is free with a Pinterest account. Both remove the interruption without the VIP upgrade.
You want the collages to add up to something
Nooka
Pages go into books, and books go on a shelf you style yourself. A year of collages becomes a shelf you can flip through rather than a scattering of exports in your camera roll. Nothing else on this list has that structure.
You need it on Android too
Canva or Shuffles
Both run on Android and iOS. This is the reason where Nooka has no answer — it is iPhone and iPad only, and no amount of wanting will change that.
You want something you can print afterward
Canva
Canva is the only option here that exports print-ready files. PicCollage exports images and so does Nooka, which is fine for a screen and limiting for a printer.
The alternatives in full
Grouped by what each one is for, not ranked. Every entry has a reason to skip it, Nooka included. The full case for each app, with the reasons to pick it, is in the iPhone roundup and the iPad roundup.
Nooka
our appFreeform scrapbook pages kept in books on a shelf · iPhone, iPad (iOS/iPadOS 17+) · Free, with an optional Nooka Pro subscription
No grid and no ads at any tier. Photos are cut out and placed freely rather than dropped into slots, and finished pages accumulate in books instead of disappearing into the camera roll.
Skip it if
- You need Android or a web version — Nooka is iPhone and iPad only
- You want ready-made templates to drop photos into; Nooka starts you on a blank page
- You want to order a printed photo book at the end; Nooka exports images, it does not print
- You need to collaborate with other people on the same page
Shuffles by Pinterest
Cutout moodboards built from Pinterest images · iPhone, iPad, Android · Free, Pinterest account required
Also free and also ad-free, with automatic cutouts that are better than PicCollage's. The cost is a Pinterest account and collages that stay inside Pinterest.
Skip it if
- You want your work private and stored on your own device
- You don't want a Pinterest account
- You are collaging your own photos rather than found images
Canva
Template-driven layouts and anything you need to print or post · iPhone, iPad, Android, web · Free tier; paid Pro subscription (monthly or annual)
More template-driven than PicCollage rather than less — but the templates are better made, there are no ads, and it is the only option here that exports something a printer can use.
Skip it if
- You want the page to feel handmade — templates tend to read as templates
- You want to work offline; Canva is cloud-first
- You dislike subscription pricing for personal, non-commercial use
Paper: Sketch, Draw & Create
Sketching and collage in a single ongoing journal · iPad, iPhone (iOS 13+) · Free; optional Paper Pro subscription
Swaps the grid for a blank canvas you draw on as much as you arrange on. Journals hold the results together, which is the structure PicCollage never had.
Skip it if
- You want a bookshelf or a styled place to keep finished work
- You mostly assemble photos rather than draw
- You want everything stored locally rather than synced to an account
Procreate
Drawing and painting, with scrapbooking as a side effect · iPad (Procreate), iPhone (Procreate Pocket) · $12.99 one-time on iPad; Procreate Pocket $5.99 on iPhone
A serious jump in both control and effort. Worth it only if the grid bothered you because you wanted to draw, rather than because you wanted to arrange photos freely.
Skip it if
- You want scrapbook structure — there are no books, shelves, or page templates
- You mainly arrange photos rather than draw
- You want a gentle learning curve
Milanote
Professional moodboards and project planning · iPhone, iPad, web · Free tier with a note limit; paid subscription for unlimited
Aimed at work rather than at posts. If your collages were really reference collections for a project, this is the tool that treats them as such.
Skip it if
- You want something personal and playful rather than professional
- You want cutouts, drawing, and stickers
- You want it to feel like a scrapbook, not a workspace
Apple Journal
Written journaling with the occasional photo · iPhone (built in) · Free, included with iOS
Free, built in, and ad-free. Not a collage app at all — it is here for people whose collages were really a way of writing down a day.
Skip it if
- You want visual pages — this is not a layout tool
- You want to cut out, layer, or draw
- You want your journal on iPad too
questions
Frequently asked questions
Is there a PicCollage alternative without ads?+
Nooka has no ads at any tier, free or Pro. Shuffles is also ad-free but requires a Pinterest account. Canva's free tier has no ads either, though the better elements sit behind Canva Pro.
Which collage app does not use grids or templates?+
Nooka starts every page blank. You place cutouts and photos wherever you want rather than filling slots. Procreate and Paper are also blank-canvas apps, though both are aimed at drawing rather than at assembling photos.
Is PicCollage free?+
It is free with ads. VIP removes them at $4.99 a month or $35.99 a year and unlocks the fuller sticker and background library. The free tier is genuinely usable, which is why the app has lasted.
What is the best PicCollage alternative on iPad?+
Nooka, if you want the extra screen used properly — a full two-page book spread at once, and cutouts that are far more precise with an Apple Pencil. PicCollage runs on iPad but was designed around a phone.
Can I keep my old PicCollage collages?+
Yes. Export them to your camera roll first, then import those images into whichever app you move to. They come into Nooka like any other photo and can be placed on a page or cut into.
Keep reading: Nooka as a collage app, Best scrapbook apps for iPhone, and Canva alternatives.