alternatives
Shuffles alternatives for cutout collages
Shuffles made automatic cutouts normal. What it does not do is let you work privately, offline, or from your own photos.
The short answer
Shuffles is Pinterest's collage app: automatic cutouts, images pulled from Pinterest boards, and collages that exist as social objects inside Pinterest. People look for alternatives when they want to collage their own photos, keep the result private, or avoid needing a Pinterest account at all.
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 Shuffles alternative
It requires a Pinterest account
There is no way to use Shuffles without signing in to Pinterest. For anyone who left Pinterest, or never joined, that is a hard stop before the app does anything at all.
Your collages live inside Pinterest
Shuffles are social objects on a platform rather than files you own on a device. They are made to be seen, remixed, and browsed. If you wanted a private notebook, that model is the opposite of what you were after.
It is built around found images, not your photos
The strength is pulling from boards you have already pinned. Collaging photos you took yourself works, but it is not the path the app is designed around, and it shows in how you get images in.
It expects a connection
Pulling from Pinterest means going online. There is no meaningful offline mode, which rules it out for the flight-and-sofa hours when people actually want to make something.
When to keep Shuffles instead
- Your references already live on Pinterest boards
- You want automatic cutouts and you want them free
- You want other people to see and remix your boards
- You are collaging found images rather than your own photographs
Shuffles: iPhone, iPad, Android · Free, Pinterest account required · Go to Shuffles
Which alternative, depending on why you left
Almost everyone leaving Shuffles is leaving over ownership rather than over features. That narrows the list quickly.
You want to collage your own photos
Nooka
Nooka is built around photos you took. You import from your camera roll, cut the subject out, and layer it onto a blank page. Background removal and cutouts are a Nooka Pro feature; the free tier includes a guided first page with every tool unlocked so you can see how it works first.
You want your work private and on your device
Nooka
Everything stays on your device by default and the app works fully offline. iCloud Backup is optional and goes to your own iCloud account rather than to a company server. Nothing is published anywhere unless you export it yourself.
You do not want any account at all
Nooka
There is no sign-up, no login, and no Nooka account to create. The optional Pro subscription bills through the App Store, so Apple already knows who you are and Nooka does not need to.
You want a moodboard for professional work
Milanote
Milanote is the studio version of the same job — infinite canvas, images alongside notes, links, and files, and boards you can share with a client or a team. Shuffles is playful; Milanote is billable.
You mainly wanted the automatic cutouts
Stay with Shuffles
Honest answer: free automatic cutouts from a library you have already curated is a genuinely good deal, and it is the reason to use Shuffles. If that is all you came for and the Pinterest account does not bother you, there is no reason to move.
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
Built around photographs you took rather than images you pinned, with no account of any kind and everything kept on your own device. Cutouts and background removal are part of Nooka Pro.
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
Milanote
Professional moodboards and project planning · iPhone, iPad, web · Free tier with a note limit; paid subscription for unlimited
The professional version of the same job: infinite canvas, images alongside notes, links and files, and boards you can hand to a client — none of it inside a social network.
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
PicCollage
Fast grid collages to post the same day · iPhone, iPad, Android · Free with ads; VIP $4.99/month or $35.99/year
Free and needs no Pinterest account, which is the main reason people leave Shuffles. It is grid-led rather than cutout-led, so the collages come out looking noticeably different.
Skip it if
- You want a blank canvas rather than a grid
- Ads in the free tier bother you
- You want your work organized into books over time
Canva
Template-driven layouts and anything you need to print or post · iPhone, iPad, Android, web · Free tier; paid Pro subscription (monthly or annual)
Requires its own account rather than Pinterest's, so it only helps if Pinterest specifically was the problem. In exchange you get a template library and print-ready export.
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
No social layer at all — journals that sync to your account and nowhere else. It is a drawing app first, so cutouts are scissors work rather than automatic.
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
Manual cutouts through selection tools and masks, which is the opposite of what Shuffles is good at. It is here for people who found they wanted to draw the images rather than collect them.
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
Apple Journal
Written journaling with the occasional photo · iPhone (built in) · Free, included with iOS
Free, private, and already on the phone. Named because some Shuffles boards are really mood records, and this keeps those without publishing them anywhere.
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 Shuffles alternative that does not need a Pinterest account?+
Nooka needs no account of any kind — no sign-up, no login, nothing to create before you start. PicCollage, Procreate, and Paper also work without a Pinterest login, though Canva and Milanote each require their own account.
Which apps cut objects out of photos automatically?+
Shuffles does it free, and Nooka includes cutouts and background removal as part of Nooka Pro. Procreate and Canva can both do it manually with selection tools, which is more control and considerably more work.
Is Shuffles free?+
Yes, free with a Pinterest account. That account requirement is the cost rather than money — your collages live on Pinterest as social objects rather than as private files on your device.
Can I use Shuffles offline?+
Not meaningfully — it pulls from Pinterest, so it expects a connection. If offline matters, Nooka and Procreate both work with no connection at all, storing everything on the device.
What is the best Shuffles alternative for personal photos?+
Nooka, because personal photos are the input it was designed for rather than a supported edge case. Pages of cutouts go into books on a shelf, which gives a year of collages somewhere to accumulate.
Keep reading: Nooka as a moodboard app, Nooka as a vision board app, and Best scrapbook apps for iPhone.