Novastart vs Playground

Tagline

An infinite canvas operating system where your apps, teammates and AI agents work together on one shared canvas

The AI design studio for everyone. Create custom graphics, logos, stickers, and merch with no experience required.

Category

Pricing

Rating

Platforms

API

Open source

Description

Novastart is an infinite canvas operating system designed to keep your desktop apps, teammates, and AI agents organized on a single endless workspace. Rather than toggling between tabs and overlapping windows, users can place applications like Gmail, Excel, WhatsApp, and Notion side-by-side. Novastart features real-time peer-to-peer collaboration with individual cursors, local data storage for privacy, and support for up to 10 visible AI agents working with their own cursors on the canvas.

Playground is an AI-powered design platform that allows anyone to create custom logos, graphics, t-shirts, stickers, and wallpapers. It integrates multiple top-tier AI models including GPT Image 2, Nano Banana Pro, and Seedream, providing a template catalog of thousands of designs across 24 categories. Playground supports real typography for posters and packaging, offers non-destructive magic editing tools, and even allows users to turn their creations into physical products like caps, hoodies, socks, and totes.

Key features

• Infinite canvas workspace
• Zoom capabilities from 5% to 1000%
• Window snapping and organization
• State retention (workspaces remain as left)
• Peer-to-peer team collaboration
• Up to 10 active AI agents simultaneously
• Visible AI cursors for task tracking
• Observe mode for AI assistance suggestions
• Local-first data storage
• Bundled Chrome for web apps
• Support for ONLYOFFICE and Linux apps
• 100-step undo history

• AI Logo Generator
• Sticker and Merchandise Creator
• T-Shirt and Poster Design
• Over 24 template categories
• Non-destructive magic editing tools
• Physical product ordering (caps, hoodies, totes, socks)
• Multiple integrated AI models (GPT Image 2, Nano Banana Pro, Seedream)
• Typography tools for clean headlines and body copy

Pros

• Provides a free plan that costs nothing to get started.
• Saves workflows automatically so all apps, positions, and tabs are exactly where you left them.
• Allows deploying up to 10 AI agents to help manage tasks simultaneously.
• AI agents operate with visible cursors, letting you watch and monitor their actions in real time.
• Collaborative canvases stream directly peer-to-peer between machines, bypassing middle servers.
• Keeps your canvas data stored locally on your machine until you choose to share it.
• Supports extensive canvas zoom adjustments ranging from 5% to 1000%.
• Features a robust undo capability of up to 100 steps on your workflow.

• Comes with thousands of templates across 24 diverse design categories.
• Free to start, giving immediate access to multiple advanced AI image models.
• Features non-destructive editing tools, allowing you to tweak designs without losing progress.
• Supports physical merchandise creation, converting designs directly into physical apparel like caps and hoodies.
• No prior design experience is required to create high-quality graphics and logos.
• Utilizes powerful, diverse model backends including GPT Image 2, Nano Banana Pro, and Seedream.
• Offers robust typography support for headlines, body copy, and layouts.
• Highly rated by creators for responsiveness and support on Trustpilot.

Cons

• The Free plan is strictly limited to one folder, two canvases, and four windows on each canvas.
• AI agents are not included in subscription plans and must be paid per use at $0.02 each from separate credits.
• Mirroring for shared documents and images is limited to a maximum file size of 100 MB.
• There is no paid bug bounty program available for security vulnerability reports.
• The desktop application client is explicitly mentioned only for Windows and Intel-based Mac systems.

• No public API or developer documentation is mentioned on the homepage.
• No code repositories or open-source licenses are referenced.
• Detailed premium tier pricing and design limits are not disclosed on the landing page.
• No dedicated offline desktop application for macOS, Windows, or Linux is listed.
• No official information about security or data compliance certifications (such as SOC2) is outlined on the homepage.

Pricing plans

• FreeUSD0
  • • 3 monthly generations across Nano Banana, GPT Image 2, and Seedream
  • • PGv3: 5 images per 3-hour rolling window
  • • Commercial use allowed under terms
• ProUSD15/month
  • • 150 monthly credits across Nano Banana, GPT Image 2, and Seedream
  • • Unlimited access to the full premium template library
  • • Upscaling and background removal included
  • • Generate, resize, and AI-extend images up to 2048×2048 with GPT Image 2
• Pro PlusUSD45/month
  • • 1,000 monthly credits across all models including Nano Banana Pro
  • • Unlimited access to the full premium template library
  • • Unlimited upscaling and background removal
  • • Exclusive shopping discounts, priority support & API access

Website