Designrr vs Issuu: Which One’s Better for Digital Publishing?

If you’re into creating digital books, flipbooks, or lead magnets, you’ve probably come across Designrr and Issuu.

Both platforms promise to help you publish beautiful content, but they serve slightly different purposes and cater to different user types. 

After using both tools over the past few years, I’ve used both platforms and learned the pros and cons from hands-on experience creating lead magnets to publishing online magazines—and in this post, I’ll share it all.

In this article, I’ll compare Designrr vs Issuu based on my real-world experience and help you decide which is right for your publishing goals.

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Overview of Designrr

Designrr is primarily a content repurposing tool. It lets you turn blog posts, PDFs, Google Docs, or even YouTube transcripts into beautiful eBooks, reports, and lead magnets.

What I love about Designrr is its ease of use. The drag-and-drop editor makes layout changes simple, and their pre-made templates save a ton of time. When I first started, I used to struggle with designing eBooks in Canva or PowerPoint—it would take me hours. But with Designrr, I could produce my blog posts into professional-looking PDFs in under 30 minutes.

Another major plus: no design skills needed. Seriously, I’m not a designer, but the end result still looks polished. There’s also a lot of customization—you can edit fonts, colors, headers, and even create 3D covers.

It also offer an AI tool called Wordgenie that helps users create unique ebook content from scratch. This tool is available on each of the paid plans by Designrr.

It offers a subscription model but currently you can get its entry level plan - Standard ($29/month) at a one-time price of only $27. Learn more about this deal here - Designrr lifetime deal.

Key Features:

• Import from blog, PDF, Google Docs, YouTube, Facebook Lives
• Drag-and-drop editor with full layout control
• 100+ customizable templates
• 3D eBook cover creator
• Exports to PDF, ePub, Kindle, HTML, and Flipbook
• One-time payment plans available

Overview of Issuu

Issuu, on the other hand, is more of a digital publishing and distribution platform. It’s designed to host, showcase, and share your content online—think magazines, catalogs, or brochures that people can flip through interactively.

When I used Issuu to publish my first digital magazine, I was blown away by how sleek the interface looked. It felt like holding a real magazine in digital form. But here’s the thing: you need to have your content ready-made before uploading it to Issuu. It doesn't offer tools to create or design the content itself.

Also, Issuu is cloud-based, so your files are always accessible, and sharing them is a breeze. However, its free version includes ads, which isn’t ideal for branding. And their analytics features, while detailed, are locked behind higher pricing tiers.

Key Features

• Upload & publish PDFs as flipbooks
• Interactive viewing with page flipping effect
• Analytics to track reads, shares, time spent
• Embed publications on websites and social media
• Monetization options for premium publishers
• Built-in distribution and discovery features

Side-by-Side: Key Features Comparison

Ease of Use and User Interface

In terms of user experience, Designrr wins hands down for content creation. Its intuitive editor and step-by-step import process make it beginner-friendly. When I first used it, I imported one of my blog posts and had a formatted ebook in 10 minutes—it felt almost magical.

Issuu’s interface is clean and elegant, but only for publishing. Uploading a PDF is easy, but if there’s a mistake in your file, you’ll need to go back and edit it elsewhere before re-uploading. That workflow can be frustrating if you're aiming for quick turnaround times.

Also, Designrr allows you to host, download, and embed your content on your website. Issuu also offers embedding, but with branding limitations unless you’re on a paid plan.

Also Read: Designrr vs Canva

Content Distribution and Reach

Now this is where Issuu shines. It’s built for content distribution. Your publications on Issuu can be discovered via search, shared via social media, embedded into websites, and even monetized. The platform has a built-in audience too, so people might stumble upon your magazine or brochure organically.

I once published a digital magazine for a client on Issuu and within a week, it had over 500 views—without any paid promotion. That kind of reach is hard to achieve with PDFs just sitting on your website.

Designrr, however, is more of a creation tool, not a distribution platform. Yes, you can download your ebooks as PDFs, publish them as flipbooks, or embed them, but there’s no organic audience like Issuu offers.

If audience discovery and wide sharing are your goals, Issuu is the better fit. But if you’re planning to deliver ebooks via email, or offer them as opt-ins or lead magnets, Designrr is perfect.

Similarities and Differences

While both Designrr and Issuu help you publish digital content, they do it in fundamentally different ways.

Similarities:

• Both support flipbook-style output
• Both allow embedding into websites
• Both offer cloud-based access and sharing

Differences:

• Designrr focuses on creating content, while Issuu focuses on hosting/distributing pre-created content
• Issuu has built-in audience discovery, Designrr does not
• Designrr offers content import and repurpose tools, Issuu only accepts finished PDFs

Comparison Table: Similarities & Differences

Pricing Comparison

Pricing is always a big factor, especially if you’re just starting out. Here’s a quick breakdown:

From a budget point of view, Designrr’s one-time payment model is unbeatable. I bought the standard plan during a lifetime deal, and it paid for itself within the first month. It also offer a 7 days free trial on its paid plans.

Issuu, on the other hand, charges monthly—and the free version has limitations that can be restrictive.

Pros and Cons

Having worked with both platforms, I’ve seen where each one shines and where it stumbles. Here's my honest breakdown:

Designrr Pros:

• Lifetime deal is available on the Standard plan
• Easy-to-use interface for non-designers
• Great for lead magnets and ebooks
• Fast turnaround with content import

Designrr Cons:

• No built-in discovery or reach
• Analytics are basic unless on higher plan
• Flipbook feature is simpler than Issuu’s

Issuu Pros:

• High-quality interactive viewer
• Built-in audience and search visibility
• Ideal for online magazines and portfolios
• Strong analytics and monetization tools

Issuu Cons:

• No creation tools; must design externally
• Monthly pricing adds up
• Free version includes Issuu branding & ads

Also Read: Best Designrr Alternatives

Publication Formats Supported

Here’s where Designrr truly stands out. While Issuu mainly focuses on displaying content as a flipbook, Designrr supports a wide variety of output formats.

I once needed to convert a client’s ebook into a Kindle version. Designrr let me export it as a EPUB file—a total lifesaver.

Supported Formats Comparison

Ideal Use Cases

Choosing between the two often comes down to what you want to do. Here's what I recommend based on my experience:

Designrr is ideal for:

• Bloggers creating lead magnets
• Coaches offering PDF guides
• Course creators bundling ebooks
• Anyone on a budget needing design + export

Issuu is ideal for:

• Publishers creating online magazines
• Agencies showcasing portfolios
• Brands with PDF brochures & lookbooks
• Creators wanting wide organic reach

Use Case Comparison Table

Final Verdict: Which Should You Choose?

So, which one should you go with?

If you want to create ebooks, lead magnets, checklists, and workbooks with minimal effort, Designrr is the clear winner. I personally use it weekly for opt-ins and PDF courses.

But if you already have designed PDFs and want to publish them in a sleek, interactive way while gaining visibility and analytics, Issuu is the better platform.

Honestly, combining both has been a game-changer for me: I design in Designrr, then upload the finished product to Issuu when I want to showcase it or reach new audiences.

Conclusion

To wrap up:

• Designrr = Best for creating, formatting, and exporting eBooks
• Issuu = Best for publishing, showcasing, and distributing content

Get started with the lifetime deal by Designrr at only $27 (one-time fee) using the link below.