Cards vs PostNitro for carousels
PostNitro generates carousels with AI. You give it a topic, an article link, or a thread, pick a template, and it writes the slides and designs them. Cards starts from text that already exists: paste what you wrote and it splits the copy into slides and lays them out. Both end in a set of images you post. What differs is who writes them, and what the free tier lets you take home.
| Cards | PostNitro | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the text comes from | Your own writing, laid out as typed | AI writes the slides from a topic, link, or thread |
| Free exports | No limit, and no account for the first 8 cards | 5 downloads a month |
| Watermark | None on any plan | On free exports |
| Paid plan | Pro at $5 a month | From $15 a month |
| Slides per carousel | 8 signed out, 18 on a free account, 200 with Pro | 5 AI slides on free, 8 to 20 depending on the plan |
| Export formats | JPEG, PNG, ZIP, HTML, and MP4 with Pro | PNG and PDF |
| Canvas sizes | Instagram square and portrait, Story and Reels, LinkedIn, X | Templates for Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Facebook, Pinterest, Threads |
| Publishing | Buffer channels, with Pro | Scheduling and publishing built in |
| Video | Renders the deck as an MP4 up to 30 seconds, with Pro | Not listed among its export formats |
| Teams | One account, one person | Workspaces and seats on the higher plans |
PostNitro figures checked July 2026 on its plans page. Plans move, so read theirs before you decide.
Who writes the slides
This is the fork in the road. PostNitro sells generation: its models turn a prompt into slide copy, so a carousel can exist before you have written anything. Cards has no model in the loop. It measures your text, breaks it on word and line boundaries, and draws it.
If drafting is the slow part of your week, generation saves real time. If you already have a newsletter, a thread, or notes you want on Instagram, the draft is the input and layout is the only step left.
What the free tier gives you
PostNitro's free plan allows 5 downloads a month and stamps a watermark on them, which is enough to see whether you like the output. Cards puts no cap on free exports and no watermark on any tier. You can open the editor without an account, build up to 8 cards, and download the set. A free account raises one project to 18 cards and saves up to 5 projects.
Publishing and scheduling
PostNitro covers more of the posting workflow. It carries templates for seven networks and schedules posts to them from inside the tool. Cards routes through Buffer instead: connect a personal API key or OAuth, then publish now or schedule up to 30 days out. That helps if Buffer already runs your calendar and adds a step if it does not.
The same deck as a video
Cards renders the carousel you built as an MP4 for Reels and TikTok. Twelve motion presets animate the cards, pace runs from 1 to 5 seconds per card, and the cap is 30 seconds per video. The preview plays free; the file is Pro. One draft covers the feed post and the short video.
When PostNitro is the better pick
Take PostNitro if you want the copy written for you, a large template library, per-slide design control, or a team working in shared workspaces. Cards covers one job: turning writing you already have into a consistent set of slides, and now into a video of the same deck.
Questions
- Is Cards a free PostNitro alternative?
- The part most people compare is free in Cards: making a carousel and exporting the images. There is no download quota and no watermark, and the first 8 cards need no account. Cards Pro costs $5 a month and adds video export, article import from a URL, up to 200 cards per carousel, Buffer publishing, and multi-format export.
- Does Cards write the slides for me?
- No. Cards splits and lays out the text you paste, and the wording stays exactly as you wrote it. PostNitro is built the other way around: you give it a topic or a link and its AI produces the copy. If you write your own posts, that generation step is work you do not need.
- Will my exports carry a watermark?
- No. Cards exports the same image you see in the preview, with nothing stamped on it, on the free tier and on Pro. PostNitro puts a watermark on free exports and removes it on paid plans.
- Can Cards post to Instagram and LinkedIn for me?
- Through Buffer, with Pro. Connect a Buffer account and Cards sends the rendered images to your channels, publishing now or scheduling up to 30 days ahead. PostNitro schedules and publishes to its supported networks directly.
- Can I turn the carousel into a video?
- Yes. Pick one of twelve motion presets, watch it play in the editor for free, and render the deck as an MP4 up to 30 seconds for Reels and TikTok. Rendering the file is a Pro feature.