Acrylic vs Canvas Print: Which One Suits Your Wall?

The acrylic vs canvas print question comes down to one thing: do you want a wall that shines or a wall that feels warm? Acrylic is glossy, deep and sharp. Canvas is soft, woven and calm. Both are good, and they suit different rooms and different artworks.

We sell both at Rossetti Art, so this guide compares them the way a buyer would: how they look, how they behave in a bright room, how you clean them, and what they cost. The specs below are the ones we actually make.

Rossetti Art

Acrylic Wall Art & Acrylic Prints

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What is the difference between acrylic and canvas prints?

A canvas print is an image printed on woven fabric and stretched over a wooden frame. An acrylic print, sometimes called an acrylic glass print, is an image printed on a rigid sheet of acrylic, a clear, glass-like material, with the color sitting behind a glossy surface. The base material changes everything else: the finish, the glare, the weight of the color and the way you care for it.

Here is exactly what each one is made of at Rossetti Art:

• Canvas prints are printed on artist-grade Fredrix poly-cotton canvas with UV- and fade-resistant HP latex inks (UL GREENGUARD Gold certified). Each canvas is hand-stretched over a 1.25-inch hardwood stretcher frame and finished with a satin-matte, low-glare surface. Framed versions use a handcrafted poplar hardwood floater frame with a 5/16-inch shadow gap.
• Acrylic prints are printed directly onto 3 mm high-gloss acrylic with UV printing. You choose No Frame, which is ready to hang with no visible frame around the edges, or a 1.5-inch decorative frame in Black, Gold, Oak or White.

Acrylic vs canvas print side by side

	Acrylic print	Canvas print
Surface	High-gloss, glass-like	Satin-matte, woven texture
Color	Deep blacks, rich contrast, sharp detail	Softer, warmer, painterly
Glare	Reflects windows and lamps	Low glare
Feels best in	Modern, minimalist, glam, industrial rooms	Warm, textured, traditional and neutral rooms
Frame options	No Frame, or 1.5 in frame in Black, Gold, Oak, White	Rolled, stretched, or poplar hardwood floater frame
Cleaning	Soft microfiber cloth; shows fingerprints and dust	Dust gently; hides fingerprints
Price at Rossetti Art	From $176	From $49
Ready to hang	Yes	Yes

How each one looks on the wall

The biggest difference is what your eye does when it lands on the piece. On acrylic, the print looks lit from behind: blacks are deeper, whites are cleaner, and small details in a photograph or a graphic design stay crisp. It suits high-contrast artwork, black and gold palettes, city scenes and bold color.

An acrylic print: "Keep Going", a horizontal mountain scene on high-gloss acrylic. View the piece →

Canvas does the opposite. The woven texture breaks up the surface, so the same image reads softer and more painterly, like something made by hand. That is why canvas suits neutral and abstract pieces, wabi-sabi palettes and any room you want to feel warm rather than sleek.

A canvas print: "Silent Structure", a neutral abstract on hand-stretched canvas. View the piece →

A simple test: hold up a photo of the artwork and ask whether the image is mostly about contrast or mostly about mood. Contrast points to acrylic. Mood points to canvas.

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Canvas Prints

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Glare, light and cleaning

Glare. A glossy surface reflects whatever faces it. Hang acrylic opposite a large window or under a spotlight and you will see the window in the print for part of the day. Canvas has a satin-matte, low-glare finish, so it stays readable from any angle and in any light. If the wall you have in mind sits across from a bright window, canvas is the safer choice, or plan to place the acrylic on a wall that gets side light.

Fingerprints and dust. Acrylic shows both. Wipe it with a soft microfiber cloth so you do not scratch the surface. Canvas hides fingerprints and only needs occasional gentle dusting. Our guides on how to clean canvas art and how to protect your canvas art cover the canvas side in detail.

Hanging. Both types arrive ready to hang. Use the Live Preview button on any product page, above Add to Cart, to see the piece on a photo of your own wall before you decide on size.

What each one costs

Acrylic costs more than canvas at the same size, and the gap is real. At Rossetti Art, canvas prints start at $49, and acrylic prints start at $176, for the smallest size with no frame. Both go up with size and with frame choice. Large canvas prints reach well over $1,000, and our large acrylic prints run from $176 up to $4,374 depending on the artwork, the size and the frame. Acrylic sizes go from 12 inches to 60 inches and more on the long side, and the exact size list depends on each artwork's proportions.

What you get for the higher acrylic price is the look: the direct UV print on 3 mm high-gloss acrylic and the 1.5-inch frame in four colors. What you get with canvas is the widest range of sizes and finishes for the money, from a rolled canvas you frame yourself to a hand-stretched canvas in a poplar hardwood floater frame.

Some context from our own store: over the past 12 months we sold more than 150 canvas prints, at an average of about $349 per print, so most of our canvas buyers choose larger sizes and frames. Acrylic prints only launched in September 2026, so we do not have a year of acrylic sales to show you yet. What we can share is what shoppers ask us, and it is in the questions below.

Both are made to order, both ship free worldwide, and both fall under our 30-day return policy.

Which should you choose?

Use these rules. They come from what we see in the artworks themselves.

• Pick acrylic for black and gold pieces, dark and moody art, bold typography, city and mountain scenes, and photographs where sharp detail matters. Pieces like Mountain Wall Art and Rainbow Wall Art show why: color and contrast do most of the work.
• Pick canvas for neutral abstracts, minimalist and wabi-sabi palettes, figurative pieces you want to feel hand-made, and any wall facing a bright window. Monochrome Reverie is a good example of an image that gains from a matte, textured surface.
• Pick canvas if the budget matters most, or if you want a larger size for less.
• Mix both. A gallery wall with one acrylic piece as the focal point and canvas prints around it gives you shine and texture together. Our guide on choosing the right print size for your space helps you plan the layout.

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Original Paintings for Sale

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Frequently asked questions

What is the acrylic print made from?

Our acrylic prints are printed directly onto 3 mm high-gloss acrylic (acrylic glass) using UV printing. Framed versions come with a 1.5-inch decorative frame in Black, Gold, Oak or White. The No Frame option has its frame on the back, so it hangs ready to go with no visible frame around the edges.

Is glass or acrylic glazing available for a canvas print?

No. A canvas print is not glazed, and the texture of the canvas is part of its look. Shoppers ask us this on canvas pages when they want a glossy, protected surface. If that is what you are after, choose an acrylic print instead, where the image is printed directly on the acrylic.

What are the disadvantages of acrylic prints?

The glossy surface reflects light, so avoid hanging one opposite a bright window or lamp. Acrylic also shows dust and fingerprints more than canvas, and it needs a soft microfiber cloth to avoid scratches. It costs more than a canvas of the same size: at Rossetti Art acrylic starts at $176 and canvas at $49.

Are acrylic prints better than canvas?

Neither is better for every wall. Acrylic gives a glossy, high-contrast, modern look with vivid color. Canvas gives a softer, textured, low-glare look and a lower price. Choose acrylic for contemporary rooms and bold artwork, and canvas for warm, neutral rooms and bright-window walls. See our acrylic wall art and canvas prints to compare the same styles.

Do canvas prints look cheap?

They look cheap when the canvas is thin, the frame is flimsy, or the stretching is loose. A good canvas print uses a heavy canvas, a solid stretcher frame and a clean finish. Ours are printed on artist-grade Fredrix poly-cotton canvas, hand-stretched over a 1.25-inch hardwood stretcher frame, and available in a poplar hardwood floater frame that gives a gallery look. Canvas is not outdated either: the texture adds a warmth that a flat glossy surface cannot, and acrylic is the newer option, not a replacement.

How long do acrylic prints last?

Acrylic is a rigid panel, so it does not sag or need re-stretching the way fabric can. We do not publish a specific number of years for acrylic or canvas, because how long any print looks its best depends on the light in the room, humidity and how it is handled and cleaned. Keep it out of direct sun and clean it gently.

Is the artwork ready to hang?

Yes. Every acrylic print from Rossetti Art arrives ready to hang, with or without a frame, so you do not need to buy hanging hardware separately. Choose the wall first, check the piece against it with Live Preview, and hang it at eye level, with the center of the print about 57 inches from the floor.

Ready to see them in your space? Browse our acrylic wall art for glossy, high-contrast pieces, or our canvas prints for softer, textured ones, and use Live Preview to check the size on your own wall.

About the Author — Chiara Rossetti is the founder of Rossetti Art, a canvas print and original art brand. She writes about interior design, wall art styling, and the art of making a home feel alive.