Xara Reviews 49

My experience over many years has been excellent. I have only needed to interact with customer services a few times but every time they were responsive and courteous.

I've been using Xara products since 2017 and they've never missed a beat for me. Everything I need to do I can do and the feature set includes all the tools I need. Very competent design package and always excellent support.

Fabulous products
User friendly
Great support
I have been using for years and upgraded.

Xara provide Professional and Quality Programs.
Easy and Straightforward to use.
The Programs come with a User Guide and there is Online Support.
I have been using Xara Web Designer Programs for a number of Years.
I am NOT a Website Designer.
Xara Provide Excellent and Professional Support.
Highly Recommended Professional Company with Advanced Professional and Quality Programs

Although I've been working with Web Designer for a long time, I needed assistance accessing the product manual two days ago. - It was Saturday, so weekend. Nevertheless, I immediately got an answer from Matt with the appropriate links and the download link for a help-html file for the local application on my computer, which allowed me to continue working on my project. I'm impressed that I got help so quickly over the weekend and that's why a big thank you goes to Matt.

Matt has been more than amazing in his timely response to all of my questions, crises, and assorted other hiccups with Xara installation and use. I have come to not expect much from tech support of any product I buy, but this experience has been 100% positive. Thanks again, Matt.

I made mistakes in Xara Designer Pro+
Both times the helpdesk helped me a lot!
Top App and all praise for the helpdesk (Matt in particular)

I have been with Xara Web Designer since 2017, when I created my first site, and if it was not for the package I would never have my own site, as I would have to pay someone to work on it.
As I update the site on a daily basis, showing the changes of filmes in my city, I do find the programme very easy to use, and the support from Matt is really good, sometimes replying on the same day.
So I really recommend the package for someone that is not a programmer expert, easy to use and where the support is available.

I signed up for a 2-week free trial, which I only used for one task. With 8 days left on the trial, in trying to delete my account, I found that they were not helpful or prompt. First, I had to search out instructions by googling since they weren't given on the Xara site; then I put a message in chat, as instructed, which they responded to, requiring that I explain why I was cancelling, and then saying they would do it in a few hours. But it was nearly a full day before my account was cancelled/deleted; and I had to send additional messages, using marketing email addresses. This is terrible customer service and anxiety-provoking - to leave a simple request like cancelling a free trial hanging. My finances are tight, and I deserve the respect of honoring the arrangement and giving me a clean and prompt break. In many years of relating to online accounts for all sorts of businesses and subscriptions, I have never known cancellation to take more than a few minutes.

I echo many of the reviews here. I have been using Xara since they started. I have been through numerous upgrades. I have always purchased perpetual licenses. Now they have turned off (can you believe it!) certain fundamental features of my existing software to try to force me to an unnecessary upgrade. If they do not reinstate this then I will go to trading standards. I suggest others do the same.

UPDATE: Since writing this review, Xara have fixed my issue. My galleries have started working again. I have changed by review from one to three stars. I am not really sure what is going on, but I suspect me kicking up a stink here helped things along. Anyway, they started by saying I just needed to upgrade (sorry, no) and now seem to be providing support. Xara is a brilliant bit of software. I hope in time my confidence and faith in the company now responsible for it will improve.

Something went totally wrong with the installation of a program on a second device, I did not see why, however, Kate of Xara support did not give up and kept searching. She could help me out the next day. Everything works perfect now.

Dreadful customer service.

I asked them to cancel my account.

Unbeknownst to me they did not and later took 2 unauthorised payments, then refused to refund.

Update: A dishonest response to my review.
Here are the facts:

In July 2022 I agreed a pause on my account.
In February 2023 I requested in writing to Xara customer service to close the account.

I was surprised to find I had later been charged for 2 payments.

I contacted customer service to resolve, forwarding the cancellation request email, but the agent refused to refund.

I said I would thus be forced to contact my credit card company to dispute the charge. The agent responded they would fight that and ended the conversation.

So I wrote a fair review of my experience here.

Xara then tried to have the review taken down. So I had to send TrustPilot the cancellation email and screenshots from my Xara account to prove it was genuine.

Customer service then contacted me again a week after they had refused to refund to say they might give me a refund after all, but the agent wasn’t sure. By then it was too late as I had already sent a dispute form to my credit card company.

Their actual software was good. Their customer services as I said at the outset, is dreadful, and not worth the hassle. This has all taken up so much of my time. It is worth heeding the other reviews.

Awful. The company is confused and dysfunctional. I've been buying their graphic design software for some years and recently they have split the company into 2 parts. Neither acknowledges the other exists and they sell similarly named products. I receive a blizzard of promotional spam on a regular basis from both brands. I've already lost money to the Cloud arm when an "upgrade" offer went wrong and a refund was refused. Now it's less clear what you're paying for than ever. My advice look elsewhere for good customer service and transparency.

Worst customer service, not very good software

Complete waste of time

Terrible company, disingenuous subscription model. Signed up for one month and did not agree to recurring charges, nevertheless charged credit card again. Recurring charges buried deep in terms and conditions rather then upfront on upgrade form. No ability to stop recurring charges except by getting touch with support, another negative. Would not recommend this company.

I have used Xara's Design and Web products for about a decade. I use the programs daily. A bit of a learning curve, but so is any advanced graphic design software, but the software is very good and there is a nice collection of training videos. I use it for designing logos, editing images for ads and websites, designing static and animated ads for Google ad network, building simple small business websites, creating social media banners and post, etc

The positive is when you buy the software you get a perpetual license. There is a subscription service that is of questionable value. I usually skip years because of the slow release of updates and new features. But the current version does what I need so I don't feel like I am missing out on not always running the latest version.

Support is very good from the talkgraphics forum, but nonexistent from Xara or Magix. Magix support is ridiculous. Fortunately, my need for support only comes up every few years.

John DeVries review regarding the nags for upgrades and subscription is accurate since Xara moved marketing of its desktop products to Magix. Magix marketing borders on hustle, bait-n-switch, and just downright shady.

I would give the product itself 5 Stars. The loss of a star is due to the Magix promotion, the subscription service, and complete lack of support.

I have used Xara for many years and its always been a good programme. A while ago I purchased Xara photo and graphic designer. As usual it was up to its normal high standards. Some time after purchase, perhaps a year I started receiving notices asking me to upgrade. I didn't need to upgrade what I had was more than adequate so I ignored it and requested the niggles to stop. They didn't stop. Nor could they be stopped, they kept telling me I could upgrade which I did not want to do. No matter how many times the box was/is ticked the demand to upgrade is always there. In itself this niggle is tolerable but then they started to get nasty. Asking for a previous item I had used suddenly spirited me off to a page of flags where I was asked to select my country. Doing so it then asked me to upgrade once again. It does this constantly, denying access to the things I wanted when initially purchasing the programme. Items I had been using - tables, call outs and other items etc suddenly were no longer available. Frankly this is bordering on or is fraud because had I known when contemplating the purchase that it was full of crippleware if I did not upgrade and give them more money,. I very simply would not have purchased it.

As I said, I had always been happy with Xara products but it strikes me that times must be getting difficult and they are going for "cake and eat it". Gimp which is a free programme is better.

I would not recommend a Xara product as long as they are playing this game and if you buy it be prepared to compulsorily upgrade or lose use of it.