Loftware NiceLabel vs ZebraDesigner
Loftware NiceLabel
loftware.comZebraDesigner
zebra.comSide by side
| Figure | Loftware NiceLabel | ZebraDesigner |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 5 |
| Spec score · Packaging Design Software | 7.9 (#10) | 8.5 (#3) |
| Spec score · Barcode Labeling Software | 7.7 (#21) | 8.5 (#7) |
| Spec score · Label Design Software | 7.6 (#24) | 8.5 (#5) |
| Founded | 1993 | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States | Lincolnshire, Illinois, USA |
| Purpose | Loftware Cloud Designer helps small to midsize or growing companies securely design and print labels. | ZebraDesigner offers editions for designing labels, tags and receipts, from basic text labels to designs with RFID or fixed and variable data. |
| Security | Loftware says its Loftware Cloud products, including Cloud Essentials, Cloud Designer, Cloud Business, Cloud Compliance, and Cloud Enterprise, have been externally audited for SOC 2 Type 2 compliance. | Zebra says security is a core part of its culture and engineering processes. |
| What it does | Loftware Cloud helps unify labeling and product data across suppliers, sites, and processes in a connected supply chain. | ZebraDesigner creates barcode labels, tags and receipts for Zebra printers using fixed or variable data. |
Plans
ZebraDesigner
- ZebraDesigner Essentials 3Free
- ZebraDesigner Essentials 3Free
- ZebraDesigner for Developers 3Free
- ZebraDesigner Professional 3 for Windows$345, paid once
- ZebraDesigner Professional 3 for Windows$345, paid once
In their own words
Loftware NiceLabel
Loftware NiceLabel, identified with Loftware Cloud, helps companies design and print labels while coordinating labeling and product data across suppliers, sites, and processes. Cloud Designer is aimed at small to midsize or growing companies and combines a browser-based Web Designer with a locally installed Desktop Designer connected to Control Center. Labels can contain text, lines, shapes, and barcodes, with content linked to fixed or dynamic data sources. Remote printing is supported for printers connected to a computer running Desktop Designer. Licenses cover one to ten printer seats, counting each physical or virtual printer as one seat. Centralized storage, version control, approvals, role-based access, and audit trails support document governance. Cloud Business, Cloud Enterprise, and Cloud Compliance include Print, Trigger, and Document APIs; third-party API use requires a Developer Portal subscription key. Loftware Automation can initiate repetitive printing without human interaction. Pricing is on request, and a 30-day trial is available. Loftware says Web Designer does not include the full Desktop Designer feature set.
ZebraDesigner
ZebraDesigner provides Windows software for designing labels, tags, and receipts, from basic text layouts to designs using RFID or fixed and variable data. Essentials includes text, barcode, and graphic objects, keyboard, date, time, and counter data sources, plus a GS1-128 barcode wizard. Professional adds connections to Excel, Access, text files, and other databases through ODBC, and supports printing and encoding RFID labels. Developer tools create ZPL templates for integration with other applications; listed options include Enterprise Connector for Oracle apps, PrintConnect, Print Station, and Zebra's XML-enabled printing solution. ZebraDesigner 3 can open legacy label formats from ZebraDesigner 2, and its interface is available in 20 languages. Supported systems are Windows 10 and 11 desktop editions and Windows Server 2019, 2022, and 2025. Remote Desktop Services and virtual machines are not supported, except Hyper-V technologies. Essentials and Developer editions cost nothing. Professional costs $345, paid once as an activation license key, limited to one computer.