Imagine a social media space that’s free from the clamor of likes, comments and endless ads—a digital zone where creativity can thrive without distraction.
That’s the promise of Cosmos, a rising social media platform with designers in mind. Marketed as “the new Pinterest for creatives,” Cosmos recently hit number one in the App Store for Graphics and Design tools, gaining over 100,000 new users in the past year.
I see the appeal. As a design blogger who frequently uses platforms like Instagram and Pinterest to research new web design trends and promote my work, I have a love-hate relationship with social media. While there are so many benefits in terms of networking, sharing content and discovering new ideas, I often struggle within a tug-of-war between inspiration and burnout.
I was eager to explore an app that promises to be a creative-first experience. But is the app a solid alternative to Instagram for designers and creatives running a digital agency?
Read on to find out why this app can be a refreshing tool for our visionary Wix Studio community.
What is the Cosmos app?
Launched in 2023 by Andy McCune, Cosmos has quickly become a favorite among creatives by offering a refreshing alternative to traditional social media. With a tagline promising that “ideas are sacred, exploration is infinite, and connection is cosmic,” the app fosters an environment that prioritizes creativity and inspiration rather than social validation through metrics such as likes, comments and impressions.
It’s likened to the “new Pinterest”—but Cosmos is more than another new visual repository. At its core, the app’s search engine is powered by AI to deliver advanced, visually-oriented results—allowing users to explore content using keywords and text, but also tools like image searches and color palettes (more on that in a bit).
One of the reasons Cosmos stood out to me as a tool for discovery is its versatility. Cosmos aggregates its content not only from the original additions users upload on the app, but also from the web, and other social media platforms like Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter. This diversity creates a seamless hub for saving and sharing inspiration, allowing its users to curate a variety of media—including images, text and websites—into organized and customized collections.
Another one of the app’s most engaging qualities is its focus on “curation as creation.” Suddenly, inspiration and creative brainstorming is a valued art form—and the app's structure encourages intentional organization to make the process feel less like filling up your feed, and more like building a meaningful personalized collection of inspirational content.
How much does it cost to use?
The app is free to use, with the option to upgrade to a premium version, which costs $8 a month. This unlocks additional features, like more visual design control over your clusters, the ability to add more elements to your feed and collaborative tools. I used the free version.
My Cosmos review: why I liked it
Here are my main five takeaways after using the app.
It features a refreshingly “out-of-this-world” design
Designers know: one of the best ways to facilitate a unique experience for users is with strategic design elements that speak to your audience. In this sense, it's obvious that Cosmos was made for designers. The design language employed on the app features an incredibly clean visual language that made a positive impression on me as a first time user.
The app’s designers seem to draw a lot of inspiration from a growing “cosmic design” trend, where a simple and even mysterious visual language comes to life. It fosters a moody feeling, on both mobile and desktop versions, which reminds me of my own Instagram feed back in the day.
As someone who loves dark mode design, I appreciate the clean black and white aesthetic, along with the option to switch from light mode to dark mode easily. The clean foundation shows they pay attention to design psychology, offering a personable and calming interface that lets each users’ content take the spotlight.
AI provides unique content with intricate results
Cosmos app uses AI technology to tag content in its repository with relevant and targeted keywords. Even if you don’t add tags, Cosmos will do it for you—using AI to automatically tag and pick up on elements of an image (also catching those you may have missed).
This technology allows users to perform intricate searches using keywords. For example, I searched “handwritten quotes by Tolstoy” and “fall trench coat fashion inspiration” and the results were exactly what I was looking for.
There’s also a nifty visual emphasis to the search engine that manifests itself in two effective ways for designers. You can use the tool to upload a specific image, prompting it to search for matching content and visual inspiration based on your own content.
There’s also a color palette tool that can be used to filter your search and display content with hues that match. But it can also be used to suggest color pallets relevant to your search results. I can imagine that a designer working on a mood board for an upcoming project will find this aspect incredibly helpful.
On the search results, users will be shown endless related inspiration which they can add to their own clusters. Each element is attached to a source (for example, Cosmos, Pinterest or Instagram), which brings the social element to light in a very minimalistic way. Plus, there’s a lot to discover.
There’s less noise than traditional social media platforms
In a big rebellion from the competitiveness harnessed on today’s most popular social media platforms, Cosmos avoids displaying metrics such as likes and comments. Promising “zero noise or distractions, no likes, comments or ego; just pure harmonious expression,” the app distances itself from encouraging users based on how their content performs.
The app delivers on this experience. I found it refreshing to curate content without the feeling that I was vying for attention. It allowed me to use the app in a free-flowing way.
These days, platforms like Pinterest and Instagram have also become increasingly crowded with ads. There’s no denying that ads, while beneficial for marketing purposes, make it difficult to consume content mindfully. Personally, I can jump onto Instagram with one goal in mind; next thing I know, I’m inside a rabbit hole of what I like to call “browser-window shopping,” completely forgetting why I logged on in the first place. Cosmos’ ad-free zone is a refreshing break, making me feel less like a consumer and more like a creative.
Last but not least, Instagram’s shift to video content was understandably frustrating for designers who enjoyed the visual focus of the platform. These days, Instagram is not only a place for sharing photographs or other visual content, but has become a source for news and politics, leading to user-generated content that’s deeply loaded and less inspirational. Cosmos purposefully, and effectively, distances itself from this.
You can save a wide range of content
Photos, websites, text, videos, articles, products—you can save just about any kind of web content to your Comsos account. And it's easy to add content from a wide range of sources. On top of being sourced by connecting content from other Cosmos users, you can upload content from your phone or computer. Using the app’s plugin, one of the coolest features is the ability to save websites, articles and even snippets of text you find online. For example, if you find a quote that inspires you, you can simply highlight the text and save it to Cosmos as easily as if you were to copy and paste it.
You have a centralized place for your inspiration
Since I dabble here and there in all sorts of different apps, but am not so committed to any of them on a regular basis, I love that Cosmos app centralizes it all. And I think this streamlined way of curating visual inspiration is one of the greatest values for designers.
Upon signing up for Cosmos, I quickly sifted through some of my saved folders on Instagram and Pinterest to clean up a bit, and moved the most relevant elements to my Cosmos clusters.
Part of its appeal, especially for many designers who are using Pinterest for inspiration, is the ability to import from existing Pinterest boards. This is a convenient switch, and timely too, since many Pinterest users have grown frustrated with the platform’s growing ad presence.
The downsides of the Cosmos App
Like any new app, there are some things that can be improved. That being said, there’s nothing I’ll list below that will take me away from Cosmos.
Be honest: it's still screen time
It might go without saying, but you still need to be connected to the internet to use the app, which means you may still find yourself bouncing across social media platforms once you’ve picked up your phone.
It can be difficult to find relevant content
One of the positive things about the app, especially as we see its roster of users growing, is that there is so much content to be discovered. One of the downsides can also be that there’s so much diverse content. Without having a specific search in mind that includes relevant keywords or colors or imagery, you may find that the results are general and vague. That said, if you’re in the beginning phases of a project, I think you can work the tool alongside your own creative thinking to fine tune your search and find content that’s relevant.
Cosmos alone won’t win your social media marketing strategy
If you plan to win clients with social media marketing, you can’t bank on Cosmos alone. The quiet nature of the tool comes with some obvious drawbacks in terms of analytics and reporting. Cosmos can be a way for potential clients to discover your work—in fact, in my search for typography trends I came across some pretty cool designers whose online portfolios I checked out and whose Instagram accounts I started to follow.
Still, there’s no real way to target your content to a specific audience, or to gauge how effective your content is at attracting the attention of others. To be fair, that’s not the point of the app, but it’s something to keep in mind.
The mobile UI isn’t as smooth as desktop
The Cosmos desktop version is more optimized for users than its mobile application. For me, it was little things like rearranging my clusters or browsing through search feeds that didn’t work as smoothly.
On the other hand, I am one of those who prefers browsing on desktop—and I have a feeling that when you’re in the midst of planning a design project or browsing for inspo, you might prefer desktop, too. In any case, I’m personally happy to find a social media app that pays attention to a solid desktop experience and didn’t find the mobile experience nearly frustrating enough to turn me off from using it.
Minimalist interaction means you’re a little on your own
I’m a bit torn about this. I’m used to using platforms where micro-interactions inform my journey. For example, a notification that I’ve completed certain actions, or useful reminders and encouragement. In Cosmos' attempt to be a quiet space, that relationship between the app and the user is missing.
On the one hand, this approach is kind of a breath of fresh air—I’ve found myself many times disillusioned with exaggerated notifications on apps. But I can think of some ways that hone in on already-existing features of the app where Cosmos users might benefit from increased interaction.
For example, it’d be really cool to have a more human-like quality when it comes to the app making content suggestions. A simple line of copy that adds “here’s some ideas based on recent searches” would offer users more support as they go.
Also, it may be helpful to have the option of turning on reminders to revisit content from the past. I’ve seen many users discuss how their older content gets lost. Perhaps more personalization when it comes to deciphering “priority” content could help, or a reminder to revisit certain elements or clusters that’s similar to Instagram and Facebook's “memories.”
Personally, I think you just need to get used to the minimal interaction, which I absolutely did. We’re so accustomed to getting feedback with every touch, but Cosmos is quiet.
The terminology takes some getting used to
On that note, I'll point out that although their UX copy is clever, the new language takes getting used to. I mean, it’s a silly little learning curve, but it took me a minute to remember that “posts” are “elements,” and “mood boards” are “clusters.” And adding something to my account is “connecting” it.
So we’ve got some extra social media verbiage to add to our dictionaries—it’s not the biggest deal, but may annoy some at the start.
How to make the most out of Cosmos
Design and marketing research for agencies isn’t always so straightforward, especially when you're testing out a new app. With that in mind, here are some takeaways to help you and your team make the most of your Cosmos experience.
Install the Chrome extension
This means you can add content to your Cosmos whenever inspiration strikes. Let’s say you're reading an inspirational article, you can highlight the text and save it to a Cosmos cluster in a second. Or, if you find an interesting image that adds inspiration to one of your upcoming projects, simply right click and add it to your Cosmos.
You can also enable a similar extension on mobile by enabling the “quick-Saving” feature, allowing you to save anything from your phone to Cosmos. Although I chose to bypass this to avoid giving me the option of more phone-time, some designers who are using this more actively for business will find it useful.
Start with some free-flowing exploration
Cosmos is really fun. When I first started my clustering process, I felt this strange tension for it to be perfect. But then I remembered I could do this without the pressure of needing my content to draw in social validation. The socially-light atmosphere of the app can be leveraged alongside its intricate search engine to really let loose with your creativity. While you’ll want to organize your clusters somewhere down the line, take some time to get into the “free-flowing” groove this app gives you the online space for.
Use it for collaboration
With a premium subscription, you can use the app to collaborate with team members from your agency by sharing clusters between your accounts. This means anyone can add inspirational content to a shared cluster, making the brainstorming aspect of shared products more streamlined, fun and collaborative.
Connect to your website and social media accounts
It’s very easy to connect with creators on this app, despite the lack of comments and interaction. Actually, in my opinion, it makes it feel even more organic. There have been a few designers I’ve come across on the app that drew me to their website and online portfolio, or to their social media pages. So ,you can still use the app to build your professional network.
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