Corel develops professional and consumer design software including CorelDraw, PaintShop Pro, and Corel Painter. This page aggregates customer ratings and reviews to help you understand what buyers experience when purchasing and using Corel products and services.
Corel Reviews
2.1
19 reviews
What Shoppers Say About Corel
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
Corel's ratings are sharply divided, with the vast majority of recent reviews expressing serious frustration. The primary complaints center on account and activation issues, particularly with PaintShop Pro products: customers report being locked out of software they purchased, unable to reinstall due to missing purchase records or non-functioning activation codes, and facing pressure to repurchase. Additional complaints include software bugs (such as files saving to unexpected folders) and inadequate customer support that fails to address technical problems. A small minority of reviewers praise Corel's software itself, with at least one long-term CorelDraw user reporting satisfaction with the product quality and frequent updates.
The disconnect between product satisfaction and company experience is notable. While some shoppers genuinely like the capabilities of Corel's design software, the account management system, activation process, and customer service responses emerge as significant pain points that overshadow positive features. Reinstallation and reactivation of legitimately purchased software appear to be particularly problematic, leaving customers feeling trapped between abandoning the software or paying again.
Customer Reviews (19)
Sorted by: Most recentLinda G.Oct 18, 2023
I'm a retired grandmother who wasn't using the product. Corel charged my bank account for an unauthorized automatic renewal. Their customer service made it right with a full refund that showed up in just a couple business days. Thanks Corel for fixing this!
Janet M.Oct 18, 2023
I'm a retired grandmother who wasn't actually using the product. Corel charged my account without permission for an auto-renewal that I never agreed to. Their customer service team stepped up and gave me a complete refund, which arrived in just a couple of business days. Really appreciate Corel making this right!
Amandeep K.Apr 16, 2023
Bought Pinnacle Studio 26 through Amazon. No license key arrived. I explained this to Corel multiple times. They keep telling me to check my software library under Orders, which doesn't even exist. Then they ask for my receipt again even though I already gave it to them. Completely incompetent and unhelpful.
Rajesh P.Mar 15, 2023
The support team treats you horribly. It takes forever to resolve a single ticket and they just respond with nonsense. They never address what you actually need and make no real effort to understand your issue.
Thomas W.Feb 11, 2023
I paid to upgrade from Pinnacle 22 to 26. Later I found out the effects have watermarks on them which made all my existing effects worthless. I also discovered that the new blue effects weren't included in the upgrade. Since early December I've been trying to explain this to Corel but they're not getting that I spent 79 pounds and got stuck with useless software. I asked for a refund but they said I'm past the 30 day window. Their complaints department won't respond to my emails. This company has zero complaints process and is the absolute worst I've encountered.
Kevin B.Feb 5, 2023
Got their product and now I'm getting hammered with ads everywhere on YouTube. Really annoying.
Brandon S.Nov 16, 2022
I'm new to video editing and after learning on OpenShot I decided to try out Video Studio. Big mistake. I picked Corel because I'd used Draw for graphic design before and liked it. But Video Studio has been a nightmare. The program freezes randomly, crashes all the time, and takes way too long just to trim a video clip. Even as someone who barely knows what I'm doing, I can tell this software is terrible. I'm uninstalling it right now and getting something else.
Christopher H.Nov 9, 2022
I opened a support issue back in August 2021 and it's still broken. Dealing with support has been a nightmare. Level 1 support was rude and dishonest. They wouldn't show up for remote sessions and when they did show up they started uninstalling programs from my laptop. When I called them out they stopped the uninstall but my registry got corrupted so I had to rebuild the whole system. They kept closing tickets with no explanation. Level 2 finally admitted the problem existed and sent it to the developers. They told me it would be fixed in Videostudio 2022 so I upgraded, but the issue was still there. After that they marked my original tickets as expired so I had to start over in April 2022. Since then I've had tons of chat sessions and called support multiple times. Same response every time: someone will get back to you soon, but no emails or calls ever come. Over a year of headache. Nobody should have to deal with this.
Jennifer R.Apr 5, 2021
I own Corel Video Studio Ultimate 18 and wanted to work with some high quality 4K 60fps footage. The editing went smoothly but when I tried to preview it the playback stuttered really badly. I reached out to Corel through their chat support and they tried various fixes, but the stuttering continued. They filed a support ticket and kept me updated regularly throughout the process. Eventually they got it working after walking me through multiple troubleshooting steps. The support experience was really solid and professional.
Corel Review FAQ
What is Corel's average rating on RetailCoupons.com?
Corel is rated 2.1 out of 5 based on 19 customer reviews. The rating distribution shows a polarized pattern, with 74 percent one-star reviews and 26 percent five-star reviews, indicating very different experiences among customers.
What do customers most frequently complain about?
The most common complaints involve account and activation problems. Multiple customers report being unable to reinstall or reactivate software they legitimately purchased because their purchase records disappeared from their Corel accounts or activation codes no longer function. Some also report technical issues with software behavior and perceive customer support as unhelpful in resolving these problems.
Do satisfied customers recommend Corel software?
The small percentage of five-star reviewers do speak positively about the software itself. One reviewer states they have used CorelDraw for over six years and purchase updates annually, describing the software as fantastic. However, this group is significantly outnumbered by dissatisfied customers in recent reviews.
Are there specific Corel products mentioned in negative reviews?
Yes. PaintShop Pro (multiple versions including 2019 and 2023) appears most frequently in complaints, with issues ranging from activation problems to software bugs. Corel Painter and CorelDraw are also mentioned, though CorelDraw received positive feedback from at least one long-term user.
How can I write a review of Corel on RetailCoupons.com?
RetailCoupons.com welcomes customer reviews of Corel products and services. Your honest feedback about your experience with their software, customer service, activation process, and overall satisfaction helps other shoppers make informed purchasing decisions. Reviews are most helpful when they include specific details about what you purchased and the issues or benefits you encountered.
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