Canva

Canva is an online design platform with a large template library and a suite of AI tools called Magic Studio. You can make social posts, presentations, documents, videos and print designs, and use AI to write copy, generate images and video, remove backgrounds, erase objects and resize designs. It is popular with non-designers, small businesses and teams. Canva also owns Leonardo AI.

Quick facts

• Made by: Canva, a company founded in Sydney, Australia in 2013
• Free plan: Yes, a permanent free plan with 5 GB of storage and a limited monthly allowance of AI credits
• Paid plans: Canva Pro for individuals, Canva Business (which replaced Teams for new sign-ups) for teams, and custom Enterprise
• Works on: Web, desktop, iOS and Android
• Pricing last checked: October 2026, using several recent published sources. Older pages list different prices, so confirm on Canva’s official pricing page.

What Canva is best at

• Template-based design: thousands of templates for social media, presentations, flyers, documents and more.
• AI inside the editor: Magic Write for text, Magic Media for images and video, Magic Edit, Magic Eraser, Background Remover and Magic Resize.
• Brand consistency: Brand Kits keep logos, colours and fonts consistent across designs on paid plans.
• Collaboration: share, comment and edit designs together in the browser.
• Quick publishing: export for web and print, or share a design as a link.

Plans and pricing

Older articles list Pro at $15 a month ($120 a year) and a Teams plan at $10 per user with a three-seat minimum, so you may see conflicting numbers. AI credits are shared across all AI features, and sources describe the allowances differently, with some counting only “Premium AI” uses. Heavy users may need extra credits. Confirm all figures on Canva’s official page.

Best for

• Small businesses and creators who need good-looking graphics without design skills.
• Marketing teams that want shared templates and brand controls.
• Teachers and students, who may qualify for free education access.

Less suited to

• Professional print and vector work that needs the depth of a dedicated design suite.
• Heavy generative image or video work, where specialist tools such as Midjourney or Adobe Firefly may give more control.
• Anyone who needs a fixed AI allowance, because credits are shared and capped.

How to get started

1. Sign up for the free plan and start from a template that matches your format.
2. Try Magic Write for text and Background Remover on a photo to see which AI tools you will actually use.
3. Set up your logo, colours and fonts so your designs stay consistent.
4. Check how quickly you use your AI credits before you decide to upgrade.
5. If you are a teacher, student or nonprofit, check whether you qualify for free access first.

Prompt ideas to copy

Write five Instagram captions for a bakery's autumn menu launch. Friendly tone, under 25 words each, one emoji each and no hashtags.

Create a 10-slide presentation outline for a quarterly sales review: a title slide, three key results, risks and next steps.

A flat illustration of a smiling coffee cup mascot waving, pastel colours, white background, for a cafe loyalty card.

Resize this poster for an Instagram story, a LinkedIn banner and A4 print, keeping the layout balanced in each format.

Limitations and things to watch

• AI credits are shared and capped, and allowances are described differently by different sources.
• AI-generated text and images need checking and editing before you publish them.
• Plan names and prices have changed recently and differ between older and newer sources.
• Check licence terms for any stock or AI-generated elements you use commercially.

Alternatives

Compare Adobe Firefly for generative images inside Adobe tools, Gamma for AI presentations, Ideogram for text in images, and Leonardo AI for a multi-model image platform.