Quick answer: Canva is an online design platform, from Australian company Canva, for making social media posts, presentations, documents, videos, print items, logos and websites from templates. It has a generous free plan, and as of October 2026 its paid plans were Canva Pro at US$144 a year for one person and Canva Business at US$250 a year per person, with Enterprise pricing on request. Canva has added many AI tools and, since buying Affinity’s maker Serif in 2024, includes access to Affinity’s professional design software. It remains weaker than a dedicated photo editor for detailed photo retouching.
This review is based on Canva’s website, pricing page and published company information. We have not tested the service ourselves. An earlier version of this article said Canva “has the best collection of templates” and that “you can never go wrong with Canva”. We have removed those unsourced verdicts and updated the review for October 2026.
About Canva
- Company: Canva was launched in 2013 by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams in Australia, and is headquartered in Sydney.
- Scale: Canva says it has more than 220 million monthly active users in 190 countries and works in over 100 languages.
- Acquisitions: Canva bought Serif, the UK developer of the Affinity design apps, in March 2024, and the AI image start-up Leonardo AI later that year, according to Wikipedia’s account. Its plans now include access to Affinity.
Plans and pricing (as of October 2026)
As of October 2026, per Canva’s pricing page (US dollars, yearly billing; prices in India are shown in rupees and may differ):
| Plan | Price | Main features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Drag-and-drop editor, 1.6 million+ templates, 4.7 million+ photos, videos, graphics and audio, 1 Brand Kit (3 colours), 5 GB of cloud storage, up to 20 uses of Standard or Premium AI tools, access to Affinity |
| Pro | $144 a year for one person | 3.6 million+ templates including premium, 141 million+ premium stock items, AI tools such as background removal, resize and translate, 5 Brand Kits, social content scheduling, 100 GB of storage, Affinity with AI |
| Business | $250 a year per person | Pro features plus collaboration and team admin tools, 100 Brand Kits with approvals, access to Flourish, 500 GB of storage, more AI use |
| Enterprise | On request | Enterprise security, single sign-on, custom apps, 1,000 Brand Kits, 1 TB of storage, dedicated support for large contracts |
Canva’s page also offers monthly billing, free trials of Pro and Business, and an optional AI Pass add-on at extra cost. It says K-12 schools and not-for-profit organisations can get most premium features free. The original article said most elements were for premium users only; the free plan is now considerably larger, but premium templates, stock and many AI tools still need a paid plan.
Features Canva documents today
- Design types: social posts, presentations, documents (“Docs”), spreadsheets (“Sheets”), whiteboards, videos, websites, PDFs, print products such as business cards, flyers, T-shirts and mugs, and logos.
- Drag-and-drop editor: the core of Canva, as the original article described, with custom dimensions and export to PDF, JPG and PNG (and print-ready CMYK on paid plans).
- Templates and stock: millions of templates and stock items; you can also upload your own images and save designs as templates. The original article highlighted the stock library and the ability to reuse uploaded images.
- Brand Kits: store your brand’s colours, fonts and logos so designs stay consistent, which the original article described as custom branded templates.
- Collaboration: sharing, commenting and team editing, as the original article noted, with team admin on the Business plan.
- AI tools: Canva AI for generating images, designs and videos, Magic Layers, Magic Write for text, Magic Resize, translation, background removal and Canva Code. AI use is drawn from an allowance that varies by plan.
- Print: Canva can print and deliver designs where Canva Print is offered.
- Offline use: Canva lists a new Canva Offline feature on all plans.
Getting started
The original article described signing up with an email address or a Google or Facebook account, being asked what kind of user you are (teacher, student, non-profit, personal or business) so Canva can suggest templates, and then choosing a template category. That template-first approach is still how most people use Canva, though the sign-up screens change from time to time.
Canva for photo editing
The original article’s main criticism still applies in part: Canva is built for layouts and graphics, not detailed photo retouching. It has a photo editor, background remover and AI editing tools, but if you mainly need to retouch photos, a dedicated editor gives more control. The original article suggested Pixlr for full photo editing in a browser; see our Pixlr review, and our Fotor review for a tool that mixes editing and design. The original article also noted that results can look generic if you use popular templates unchanged, because many other people use the same ones.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Large free plan with millions of templates | Premium templates, stock and most AI need a paid plan |
| Covers many formats, from posts to presentations and websites | Less control than a dedicated photo editor |
| Brand Kits and team collaboration | Popular templates can look familiar |
| Free premium features for eligible schools and non-profits | AI use is limited by a plan allowance |
For other template-based tools, see our reviews of PicMonkey and Snappa.
Frequently asked questions
Is Canva free?
Yes. Canva Free includes the editor, more than 1.6 million templates, millions of stock items and 5 GB of storage. Premium content and most AI use need Pro or Business.
How much does Canva Pro cost?
US$144 a year for one person on Canva’s pricing page in October 2026. Monthly billing and local-currency prices are also available.
What is the difference between Canva Pro and Canva Business?
Business adds team collaboration and admin tools, 100 Brand Kits with approvals, Flourish and 500 GB of storage, at US$250 a year per person.
Does Canva own Affinity?
Yes. Canva bought Serif, the maker of Affinity, in 2024, and its plans now include access to Affinity.
Is Canva free for schools and non-profits?
Canva says K-12 schools and not-for-profit organisations can get most premium features free, subject to eligibility.
Checked in October 2026 against Canva’s pricing and About pages and Wikipedia’s account of Canva’s history and acquisitions. We have not tested Canva ourselves, so confirm current prices and features before you subscribe.
