What it is
Canva is a browser-based design tool built around templates: social graphics, presentations, documents, print materials and video, all editable without design skills.
It is the tool that made design accessible to people who would otherwise have used Word, and for small business marketing that has been genuinely useful.
I use it weekly for social graphics, client documents and quick mockups, and I would not use it for anything that defines a brand.
What it does
Template-based design across every common format, with a brand kit that applies your fonts, colours and logos consistently.
Magic Resize converts one design into every format you need, which is the single biggest time saving for anybody producing social content.
Background removal works in one click and replaces a job that used to require Photoshop skills.
Presentations, documents and simple video editing are all competent, and the stock library included with Pro removes another subscription.
Who it's for
Features
Pros and cons
Pricing
| PLAN | WHAT YOU GET | WORTH IT FOR |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Core editor, limited templates and stock. | Occasional graphics. |
| Canva Pro | Brand kit, Magic Resize, background remover, full library. | Anyone producing content regularly. Buy this. |
| Teams | Shared brand controls and approvals. | Marketing teams. |
| Enterprise | Brand governance at scale. | Large organisations. |
Canva Pro is among the best value subscriptions available to a small business. The free tier will frustrate you within a month of regular use.
Canva Pro. Set up the brand kit properly on day one, because that is what stops output looking like a template.
Alternatives
My verdict
Canva Pro is the best value subscription on this page. For a small business producing social graphics, presentations and documents, it replaces a designer for the routine work and a stock subscription at the same time.
The honest limitation is that template-based design looks like template-based design. Set up your brand kit, deviate from the templates, and use real photographs rather than the generated imagery, and the output stops being recognisable.
It is not a designer's tool and does not claim to be. For anything that defines how your business looks, pay somebody. For everything else, this is enough.
Try Canva →Who should use it
Who should avoid it
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Affiliate disclosure
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the price you pay. It also does not decide what appears on this page: I recommend tools with no affiliate programme just as readily, and leave off tools with generous ones when they do not deserve the space.