Is Canva Pro worth it? What extras does Canva Pro have that makes people pay for the upgrade?
Luckily, I have paid for Canva Pro and can provide an honest, real user review of my Canva Pro experience.
So many tools try to sell us on the “freemium” model. There is a free trial with barely any features, or there is a great free trial but only for 30-days.
With Canva, the Canva Free service is both feature-packed AND forever free. So why do people ever pay for the Canva Pro upgrade at all?
Wondering whether Canva Pro is right for you? I've got you covered!
The key to understanding whether any product or service is worth it is to compare the price with the benefits. So, this complete Canva Pro review will compare the cost of the upgraded Pro service with the extra benefits that are not included in the Free version.
Don't have time or energy for reading the entire post? Use the Table of Contents to jump to the sections you are most interested in.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you find my content valuable and purchase through my links, I may make a small commission. It comes at no cost to you and helps me keep this blog going, so I can help you even more! I only recommend products I trust and/or use myself, and all opinions expressed are my own. Read full disclaimer here.
Page Contents
What is Canva?
Canva is a free online graphic design platform for creators at any skill level. Easily create any size digital design for any type or project. Then, just as easily, prepare it to be shared online or printed professionally.
Casual Canva users may make invitations or flyers for personal events. Business owners and bloggers may make every size social media post, blog graphic and even logo design they will ever need.
The drag and drop builder is preloaded with stock photos, graphics, fonts and even audio. No need to download pieces from different public use stock sites and upload all into one software.
Everything you need is ready to create a seamless design in Canva for any occasion.
Is Canva An App?
Use Canva on several platforms. It is multi-functional and can be used on most of today's portable tech.
Yes, Canva is an app that can be downloaded on your Android or iOS device. It can also be downloaded to use offline on a Windows PC or Mac.
Don't like to download tons of programs? That's fine too. You can head right to Canva.com and log in to use it from any web browser without having to download a thing. (That's 95% of the way I use it! The other 5% is with the iOS app. It works great too, but I am a fan of designing on bigger screens.)
Is Canva Free?
Yes, Canva is completely free to use!
Just like many tools, there is a Canva Pro paid upgrade option if you need more flexibility and power to the app.
However, Canva free is so much better than most “freemium” products. Many Canva users will be incredibly happy with Canva free and never feel the need to upgrade to pro. Plus, it is not a free short-term trial like many programs. Canva Free is a free-forever tool, so there is no risk to trying it out!
Who Is Canva Free / Canva Pro For?
Because Canva's graphic design tool is so simple to use, it appeals to creators at all skill levels. You don't have to invest in sophisticated software programs and learn complex menus to make professional-level designs.
This makes Canva amazing for everyone who has ever needed to create a digital design to share online or print a physical copy of.
Just a few of the users and uses of Canva might include:
- Teachers: Create homework assignments, lesson planners, motivational classroom posters
- Bloggers: Design shareable infographics and custom blog images without needing a “professional blogger photo shoot”
- E-Commerce Online Sellers: Design high-quality digital ads, social media posts for all sizes and orientations on each different platform
- Wedding Planner: Create professional invitations, make a bridesmaid binder, draft a shareable timeline and checklist for all of the vendors
- Neighborhood HOAs: Create neighborhood newsletters, yard sale flyers
Literally, if you have ever put a photo or text on a piece of paper to print out, you could be an ideal Canva user. Same goes for sharing a single social media post.
How Much is Canva Pro?
So, what does Canva Pro cost if you are thinking about paying for the upgrade?
The incredibly popular Canva Pro platform is only $12.99 per month.
That's less than the price of one day of lunch! (Seriously… I paid $20 at Panera for just myself yesterday…)
The monthly payment can be set up on autopay, but there is also no contract. If you want to pay for just one month of Pro to use for a large project, you absolutely can.
Want an even better deal on Canva Pro?
Pay for a full year upfront.
Instead of paying month-to-month, the Annual pricing plan might be a better option for some users. Especially if you know you will be using Pro for the whole year!
The $119.99 price tag might be a big cash outflow, but you will be set for the whole year. And it makes Canva Pro even cheaper if you compare it to the monthly rate.
What Extra Benefits Does Canva Pro Have?
One of my favorite things about Canva is that they are constantly upgrading the service and adding new features. At no extra cost!
So if you are already a Canva Pro user, all of a sudden you may realize you have some fun new tools you didn't even know you wanted. Next thing you know, they are your favorites! (That's how I felt when they added “Background Remover.”)
Here is just a quick snapshot of how Canva Free compares to Canva Pro, according to their website (as of October 2022.)
Canva Free Vs Canva Pro Summary Chart
Yes, both the Free and Pro options have large volumes of options. But even as a casual user, you might find yourself running in to a situation like these.
First, you might finally find the perfect font style for your project after searching through hundreds. But, if you are a Free user and you notice a little crown icon next to the font style, you are out of luck. The crown lets us know it is a Canva Pro upgrade option.
For example, while I have plenty of font styles to choose from in the image below, if I had my heart set on “Hey Gotcha!” or any of the other four fonts with crowns, I would be out of luck if I wasn't a Canva Pro user.
Second, a similar situation might happen but with a photo or graphic that was perfect for your design.
In my screenshot below, I searched for monstera graphics. Of the 18 graphics we see below, 11 have the crown icon showing us they are only included in the Canva Pro collection. Depending on what you need, you may find that the perfect fit is only included if you upgrade.
Extra Downloading Options in Pro
When it comes down to downloading your final project, you may notice extra features only available in Canva Pro that you realized you needed.
Below, look at the image on the left. You'll see that Canva Free includes plenty of options for downloading files as JPGs, PNGs, PDFs, and even MP4 Video and GIFs.
However, you can only download your design as an SVG file as a Canva Pro user.
(Note: I use Canva Pro to create and sell SVGs for Cricut crafters. When this feature rolled out recently, I was THRILLED. Worth every penny for Pro just for that for us Cricut lovers!)
The image on the right shows that while you can easily download your design as a PNG, you may be blocked from other features you were hoping to use.
For example, downloading with a transparent background is another one of my most used functions in Canva. Both PNGs and SVGs can be downloaded with transparent backgrounds, which makes it incredibly easy to also make, use, and even sell PNG files made in Canva Pro.
Canva Pro Bonus Features Explained
Clearly, Canva Free is not slacking on providing more than enough design options for the casual user.
However, many of the Bonus Features each deserve their own spotlight.
The power of Canva Pro is so much more than just 99 million more graphics and multiplied cloud storage. It's those extra features that sold me.
Let's take a look at just some of the extra features a little deeper.
Magic Resize Tool
Let's thank all the social media platforms for insisting on different size, shapes and layout orientation in each. Luckily, the Magic Resize tool makes it simple to design once and then easily convert into any other size options needed.
Create your square Instagram post. Then, just use the Magic Resize tool to also transfer the design into a vertical story layout and a large Facebook image. Yes, you may still need to make a few manual adjustments, but you won't ever have to design each layout one-by-one again!
Brand Kits
Branding is a key strategy for any business, big or small. To create a brand, one of the most vital aspects is to stay consistent with your brand colors, text style and logo.
For those of us without graphic designers or marketing teams, that is often easier said than done. Who has time to look up the hex code for that shade of peach you liked when you made your logo?
Luckily, Canva Pro lets you set up Brand Kits that keep all of these aspects in one place. Create a Brand Kit with your logo, color scheme, and brand fonts, and easily access them across every design you make in Canva.
Plus, if you are like me and have a few different businesses or brands you work across, it's no problem. You can keep up to 100 Brand Kits in your profile at a time!
And yes. If you have the perfect brand fonts that aren't ones included in Canva, that's no problem either. Those can be easily uploaded once and permanently stay in your Canva account, too.
Background Remover Tool
How often have you wished you knew how to use Adobe Photoshop to touch up your photos? Especially ones that look great, but with something goofy in the background. Or maybe company names and logos you need erased.
The Background Remover tool in Canva Pro a one-click piece of magic. With zero photo editing software skills, I have images that look like I paid for a branding photoshoot. All it took was erasing the background of good photos, then placing my headshot on a different background – which I also found through Canva's provided stock images.
Can I Try Canva Pro For Free?
Yes! Canva happily offers a 30 day free trial of Canva Pro.
Try it for a month with no cost and no risk. If you are not convinced or not ready to pay, just keep your account in Canva Free mode. Easy!
Canva Pro Continues To Grow
One thing I have been impressed with is that Canva Pro has rolled out amazing new features pretty consistently. And they have all instantly been included in my Pro subscription. No attempts to upsell me to a new platform level or to increase my Pro pricing plan.
The screenshot above showed up on my Canva homepage. Even more to be excited about still around the corner!
More features are being worked on, and you might have the opportunity to be a Beta tester for new tools, too. The rollout of Docs let me signup on the Waitlist to be an early tester and get the feature first to help provide feedback. How fun is that?!
Cricut Coaching Moment
Canva Pro is honestly one of my top 3 business tools that I am happy to pay for. Because of all the ways I am able to use Canva – and even make money from my designs – upgrading to the Pro feature is worth it's weight in gold.
Just a few things I make using just Canva and sell at this very minute include:
- SVGs
- PNGs
- Printable Art
- Digital Planners
- Printable Organization Binders
- Amazon Books
Plus, I make and use Canva personally for all my social media graphics and blog graphics.
I save so much money not having to pay for designers on Fivrr or virtual assistants to help save me time. The time and money I have saved with Canva is priceless… and has actually made me profit. 😉
