Canva Pro Review- Is It Worth It?
If you’re stuck trying to decide if it’s worth it to upgrade to Canva Pro, this review is going to break down the good and the bad to make life easy. If you run a business, youtube channel, Facebook page, or want to spice up your social media, Canva provides an easy way to be more creative. With many easy to use, drag, and drop design templates, even your grandparents could make a kick-butt design. The great thing about Canva is that it’s easy to get started by charging you absolutely nothing. However, you’ll soon realize you’re limited to only the free graphics, images, and templates. So are the extra perks that come with Canva Pro worth your money?
If you want a simple, effective, all-in-one design solution, upgrading to Canva Pro is a good idea. With access to the premium stock image library, custom template options, brand identity kits, unlimited folders, and 100GB of cloud storage, it has a lot to offer. Canva Pro provides all the tools you need to create stunning graphic designs, even with no experience.
Now I wasn’t always sitting in the Canva Pro camp. In fact, I refused to upgrade for quite a while before I finally had a change of heart. Looking back, I can’t believe I didn’t upgrade sooner. In this Canva Pro review, you’ll see exactly why I and so many others made the upgrade and why it may be a good next move for you.
What Is Canva?
Canva is a web-based design software that allows even the most beginner designer to create professional-level designs in minutes. With thousands of pre-made drag and drop templates to choose from, you can create amazing graphics for your business, website, or social media in minutes.
Canva is perfect for creating things like banners, Pinterest Pins, business logos, video thumbnails, blog infographics, and more. I’d go as far as saying that there’s nothing more cost-effective and easy to use when creating designs for your business and personal needs.
Unlike other design software like Photoshop, InDesign, or Illustrator, Canva streamlines the process and flattens the learning curve. Rather than spending hours trying to learn a specific design program, Canva can be learned in minutes with its easy to follow, intuitive design.
Inside Canva is a massive library of fonts, graphic elements, stock photos, and more that you can use royalty-free for your designs. You can even incorporate more advanced design elements like videos or GIFs into your templates. Since there are so many design tools, along with simple drag and drop templates, you don’t need a keen eye for design to make something great. Canva makes it easy, and it’s shocking how quickly you can make a professional design.
The beauty of it all is that you can get started with Canva for free, for life; no obligations required. Even with the free version, you get access to thousands of custom templates, stock photos, graphics, texts, textures, and more!
However, if you want to get the most out of Canva, then upgrading to the Pro version is worth every penny. With zero restrictions and access to a larger library of photos, graphics, and other assets, it’s been a game-changing upgrade for my business’s design needs.Â
Is It Worth Paying For Canva?
By paying for Canva, you get access to more stock images, graphic elements, design templates, and more to help make designing easier. You also gain the advantage of 100GB of storage and unlimited folders, making it easy to store and sort all your designs. With so many added features to streamline your workflow, Canva Pro is absolutely worth paying for.
When I first started using Canva, I was like you, not fully convinced that Canva Pro would offer much more. In the free version of Canva, you still get access to lots of great images, templates, and graphic elements, but you have to look for them. Since so many assets are locked to free Canva users, it’s harder to find the perfect piece for your design.
– Your Options Are Limitless
The big advantage I felt immediately after upgrading was having unlimited options. Every template, every graphic, every image I saw was up for grabs. It was like the brakes were taken off, and I could start designing without limitations.
Now when you’re designing something in Canva, you likely follow a certain style. The types of colors you choose, the fonts, template styles, and more all work together to create your very own aesthetic. Especially if you’re designing for a brand, keeping the theme consistent is crucial for building brand identity in your online presence.
In the free version of Canva, you have to painstakingly find the same colors, the same style of templates, and more for each new design.
Talk about a huge (and annoying) waste of time.
– Easier To Maintain A Consistent Style
Canva Pro makes life easier by allowing you to create brand identity kits. Whether you’re designing for a brand or yourself, you can keep your style consistent with a kit that’s easily accessible in every design. With all your favorite colors and fonts already laid out, you can whip up an on-brand design without much effort.
Especially when you’re working in bulk with something like making Pinterest Pins or Instagram Stories, brand identity kits are a lifesaver.
– More Cloud Storage & Better Organization Options
The third and final obvious advantage to Canva Pro is that you have more storage, with better organization options. In the free version of Canva, you only get 5GB of cloud storage with 2 folders to organize it all.
Canva Pro, on the other hand, gives you 100GB of cloud storage and unlimited folders.
Rather than maxing your 5GB limit, Canva Pro provides a storage limit you’ll have a hard time reaching. Better yet, you can quickly build an effective folder structure to keep all your designs organized and easy to find.
What’s The Difference Between Canva Vs. Canva Pro?
Besides the three main advantages that you learned in the previous section, there’s a lot more that Canva Pro offers. To help make the comparison easy, let’s use some tables.
Design & Exporting Options
| Features | Canva FREE | Canva PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Free design templates, logos, fonts, graphics, and photos | YES | YES |
| Premium Stock Image Library | Â | YES |
| Custom Dimensions For Designs | YES | YES |
| JPEG, PNG, PDF Export Options | YES | YES |
| Built-In Social Sharing | YES | YES |
| Access To The Canva App On Your Phone | YES | YES |
| Export Designs And GIFs or MP4 videos | YES | YES |
| One-Click Design Magic-Resize | Â | YES |
| Background Remover | Â | YES |
| Create Custom Templates And Upload Your Own Logos & Fonts | Â | YES |
| Download Designs With Transparent Background & Adjust Download Quality | Â | YES |
| Publish Designs Directly From Canva To Social Media | Â | YES |
Collaboration & Sharing
| Features | Canva FREE | Canva PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Team Sharing | YES | YES |
| Share, View, or Edit Access To Designs With Others Through A Design Link | YES | YES |
| Share, View, or Edit Access Of Designs To Certain Members Of Your Team | YES | YES |
| Built-In Commenting On Designs | YES | YES |
| Workflows To Get Approval On Designs | Â | YES |
Brand Identity & Management
| Features | Canva FREE | Canva PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Establish Colors, Logos, and Fonts With A Brand Kit | NONE | YES (1 Brand Kit) |
Security & Support
| Features | Canva FREE | Canva PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Storage | 5 GB | 100 GB |
| Folders | 2 | Unlimited |
| Support | Self-Serve | 24/7 Support |
| Two Factor Authentication Sign In | YES | YES |
The Benefits Of Using Canva Pro
Comparing Canva Free VS. Canva Pro, you see a lot of similar features between the two. However, the features that are only available with Canva PRO are some big ones.
The biggest differences come down to the customization of your designs. Keeping consistent colors or using your own logos is important to help everything match with a similar style. The free version of Canva lacks the features to make this possible. With Canva Pro, you can upload your own logos, make a brand identity kit, and even create custom designs unique to you.
Especially if you want to get into the business of selling design templates on your website, none of that would be possible without Canva Pro.
The next big benefit is organization. I’ve talked about this already in this review, but I’m going to say it again. Keeping your designs well organized is the key to a stress-free workflow.
Just imagine trying to organize hundreds of different photos into just two folders. Sure, it could work, but you’ll have one heck of a time finding anything. That’s exactly what it’s like to organize your designs with the free version of Canva.
With Canva Pro, you can organize your designs into an unlimited number of folders, making it easy to categorize everything. So whether you’re looking for a design you made a year ago or the one you worked on yesterday, a better organization system makes it easy.
Now add in all the additional advantages such as one-click background removers, exporting with transparent backgrounds, 24/7 support, and better exporting/publishing options, there’s nothing not to love about Canva Pro.
To see how amazing all these features are for yourself, Try Canva Pro For Free!
How Much More Does Canva Pro Offer?
So you get the idea of the different features the free version of Canva offers versus the pro version, but let’s talk numbers.
When you’re using the free version of Canva, you’re limited to the number of designs, fonts, textures, photos, etc., to choose from.
But how much of a difference is there?
- Photo & Graphics Library: The free version gives you access to 100,000+ photos and graphic assets, while the Pro version unlocks 75,000,000+ stock photos and graphics, all royalty-free.
- Templates: The free version has 8000+ templates, while the Pro has an additional 20,000 premium templates to choose from.
- Fonts: The free version is very limited, while the Pro version has over 1000 fonts built-in, with the option to upload more of your own.
- Storage: The Free version offers 5GB of cloud storage while the Pro version has 100GB.
- One-Click Document Resize: To resize a document in the free version, you’ll have to start all over. In Canva Pro, you can resize your document in one click. Check out the video below to see how easy it is!
The improved image and graphic library alone was reason enough for me to upgrade. However, with a mind-boggling amount of added design options, it’s hard to deny how much more you can do with Canva Pro.
Try Canva Pro FREE For 30 Days
How Much Does Canva Pro Cost?
- Canva Free: 0$ For Life
- Canva Pro: $12.95/Month or $119.40/Year
- Enterprise: $30/Month (Meant for larger businesses)
To upgrade to Canva Pro, you can choose between monthly or yearly billing. For monthly billing, Canva Pro costs USD $12.95 / per user. Alternatively, it’s only $119.40/year or USD $9.95/Month when billed annually.
If you have the money to spend on the annual subscription, it feels like a no-brainer. By paying for the whole year at once, you end up saving $36 total. Considering you’re paying for the same thing either way, why not save that $36 and buy yourself a nice dinner instead?
Maybe even ball out on dessert while you’re at it.
Click here to see all of Canva’s pricing options.
Can You Cancel Your Canva Pro Subscription At Any Time?
Yes, if you do not want to continue using Canva Pro before your 30-day trial expires, you will not be charged the Canva Pro subscription fee. If you’re canceling an existing Pro subscription, you will not be charged for further payments on the next billing cycle.
Having that added peace of mind is nice when signing up for any new piece of software you aren’t sure about. After all, how can you be sure if you like it without actually trying it out? By getting the free trial, you can get 30 days to decide whether or not Canva Pro is for you.
If you’re like me and realize the subscription is a small price to pay for the game-changing design options, you’ll happily pay for Canva Pro year after year.
Is There A Free Trial For Canva Pro?
You can get a 30 day free trial of Canva Pro to see if the extra features are something you like. Once the trial is over, you can decide whether or not you want to continue with Canva Pro or go back to the free version.
Claim Your 30-Day Free Trial Of Canva Pro HERE
The Downsides To Canva
As useful as Canva is, there are some downsides to the program.
One of the biggest ones being that it does not work offline. That means if you’re not near wifi, or out of service, you cannot edit or create designs on desktop or mobile. This is a gigantic pain at times when you want to work on something but aren’t anywhere with an internet connection. Likewise, if you have a poor internet connection at your home, you’ll likely struggle to load things in Canva.
The second glaring issue is the search results it offers for photos, graphics, and other media. Often you’ll search for something very specific and end up with search results that don’t quite match. Although this isn’t the end of the world, it is something I feel that Canva could improve on in the long term.
Even though the drag and drop templates in Canva are useful, if you don’t make these templates more unique, you end up with the same look as everyone else. If you go on Pinterest, you’ll come across a number of closely designed pins, all because they’re using the same Canva template. If you truly want to stand out from the crowd, you’ll need to further customize the default templates to make them your own.
This isn’t necessarily the fault of Canva, but just the end result of drag and drop templates in a very popular design app.
Lastly, a final downside of using Canva comes with using the free version. Since the app wants you to upgrade or sign up for a free trial, the interface for free users is bombarded with premium, locked content.
For example, you might search for images as a free user, only to find that half of the photos you see are premium images that you can’t access. It would be nice to be able to filter these searches as a free user, but ultimately I understand the motive on Canva’s end.
So, Is Canva Pro Worth It?
With everything said, I would say Canva Pro is absolutely worth the money. With more design options, assets, organization, storage, and improved support, it’s the only way to get the full value Canva experience. When creating designs for your business or personal brand, there’s no tool more effective and efficient than Canva. Especially with the help of brand kits in the Pro version, it’s extremely easy to stay on brand across any design.
If you need a cost-effective way to create amazing designs, then Canva is far cheaper than hiring a graphic designer. With their drag and drop templates, you can make pro-level graphics with beginner-level experience. Unlike other design programs, Canva is easy to learn and has an extremely simple interface. From the first moment you start using it, you’ll feel right at home creating new designs.
So, is Canva Pro the right choice for you? Sign Up for the 30-day free trial and let me know what you think!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I Use Canva Images For Commercial Use?
Yes, all of the images from Canva are royalty-free for commercial and personal use. Canva uses images from Pixabay and Pexels, both free stock photo websites that operate under the CC0 copyright law. That means you do not need to credit the content creator and can use the images in any way you see fit.
If in doubt, consult Canva’s Free Media License Agreement.
Can Canva Pro Replace Photoshop?
Although having similar capabilities, Canva can not replace Photoshop entirely. Canva has a wide array of useful templates and design options but lacks the tools and interface to make more custom graphics like what’s possible in Photoshop. Canva provides a more streamlined method of design but does not serve as a replacement for professional design and photo software, such as Photoshop.
How Long Is The Canva Free Trial?
The Canva Pro free trial lasts 30-days. After the 30-days is up, you will be automatically subscribed to the monthly or annual subscription, depending on the option you chose. If you don’t wish to continue after the free trial, you must cancel your subscription before the trial expires.
Can You Sell What You Make On Canva?
You can sell the artwork or templates you create with Canva, as long as they aren’t anything similar to a specific template. Try building your designs or templates from scratch to be safe, so you don’t copy or follow a specific template.
Does Canva Own My Designs?
Canva does not own your particular designs, but they do own the templates and pre-made options throughout the site. That means that you can use their templates for whatever purpose you see fit, but you cannot claim these pre-made templates as your own or try to resell them as your own creation.
Happy Designing!
– Brendan 🙂
