Canva Features: Everything You Get (And What Costs Extra)

Canva has evolved from a simple drag-and-drop design tool into a full-blown visual workspace with AI, video editing, brand management, and team collaboration. The feature list is genuinely impressive-but half of it is locked behind a paywall.

Let's break down exactly what Canva offers, what's free, what requires Pro, and whether the upgrade is worth your money.

Canva's Core Features (Available on All Plans)

Even free Canva users get a solid foundation. Here's what you're working with:

Design Editor

The drag-and-drop editor is where Canva shines. It's genuinely intuitive-you can create professional-looking social posts, presentations, flyers, and more without touching Photoshop. The interface has been overhauled recently with floating toolbars and a cleaner workspace that gives you more room to actually design.

The editor works across desktop browsers, mobile apps (iOS and Android), and tablets. Everything syncs to the cloud automatically, so you can start a design on your laptop and finish it on your phone. The learning curve is minimal-most users can create their first design within minutes of signing up.

Templates

Free users get access to over 250,000 free templates. That sounds like a lot (because it is), but you'll quickly notice the best ones are marked with a crown icon-meaning they're Pro-only. Still, the free selection covers most basic needs: Instagram posts, Facebook covers, presentations, business cards, posters, flyers, resumes, and more.

Templates are organized by category and use case, making it easy to find what you need. You can filter by style, color, and theme. Each template is fully customizable-you can change colors, fonts, images, and layout elements to match your needs.

Stock Assets

The free library includes millions of free elements. Photos, icons, shapes, illustrations-enough to build decent designs without paying. Just know that premium stock (the really good stuff) requires Pro.

Free users also get access to thousands of fonts, though the most unique and professional typefaces are often Pro-only. The free asset library is refreshed regularly with new content, so you're not stuck with the same tired stock photos everyone else is using.

Cloud Storage

Free accounts get 5GB of cloud storage for your uploads and designs. That's actually generous for a free tool-should handle a few hundred projects before you hit limits. Your designs are automatically saved as you work, and you can organize them into unlimited folders to keep things tidy.

Basic Collaboration

Free users can share designs via link and work collaboratively in real-time. You can add comments, tag team members, and assign tasks-though advanced collaboration features like approval workflows and team-wide brand controls require paid plans.

Basic AI Tools

Canva gives free users limited access to AI features like Magic Write (AI text generation) and Magic Media (AI image generation). You get 50 total uses, which runs out fast if you're experimenting. Consider it a taste test.

The AI tools are powered by leading models including OpenAI's GPT-4 for text generation and Leonardo.AI's Phoenix model for image creation. Even with limited credits, free users can test the capabilities and see if the AI features justify upgrading.

Export Options

Free users can export designs as PNG, JPG, or standard PDF files. These formats work fine for digital use-social media posts, website graphics, email attachments. However, you can't export transparent backgrounds, SVG files, or print-ready PDFs with crop marks and bleed on the free plan.

Canva Pro Features (What the Pricing Gets You)

This is where Canva gets serious. Canva Pro costs $14.99/month when paid monthly, or $119.99/year when paid annually (annual saves you about $60). Here's what unlocks:

Premium Templates & Stock

Pro users get access to 100+ million premium stock photos, videos, graphics, and audio tracks-plus 610,000+ premium templates. The quality difference is noticeable. Premium templates are more polished, more on-trend, and save you more time.

The premium content library includes licensed music tracks for video projects, high-resolution photography from professional stock providers, and exclusive illustrations and graphics you won't find on free accounts. This alone can replace multiple stock photo subscriptions.

Brand Kit (Now Brand Hub)

This is the killer feature for businesses. Brand Kit lets you save your colors, fonts, and logos in one place. Every new design automatically has access to your brand assets. You can create up to 100 Brand Kits with Pro-useful if you manage multiple clients or brands.

The Brand Hub expands on the traditional Brand Kit by centralizing all your brand elements: logos, color palettes, fonts, icons, imagery, graphics, and even brand voice guidelines. You can upload your brand guidelines directly to Canva, and the AI will extract your brand elements automatically to populate your Brand Kit.

Free users can technically save some brand elements (one color palette), but it's severely limited and frustrating to work with. Pro users can save multiple logo variations, unlimited color palettes, upload custom fonts, and even define font pairings for headings and body text.

Brand Templates take this further-you can create locked template designs that team members can customize without breaking your brand guidelines. When you update your logo or brand colors, you can replace them across all existing designs with a single click.

Background Remover

One-click background removal for photos. It works surprisingly well-not Photoshop-level precise on complex edges, but good enough for 90% of use cases. This alone is worth the Pro price if you're creating product images or headshots regularly.

The background remover uses AI to detect subjects and separate them from backgrounds automatically. You can then add transparent backgrounds, replace backgrounds with solid colors or gradients, or use other images as backdrops. For video content, Pro users can even remove backgrounds from video clips-a feature that typically requires expensive software.

Magic Resize

Design something once, resize it to any dimension instantly. Created an Instagram post and need it as a Pinterest pin, Facebook ad, and Twitter header? Magic Resize handles it in seconds. The AI adapts the layout reasonably well-you'll still need to tweak occasionally, but it beats recreating from scratch.

Magic Resize (also called Magic Switch for format transformations) intelligently repositions elements, adjusts text sizes, and maintains visual hierarchy when adapting designs to different dimensions. You can resize to preset social media formats or enter custom dimensions for specific use cases.

Content Planner & Scheduler

Pro users can schedule posts directly to up to 8 social media platforms from within Canva. It's not a full-blown social media management tool, but it eliminates the need for separate scheduling software for basic needs.

The scheduler integrates with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, and more. You can see your scheduled content in calendar view, plan campaigns in advance, and schedule multiple posts at once. For teams managing social content, this streamlines the workflow considerably.

1TB Cloud Storage

Massive upgrade from the free 5GB. You'd have to create thousands of designs to hit this limit. The expanded storage is particularly valuable if you work with video content or high-resolution images that eat up space quickly.

Advanced Export Options

SVG files, transparent backgrounds, animated GIFs, print PDFs with crop marks and bleed-Pro unlocks the export formats that actually matter for professional work. You can also adjust compression settings to balance file size and quality, and download multiple pages from multi-page documents as separate files.

Priority Support

24/7 support with faster response times. Free users can wait up to 7 days for email responses. Pro users typically get responses within 24 hours, with access to live chat support during business hours.

Magic Eraser

Remove unwanted objects from photos with a brush-based tool. Simply paint over elements you want to remove-people photobombing your shot, distracting background objects, blemishes-and the AI fills in the space naturally. It's not perfect on complex scenes, but works remarkably well for simple removals.

Version History

Pro users can access previous versions of their designs and restore earlier iterations if needed. This is invaluable when you accidentally delete something important or want to revert changes. Free users don't have access to design history.

Magic Studio: Canva's AI Suite

Canva has gone all-in on AI, and Magic Studio is the umbrella for all their AI tools. The AI features have been used over 10 billion times since launch. Here's what's included:

Magic Design

Describe what you want, and Canva generates design options. It's useful for getting started quickly or overcoming creative blocks. Works better for presentations than complex custom designs.

Magic Design works for presentations, social media posts, videos, documents, and even websites. You provide a text prompt describing your needs, and the AI generates multiple design variations you can customize. The designs are powered by GPT-4 combined with Canva's design engine and template library.

Magic Write

AI copywriting built into the editor. Generate headlines, body copy, social captions-whatever you need. Pro users get 500 monthly uses; free users get 50 total (ever).

Magic Write can generate first drafts, rewrite existing text for different tones, summarize long content, expand bullet points into paragraphs, check grammar, and create outlines. You can define your brand voice in your Brand Kit, and Magic Write will generate content matching that tone and style automatically.

Magic Media

Text-to-image generation powered by Leonardo.AI's Phoenix model. Generate custom images, illustrations, or even video clips from text prompts. Pro users get 500 AI image generations per month.

Magic Media now includes text-to-video generation powered by Runway's Gen-2 technology. Describe the video scene you want, select a style (cinematic, animated, realistic), and Canva generates a short video clip. You can also upload an image and have the AI animate it into a video.

Magic Grab

Select and move any object within an image-even if it wasn't originally a separate layer. Useful for repositioning people, products, or elements in stock photos. The AI automatically separates subjects from backgrounds, letting you rearrange compositions without manual masking.

Magic Expand

Extend the edges of any image using AI. Need a landscape-oriented photo but only have a square? Magic Expand fills in the missing areas. Results vary-simple backgrounds work well, complex scenes can look weird.

This outpainting tool is particularly useful for adapting images to different aspect ratios for various social platforms. You can expand in any direction-add more sky above, extend scenery to the sides, or add foreground space below.

Magic Switch

Transform designs between formats. Turn a presentation into a document, a document into a video, etc. It's more sophisticated than simple resizing-the AI attempts to maintain visual hierarchy and readability.

Magic Switch also handles language translation. Translate your design text into over 100 languages while maintaining layout and formatting. This is incredibly valuable for brands creating localized content for different markets.

Magic Edit

Powered by Stable Diffusion, Magic Edit lets you use text prompts to modify specific parts of images. Brush over the area you want to change, describe what you want instead, and the AI generates variations. You can add elements that don't exist, replace objects, or remove unwanted items with AI-generated fill.

Magic Morph

Apply creative effects to text and shapes using text prompts. Want your headline to look like it's made of water, covered in flowers, or carved from stone? Magic Morph applies those effects through AI generation. It's great for creating unique, eye-catching text treatments without manual design work.

Magic Animate

Add movement and animation to static elements in your designs. Text can fade in, images can zoom or pan, shapes can bounce or rotate. Magic Animate offers preset animation styles you can apply with a click, perfect for creating engaging social media content or presentation slides.

Dream Lab

Canva's newest AI image generator for creating photorealistic images from text prompts. Generates "vibrant, lifelike visuals" but consumes more credits than standard Magic Media generations. Dream Lab uses Leonardo.AI's Phoenix model and produces higher-quality, more detailed images than the standard text-to-image tool.

Magic Insights & Magic Formulas

Available in Canva Sheets (the spreadsheet tool), Magic Insights analyzes your data and generates summaries, identifies trends, and answers questions about your spreadsheet data in plain language. Magic Formulas lets you describe what calculation you need in simple text, and the AI writes the formula for you-no need to memorize Excel syntax.

Ask @Canva

A design-aware AI assistant you can tag in comments to get real-time help. Ask questions about your design, request changes, or get suggestions. Ask @Canva understands the context of your design and can apply your brand colors, fonts, and style automatically when making suggestions.

Video Editing Features

Canva has expanded significantly into video. You can now:

Is it a replacement for Premiere Pro? No. But for social media clips, talking head videos, and simple edits, it's genuinely capable-and way faster to learn.

The video editor includes features like multi-track audio mixing, keyframe animation, speed controls, and the ability to work with 4K footage. Recent updates added the ability to use Google's Veo 3 model for advanced AI video generation, creating higher-quality video clips from text descriptions.

For more serious video editing needs, check our roundup of best video editing software or free video editing options.

Team & Collaboration Features

Canva has evolved into a legitimate team tool. Here's what's available:

Real-Time Collaboration

Multiple people can edit the same design simultaneously-like Google Docs for design. Comments, suggested edits, and version history keep everyone aligned. You can see who's viewing or editing in real-time, and changes appear instantly for all collaborators.

Canva for Teams (Now Canva Business)

Starting at $10/user/month when billed annually (minimum 3 users), Teams adds admin controls, shared folders, approval workflows, and team-wide Brand Kits. You can assign tasks, track versions, and lock templates so nobody messes with approved designs.

The Teams plan includes everything in Pro plus team-specific features like role-based permissions, activity insights, design approvals before publishing, and the ability to create team-only templates that can't be edited outside your organization.

Canva Enterprise

Custom pricing for large organizations. Adds SSO (Single Sign-On), SCIM (automated user provisioning), audit logs, advanced brand governance, and dedicated customer success managers. If you're managing 50+ people, this is where you need to be.

Enterprise includes Canva Shield-enhanced privacy and security tools with indemnification for accounts with over 100 seats. Enterprise users have complete control over AI feature access, and their content is never used to train AI models.

Work Kits

Pre-built template collections for specific departments: Sales, Marketing, HR, and Creative teams. Each includes templates for common use cases (pitch decks, onboarding materials, social campaigns, etc.). Work Kits help teams get started quickly without building template libraries from scratch.

Brand Controls

Team administrators can restrict which fonts and colors team members can use, ensuring everyone stays on-brand. You can lock specific design elements in templates, set approval requirements for certain content types, and control who can publish externally versus saving drafts.

Design Types You Can Create

Canva isn't just for social media graphics. The platform now handles:

Canva Sheets: The Spreadsheet Tool

Introduced in recent updates, Canva Sheets brings spreadsheet functionality into the visual workspace. Unlike traditional spreadsheets, Canva Sheets connects directly with the design suite, letting you:

This is particularly powerful for creating personalized marketing materials, certificates with names, or product catalogs where data drives design.

Affinity Integration: Professional Design Tools

In a major development, Canva acquired Affinity and now offers professional-grade design software free to all users. The all-new Affinity combines photo editing, vector design, and page layout tools in one platform-similar to the Adobe Creative Suite but completely free.

Affinity connects with Canva, allowing you to design and refine in Affinity's professional tools, then bring assets into Canva for collaboration and publishing. For Canva premium users, AI tools from Magic Studio are available directly inside Affinity through Canva AI Studio, including Generative Fill, Expand & Edit, and Remove Background.

This makes Canva one of the few platforms offering both accessible design tools for beginners and professional-grade software for advanced users-all under one ecosystem.

Third-Party Integrations

Canva connects with the tools you're probably already using:

There's also an app marketplace with hundreds of additional integrations, plus a developer platform if you need custom connections. Recent additions include DALL-E and ChatGPT integrations, allowing you to generate Canva designs from within OpenAI's tools.

Canva Print: From Design to Doorstep

One often-overlooked feature: Canva Print lets you order physical versions of your designs directly through the platform. Business cards, flyers, posters, brochures, invitations, apparel, and promotional items can all be printed and shipped without leaving Canva.

The print service uses professional-grade printing with options for paper types, finishes, and quantities. Pricing is competitive with dedicated print shops, and the convenience of designing and ordering in one place saves significant time. Print-ready PDFs are automatically generated with proper bleed, crop marks, and color profiles.

Education & Nonprofit Plans

Canva offers free premium access to verified educators, students, K-12 schools, and nonprofit organizations. These plans include most Pro features at no cost:

These plans remove cost barriers for educational institutions and nonprofits while providing access to premium design tools, AI features, and brand management capabilities.

Free vs Pro: Which Do You Actually Need?

Here's the honest take:

Stick with Free if:

Upgrade to Pro if:

The annual plan at $119.99/year works out to about $10/month-less than most stock photo subscriptions. If you're creating content regularly, Pro pays for itself in time saved and features unlocked.

Looking for discounts? Check our Canva discount page or see if you qualify for the 30-day free trial.

Canva Pro vs Teams vs Enterprise: The Breakdown

Beyond individual Pro plans, Canva offers team and enterprise options:

Canva Pro: $14.99/month or $119.99/year per person. Best for individuals, freelancers, and solopreneurs who need premium features but don't require team collaboration tools.

Canva Business (Teams): $10/user/month when billed annually with a 3-user minimum ($300/year for first year). Adds team collaboration, approval workflows, role-based permissions, and centralized brand management. Best for small to medium businesses with 3-50 users.

Canva Enterprise: Custom pricing typically ranging from $2,000-$30,000+ annually depending on organization size. Includes everything in Teams plus SSO, SCIM, advanced security, audit logs, unlimited brand kits, dedicated support, and enterprise-grade compliance. Best for organizations with 50+ users or strict security requirements.

What Canva Still Doesn't Do Well

Let's be real about the limitations:

For professional design work, UI/UX design, or complex print projects, you'll eventually outgrow Canva. Check out our Canva vs Figma comparison or Canva vs Adobe Express if you're weighing alternatives.

Pricing Changes and What They Mean

Canva has adjusted pricing over time, particularly for team plans. The Teams plan saw a significant price increase from around $120/year for 5 users to $300/year (introductory rate) as advanced AI features were added. This reflects the expanded capabilities-Magic Studio tools alone would cost hundreds per month if purchased separately from AI providers.

Current pricing (subject to regional variations):

The investment makes sense when you consider Canva replaces multiple tools: stock photo subscriptions, design software licenses, video editors, social schedulers, and presentation tools. For most businesses, the Pro plan pays for itself by eliminating 2-3 separate subscriptions.

How Canva AI Compares to Standalone Tools

Canva's AI tools compete directly with standalone services:

The integration advantage is significant-AI tools work directly in your design workflow without platform switching or file imports/exports.

Design DNA and Personalization

Canva introduced Design DNA, an AI-powered feature that analyzes your design habits and generates a personalized recap of your creative achievements. It assigns you a creative identity (Font Stylist, Prompt Picasso, Chatter Box, or Newbie) based on how you use Canva. Over 111 million unique Design DNA assets were generated, showing how the platform personalizes experiences based on user behavior.

Security, Privacy, and AI Training

An important consideration: Canva doesn't use your content (uploaded media or design text) to train AI models by default. You can opt into AI training in privacy settings if you want to help improve the technology, but it's disabled by default-especially for Enterprise users.

Canva Shield provides enhanced security for enterprise accounts, including indemnification for AI-generated content use, advanced privacy controls, and compliance certifications (GDPR, SOC 2, ISO 27001). Enterprise users can control team access to specific AI features through role-based permissions.

Bottom Line

Canva's feature set has expanded dramatically. It's no longer just a "make quick graphics" tool-it's a legitimate visual workspace for content creation, collaboration, and even basic video editing.

For most small businesses, marketers, and content creators, Canva Pro is worth the $119.99/year. The Brand Kit alone eliminates enough friction to justify the cost. The AI tools, premium templates, background remover, and expanded stock library are bonus value on top.

Teams of 3 or more should seriously consider the Teams plan at $10/user/month annually. The collaboration features, approval workflows, and centralized brand management make team design projects significantly more efficient.

If you're unsure, start with the free plan and see where you hit walls. When you find yourself repeatedly wishing you had that premium template, background remover, or Brand Kit functionality, that's your sign to upgrade.

The integration of Affinity for professional design work adds tremendous value-essentially giving Pro users access to both beginner-friendly tools and advanced professional software in one ecosystem.

Try Canva Free →

For a deeper look at costs, check out our full Canva cost breakdown or read our complete Canva review. Also explore Canva pricing details for the latest plan comparisons.