Canva Pro Review (Is it Worth Upgrading?)

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I’m a total Canva addict. I’ve been using the free version of the platform for donkey’s years, and it’s awesome. I mean, what other platform gives you access to that many features for free? It just doesn’t compare. In this Canva Pro review, I will tell you why you too, should consider upgrading to Pro.

From $12.99 per month

Free Canva Pro trial for 30 days - cancel anytime

Canva is super generous. Even the free plan is. But the time came for me to upgrade. I wanted all those nice extras that come with the Canva Pro plan. They take the convenience and time-saving to the next level, and anyone who knows me knows that’s all I’m about.

After all, I use the platform at least every other day, so I knew I’d very quickly get my money’s worth. And Canva Pro is cheap. Really cheap. And did I mention that I love the platform already?

Canva is the perfect platform for beginners and experienced graphic designers alike. Whether you’re a long-time user of the free version or new to the tool, here’s an extensive Canva review that will explain to you why you need to upgrade.

Canva Pro - Free 30 Days Trial
From $12.99 per month - cancel anytime

Canva is a drag-and-drop point-and-click graphic design tool that makes it super easy for anyone to create images, videos and graphics from ready-made templates or from scratch, to create social media posts, videos, ebooks, site banners, logos, entire websites and pretty much everything you need for your online business.

Increase productivity, manage your brand, and build your business with Canva.

Key Features:
  • Create Texts, Docs, Whiteboards, Presentations, Social, Video, Print, Websites + More
  • Access Pro features; Premium Image and Video Content, Brand Kit, Image and Video Background Remover, Magic Resizing, Content Planner, Social Media Scheduling, Bulk Creator, Instant Animation + More

TL;DR: Canva Pro gives you access to all its features for a low price. Enjoy time-saving and convenient extras such as premium content and videos, social media scheduling, brand kits, customization, and a whole lot more. 

I don’t have time for this article. I want to try out Canva Pro for free right now!

It’s okay; I’ve got you! Get access to Canva Pro for 30 days for free by clicking on my exclusive link.

canva pro features

Canva Pro, Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Very, very affordable
  • You get an incredible number of features and access to the entire library of elements, assets, and templates
  • The platform is super easy to use and suitable for beginners
  • The extra features save loads of time and effort
  • Enables you to efficiently create and manage your brand
  • The templates are great-looking and allow you to create new designs in seconds
  • The background removal tool is superior to other removal tools I’ve tried

Cons

  • Canva documents can only be exported in a limited number of formats so if you need to edit them in different design software, you probably won’t be able to

Canva Pro: What Do You Get?

what's included in Canva Pro

Canva’s free plan is one of the most generous around. You can pretty much do what you want to do, whether that’s creating custom graphics, Ebooks, documents, logos, or even websites.

But Canva Pro takes your experience to the next level. It removes the limits on all the features and also gives you access to some very handy tools.

DEAL

Free Canva Pro trial for 30 days - cancel anytime

From $12.99 per month

Here’s the full rundown of them.

Premium Content

canva pro premium content

Canva has a MASSIVE library of stock images, GIFs, illustrations, graphics, design elements, and just about anything else you can think of that’s visual. And Canva adds to it on a daily basis, so there are always fresh, new designs to be discovered.

Users of the free plan will be familiar with the tiny gold crowns displayed next to many of the elements. These crowns mean that they are only available on the Pro plan.

You do get access to a decent range of elements with the free plan, but most of the really nice stuff is only for Pro subscribers. In fact, Canva Pro lets you access over a whopping 75 million visual elements. 

That’s probably enough to keep even the most demanding graphic designer satisfied.

Premium Videos

canva pro premium videos

Those little gold crowns are present on much of the platform’s video content too. And you’ve guessed it. Canva Pro gives you access to the lot.

Videos are fully customizable and can be used to create Facebook ads, Instagram Reels, mobile-friendly content, TikToks, and more. There is a tonne of templates to choose from, and you’re bound to find something in your niche.

With this feature, anyone can produce visually stunning and professional-looking videos in mere minutes. 

Background Remover

canva pro background remover

Now, this is a feature that I’ve used extensively since upgrading, and to be honest, I think this feature alone makes the upgrade worth it.

There are loads of background remover apps out there, and in my experience, they do a pretty poor job of removing the background entirely. Usually, I’m required to go in with the tool and remove scatterings of pixels and random patches.

This is not the case with Canva Pro. Its background remover tool is nothing short of excellent.

automatically remove backgrounds

Just look at these results! A crisp image with no pixel dust whatsoever. 

There is a fine-tuning tool included, but it does such a great job of removing the background, so I’ve never had to actually use it.

Instant Animation

canva pro instant animation

This is a cool feature if you need to make your images pop and stand out.

Remember all those slide animations you used to get in Microsoft Powerpoint? Well, this is pretty much the same thing, but you can apply it to any of your visual elements. 

Essentially, you create a 2D design in Canva Pro, then you click on any of the elements and select the “Animate” tab from the top of the screen.

A menu opens out with all your animation options (14 to be exact), and hovering over each one will give you a demo of what it does. When you’re done, your design can be downloaded as a GIF or video.

Canva’s intention for these animations is to add oomph to social media and mobile ads. The platform claims that 73% of its consumers have been influenced by a brand’s social media video presence when deciding to purchase something. 

So there you go. You need this premium feature to make your ads sing! Besides anything, it’s a lot of fun to play around with.

Social Media Scheduler

canva pro social media scheduler

The hardest part of social media management is getting all your fresh and beautiful designs out there on social media at the right times. Particularly if you’re posting in a timezone that doesn’t agree with your own.

Of course, Canva has already thought of that and has provided a comprehensive social media scheduling tool for precisely that purpose.

The best thing about this feature is that you don’t have to spend hours downloading all your designs and then uploading them into a scheduling tool. You can do it all from within the Canva platform.

canva pro social media planner and posting

Canva Pro supports scheduling and posting to all the major social media platforms, including:

  • Instagram
  • Facebook pages and groups
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn profile and pages
  • Slack 
  • Tumblr

Simply select your design, select which channels to post it to, and then set the time and date for it to go out.

A neat little extra is that the calendar is pre-marked with important days such as Christmas day, St Valentine’s day, etc. If you click on these days, Canva will display relevant templates you might want to use.

DEAL

Free Canva Pro trial for 30 days - cancel anytime

From $12.99 per month

Templates

canva pro premium templates

One of the things that make using Canva so easy is the abundance of stunning templates it has on offer. Many of these are available on the platform’s free version, but while browsing, you soon start spotting those gold crowns again.

Canva Pro unlocks every template – 610,000 of them, to be exact – and because you’re on the Pro version, you can also automatically resize them for your needs.

What kind of templates are available? I’m glad you asked. 

There are templates for just about anything, including:

  • Presentations
  • Ebooks
  • Emails
  • Social media posts
  • Websites
  • Videos
  • Documents
  • Infographics
  • Logos
  • Flyers
  • Posters
  • And a whole lot more

The templates are neatly organized into categories, or you can browse popular, trending and new designs. Every template is 100% customizable so that you can adjust it for your own requirements.

Transparent Images

canva pro transparent images

This is another feature that I absolutely can’t do without, and it is crucial if you design logos or need images with transparent backgrounds. 

On the free version of Canva, you can only download PNGs with the background included. For example, if you have a logo designed like the one above, when you download it, all the white space you see around it will be downloaded too.

This makes it unsuitable to add the logo to other documents, as the white space makes it look unprofessional and messy.

With the transparent background feature, none of the white space is downloaded, so you get just the logo design as a clean, crisp image.

Additionally, if you create clipart, T-shirt designs, or anything else that requires purely the image, then this feature is 100% essential.

Custom Resizing

canva pro custom resizing

If you want to adjust the same design intended for multiple different platforms, you won’t be able to do that with the free version. This is because you cannot resize your designs once they have been created. Templates cannot be resized either.

Of course, all this changes with Canva Pro, and you can resize to your heart’s content. Even more convenient is the Magic Resize tool.

The Magic Resize tool takes your design and magically changes it to fit the dimensions of your desired post type. For example, if you create a Facebook post, the Magic Resizer will automatically transform it into an Instagram post and ensure it still looks just as good.

This saves hours of faffing about, trying to remember the ideal pixel width for Pinterest, etc., and manually resizing designs for each and every post type. It’s super quick and super easy.

Custom Brand Kits

canva pro custom brand kits

Having brand assets saved for quick access and use is another great timesaver. Canva Pro lets you save important brand assets such as color palettes and custom fonts. 

On the free version, you can use any color you like, but it won’t save them for future use. And you’re limited to using the pre-loaded fonts on the platform.

However, Canva Pro lets you do a whole lot more to create your brand:

  • Create and save custom color palettes
  • Upload and use any font you like and save fonts to your brand kits
  • Upload existing brand kits to the platform
  • Create up to 100 different brand kits
  • One-click updates to add branding to existing designs

Other Canva Pro Features

As if all those features weren’t enough. There are a few other sweet extras that you get with Canva Pro:

  • 1TB worth of cloud storage (compared to 5GB on the free plan)
  • 24/7 customer support
  • A customer service response within 24 hours (compared with one week on the free plan)
  • SVG file type download option
  • The ability to compress files before downloading them
  • The ability to resize file download size
  • The ability to create folders from inside the editing tab
  • The ability to create designs in bulk

And there’s probably more Canva Pro features that I haven’t discovered yet!

How Much is Canva Pro?

canva pro pricing

I’m definitely biased, but I think Canva Pro is an absolute bargain! It costs either:

  • $12.99/month
  • $119.99/year

Paying annually nets you a discount of 24%, and you can try out Canva Pro for 30 days for free.

DEAL

Free Canva Pro trial for 30 days - cancel anytime

From $12.99 per month

Pro Tip: If you already have a Canva account, the platform will periodically offer you a 30-day free trial. I’ve had Canva for at least five years and probably get offered a free trial at least once a year.

Canva Enterprise vs Canva Pro vs Canva Free Version

Canva Enterprise vs Canva Pro vs Canva Free Version

Okay, so there are a bunch of different Canva plans, and it can get confusing determining which one is which. Ultimately, there are five plans:

  • Canva Free
  • Canva Pro
  • Canva Teams (AKA Canva Enterprise)
  • Canva Education
  • Canva NonProfits
DEAL

Free Canva Pro trial for 30 days - cancel anytime

From $12.99 per month

I won’t get into the specifics of each one, but here’s a quick overview of them all:

Canva PlanCost MonthlyCost YearlyWhat is it?
Free$0$0A free version of Canva with limited features
Pro$12.99$119.99Canva with full features for one user
Teams (Enterprise)From $14.99From $149.90Canva for multiple user seats and collaboration features
Education$0$0All Canva features plus education-specific tools and features
NonProfit$0$0Registered nonprofits can use all Canva premium features for free

Who is Canva Pro For?

The beauty of Canva Pro is its ease of use and intuitive user interface. Plus, it’s ultra-affordable. And it’s this that makes it a suitable tool for anyone that wants or needs to easily create beautifully designed digital documents, products, social media posts, and more.

So, if you’re a budding designer, a creator of digital products, a social media manager, or an entrepreneur, Canva Pro is a great option for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Canva Pro?

Canva Pro is the paid version of Canva that unlocks all the additional features, including brand kits, custom resizing, background removal, premium content, videos, and more.

You can upgrade from a free account to Canva Pro at any time, and it is available for $12.99/month or $119.99/year.

What’s the difference between Canva Free vs Canva Pro?

Canva is a hugely popular online graphic design tool that offers free and paid versions: Canva Free and Canva Pro.

canva free vs canva pro

The key differences between the two are as follows:

Features: Canva Free offers basic design tools, templates, and limited stock images and elements. Canva Pro, on the other hand, unlocks a range of advanced features, such as unlimited storage, premium templates, advanced image cropping, and resizing tools, access to thousands of premium stock images and videos, and more.

Collaboration: Canva Free offers basic collaboration features, such as the ability to share designs with a limited number of team members. Canva Pro, however, enables more advanced collaboration features, such as the ability to create teams, assign roles, and share designs with multiple team members easily.

Branding: Canva Pro allows users to create a brand kit, which includes customized color palettes, font styles, and logos. These elements can be applied across the designs, ensuring consistency in branding. Canva Free, however, does not offer this feature.

Canva Pro Pricing: Canva Free is, as the name suggests, completely free to use. Canva Pro, however, comes with a monthly or annual subscription fee, which varies based on the plan you choose and the number of users in your team.
In summary, while Canva Free is a good entry-level option for beginners, Canva Pro offers advanced features and functionalities for professionals and businesses with more extensive design needs. Therefore the Canva Pro price is totally fair and the cost of Canva Pro is totally worth it.

What’s the difference between Canva Pro vs Canva Teams?

Upgrading to Canva Pro gives you full access to all the platform’s premium features. It is designed for one user with one set of login credentials.

Canva Teams, on the other hand, is suitable for enterprise-level organizations. You pay per user seat, and you can have unlimited users. You get access to all premium features plus additional collaboration tools.

Is there a Canva pro free trial?

There is absolutely a Canva Pro free trial. You can unlock and try out all the premium features for a full 30 days.

Is the Pro version of Canva worth it?

Canva Pro is definitely worth it if you use the platform a lot and need to create a lot of designs. The cost is very affordable, and the additional features save you a tonne of time and effort.

However, if you only use Canva on an occasional basis, it’s probably not worth upgrading.

Is Canva Pro better than Photoshop?

Canva Pro and Photoshop are not alike although they have a few overlapping features, it is impossible to compare the two on a like-for-like basis.

Photoshop is a highly sophisticated photo editing software and graphics editor, whereas Canva is used for graphic design.

How do I get Canva Pro for a lifetime free?

Canva Pro can be accessed for free on a lifetime basis if you are a registered nonprofit organization, a school, a teacher, or a student.

To use the software as one of these entities, Canva requires verification before you can access it.

Brief Canva Enterprise Plan Review: what do I get?

Canva, a popular online graphic design platform, offers various subscription plans to cater to the diverse needs of its users. One of these plans is the Canva Enterprise Plan, designed specifically for businesses and organizations requiring advanced features and collaboration tools.

This plan provides an extensive range of functionalities, making it a preferred choice for teams working on large-scale projects. A Canva Enterprise Plan review reveals that users appreciate the seamless integration with other popular workplace tools such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Slack.

This integration allows for efficient sharing and collaboration, streamlining the design process. Moreover, the plan offers unlimited storage, enabling users to store a vast amount of design files securely. 

Do I need a Canva Pro invitation link to sign up for Canva Pro?

No. You can simply sign up for it any time. Canva Pro is a popular online graphic design tool that provides users with advanced features for creating high-quality designs. With a wide range of customizable templates and a user-friendly interface,

Canva Pro allows individuals and businesses to create professional-looking graphics, presentations, and marketing materials. Users can access a variety of design elements, including images, fonts, and colors, to customize their designs according to their specific needs. 

Canva free vs paid: is there a big difference?

In the free version of Canva, users have access to a range of pre-designed templates, fonts, and graphics, allowing them to create eye-catching designs without any cost. However, the free version also comes with limitations such as a limited selection of templates and the inability to upload custom fonts.

On the other hand, Canva’s paid subscription, known as Canva Pro, offers several additional features and benefits. With Canva Pro, users gain access to a wider variety of design elements, advanced editing tools, and the ability to collaborate with team members.

Canva Education vs Pro: what is the difference?

Canva Education and Canva Pro are two distinct versions of the popular graphic design platform, Canva.

Canva Education is specifically designed for educators and students, providing them with a range of tools and features tailored to their needs. This version allows teachers to create interactive presentations, design handouts, and collaborate with students on various projects.

Canva Education also offers a vast library of educational templates and access to premium images, illustrations, and fonts. On the other hand, Canva Pro is geared towards professional designers and businesses. 

Summary – Canva Pro Review for 2024

I’m a looong time user of Canva and a massive fan. Upgrading to Canva Pro was a no-brainer for me as the extra features you get are so convenient and such a massive time saver.

I love the platform, and I firmly believe it’s suitable for anyone with any graphic design requirements.

Are you still thinking ‘is canva pro worth it? Then the short answer for you is – YES! What are you waiting for? Get stuck in! Here’s my exclusive link for a 30-day free trial.

DEAL

Free Canva Pro trial for 30 days - cancel anytime

From $12.99 per month

Mathias Ahlgren is the CEO and founder of Website Rating, steering a global team of editors and writers. He holds a master's in information science and management. His career pivoted to SEO after early web development experiences during university. With over 15 years in SEO, digital marketing, and web developmens. His focus also includes website security, evidenced by a certificate in Cyber Security. This diverse expertise underpins his leadership at Website Rating.

The "WSR Team" is the collective group of expert editors and writers specializing in technology, internet security, digital marketing, and web development. Passionate about the digital realm, they produce well-researched, insightful, and accessible content. Their commitment to accuracy and clarity makes Website Rating a trusted resource for staying informed in the dynamic digital world.

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