18 years helping New Zealand businesses
choose better software
About Canva
Design and publish anything in a few clicks. From brochure to video, access thousands of templates, images, videos, and more for free.
Easy to use, i love the remove background feature, its easier for me to edit images swiftly. The stickers and the fonts are also great.
The only defect of this app is for sure that it is not completely free. For those who do not use it professionally or are not yet able to invest money it ends up becoming bad.
Filter reviews (12,580)
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Filter reviews (12,580)
A Graph Art Super Star
Comments: Overall, I have been able to use Canva in a lot of areas of my life from fun blog stuff to school to creating logos and documents for my small business.
Pros:
I love you can use Canva regardless of your skill level with graphic art. There are pre-made templates or you can work from scratch.
Cons:
This could be part of the learning curve, but I wish I could categorize and sort my work more.
User Friendly design tool that can be used to create anything creative
Comments: In my work I used canva to create an engaging presentation for my team. Working from two sites with four different people - we were able to freely collaborate on the presentation using Canva. With different readily available themes. Canva allowed us to create an engaging presentation. We were then able to save it for future use and share the presentation to other team members who were not able to attend the session
Pros:
Canva is very user friendly. With a lot of tools that can help with anything you want to create. From creating posters, designs to presentation. This has helped me in my role to create top quality work with very minimal effort.
Cons:
Canva offers designs which is under its "pro" umbrella. When trying to download a presentation that has the Canva Pro design - it does not tell you which slide the pro tool was. This meant that it took a long time in order to find this.
A simple but powerful and effective design tool
Comments: Overall I had a good experience with it . Its simple and easy to use to use however most of its premium features require a subscription, which isn't that user-friendly for everyone .
Pros:
It's basic feature are free of cost which is great for beginners like me and its very easy to use . Also there is every kind of template available as it has a vast template library. And I can use it on any device of my choice, which can be really helpful if one of your device is not working.
Cons:
While exporting the final design from Canva, there is sometimes a drop in poster quality. It also requires a Internet connection everytime which can be a problem if you have a want to work at a place where internet is unavailable.
Canva's great for teams, non-designers, designers, and creativity boosts -- just be careful about going off-brand!
Comments: I was a Photoshop fan for decades as a non-designer but marketer who knows how to make marketing materials look professional. I upgraded Photoshop Elements every few years or so until I hired a brand designer to rebrand my company in 2019 and we decided to use Canva and I've been hooked ever since. It's super easy for collaborations with my team who don't have any design software. It's also great to link to specific frameworks in my mailings because I write mails in text only format to keep my CO2 footprint low. And it's really great for non-designers who just want nice-looking graphics to support their marketing. Just be careful about going off-brand with those amazing templates!
Pros:
The ease of creating really good looking graphics as well as all the templates available. The new AI feature is ok and will likely improve tremendously with time. I also like that we can use premium Unsplash photos with a paid account.
Cons:
One of the best things I like about canva is also one of the least things I like about it = the amazing templates also make it very easy to go off-brand when you're not a brand designer. I've done that several times and I really have to be careful. ;) Another thing I'm not really happy about is the fact that the images and graphics I add in the 'Brand' section are difficult to import into my creatives. Maybe I don't understand this feature, so I upload all my branding graphics so that I can easily use them. I don't know why the graphics/photos in the 'Brand' section can't be easily imported. This makes no sense to me. The last thing I'm not really happy about is the amount of clicks and time I need to spend to export each graphic. I wish we could default these settings, i.e. I always have to deselect download 'ALL' pages to only download one which is always what I need to do. Also, I download more .jpgs than anything else. It just takes so long to adjust the settings every single time.
Alternatives Considered:
Good software for beginners but becoming more complicated
Comments: Easy to use - although this is decreasing.
Pros:
Wide range of creative options i.e. Instagram, Facebook, Presentations, Videos etc. Ease of use of basic functionality e.g. creation of simple videos, preset templates. Great to be able to directly access photos, videos, audio etc.
Cons:
That they seem to be adding more and more functionality that is not necessarily making it more useful but is definitely making it more complicated to use and I feel that the initial appeal (of it being an quick and easy way to create content for those not knowledgeable on specialised software such as Adobe or Davinci resolve) is being lost. I feel some of the features are being added should first be improved e.g. AI functions. Not good for complicated videos - e.g. multiple audio
Alternatives Considered:
Best Tool for Marketing and Graphic Design.
Comments: Ever since I discovered back in 2016 Canva has been great! It has made my life in marketing very easy, just pick one template, adapt it, and boom! you have your marketing material
Pros:
Everything, I think Canva is the best software for creating marketing materials, such as posters, flyers, banners, etc.
Cons:
Sometimes finding resources can be time consuming, adding better filters or having the option to hide certain elements would be great.
Canva for the WIN!!!!
Comments: My overall experience with Canva is exceptional. The endless possibilities Canva offers is great for me. The program is very end user friendly.
Pros:
I love all the option to create a digital item from a blank canvas. I also like that Canva offers template to make creating easy and friendly. Being able to save your design in different formats is a plus.
Cons:
I don't like that you must pay to add people to your team.
EPITOME OF DIGITAL DOCUMENTS
Comments: The epitome of editability to digital documents , the ai integration is great although it needs some improvement. the best part is that it can do anything . Any change, almost everything can be done
Pros:
I love the ui and ease of use its absolutely the perfect software. the best thing is its image editing features, they are crazy good
Cons:
I didnt like the pricing model, i use a paid version but its really expensive
Canva- a great option for personal and business use!
Comments: I have used Canva for about 5 years now in two different jobs. I used in my first job to design printed marketing materials. The options in theme, text, and media are amazing. You can also upload your own pictures and use them. The platform really helps you make a design that is easy to edit. It also saves all the pictures you upload so you can use them again. You can also sign up for Canva teams so you can invite others to view and edit projects.
Pros:
Canva is great to design marketing emails, work flyers, invitations, and really anything you need to send out to customers or co-workers.
Cons:
You have to pay a subscription fee to get access to some of the design features. The great thing is that many of the free options are pretty good.
Confessions of a Canva Groupie: Is It Still the Best?
Comments: I've used Canva for 6 or 7 years and I have not regretted spending money on a subscription once. It was the first software I paid for in my business, and even when the going gets tough, it is still the only software that I pay for.
Pros:
So much easier than Photoshop, user friendly and loads of templates for those who are just starting out. They also have a lot of app integrations that they update regularly.
Cons:
On the templates you can search for stock photos, the "add to album" and "report" button are way too close and the amount of times I've almost reported a photo instead of adding it to an album is more than I can count
Easy Design for the Non Teckie User!
Comments: Canva has not only made our lives easier by allowing us to easily design marketing items for our marketing program for our business, however it has cut down on our outsourcing fees for design by a ton! Now we can do all or at least most of our design work in house. It is magical.
Pros:
I love the ease of use of the product, it's user friendly and really anyone can use it easily. When I'm not sure what to do, I just browse for the answer and so far have never been stumped! Drag and drop - drag and drop - repeat. We have the paid version and absolutely love all the options, all the photos and videos.
Cons:
The only thing I stumble on sometimes is the navigation. Where to find my files. Where did they go? And I have to click and click and oh there they are! They are always there though. I have folders that I have made that are a bit difficult to find sometimes.
Alternatives Considered:
Print Business Cards Quickly
Comments:
Canva gave me an easy way to design and print my business cards. The standard process would have taken much longer and would have been more expensive. Also, I don't know if I would have received a digital copy to use for email.
I'm happy that I decided to go with Canva instead! Totally recommend.
Pros:
Canva has a library of design templates that I can fill in and use. There's also a large selection of photos, animations, script, (etc.) that can be added to the template. When I open the app there is a selection of design type to choose from and a search bar. I searched "attorney" and "business card" and there were more results than I could look through. I chose one I liked and replaced the example text with my firm name. I also replaced one of the images with a custom image that I imported from my phone. I used Canvas tools to remove the background from the image and add a filter. I was going to export the finished design and send it to a print shop, but Canva actually prints too and the prices are great. They shipped my business cards quickly and they were beautiful. Everything was exactly how I wanted it. It's worth noting that I have little skill in the creativity department but Canva was still easy for me to use. There's no need to actually draw or even coordinate colors. It's all done and ready in the templates.
Cons:
I would have appreciated more printing options (paper and finish, etc.) Canva has free templates but most have a star with "Pro" in the corner and can't be printed without a watermark unless you pay for it or purchase a subscription. The subscription is the best value since some templates can cost more but there's no trial.
Alternatives Considered:
Canva for Life!
Comments: Amazing, I have made some incredible designs and because of the new tools and developments within the software that they continuously build on, my work over the last few years has only gotten better and better!
Pros:
The versatility, hands down. I am always saying to people that "I can do that in Canva" because it literally offers such a diverse set of design options with completely customizable content and amazing starting templates.
Cons:
Honestly the only thing that annoys me when working within canva is how my files are organized. I have to dig and dig and dig sometimes to find a file. However, I must say that if I would have been smart, I would have labelled all my files with specific searchable titles and created folders for the various different projects I worked on. It does offer the tools for organization, so this con is probably more user error and lack of thinking ahead. I plan to reorganize it all one day but it will be a daunting task. Luckily Canva saves me time!
Educational Necessity
Comments: I started using Canva a few years ago and the more I used it. The more I loved it. It is user friendly and the user interface specifically designed for Educators has been a game changer in my classroom.
Pros:
I love the templates and how user friendly they are. I also love the fact that I can use someone's template and then customise it making it my own. Even more important is that as an educator I can upload my lesson plans and other resources using the app and add my students to my account, so we can all work on the same project at the same time. It is very efficient and my students love it.
Cons:
Some of the AI features are not as great as I would like them to be, but I am hoping that improvements will be made as they go along and continue to add new features to the site.
THE BEST graphic design platform
Comments: I use Canva to design social media posts, flyers, brochures, memes, business cards, etc. on the daily! I have even got my designs printed through Canva which have turned out fantastic!
Pros:
I absolutely LOVE Canva. It by far the most used software I have. I enjoy - the drag and drop functionality (I used to use Photoshop which was more difficult - the templates - the AI features like the AI writing feature - the automated background remover and enhance features - the ability to easily change my logo to any color (this is so hard to do in Photoshop) - the ability to share and edit other teammate's designs - easy to use layouts for brochures, business cards, flyers etc.
Cons:
I wish there was an option to change the export resolution but other than that Canva is amazing!
Good Design Program For Beginners
Comments: Canva has been a great tool for our clients who have a design in mind and want to take a try at creating it to save on typesetting costs from us. We also use this internally for our own designs and social media and it makes scheduling a breeze.
Pros:
This is the best user-friendly design app I have come across. They are up-to-date with the latest features and integrations that I could ever want to implement. The software is also easy to share files between us and our customers in case we need to make any quick edits.
Cons:
The interface is beginning to get a bit cluttered and hard to find the commonly used tools that have now been rolled into other sections. You do have to have some design knowledge now to know what the name of the service or action you are looking for is.
A good choice for your own designs
Comments: Overall my experience has been a good one. Since being in college I have access to the student version for a fraction of the cost and it’s been fun designing my own papers, avg files, flyers, logos and more. It has become my go to design app when I want or need to design something custom and personal
Pros:
I like how you can do pretty much do anything on canva. I usually use it to make my own personal journals and planners along with customized to do lists
Cons:
A lot of the features aren’t available with the free version and if your on a tight budget then you have to make it work with the free stuff or find a different app to use.
The Absolute Best Graphic Design Software
Comments: In Conclusion, this software is great and whilst it has some flaws, it's genuinely still my go-to graphic design software for most of my daily use-cases. The premium only costs $10 so it's really not that big of a deal and is relatively cheap in comparison to other apps. Overall, worth it and I can't think of a single competitor that does it better than Canva.
Pros:
In general, Canva is quite a fantastic platform and is my main go-to whenever I make any sort of graphics, images or thumbnails for videos. The reason for this is because it's just so easy to access. For some of the "professional" editing apps out there, you not only have to purchase a mandatory subscription more often than not but you also have to download them and can only use them on your PC. Canva however, is easily accessible in 1 click in your browser, is essentially free and you can use it on any device just as well. I think another very important feature that Canva has is team projects - This is where you can work on 1 project with multiple other people, allowing a team of graphical engineers to work together without needing to export the graphical files and send them to each other all the time. This is something I almost never see in most other software similar to Canva.
Cons:
There is one thing I dislike about Canva and it's the primary reason why I gave it a 4/5 stars instead of a perfect rating. Essentially, whilst Canva is technically free as in you can use most of its features without paying a dime, if you want to add images, vectors or graphics to it, 90% of it all will require a premium. This isn't the most frustrating part however, the most frustrating part is that when you search for a graphic for example, it will give you a huge database of all of the graphics Canva has and you have to manually scroll through the whole list just to nitpick the ones that are free-to-use. Canva hides the free graphics randomly amongst all of the premium ones and there's absolutely no filter to see only the free side. Conveniently for Canva, there is a filter for only premium graphics, very ironic. This is a big time waster and is something I do not like.
Fantastic Tool for Quick Edits and Creative Projects
Comments: Overall, Canva is a fantastic tool for anyone who needs quick, high-quality designs or video edits. The templates are extensive and the platform is user-friendly, making it great for both casual and professional projects. It’s become a go-to tool for me in both personal and academic settings. I highly recommend it!
Pros:
use Canva daily to edit videos for my Instagram reels and create class assignments. One of the things I like most about Canva is its ease of use and wide variety of templates. It’s super convenient for video editing, and the templates for different projects (like the Journey Map template I recently used) make everything so much faster and easier to complete.
Cons:
While Canva is excellent overall, I wish it had more advanced features, especially for video editing. For example, I couldn’t find a typewriter effect for text, which would be useful. Also, when it comes to highlighting text, Canva’s options feel more limited compared to other platforms like PicsArt or MS, which offer more variety in text effects and highlights.
My Canva Experience
Comments: Canva was a great introduction to graphic design for me. It offers a user-friendly interface and accessible tools.
Pros:
I liked Canva's intuitive interface, drag-and-drop functionality, and vast template library, making design easy and accessible.
Cons:
Limited customization options for advanced users, restricting flexibility and creative control.
Alternatives Considered:
Canva: Always changing, always growing with you!
Comments: It is seamless and always growing. I love it!!
Pros:
I love how easy Canva is to use and the various integrations available. I like that it is easy enough for my teens to use, but I can make really unique designs for my company to use in marketing. It is easy to share ideas and collaborate. I particularly use the brand management for our Golden Tax Relief Team
Cons:
I would like more options for video. I would like to see more options like Favicons and smaller pixel images.
Easy-to-Use Design Tool with Templates for All Skill Levels
Comments: My overall experience with Canva is great. It’s user-friendly, versatile, and perfect for creating professional-looking designs quickly.
Pros:
Easy-to-use design tools, vast template library, and accessibility for beginners and professionals.
Cons:
Limited advanced design features compared to professional software like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.
a place where you can create magic
Comments: I really enjoy it. I can't recommend this enough since it's been helping me for many years since i was a student and now not only professionaly but for personal use it's been great to still have access to it
Pros:
Honestly Canva has been a life saver for me. I'm impressed with all the amazing features it provides. Personally, what i love the most is that it keeps showing you elements that you might like based on the ones you've been using in your project and since it has so many different options, it helps bringing out your creativity. The options are endless and that's what i like the most, i love the quality of Canva and how i can create something as special as an invitation or a vision board, really everything i can think of.
Cons:
So far so good. I don't have a complain about it. I've enjoyed using it for many years, mostly in the last year and i'm surprised with the features that were added for us to create anything we want
Let’s make a design!
Comments: My overall experience using Canva has been positive. It excels in providing a seamless and accessible platform for creating a wide range of designs. The interface is intuitive, allowing users without formal design training to produce professional-looking graphics quickly.
Pros:
Canva has an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface, making it easy for beginners and non-designers to create professional designs.
Cons:
While Canva offers a lot of templates, it can be limiting for experienced designers who want more control over every element of their designs.
One of my most used and trusted tools
Comments: Time saving, super friendly and helpful interface, huge money saver as you can create digital products by yourself instead of paying someone.
Pros:
It allows me to create almost anything I need, despite the fact that I am not a professional designer. It's fabulously friendly,easy to use, the learning curve is very gentle. I love the newly integrated AI tools and the fact that I can bring digital assets that I created in other software and assemble a completely new design in Canva really quickly. It's a creative powerhouse that feels incredibly friendly and helpful. And while the paid version is the best, you can create practically any digital product you want just using the free version.
Cons:
I did so many projects in it and it was(is!) so helpful and practical that I really can't fault it.
