Your favorite design hack is about to get more expensive. Canva, the popular design platform that launched in Australia in 2012, just instituted price hikes for its “Teams” subscription. And for some users, the price jump is staggering.
Canva Teams, which is marketed as the platform’s “all-in-one solution that will help you address design bottlenecks, bloated tech stacks, and collaboration inefficiencies,” is increasing prices for the first time since its 2020 launch—in some cases, by 300%. The Teams plan allows multiple Canva users to access and edit a design all at once. In the U.S., some Canva users will see their Teams subscription price jump in early December from $119.99 per year to $500 per year. The first 12 months will be discounted to $300, but it’s still more than double what users currently pay. Canva Teams will update from $10 per month per person, with a minimum of three people required for that subscription, a Canva spokesperson confirmed.
Canva says its price hike is attributable to new features—particularly those that are AI-powered.
“Canva Teams has come a long way since launching in 2020, with major enhancements in team collaboration, brand management, the launch of our Visual Suite and our investments in [Canva’s AI feature] Magic Studio,” a Canva spokesperson told Fortune in a statement. “Our original pricing reflected the early stage of this product and has remained unchanged for the last four years. We’re now updating the price for customers on this older plan to reflect our expanded product experience.”
The Canva spokesperson also noted anyone who has joined with a Teams subscription since April is already on those updated rates.
Magic Studio is the platform’s suite of tools that creates AI-generated images, videos, presentations and writing that launched in late 2023.
“It’s the first all-in-one AI design platform on the market,” Canva co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins previously told Fortune. “The real power of Canva comes from being able to have it all integrated into workflows.”
But some Canva users see the price increase as prohibitive.
“Canva’s strategy risks pricing out the smaller teams that benefit most from its platform,” Chris Kernaghan, a UX designer, wrote in a blog post last week. “These are the same teams that have contributed significantly to Canva’s success by championing its tools and expanding its reach through word-of-mouth.”
While some users have complained about the price hike, others think it’s worth it.
“While it’s certainly something that impacts our budget, the value Canva provides, especially with its AI features, has made it worthwhile so far,” Jonathan Goldberg, founder, president and CEO of diamond-jewelry retail platform Kimberfire, told Fortune.
Goldberg said his team uses Canva “extensively” to create content, social-media graphics, and marketing collateral. The tool has “streamlined” his team’s design process, allowing the marketing team to design more professional content quickly.
“However, with the recent price hike, it’s crucial for Canva to continue evolving and adding more robust features to justify the increased cost,” Goldberg said.
Is Canva getting more expensive for everyone?
While Canva continues to add new features to its platform, some users are disgruntled by the stiff price hike—particularly because the tech company has long marketed itself as an affordable solution for individuals and companies who need easy design help.
Canva recognizes that “pricing changes aren’t always easy,” the spokesperson said. “We deeply value our community.”
As of January 2023, Canva reported having 170 million monthly users, although it doesn’t break down paid versus free users. The platform offers several tiers of access, including a free, “Pro,” “Teams,” and “Enterprise.” Canva currently reports its pricing for Pro as $120 per year for one person; $100 per person (with a minimum of three people) per year for Teams; and pricing for the enterprise function is negotiated with the company.
“The cost of Canva Pro remains unchanged and continues to be available for anyone not working in a team,” the Canva spokesperson said. Canva Pro includes extra features including premium templates, brand kits, AI tools, extra cloud storage, and more.
There have also been talks of a Canva IPO for years, but its CEO has remained quiet on the matter.
“Being private enables us to continue to flesh out exactly who we are and what we’re doing,” Perkins previously told Fortune.
