Canva is a beginner-friendly drag-and-drop design tool optimized for social media, marketing, and presentations, while Figma is a professional vector design and prototyping platform built for UX/UI designers and team collaboration. Figma has steeper learning curve but offers deeper design capabilities; Canva prioritizes speed and template-based creation.
Canva vs Figma — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Template-based design platform for non-designers creating social media, marketing, and presentation graphics.
Cloud-based vector design and prototyping platform for professional designers and design teams building complex interfaces.
Primary Use Case. Learning Curve. Template Library. Real-time Collaboration Users. Vector Design Capabilities. Prototype & Animation Features. Free Plan Content Access
Choose Canva if you need to quickly create social media posts, marketing materials, presentations, or simple graphics without design experience—its 250,000+ templates and built-in media library make it 10x faster for non-designers. Choose Figma if you're a UX/UI designer, design professional, or building design systems that require advanced vector tools, prototyping, and seamless team collaboration on complex projects.
Canva: Native (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Yes (generous free tier) | Figma: Yes—unlimited projects, 3 editors per file
Canva: $3.3-4.0 billion | Figma: $1.36-1.37 billion
Canva: $42 billion (private) | Figma: $10.53-13.8 billion (public)
Canva: ~12.7x | Figma: 9x-35x (varies by metric)
Canva: Private (IPO candidate 2026) | Figma: Public (NASDAQ: FIG)
Canva: Estimated 10-15% | Figma: 14-15% (non-GAAP)
Canva: ~25-30% (estimated) | Figma: ~40%
Canva: SMB, Enterprise Content Creation | Figma: Enterprise Design Teams
Canva: Basic team features | Figma: Advanced multiplayer editing
Canva: Unlimited access to templates | Figma: N/A
Canva: $13 (or free plan available) | Figma: N/A
Canva: 7+ (adds Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn Stories) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Basic only in Canva Teams | Figma: N/A
Canva: 1-month calendar (Canva Teams only) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Yes (limited templates, no Brand Kit) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Yes—Magic Write generates captions & copy | Figma: N/A
Canva: 8+ platforms via integrations | Figma: N/A
Canva: 5 team members (Canva Teams) | Figma: N/A
Canva: No (external tools required) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Limited (no social caption AI) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Full video editing suite included | Figma: N/A
Canva: Unlimited designs (templates only) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Instant (0-2 seconds) | Figma: N/A
Canva: 71% (Canva AI variations) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Beginner/None (drag-and-drop) | Figma: N/A
Canva: 2-5 (select template, edit) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Advanced (real-time co-editing, permissions) | Figma: N/A
Canva: 4.7/5 (2.8M reviews) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Text-to-image, magic edit, object removal | Figma: N/A
Canva: Basic transitions/effects | Figma: Interactive prototyping only, no native keyframe animation
Canva: Basic (colors, fonts, logos) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Limited collaboration on Teams plan | Figma: N/A
Canva: 100M+ photos, 1M+ icons, 500K+ music tracks | Figma: N/A
Canva: 1,000,000+ (photos, videos, music) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Yes - full multi-user editing, comments, version history | Figma: N/A
Canva: 5+ (Magic Design, Eraser, BG Remover, Text-to-Image, Magic Expand) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Yes - Windows and Mac | Figma: N/A
Canva: None; static presentations only | Figma: N/A
Canva: Limited; view-only or restricted editing | Figma: N/A
Canva: Web, iOS, Android (full features everywhere) | Figma: Web browser + Desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Canva: Canva Free with 5,000+ templates and assets | Figma: N/A
Canva: 3-5 concurrent (depends on plan) | Figma: N/A
Canva: $13/month (annual billing) | Figma: N/A
Canva: 20+ (PNG, PDF, MP4, SVG, PPT, DOCX, GIF, WebP) | Figma: N/A
Canva: 150+ million monthly active users | Figma: N/A
Canva: 100+ million integrated | Figma: N/A
Canva: Limited (web-based only) | Figma: Limited offline mode (view-only)
Canva: 3 (Background removal, Magic Edit, Generative templates) | Figma: N/A
Canva: 250,000+ | Figma: 5,000 (community)
Canva: 0.25-0.5 hours (15-30 minutes) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Yes (real-time co-editing) | Figma: Live multiplayer editing with cursor tracking
Canva: No (browser-based + mobile apps) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Basic (limited layer control) | Figma: N/A
Canva: 5GB free (100GB Pro) | Figma: N/A
Canva: 100+ million (integrated in free tier) | Figma: 0 (third-party integrations available)
Canva: Basic: filters, adjustments, magic edit | Figma: N/A
Canva: Used by 60% of non-designers | Figma: N/A
Canva: Basic (trim, cut, transitions, filters) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Limited (basic file import) | Figma: N/A
Canva: Unlimited designs, basic templates, Magic Write/Edit, 5GB storage | Figma: 3 files maximum, unlimited pages per file, basic prototyping, browser-based
Canva: 500,000+ | Figma: 50-100 (community-sourced)
Canva: Limited to 1 active editor per document | Figma: 10+ simultaneous editors with live cursors
Canva: Basic transitions and animations only | Figma: Interactions, conditional logic, component states, animations, flows
Canva: Basic brand kits and color palettes | Figma: Components, variables, tokens, auto-layout, design tokens management
Canva: Magic Write (text), Magic Edit (image), text-to-image, background remover | Figma: Limited AI—mostly design optimization and naming suggestions
Canva: $13/month | Figma: $12/month (Professional)
Canva: Basic (shapes, limited curves) | Figma: Professional (boolean ops, advanced paths)
Canva: None—static designs only | Figma: Full (interactions, animations, variants)
Canva: 1,000,000+ photos + 100k tracks | Figma: None (external sources required)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Built-in real-time collaboration
Canva: N/A | Figma: Sites CMS beta (200 items)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Variables, components, tokens
Canva: N/A | Figma: Requires external hosting
Canva: N/A | Figma: Dev Mode with inspection
Canva: N/A | Figma: Unlimited (per plan)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Cloud-only, no self-hosting
Canva: N/A | Figma: Voice-to-text, Make controls, question cards, design suggestions
Canva: N/A | Figma: 5,000+ plugins and integrations
Canva: N/A | Figma: Unlimited with live cursors
Canva: N/A | Figma: Master Variables with full version control
Canva: N/A | Figma: Limited (separate ecosystem)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Voice-to-text, Make features, automation
Canva: N/A | Figma: Browser-dependent, can slow with 1000+ frames
Monthly Subscription Cost (Single Editor)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Canva: N/A | Figma: Performance issues above 2GB
Canva: N/A | Figma: Limited offline, primarily cloud-based
Canva: N/A | Figma: Advanced design specs, Dev Mode, code generation
Canva: N/A | Figma: Intermediate (basic flows, transitions)
Canva: N/A | Figma: 500+ (performance degrades)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Generous (3 projects, 2GB)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Unlimited simultaneous editors
Starter Plan Monthly Cost (Annual Billing)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Four-tier with seat types (Full, Dev, Collab)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Industry-leading precision tools
Canva: N/A | Figma: Excellent for design workflows
Canva: N/A | Figma: Basic design assistance
Canva: N/A | Figma: 15+ concurrent editors (unlimited)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Advanced variables system with 20+ variant combinations per component
Canva: N/A | Figma: 71% among design teams
Canva: N/A | Figma: Advanced auto-animate, conditional logic, 35+ interaction types
Canva: N/A | Figma: 30 days of version history
Canva: N/A | Figma: Unlimited (draft-based)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Community plugins only
Canva: N/A | Figma: Enterprise-grade (variants, tokens, documentation)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Yes (100% browser-native)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Mac, Windows, Linux, Web
Canva: N/A | Figma: Limited (browser-dependent)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Yes, full features for 1 file
Canva: N/A | Figma: Web + macOS + Windows + iPad
Canva: N/A | Figma: Shared libraries with variants
Canva: N/A | Figma: Advanced with variables
Canva: N/A | Figma: Basic preset animations without timeline
Canva: N/A | Figma: Unlimited on paid plans
Canva: N/A | Figma: Dev Mode with code snippets and specs
Canva: N/A | Figma: Component versioning in main product
Canva: N/A | Figma: $12 per editor/month
Canva: N/A | Figma: Unlimited on any plan
Canva: N/A | Figma: Optimal up to 5,000 artboards
Canva: N/A | Figma: 61% of design professionals
Canva: N/A | Figma: 70% of professional design teams
Canva: N/A | Figma: 2000+ official plugins and integrations
Monthly Subscription Cost (Professional Plan)
Canva: N/A | Figma: $12/month (billed annually)
Canva: N/A | Figma: 500+ simultaneous users
Canva: N/A | Figma: 40-60% (design to code via plugins)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Basic interactions, limited keyframe animation
Canva: N/A | Figma: Variables, tokens, component library, extensive version control
Canva: N/A | Figma: $0 (Free) / $12 (Pro)
Canva: N/A | Figma: 1.5-2.5 hours (beginner-friendly)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Unlimited (Team plan)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Any browser (Windows, macOS, Linux, iPad, web)
Canva: N/A | Figma: $60 (all share one license)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Basic interactions (tap, hover, drag)
Canva: N/A | Figma: 4 (Web, Mac, Windows, iPad)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Limited (API for third-party imports)
Canva: N/A | Figma: Public/password-protected with comment threads
Canva vs Figma — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Canva vs Figma. Contains 233 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Canva vs Figma — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Canva vs Figma.
Do I need to buy stock photos separately if I use Figma?
Yes. Figma has no integrated media library, so you must use external sources like Unsplash, Pexels, or Shutterstock. Canva includes 1M+ photos and 100k+ music tracks free, eliminating this friction.
Which tool is faster for creating social media posts?
Canva is 5-10x faster. With 250,000+ templates and drag-and-drop simplicity, you can create a professional social post in 15 minutes. Figma requires design knowledge and would take 60+ minutes for the same output.
Can I use Canva for professional UI/UX design work?
No. Canva lacks professional vector tools, prototyping capabilities, and design system features required for UI/UX work. Its strength is marketing/social content. For UI/UX, Figma is the industry standard with full prototyping, interactions, and component libraries.
Is Figma better for team collaboration than Canva?
Yes. Figma allows unlimited simultaneous collaborators on all paid plans and offers real-time multiplayer editing that reduces feedback cycles. Canva's free plan caps at 5 editors. For teams of 5+, Figma's collaboration is significantly superior.
Which tool is best for design students learning UX/UI?
Figma is the industry standard. Its prototyping, components, and design system tools mirror real-world workflows. Canva won't teach professional design skills. However, start with Canva if you're new to design, then progress to Figma for UX/UI specialization.
Primary Use Case: Canva has Social media, marketing, presentations, simple graphics, while Figma has UI/UX design, web prototyping, design systems, professional projects.
Learning Curve: Canva has 15-30 minutes to create first design, while Figma has 2-4 hours to learn interface and basic prototyping.
Template Library: Canva has 250,000+ templates across all categories, while Figma has Community templates available but fewer pre-built designs.
Real-time Collaboration Users: Canva has Up to 5 simultaneous editors on free plan, while Figma has Unlimited simultaneous editors on all paid plans.
Vector Design Capabilities: Canva has Basic shapes, limited bezier curve tools, while Figma has Professional-grade vector tools, boolean operations, advanced path editing.
Consider: Prototype & Animation Features
Prototype & Animation Features: Canva has Limited animations, no advanced interaction design, while Figma has Full prototyping with interactions, animations, variants, auto-layout.
Free Plan Content Access: Canva has 1 million+ premium photos, 100k+ music tracks included, while Figma has No integrated media library; requires external sources.