Canva Claims Its AI Features Justify a 300% Price Increase: Here's Why You Should Care

The price of some Canva subscriptions is set to surge next year due to the company’s rapid rollout of generative AI features. Users of Canva Teams—a subscription designed for businesses that allows multiple users—can expect price hikes exceeding 300% in certain cases. Canva justifies this increase by emphasizing the enhanced product experience and the value added by its new generative AI tools.

In the US, Canva Teams subscriptions are reportedly rising from $120 per year for up to five users to a staggering $500 annually. However, a 40% discount will temporarily reduce this to $300 for the first year. In Australia, the existing flat rate of $39.99 AUD (approximately $26 USD) per month for five users will shift to a cost of $13.50 AUD (around $9 USD) per user. This change means that a team of five will face a minimum increase of 68%, not considering any additional discounts.

Previously, some accounts were secured at lower prices that Canva no longer offers. Earlier this year, Canva modified its pricing for new Teams subscribers to $10 per month per user, with a minimum requirement of three users. Louisa Green, Canva’s communications lead, noted that existing users would also transition to this pricing structure to align with the plan’s current costs and the expanded product experience.

"Our suite of products has grown significantly over the last couple of years with new offerings like the Visual Suite and Magic Studio," Green stated.

Canva has launched numerous generative AI features recently, including the Magic Media text-to-image generator and the Magic Expand background extension tool, expanding its role from a design platform to a more comprehensive workspace solution.

While Canva has previously announced similar pricing changes, these recent increases appear to have been communicated primarily through customer emails. Other subscription tiers, such as Pro and Enterprise, do not seem to be affected by these updates.

This shift to premium pricing marks a significant change for Canva, which was once seen as an affordable alternative to more expensive graphic design software, like those from Adobe. User feedback has been largely negative, with many expressing intentions to cancel their subscriptions in favor of Adobe products. These considerable price hikes come on the heels of Canva’s acquisition of the company behind Affinity’s creative software suite for several hundred million British pounds, as well as a potential public listing in the US projected for 2026.