Canva’s AI Boost: Is the 300% Price Increase Worth It?

Canva is releasing new generative AI features so quickly, that the price of Canva Teams subscriptions has increased by up to 300%. This has caused users to complain, and some may switch to other apps like Adobe.

Canva is releasing so many generative AI features so quickly, that subscription prices are going to skyrocket next year. Prices for Canva Teams, a business-focused subscription that lets you add multiple users, will sometimes go up by just over 300 percent for customers around the world.

Canva says the price hike is fair because generative AI tools have “expanded the product experience” and made the platform more valuable.

Some Canva Teams users in the US say that the price of their subscriptions has gone up from $120 a year for up to five users to an unbelievable $500 a year. The first year’s price will drop to $300.

According to Information Age, the monthly fee for five users in Australia is going to rise from $39.99 AUS (USD 26) to $40.50 AUS for each user. A group of five people will pay $2,430 AUS (about USD 1,636) a year instead of $480 AUS (about USD 323).

Canva no longer offers cheaper plans for some of these accounts. In April, the company changed its deal for new Teams subscribers in a quiet way. Each user would now have to pay $10 a month, and the company required at least three users.

Canva’s communications manager, Louisa Green, announces that the company will transition current users to this structure in September, “to reflect the current price of the plan and the value of our expanded product experience.”

The number of products Green’s company makes has grown a lot in the past two years, with new ones like the Visual Suite and Magic Studio coming out. Green told The Verge.

In the past few years, Canva has released a lot of generative AI tools, such as the Magic Media text-to-image generator and the Magic Expand background extension tool. With the additions, the platform has gone from being a tool for design and marketing professionals to a more general workspace.

Canva’s Recent Price Hike Surprises Users

In the past, Canva has made similar price changes public. However, it appears that Canva only shared these most recent increases through customer emails. The other subscription levels for Pro and Enterprise users appear to remain unchanged.

People used to view Canva as a straightforward and affordable substitute for Adobe‘s more costly graphic design software. The sudden price increase is a big change for the company. Canva’s online users have protested the price hikes.

Some have even said they will be canceling their subscriptions and switching to Adobe apps instead. Canva acquired the company responsible for Affinity’s creative software suite, reportedly paying “several hundred million British pounds.”

This is happening before the company might go public in the US in 2026.