Canva vs Figma Review: Which is the Right Tool for You and Why?

Canva and Figma are two of the most popular and widely used online design tools in the market today. They both offer a variety of features and functionalities that enable users to create stunning and professional-looking designs for various purposes, such as logos, posters, flyers, presentations, websites, apps, and more. However, they also have some significant differences and advantages that make them suitable for different types of users and projects. In this blog post, we will compare and contrast Canva and Figma, and help you decide which one is the right tool for you and why.

What is Canva?

Canva is an online graphic design platform that allows anyone to create beautiful and engaging designs with ease and speed. Canva was founded in 2012 by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams, with the vision of making design accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Canva has grown rapidly since then, and now has over 55 million monthly active users, over 420 million designs created, and over 3 billion images downloaded.

Canva is designed for beginners and non-designers who want to create stunning designs without having to learn complex software or hire professional designers. Canva provides a simple and intuitive drag-and-drop interface that lets users easily add, edit, and arrange elements on their canvas. Canva also offers a huge library of ready-made templates, graphics, fonts, photos, icons, and more, that users can customize and use for their projects. Canva also has a variety of tools and features that enable users to enhance their designs, such as filters, effects, animations, stickers, grids, shapes, and more.

Canva is ideal for creating designs for social media, marketing, branding, education, and personal use. Some of the types of designs that users can create with Canva are:

• Logos
• Posters
• Flyers
• Brochures
• Business cards
• Invitations
• Resumes
• Presentations
• Infographics
• Newsletters
• Ebooks
• Reports
• Certificates
• Menus
• Calendars
• and more

Canva is available as a web app, a desktop app, and a mobile app, and can be accessed from any device and browser. Canva also supports collaboration and sharing, and allows users to work together on their designs, comment and give feedback, and export and share their designs with others.

Canva has three pricing plans: Free, Pro, and Enterprise. The Free plan offers access to over 250,000 templates, over 100 design types, over 5GB of cloud storage, and thousands of free photos and graphics. The Pro plan costs $9.95 per month (billed annually) or $12.95 per month (billed monthly), and offers access to over 420,000 templates, over 100GB of cloud storage, over 75 million premium photos, graphics, and videos, and advanced tools and features, such as background remover, magic resize, brand kit, and more. The Enterprise plan costs $30 per month (billed annually) or $36.95 per month (billed monthly), and offers access to everything in the Pro plan, plus unlimited cloud storage, advanced security and control, dedicated support, and more.

What is Figma?

Figma is an online vector-based design and prototyping tool that allows users to create, collaborate, and share interactive and responsive designs for web and mobile applications. Figma was founded in 2012 by Dylan Field and Evan Wallace, with the mission of empowering designers to create better products faster and easier. Figma has grown steadily since then, and now has over 10 million users, over 1 billion design files created, and over 500,000 teams using it.

Figma is designed for professional and experienced designers who want to create high-fidelity and functional designs for web and mobile applications. Figma provides a powerful and flexible design editor that lets users create and manipulate vector shapes, text, images, and more, on their canvas. Figma also offers a rich set of tools and features that enable users to create and test interactive and responsive prototypes, such as frames, components, constraints, auto-layout, variants, animations, transitions, and more.

Figma is ideal for creating designs for user interfaces, user experiences, and product development. Some of the types of designs that users can create with Figma are:

• Websites
• Mobile apps
• Web apps
• Landing pages
• Dashboards
• Wireframes
• Mockups
• UI kits
• Icons
• Illustrations
• and more

Figma is available as a web app, a desktop app, and a mobile app, and can be accessed from any device and browser. Figma also supports real-time collaboration and sharing, and allows users to work together on their designs, comment and give feedback, and export and share their designs with others.

Figma has four pricing plans: Starter, Professional, Organization, and Enterprise. The Starter plan is free and offers access to up to 3 projects, up to 2 editors, and unlimited cloud storage. The Professional plan costs $12 per editor per month (billed annually) or $15 per editor per month (billed monthly), and offers access to unlimited projects, unlimited versions, unlimited cloud storage, and advanced tools and features, such as custom file and user permissions, shareable team libraries, and more. The Organization plan costs $45 per editor per month (billed annually), and offers access to everything in the Professional plan, plus advanced security and control, dedicated support, and more. The Enterprise plan is custom-priced and offers access to everything in the Organization plan, plus tailored solutions, integrations, and services.

Canva vs Figma: Comparison Criteria

To compare and contrast Canva and Figma, we will use the following criteria:

• Ease of use: How easy and intuitive is it to use the tool and create designs with it?
• Features and functionality: What are the main features and functionality that the tool offers and how well do they work?
• Templates and resources: How many and how good are the templates and resources that the tool provides and how easy is it to customize and use them?
• Collaboration and sharing: How well does the tool support collaboration and sharing among users and stakeholders?
• Pricing and value: How much does the tool cost and what value does it offer for the money?

We will rate each tool on a scale of 1 to 5 for each criterion, where 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest, and provide a brief explanation for each rating. We will also provide a summary and a recommendation at the end of the comparison.

Canva vs Figma: Ease of Use

Canva: 5/5

Canva is very easy and intuitive to use, even for beginners and non-designers. Canva has a simple and user-friendly drag-and-drop interface that lets users easily add, edit, and arrange elements on their canvas. Canva also has a smart and helpful design assistant that provides tips, suggestions, and feedback to users as they create their designs. Canva also has a smooth and fast performance that does not lag or crash, even when working with large or complex designs.

Figma: 4/5

Figma is also easy and intuitive to use, but it may require some learning and practice for some users, especially those who are not familiar with vector-based design or prototyping tools. Figma has a powerful and flexible design editor that lets users create and manipulate vector shapes, text, images, and more, on their canvas. Figma also has a comprehensive and interactive documentation and tutorial that guides users through the basics and advanced features of the tool. Figma also has a smooth and fast performance that does not lag or crash, even when working with large or complex designs.

Canva vs Figma: Features and Functionality

Canva: 4/5

Canva offers a variety of features and functionality that enable users to create stunning and engaging designs for various purposes. Canva has a huge library of ready-made templates, graphics, fonts, photos, icons, and more, that users can customize and use for their projects. Canva also has a variety of tools and features that enable users to enhance their designs, such as filters, effects, animations, stickers, grids, shapes, and more. Canva also supports basic editing and formatting of text, images, and shapes, such as cropping, resizing, rotating, aligning, and grouping.

However, Canva does not offer some features and functionality that are essential for creating high-fidelity and functional designs for web and mobile applications, such as vector editing, prototyping, responsiveness, and code export. Canva also does not offer some features and functionality that are useful for creating more complex and sophisticated designs, such as layers, masks, gradients, shadows, and more.

Figma: 5/5

Figma offers a rich set of features and functionality that enable users to create, collaborate, and share interactive and responsive designs for web and mobile applications. Figma has a powerful and flexible design editor that lets users create and manipulate vector shapes, text, images, and more, on their canvas. Figma also offers a rich set of tools and features that enable users to create and test interactive and responsive prototypes, such as frames, components, constraints, auto-layout, variants, animations, transitions, and more. Figma also supports advanced editing and formatting of text, images, and shapes, such as vector editing, masking, clipping, blending, and more.

Figma also offers some features and functionality that are not available in Canva, such as code export, plugins, integrations, and more. Figma also has a community of designers and developers who create and share resources, such as UI kits, icons, illustrations, and more, that users can use for their projects.

Canva vs Figma: Templates and Resources

Canva: 5/5

Canva has a huge library of ready-made templates, graphics, fonts, photos, icons, and more, that users can customize and use for their projects. Canva has over 420,000 templates, over 75 million premium photos, graphics, and videos, and over 3,000 fonts, that cover a wide range of design types, styles, and categories. Canva also has a content planner that helps users plan and schedule their designs for social media, marketing, or personal use.

Canva’s templates and resources are high-quality, professional, and diverse, and can help users create stunning and engaging designs with ease and speed. Users can easily browse, search, and filter the templates and resources by keyword, category, color, size, or style. Users can also easily customize and edit the templates and resources by changing the text, images, colors, fonts, layouts, and more, using the drag-and-drop interface and the design tools.

Figma: 4/5

Figma also has a library of templates, graphics, fonts, photos, icons, and more, that users can customize and use for their projects. Figma has over 1,000 templates, over 1,000 fonts, and over 2 million icons, that cover a wide range of design types, styles, and categories. Figma also has a plugin store that offers over 500 plugins that extend the functionality and features of the tool.

Figma’s templates and resources are high-quality, professional, and diverse, and can help users create high-fidelity and functional designs for web and mobile applications. Users can easily browse, search, and filter the templates and resources by keyword, category, or rating. Users can also easily customize and edit the templates and resources by changing the text, images, colors, fonts, layouts, and more, using the design editor and the prototyping tools.

However, Figma does not have as many templates and resources as Canva, and some of them may require a subscription or a payment to access or use. Figma also does not have a content planner that helps users plan and schedule their designs for social media, marketing, or personal use.

Canva vs Figma: Collaboration and Sharing

Canva: 4/5

Canva supports collaboration and sharing among users and stakeholders, and allows users to work together on their designs, comment and give feedback, and export and share their designs with others. Canva has a team feature that lets users create and join teams, invite and manage team members, and share and access team designs and resources. Canva also has a comment feature that lets users add, reply, and resolve comments on their designs, and mention and notify other users. Canva also has a share feature that lets users export and share their designs with others via email, link, social media, or download.

Canva’s collaboration and sharing features are easy and convenient to use, and can help users improve their designs and communication with others. However, Canva does not support real-time collaboration, and users have to refresh their pages to see the latest changes or comments made by others. Canva also does not support version control, and users have to manually save and restore their designs from the cloud.

Figma: 5/5

Figma supports real-time collaboration and sharing among users and stakeholders, and allows users to work together on their designs, comment and give feedback, and export and share their designs with others. Figma has a team feature that lets users create and join teams, invite and manage team members, and share and access team designs and resources. Figma also has a comment feature that lets users add, reply, and resolve comments on their designs, and mention and notify other users. Figma also has a share feature that lets users export and share their designs with others via email, link, embed, or download.

Figma’s collaboration and sharing features are powerful and seamless, and can help users create and test interactive and responsive prototypes with others. Figma supports real-time collaboration, and users can see the latest changes or comments made by others instantly on their screens. Figma also supports version control, and users can easily save and restore their designs from the cloud or the local storage.

Canva vs Figma: Pricing and Value

Canva: 4/5

Canva has three pricing plans: Free, Pro, and Enterprise. The Free plan offers access to over 250,000 templates, over 100 design types, over 5GB of cloud storage, and thousands of free photos and graphics. The Pro plan costs $9.95 per month (billed annually) or $12.95 per month (billed monthly), and offers access to over 420,000 templates, over 100GB of cloud storage, over 75 million premium photos, graphics, and videos, and advanced tools and features, such as background remover, magic resize, brand kit, and more. The Enterprise plan costs $30 per month (billed annually) or $36.95 per month (billed monthly), and offers access to everything in the Pro plan, plus unlimited cloud storage, advanced security and control, dedicated support, and more.

Canva’s pricing and value are reasonable and competitive, and can suit different types of users and budgets. Canva’s Free plan offers a lot of value and functionality for users who want to create simple and basic designs for personal or social use. Canva’s Pro plan offers a lot of value and functionality for users who want to create more complex and professional designs for business or marketing use. Canva’s Enterprise plan offers a lot of value and functionality for users who want to create more sophisticated and customized designs for enterprise or organization use.

However, Canva’s pricing and value may not be enough for users who want to create high-fidelity and functional designs for web and mobile applications, as Canva does not offer some features and functionality that are essential for this purpose, such as vector editing, prototyping, responsiveness, and code export.

Figma: 5/5

Figma has four pricing plans: Starter, Professional, Organization, and Enterprise. The Starter plan is free and offers access to up to 3 projects, up to 2 editors, and unlimited cloud storage. The Professional plan costs $12 per editor per month (billed annually) or $15 per editor per month (billed monthly), and offers access to unlimited projects, unlimited versions, unlimited cloud storage, and advanced tools and features, such as custom file and user permissions, shareable team libraries, and more. The Organization plan costs $45 per editor per month (billed annually), and offers access to everything in the Professional plan, plus advanced security and control, dedicated support, and more. The Enterprise plan is custom-priced and offers access to everything in the Organization plan, plus tailored solutions, integrations, and services.

Figma’s pricing and value are reasonable and competitive, and can suit different types of users and budgets. Figma’s Starter plan offers a lot of value and functionality for users who want to create simple and basic designs for personal or social use. Figma’s Professional plan offers a lot of value and functionality for users who want to create more complex and professional designs for business or marketing use. Figma’s Organization plan offers a lot of value and functionality for users who want to create more sophisticated and customized designs for enterprise or organization use. Figma’s Enterprise plan offers a lot of value and functionality for users who want to create more specialized and integrated designs for specific or complex use cases.

Figma’s pricing and value are also enough for users who want to create high-fidelity and functional designs for web and mobile applications, as Figma offers a rich set of features and functionality that enable users to create, collaborate, and share interactive and responsive prototypes.

Canva vs Figma: Summary and Recommendation

Canva and Figma are both excellent online design tools that offer a lot of value and functionality for different types of users and projects. However, they also have some significant differences and advantages that make them suitable for different purposes and preferences. Here is a summary of the comparison between Canva and Figma, based on the criteria that we have discussed:

• Ease of use: Canva is easier and more intuitive to use than Figma, especially for beginners and non-designers. Canva has a simple and user-friendly drag-and-drop interface and a smart and helpful design assistant. Figma is also easy and intuitive to use, but it may require some learning and practice for some users, especially those who are not familiar with vector-based design or prototyping tools. Figma has a powerful and flexible design editor and a comprehensive and interactive documentation and tutorial.
• Features and functionality: Figma offers more features and functionality than Canva, especially for creating high-fidelity and functional designs for web and mobile applications. Figma has a rich set of tools and features that enable users to create and test interactive and responsive prototypes, such as frames, components, constraints, auto-layout, variants, animations, transitions, and more. Figma also supports advanced editing and formatting of text, images, and shapes, such as vector editing, masking, clipping, blending, and more. Canva offers a variety of features and functionality that enable users to create stunning and engaging designs for various purposes, such as logos, posters, flyers, presentations, websites, apps, and more. Canva has a huge library of ready-made templates, graphics, fonts, photos, icons, and more, that users can customize and use for their projects. Canva also has a variety of tools and features that enable users to enhance their designs, such as filters, effects, animations, stickers, grids, shapes, and more. However, Canva does not offer some features and functionality that are essential for creating high-fidelity and functional designs for web and mobile applications, such as vector editing, prototyping, responsiveness, and code export. Canva also does not offer some features and functionality that are useful for creating more complex and sophisticated designs, such as layers, masks, gradients, shadows, and more.
• Templates and resources: Canva has more templates and resources than Figma, and they are more diverse and customizable. Canva has over 420,000 templates, over 75 million premium photos, graphics, and videos, and over 3,000 fonts, that cover a wide range of design types, styles, and categories. Canva also has a content planner that helps users plan and schedule their designs for social media, marketing, or personal use. Figma also has a library of templates, graphics, fonts, photos, icons, and more, that cover a wide range of design types, styles, and categories. Figma also has a plugin store that offers over 500 plugins that extend the functionality and features of the tool. However, Figma does not have as many templates and resources as Canva, and some of them may require a subscription or a payment to access or use. Figma also does not have a content planner that helps users plan and schedule their designs for social media, marketing, or personal use.
• Collaboration and sharing: Figma supports better collaboration and sharing than Canva, especially for real-time and version control. Figma supports real-time collaboration, and users can see the latest changes or comments made by others instantly on their screens. Figma also supports version control, and users can easily save and restore their designs from the cloud or the local storage. Figma also has a team feature that lets users create and join teams, invite and manage team members, and share and access team designs and resources. Figma also has a comment feature that lets users add, reply, and resolve comments on their designs, and mention and notify other users. Figma also has a share feature that lets users export and share their designs with others via email, link, embed, or download. Canva also supports collaboration and sharing among users and stakeholders, and allows users to work together on their designs, comment and give feedback, and export and share their designs with others. Canva also has a team feature that lets users create and join teams, invite and manage team members, and share and access team designs and resources. Canva also has a comment feature that lets users add, reply, and resolve comments on their designs, and mention and notify other users. Canva also has a share feature that lets users export and share their designs with others via email, link, social media, or download. However, Canva does not support real-time collaboration, and users have to refresh their pages to see the latest changes or comments made by others. Canva also does not support version control, and users have to manually save and restore their designs from the cloud.
• Pricing and value: Canva and Figma have similar pricing and value, and they can suit different types of users and budgets. Canva has three pricing plans: Free, Pro, and Enterprise. The Free plan offers access to over 250,000 templates, over 100 design types, over 5GB of cloud storage, and thousands of free photos and graphics. The Pro plan costs $9.95 per month (billed annually) or $12.95 per month (billed monthly), and offers access to over 420,000 templates, over 100GB of cloud storage, over 75 million premium photos, graphics, and videos, and advanced tools and features, such as background remover, magic resize, brand kit, and more. The Enterprise plan costs $30 per month (billed annually) or $36.95 per month (billed monthly), and offers access to everything in the Pro plan, plus unlimited cloud storage, advanced security and control, dedicated support, and more. Figma has four pricing plans: Starter, Professional, Organization, and Enterprise. The Starter plan is free and offers access to up to 3 projects, up to 2 editors, and unlimited cloud storage. The Professional plan costs $12 per editor per month (billed annually) or $15 per editor per month (billed monthly), and offers access to unlimited projects, unlimited versions, unlimited cloud storage, and advanced tools and features, such as custom file and user permissions, shareable team libraries, and more. The Organization plan costs $45 per editor per month (billed annually), and offers access to everything in the Professional plan, plus advanced security and control, dedicated support, and more. The Enterprise plan is custom-priced and offers access to everything in the Organization plan, plus tailored solutions, integrations, and services.

Based on the comparison, we can conclude that Canva and Figma are both excellent online design tools that offer a lot of value and functionality for different types of users and projects. However, they also have some significant differences and advantages that make them suitable for different purposes and preferences. Therefore, our recommendation is:

• If you are a beginner or a non-designer who wants to create stunning and engaging designs for various purposes, such as logos, posters, flyers, presentations, websites, apps, and more, with ease and speed, then Canva is the right tool for you.
• If you are a professional or an experienced designer who wants to create high-fidelity and functional designs for web and mobile applications, with power and flexibility, then Figma is the right tool for you.