Canva vs Figma: Templates or Product Design?

Pick Canva if you make social posts, presentations, flyers or resumes from templates and want results without design training. Pick Figma if you design app or website interfaces, build clickable prototypes, or hand designs over to developers.

Both have a free plan and both run in a web browser, so you can try each before paying. They overlap less than people think: Canva is a template-first tool for finished graphics, while Figma is a design tool for product teams.

Canva vs Figma at a glance

Which is cheaper, Canva or Figma?

Both cost nothing to start, and for one person the paid plans are close. The difference is in how they charge.

Canva sells Canva Pro to individuals, with Business and Teams plans above it. Canva's own pricing page blocked our requests, so we read the prices from its iPhone app listing instead (more on that below). There, Canva Pro starts at $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year.

Figma charges per seat, and the seat type sets the price. On the Professional plan, a Full seat (which can edit designs) is $16 a month, a Dev seat is $12 and a Collab seat is $3. Organization ($55 per Full seat) and Enterprise ($90 per Full seat) are billed annually.

So a solo designer pays a similar amount on either tool. In a team, Figma's cheap Collab seats help: people who only need FigJam, Slides or comments do not need a full design seat. Figma also has an education discount, and Canva for Education is free for eligible K-12 teachers and students.

What do you get for free?

Canva's free plan gives everyone 5GB of storage, and the app listing describes thousands of customizable templates for social posts, business cards, flyers, invitations, logos and more. Some images and templates are marked Pro, so not everything in the library is free.

Figma's Starter plan is described on its pricing page as "Free limited access to Figma products." It includes unlimited drafts, UI kits and templates, and 150 AI credits a day up to 500 a month. Unlimited files and projects for a team, team-wide libraries and advanced Dev Mode inspection are on the Professional plan.

What we checked ourselves

On 6 November 2026, Canva's iPhone app listing on the US App Store showed five different Canva Pro prices: three monthly ($14.99, $15.00 and $18.00) and two yearly ($119.99 and $143.99). The listing does not say which buyers get which price, so expect the figure you see at checkout to depend on your account, region and offer. The same day, Figma's pricing page showed one clear table in US dollars, with the Professional Full seat at $16 a month.

Which is easier to use?

Canva, for almost everyone who is not a designer. You pick a template, swap in your text and photos, and download. It covers presentations, video, resumes, spreadsheets and bulk creation, all from the same template-led editor.

Figma takes longer to learn because it is built for designing interfaces from scratch: frames, components, auto layout and prototypes. Its product range shows the focus. Figma Design is for designing and prototyping, Dev Mode translates designs into code, FigJam is a whiteboard, and Figma Slides, Figma Sites and Figma Make cover presentations, websites and prompt-to-code work.

Which runs on more devices?

Both run almost everywhere, but they treat phones differently.

Canva's download page lists apps for Mac and Windows and says Canva is "also available on Windows, iOS, Android, and Chromebook." The phone apps are full editors, so you can make a whole design on your phone.

Figma calls itself "predominantly browser-based software." It works in Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge, on Windows 8.1 or later, macOS 11 or later, and any Linux system that runs those browsers. There are desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Windows on Arm. The iPhone app is mostly for viewing designs, commenting and playing prototypes, not for full design work.

Looking beyond these two? Our guide to Canva alternatives covers other design tools worth a look.

Which should you choose?

• You post on social media and want quick, good-looking graphics: Canva.
• You make presentations, flyers or resumes: Canva.
• You want to design on your phone: Canva, whose mobile apps are full editors.
• You design apps or websites: Figma.
• You need clickable prototypes or developer handoff: Figma, with Dev Mode.
• You work on Linux: Figma in the browser.
• Your team has many reviewers and few designers: Figma, using $3 Collab seats for reviewers.

FAQ

Is Canva free?

Yes. Canva has a free plan with 5GB of storage and free templates. Canva Pro, Business and Teams add premium content and features.

Is Figma free?

Yes. The Starter plan is free and includes unlimited drafts, UI kits and templates. The Professional plan starts at $16 a month for a Full seat.

Can Canva replace Figma for UI design?

For simple mockups it can, but it lacks Figma's prototyping, component libraries and Dev Mode, which product teams rely on to hand designs to developers.

Can I edit Figma designs on my phone?

Not fully. Figma's iPhone app is built for viewing designs, commenting, playing prototypes and mirroring desktop frames. Design work happens in the browser or desktop app.