Canva talked up its new AI features, then hiked prices by over 300% – but the company says the increase is worth it

Canva subscription prices are set to skyrocket for enterprise users after the firm confirmed it will be upping the cost of Canva Teams to reflect its expanded, AI-powered product range.

According to reports, some users can expect price increases of over 300%. One user shared an email from Canva that informed them of a bump from $119.99 a year to $500 a year with a discounted 12-month period in between.

This Canva customer described the price increase as “one of the biggest increases I have ever seen YoY,” while another user on Threads said that the email update about the price increase was “maybe not the best communication strategy.”

Business customers across the board are seeing hikes, though the actual raw price change differs from country to country.

In Australia, for example, the cost of Canva Teams per user per month will be upped to $13.50, or $67.50 for five users per month according to reporting from Information Age. This is up from $39.99 for five users per month.

The price hikes are justified, according to Canva, with a spokesperson from the firm telling ITPro that the company’s expanded product range necessitated a bump in price.

“Our original pricing reflected the early stage of this product and has remained unchanged for the last four years. We’re now updating the price for customers on this older plan to reflect our expanded product experience,” the spokesperson said.

Canva acknowledged that pricing changes “aren’t always easy” and is offering eligible customers 12 months of discounted pricing before the changes take full effect. This discounted pricing still represents an increase, at least according to reports from users.

Canva’s workspace range

This news follows numerous announcements from the firm that show its serious about adding AI tools to its portfolio. At the firm’s flagship ‘Canva Create’ event in 2023, it unveiled a raft of new updates.

Targeting a wider workplace market to expand beyond its typical graphic design audience, Canva announced new features to target problem solving in areas such as marketing, sales, HR, and creative.

Within these features were included a number of AI enhancements, such as ‘Magic Replace’ which replace an asset across an entire set of designs if an outdated graphic or logo needs to be changed.

Similarly, ‘Magic Eraser’ promises to remove any unwanted element of an image, while ‘Magic Edit’ allows one visual object to be replaced with an entirely new one using generative AI capabilities.