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Canva vs Figma – Which Design Tool Is for You?

Two of our favorite graphic design tools go head to head.
Last Updated on July 4, 2023
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Canva vs. Figma has been the most heated debate for some time now among beginners and professional designers. However, the debate is justifiable and makes sense, too, as both tools are competent and offer many features that every user needs. As a result, it becomes challenging for some users to choose the best one, especially those who are new or beginners to the graphic designing world.

So, if you are among these users who need help choosing the right tool, don’t worry. We can help you with that in the below article.

Canva vs. Figma – Which Design Tool Is Best for You?

Figma and Canva are very popular plugins among digital graphic designers for several reasons. Whether professional or a beginner, these graphic design tools will be useful for various purposes at different stages. Both tools can offer some great features when it comes to catering to unique needs, including photo edit features, creation of graphic design elements and infographics for social media platforms or corporate and commercial use, and much more. 

Both graphic design platforms are available on any desktop device with an internet browser, or you can download a mobile app to your smartphone via the Apple Store, Android or Google Play Store. 

Canva vs Figma: User-friendliness

Speaking of Canva first, Canva has a more user-friendly interface, making it easier to use, especially for beginners. It can help them with its pre-designed templates, which they can easily use for various purposes like creating posters, presentations, social media posts, and other marketing. Moreover, users can customize the beginner-friendly templates by changing their fonts, colors, sizes, and images. This makes it suitable for non-designers as well as pros. 

Canva can offer them a wide range of icons and photo stocks. This way, it becomes easier for beginners to carry on with their work, specifically those who need access to professional resources. Most importantly, the collaboration features in Canva Teams helps users interact and collaborate to work collectively on a project, making it a great choice for an individual or a small business working in small teams.

Figma, on the contrary, is more suitable for professional designers who need something more advanced for their projects or tasks. It has what some might consider a fairly steep learning curve and a more complex user experience. Nevertheless, it offers somewhat more advanced capabilities than Canva. Figma can offer professional users many possibilities and capabilities with their proto-typing and UI/UX designs. Where Canva is best suitable for designing creative and stunning-looking posters, social media posts, presentations, etc., Figma helps professionals with more complex web designing and mobile interfaces.

Canva vs Figma: Price

Lastly, in terms of pricing, Canva offers a free version. It is an excellent choice for beginners or newbies who can handle complex and advanced features. They only require some basic features for the time being until they move ahead with the Pro version. 

Figma offers a free plan but does not include the collaboration feature. You can unlock it with its paid version. Comparing the prices, Canva’s paid version, or Canva Pro, is available at $119.99, slightly cheaper than Figma, but again Figma has better features and is more advanced.

FAQs

Is Figma a competitor of Canva?

No, Figma has never been a direct competitor to Canva. Both these tools serve different purposes and even have different target audiences. Canva is best for graphic designing. However, it is available with advanced features and options. Figma, conversely, is most suitable for professionals or large businesses involved with advanced design projects that need collaboration.

Conclusion

Whether to go with Canva or Figma entirely depends on your unique requirements or preferences. If you are a beginner designer who wants to create stunning graphic content with a more user-friendly tool by his side, we recommend Canva. 

However, if your work is more complex and advanced and involves a collaboration of the same level, Figma can be a good choice instead. It can provide real-time collaboration and advanced features, and a comprehensive set of design tools that would be more suitable.

So there you go – no overall winner. But both graphic design platforms are special in their own way. 

As a tech and AI writer for PC Guide, Gloria is interested in what new technology means for the future of consumer electronics and digital and broadcast journalism.