Canva, the online design platform loved by designers, recently announced a major adjustment to its pricing strategy, triggering widespread concern and discussion among users. This adjustment mainly involves the prices of Canva Teams team packages and individual packages. The increase is significant, especially for old users. The editor of Downcodes will provide a detailed interpretation of this price adjustment and analyze the reasons behind it and its possible impact.
Canva, the design star platform, recently made a major change to its pricing strategy, a change that shocked some long-time users. In the US, Canva Teams' five-person plan, which originally cost $119.99 per year, is now $500, while in Australia, the flat monthly fee for five users has risen from AU$39.99 (about US$26) to AU$13.50 per user. The cost for individual users has also increased and will now cost $100 per person per year, or choose a $10 per person per month plan.
The price adjustment of Canva Teams is a big blow to old customers, especially those who have previously enjoyed low price discounts. Although Canva has implemented new prices for new customers, existing customers are now facing price increases as well. It is worth noting that Pro and Enterprise level users are not affected by this price change.
A spokesperson for Canva confirmed the new pricing strategy to TechCrunch, explaining that the change was necessary as the company continues to expand into generative AI tools like Magic Studio. They also mentioned that low-price offers previously enjoyed by some customers have ended. In fact, Canva quietly changed Teams pricing to $10 per user per month earlier this year.
A spokesperson for Canva said: "Our initial pricing was based on the early stages of the product and has remained unchanged for the past four years. Now, we are updating the prices for customers on these older plans to better reflect our broad offering. experience.” The change runs counter to Canva’s original positioning as an economical alternative to design software like Adobe.
It's not surprising that Canva is raising prices as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO), but users are clearly not happy about it. They were particularly dissatisfied with Canva's choice to notify price changes via customer email rather than the usual public method. The change may also reflect the challenges of rapid growth facing the startup.
Canva has recently expanded its product line through acquisitions, including acquiring British graphic design software company Serif in March for about $380 million, and acquiring generative AI imaging company Leonardo in August. These moves demonstrate that Canva is actively investing in AI technology to drive innovation and growth on its platform.
Although Canva’s price adjustment has a reasonable explanation at the company level, the negative impact on user experience and brand image cannot be ignored. How Canva balances profit needs and user experience in the future will be a major challenge for its continued development. The editor of Downcodes will continue to pay attention to the subsequent development of Canva.