Design star platform Canva has recently made significant adjustments to its pricing strategy, a change that has shocked some long-term users. In the United States, the original annual price of $119.99 for the five-person Canva Teams plan is now $500, while in Australia, the fixed monthly fee for five users has increased from A$39.99 (about $26) to A$13.50 per user. The fees for individual users have also increased, with each person now needing to pay $100 annually or choose a plan of $10 per person per month.
The price adjustment for Canva Teams is a considerable blow to old customers, especially those who previously enjoyed low-priced discounts. Although Canva has implemented new prices for new customers, old customers are now also facing the pressure of price increases. Notably, users at the Pro and Enterprise levels have not been affected by this price change.
Canva's spokesperson confirmed the new pricing strategy to TechCrunch and explained that with the company's continuous expansion in generative AI tools (such as Magic Studio), this adjustment was necessary. They also mentioned that the low-priced discounts previously enjoyed by some customers have ended. In fact, Canva had quietly changed the Teams pricing to $10 per user per month earlier this year.
Canva's spokesperson 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 these old plan customers to better reflect our rich product experience." This change goes against Canva's original positioning as an economic alternative to design software like Adobe.
As Canva prepares for its initial public offering (IPO), the price increase is not surprising, but users are clearly not satisfied. They are particularly dissatisfied with Canva's choice to notify of the price change through customer emails rather than the previous public method. This change may also reflect the rapid growth challenges faced by this startup.
Canva has recently expanded its product line through acquisitions, including acquiring British graphic design software company Serif for about $380 million in March and generative AI image company Leonardo in August. These moves indicate that Canva is actively investing in AI technology to drive innovation and development of its platform.