Canva vs Figma for Non-Designers 2026: Which Tool Actually Makes Sense for You?

You don't need to be a designer to need design tools. Marketing managers building pitch decks, startup founders mocking up product ideas, teachers creating classroom materials — everyone ends up needing something to make things look good. The two names that come up most often are Canva and Figma, and they couldn't be more different in how they approach that problem.

This comparison is specifically written for non-designers: people who need to create visuals, presentations, social media graphics, or basic product mockups without a design degree or years of Adobe experience. We'll break down exactly where each tool excels, where it falls short, and — most importantly — which one you should actually use.

Quick Comparison Table

Canva Overview

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Canva launched in 2013 with a single mission: make design accessible to everyone. It has largely succeeded. With over 185 million users worldwide, it's become the default tool for anyone who needs to create something visual but doesn't want to spend a week learning software to do it.

Key Features

• Massive template library: 250,000+ templates covering social media posts, presentations, flyers, resumes, videos, websites, and more
• Magic Studio (AI tools): Includes Magic Write (AI text), Magic Edit (AI image editing), Background Remover, Magic Resize, and Text to Image generation
• Brand Kit: Store your brand colors, fonts, and logos for consistent use across all projects (Pro feature)
• Video editing: Basic but genuinely useful video editing within the browser
• Canva Docs: A surprisingly capable document editor that blends design and text
• Presentations: Full presentation mode with speaker notes, similar to Google Slides but prettier
• Print-on-demand: Direct integration with Canva Print for physical materials

Pricing

The free plan is genuinely useful — you get access to a huge library of templates and basic tools. Pro unlocks the Brand Kit, Magic Studio AI tools, background remover, and premium templates/assets.

Best For

Canva is the obvious choice for social media managers, small business owners, educators, bloggers, nonprofit staff, and anyone who needs to produce good-looking content at volume without a steep learning curve.

Figma Overview

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Figma is a professional design tool built primarily for UI/UX designers and product teams. It operates in the browser (with desktop apps available) and has become the industry standard for designing websites, apps, and digital products — partly because of its exceptional real-time collaboration features.

Adobe acquired Figma in 2022, though the deal was blocked by regulators and eventually abandoned, leaving Figma to continue as an independent company. In 2024, Figma expanded significantly with Figma Slides, Figma Sites (for actually publishing websites), and deeper AI integrations.

Key Features

• Vector design tools: Precise control over shapes, paths, and components — the kind of control professionals need
• Auto Layout: Responsive design frames that adapt when content changes — incredibly powerful for UI design
• Prototyping: Create clickable, interactive prototypes directly in Figma with transitions and animations
• Component system: Build reusable design components (buttons, cards, navigation) that update everywhere when you edit them
• Dev Mode: Generates code snippets (CSS, iOS, Android) from designs so developers can implement them accurately
• FigJam: A built-in whiteboard tool for brainstorming and diagramming
• Real-time collaboration: Multiple users can work on the same file simultaneously — Google Docs-style
• Figma Slides: A newer presentation tool built into Figma's ecosystem

Pricing

The free plan is more restrictive than Canva's — you're limited to 3 Figma design files and 3 FigJam files. For serious use, you'll need a paid plan.

Best For

Figma is built for UI/UX designers, product managers working closely with design teams, developers who need to inspect designs, and companies building digital products. It's not designed with non-designers in mind.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

User Interface & Ease of Use

This is where the gap between the two tools is most dramatic.

Canva is designed to be picked up in minutes. The interface uses drag-and-drop, everything is labeled clearly, and the template system means you rarely start from a blank canvas. Most non-designers can create a professional-looking Instagram post or slide deck within their first session.

Figma, on the other hand, has a learning curve that can feel steep if you're not coming from a design background. The interface uses design industry concepts — frames, layers, constraints, auto layout — that require some understanding to use effectively. There are no guardrails. A blank Figma canvas is genuinely blank, and it can feel overwhelming.

Winner for non-designers: Canva, by a mile.

Core Features

For non-designers, "core features" means: can I make what I need to make, quickly?

Canva covers almost every common content creation need: social posts, presentations, flyers, infographics, short videos, documents, email headers, business cards. The template library is so large that you'll almost always find something close to what you need.

Figma's core features — vector editing, component libraries, prototyping, developer handoff — are extraordinarily powerful but overkill for most non-design tasks. Unless you're designing an app or a website, you'll likely never use 60% of what Figma offers.

That said, Figma's collaboration features are genuinely best-in-class. If you're working on a design project with a designer or a product team, Figma is the shared workspace where that happens.

Winner for non-designers: Canva for standalone work; Figma if you're collaborating with designers.

Integrations

Canva integrates with a wide range of tools non-designers actually use: Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, HubSpot, Mailchimp, WordPress, and social media platforms for direct scheduling. The Canva app marketplace has grown significantly and makes it easy to pull in content or push designs out.

Figma integrates deeply with developer and design tools: Jira, Confluence, Notion, GitHub, Zeplin, Storybook, and dozens of design plugins. These are powerful but niche — they're designed for product development workflows, not general content creation.

Winner for non-designers: Canva, because the integrations are actually relevant to non-design workflows.

Pricing & Value

For a non-designer, Canva's free plan offers extraordinary value. Even the Pro plan at ~$15/month is easy to justify given the AI features, Brand Kit, and premium template access.

Figma's free plan is restrictive (3-file limit), and the paid tier starts at ~$15/user/month for features that non-designers likely won't fully utilize. If you're paying for Figma just to view or comment on files your design team created, there are cheaper ways to handle that.

Winner for non-designers: Canva, significantly better value for the use case.

Customer Support

Canva offers 24/7 support for Pro and Teams users via live chat, plus an extensive help center, video tutorials, and a large community forum. The self-serve documentation is genuinely good.

Figma offers email support on paid plans, plus a detailed help center and active community forum. Response times can be slower than Canva's. However, Figma's community (designers sharing templates, plugins, and tutorials) is a valuable resource.

Winner: Canva for accessibility of support; Figma for community depth (if you know what you're looking for).

Mobile App

Canva's mobile app is excellent — one of the best design-adjacent mobile apps available. You can create, edit, and publish content directly from your phone with the full feature set largely intact. It's particularly useful for social media content creators on the go.

Figma's mobile app is functional for viewing and commenting on files but not suited for active design work. It's essentially a presentation/review tool on mobile. Nobody is doing serious Figma work on a phone.

Winner for non-designers: Canva, clearly.

Security & Compliance

Canva offers SOC 2 Type II compliance, SSO (Enterprise), two-factor authentication, and GDPR compliance. Enterprise plans include advanced admin controls and content moderation tools.

Figma also offers SOC 2 Type II, SAML SSO, advanced permissions, and GDPR compliance. The Organization and Enterprise plans include org-wide libraries, branching, and audit logs — features relevant for larger design operations.

Both tools handle security adequately for most business users. Enterprise-level requirements are met by both.

Winner: Tie — both are solid for business use.

Pros and Cons

Canva

Figma

Who Should Choose Canva?

Canva is the right choice if you:

• Create content regularly — social posts, newsletters, blog graphics, presentations, flyers
• Run a small business or side project and need to handle your own marketing visuals
• Work in marketing, HR, education, or nonprofit and need to produce materials without a designer
• Want AI-assisted design — Canva's Magic Studio is genuinely useful for speeding up content creation
• Need mobile access — Canva's mobile app is excellent for creating on the go
• Manage a brand — the Brand Kit keeps everything consistent without requiring design expertise
• Work with a small team of non-designers — Canva Teams is affordable and easy to onboard

Even if you're not in one of these categories, if you're a non-designer who just needs to make things look good, Canva is almost certainly the right starting point.

Who Should Choose Figma?

Figma makes sense for non-designers who:

• Work closely with design or product teams — if your designer uses Figma, you should too (even just for viewing and commenting)
• Are a product manager — wireframing ideas, reviewing prototypes, and giving structured feedback in Figma is far more efficient than email
• Want to learn design properly — if you're planning to grow into design work, starting with Figma builds skills that transfer to professional contexts
• Need to communicate app or website ideas — even rough Figma wireframes communicate more clearly than verbal descriptions or PowerPoint boxes
• Use agile/product development workflows — Figma's Jira, Confluence, and GitHub integrations slot neatly into development pipelines

If none of these apply to you, there's a good chance you don't actually need Figma.

Verdict

For non-designers in 2026, Canva is the clear recommendation for the vast majority of use cases.

It's easier to start with, faster to produce results in, has better templates, better AI features, a better mobile app, and pricing that makes more sense for people who aren't professional designers. If you need to make something look good — whether that's a social media post, a slide deck, a flyer, or a simple website — Canva gets you there with the least friction.

Figma earns its place as the best professional design tool available, but "best professional design tool" is not what most non-designers need. It's genuinely worth learning if you're moving toward product or UX work, or if your team already uses it and you need to participate in that workflow.

The one scenario where you might use both: Canva for your own content creation and Figma for collaborating with your design team. They serve different enough purposes that they don't really compete in practice.

Bottom line:

• 🟢 Start with Canva if you're a non-designer creating content independently
• 🟡 Consider Figma if you work directly with product/design teams or want to develop design skills
• 🔵 Use both if you do independent content creation and collaborate on digital product design

Try Try Canva Pro free — no credit card required. If you want to explore the professional design space, Try Figma also has a free tier to test the waters.

FAQ

Is Canva good enough for professional work?

Yes, for most non-design professionals. Marketing materials, presentations, social media content, and light branding work all come out looking professional with Canva. Where it falls short is in pixel-perfect UI design, complex print production (if you need precise CMYK control), and anything requiring custom vector illustration at a high level.

Can non-designers use Figma effectively?

They can, but there's a meaningful learning curve. Product managers, researchers, and technically-minded non-designers often pick it up reasonably well. For someone who just needs to make a social post or a flyer, the investment in learning Figma isn't worth it when Canva exists.

Is Figma free forever for basic use?

Figma has a free Starter plan, but it limits you to 3 Figma design files and 3 FigJam files total — not per month, just 3 files period (though you can delete and start new ones). For any sustained use, you'll need a paid plan at ~$15/user/month.

Does Canva work for website design?

Canva has a website builder that lets you publish simple sites directly. It's not suitable for complex or custom websites, but for landing pages, portfolios, or event sites, it works well. For anything more sophisticated, tools like Webflow or Squarespace are better options.

Which tool is better for presentations?

Canva wins for presentations aimed at non-designers. The templates are stunning, it's easy to use, and the output looks polished. Figma's newer Slides product is interesting but still maturing and requires more design knowledge to use effectively. Google Slides or PowerPoint users transitioning to something better will feel more at home in Canva.

Can I use Canva and Figma together?

Yes — and some teams do. A common workflow: designers build brand assets and UI components in Figma, then export elements that non-designers use in Canva for day-to-day content creation. They serve complementary roles rather than competing ones.