The winner depends entirely on the output: Canva is the undisputed leader for social media, marketing collateral, and quick brand assets, while Figma is the industry standard for UI/UX design, prototyping, and complex design systems. Most modern teams will actually find themselves using both tools in tandem.
Canva is an all-in-one visual communication platform that democratizes design. It focuses on template-based creation, allowing non-designers to produce professional-grade social media graphics, presentations, and videos using a drag-and-drop interface and a massive library of stock assets.
Figma is a powerful, browser-based design tool specifically built for UI/UX design. It excels in vector graphics, interactive prototyping, and developer handoff, making it the primary choice for product designers and software development teams.
| Feature | Canva | Figma |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Use Case | Marketing & Social Media | UI/UX & Product Design |
| Vector Editing | Basic | Advanced (Pen tool, Booleans) |
| Prototyping | Simple transitions | Advanced logic & variables |
| Feature | Canva | Figma |
|---|---|---|
| Stock Library | 100M+ photos, videos, audio | None (requires plugins) |
| Templates | Millions of ready-to-use | Community-driven UI kits |
| Feature | Canva | Figma |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time Editing | ||
| Developer Handoff | None | Dedicated Dev Mode |
| Brand Management | Brand Kits & Controls | Design Systems & Libraries |
| Plan | Canva | Figma |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 |
| Pro/Professional | ~$12.99/mo | $12/mo (Annual) |
| Business/Org | Contact Sales | $45/mo (Annual) |
Are you designing a mobile app or website interface?
Yes
Choose Figma
No
Canva works fine
Do you need a library of stock photos and videos included?
Yes
Choose Canva
No
Figma is an option
Do you need to hand off designs to a developer?
Yes
Choose Figma
No
Canva is likely sufficient
The drag-and-drop interface requires zero prior design training to master.
Access to millions of premium photos and videos eliminates the need for external stock subscriptions.
Built-in social media scheduling and magic resizing save hours of manual work.
Powerful AI tools for background removal, image generation, and text rewriting.
Directly order physical prints (business cards, flyers) from within the app.
Lacks the pixel-perfect control and grid systems required for professional UI design.
Over-reliance on templates can result in designs that look similar to many others.
Creating custom complex shapes or logos from scratch is difficult compared to Figma.
Can become laggy with very large files or complex video projects.
Many of the best assets and features are behind the Pro paywall.
Knowing Figma is a core requirement for modern digital product design roles.
Can simulate complex user journeys with variables and conditional logic.
Dev Mode bridges the gap between design and code, reducing friction in production.
Thousands of free plugins and UI kits available in the Figma Community.
Components and styles allow for global updates across thousands of screens instantly.
Requires significant time to master concepts like Auto Layout and Components.
Users must find and import their own images, icons, and videos.
No built-in social media scheduling or easy video editing templates.
The seat-based pricing model can become very expensive for large teams.
Using Figma for a simple Instagram post is often slower than using Canva.
Canva's interface is intuitive and template-driven, allowing beginners to create professional results in minutes.
Figma offers the precision, vector tools, and prototyping capabilities required for professional UI/UX work.
The combination of design tools, stock assets, and social media scheduling provides the best ROI for small marketing teams.
Enterprises typically need Figma for their product/dev teams and Canva for their marketing/sales teams.
Canva's free tier provides more 'ready-to-use' value (templates/assets) than Figma's restricted 3-file free tier.
Reviewers in 2024-2025 emphasize that the tools are no longer strictly in different categories as Figma adds 'Figma Slides' and Canva adds 'Business' features. However, the 'precision vs. speed' divide remains the core differentiator.
Reddit users generally view Figma as a 'serious' professional tool and Canva as a 'marketing' tool. There is some tension among professional designers who feel Canva devalues the craft, while others appreciate its efficiency for non-design tasks.
"Canva is more for 'web building' and Figma is more for 'any UI vector drawing'."
"Resisted Figma for the past few years as I thought it was akin to Canva and looked down upon it as something that only the kids were using."
"I find that the recent changes in the app [Canva] have made it really clunky and very very buggy."
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Pricing and features may change. Visit official websites for the latest information.
Last updated: 2025-12-20
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