After Unpopular Price Increase, Canva Walks Back Part of Its Plan

Last month, Canva warned customers that some plans would see a substantial price increase. One, Canva Teams, jumped from $180 per year to $500. Today, Canva rolled back one aspect of its unpopular price hikes as part of what it calls a “Pricing Promise” moving forward.

In a blog post, Canva doesn’t apologize or make excuses for its past changes but does say it will make two changes to its pricing structure. First, it is re-starting the pricing it gave to early Canva Teams adopters (which was discontinued in April) and making the promise to be more transparent about its pricing decisions moving forward.

In April, Canva discontinued a pricing plan that allowed Canva Teams members — early adopters of that tier — to add up to four extra seats at no additional cost.

“We had planned to gradually transition existing Canva Teams subscribers to our current standard pricing of $10/month per person starting at three people, reflecting the expanded value of our product over the past four years,” Canva says. “Listening to our community is an incredibly important part of our DNA, and we understand this change may have felt too sudden for some, especially early adopters on our old pricing model. Our community is at the heart of every decision we make, and today, as a special thank you to our early Canva Teams users for their loyalty and continued support, we’re pleased to maintain their original pricing for their current team. They’ll continue enjoying their current rate, with no action needed on their part.”

In short, those that were most affected by the sudden price increase last month will no longer see the giant hike that was at the root of the public’s blowback. That said, Canva isn’t changing its pricing model for new users — this change is only meant to appease current customers. That should not come as a surprise since Canva is eyeing an IPO and increasing its value as much as possible will be its goal from now on.

Another part of the pricing increase was how Canva chose to alert customers: some felt blindsided by a sudden email telling them that their monthly price would balloon by up to four times. It’s the aspect of surprise that Canva hopes to remove with its new “Pricing Promise.” Within that, Canva says that it will always provide at least 60 days notice of any future price changes and it also plans to adjust pricing for different regions to assure that it’s “fair” based on local economic conditions.

“As Canva grows, so does the value we offer to all our users. Whether you’ve been here since the early days or are just starting out, we’re committed to making Canva even better for you. Your support has been instrumental to our journey, and we’re excited for what’s next – more products, more features, and more ways to bring your creative ideas to life,” Canva says.

Earlier this year, Canva acquired Serif, makers of the the Adobe Photoshop competitor Affinity Photo, which has prided itself on a non-subscription pricing model. While Canva’s mainline product offerings are subscription based, to date, nothing has changed with how Serif does business — yet.

Image credits: Canva