How to Download a Picture or Design from Canva

You’ve finally created the perfect design in Canva after much toil. But you can’t seem to find the download button. Was all that hard work in vain? Of course not. If you’re new to Canva, the download button might not be visible at first glance after moving to its newest resting place. But, rest assured, it’s still there. And downloading your design is the easiest task ever, as it should be after all the labor you’ve already put in.

You can download a design whether you’re a free or paid user, but access to features will vary.

Download File Types Supported

There are a variety of formats in which you can download your design.

Image:

JPG: Small file size, best used for photographs. Canva Paid (Pro and Enterprise) users can adjust quality and scale.
PNG: High-quality image, best used for graphics. Canva paid users can also use features like transparent backgrounds and file compression while downloading.
SVG: Sharp Vector Graphics that maintain image quality at any size, best for web graphics. Also supports transparency. Not available for Canva Free users.

Document:

PDF Standard: Small file size. You can use it for illustrations, text, and graphics with a resolution of 96 dpi.
PDF Print: High-quality document. For printing with a resolution of 300 dpi. Supports bleed and crop mark options.
PPTX (Microsoft Powerpoint): For downloading Canva Presentations.

Video:

GIF: Short clips with no sounds or designs with animated elements
MP4: High-quality video with sound or music

Downloading a Design from Canva on the Desktop

If you’re using Canva from the web app on your desktop, downloading your design is a piece of cake.

Go to the editor menu bar at the top and click the ‘Share’ button at its right end.

A menu will appear. Scroll past the sharing options and click the ‘Download’ option.

Depending on your account type, your options will vary.

If you’re a Canva Free user, premium features will be unavailable to you. You will also have to pay for any pro elements before downloading the design. You can download a preview design with a Canva watermark (criss-cross lines) before paying for the design, though.

Regardless of your account type, the steps are the same.

First, choose the file type. Click the drop-down menu under the ‘File type’ option. Canva will automatically suggest the format best for your design.

Options for available formats would appear. Click the one you want to choose.

Premium users can also tweak other settings like adjusting the size or quality slider, choosing a transparent background, or selecting to compress the file, where applicable.

Then, if your design has multiple pages, scroll down and select the pages you want to download from the drop-down menu. If you haven’t previously saved any download settings, by default, all pages will be selected. Click the pages you don’t want to download to unselect them and click ‘Done’.

If you want to save your preferences for the future, check the option for ‘Save download settings’ after scrolling down. This step is completely optional.

Finally, click the ‘Download’ button.

Click ‘Pay and Download’ if your design has pro elements and you don’t have a subscription. You’ll then be asked for a preferred payment method like credit or debit card, UPI, etc., that may differ for your region. You can also buy Canva credits and pay with them. Often, there are also discounts on Canva credits. If you pay for an element, the license is for one-time use only. If you’re okay with downloading a watermarked design, click the ‘Download a free watermarked draft’ option instead.

The design will be saved to the assigned downloads folder on your computer.

Downloading a Design from Canva on Mobile

You can use Canva on the mobile to design while on the go. If you want to use it on your mobile phone, you can use it either in the Canva app which you can download from the App or Play stores or on the web on any browser.

No matter where you choose to use Canva, you can easily download and save the design on your mobile. The way to download is also the same for both, with only a slight difference.

Tap the ‘Export’ icon from the Editor menu bar.

Then, tap ‘Download’ from the menu that appears.

Select the file type from the drop-down menu.

If the design has multiple pages, select the pages you want to download.

Finally, tap the ‘Download’ button. If the design has pro elements and you don’t have a pro account, tap ‘Pay and Download’ on Canva Web for mobile. Payment options will then appear which will involve options like credit or debit card, UPI, etc. that may differ according to your region. Choose how to pay for it, or you can also buy Canva credits similar to Canva web for desktop.

On the mobile app, the only way to pay for any pro elements is through Canva credits. Now, while trying to download a design with a pro element through both the mobile app and the web, we found that purchasing through the mobile app was proving to be costlier. The difference was more than a dollar. Curious! So, if you want to download a design with a pro element, better use the web app in the browser.