How to make money with Canva in 2022? Making money with Canva may be one of the questions running through your mind as you read this post because, for some people, Canva is just an ordinary tool for creating social media posts.
But I kid you not; people make hundreds and thousands of dollars using Canva as a tool for creating digital products or offering a bunch of services that bring in passive income.
Like me, Canva is one of the major tools my business centers around, and I make at least $1000 monthly from offering Canva design services, selling Canva templates, and as a Canva creator.
And this is just a fraction of the money other Canva Templates sellers or freelancers make monthly using Canva.
But then, Imagine making passive income with Canva, a tool most people only use for Graphic design and for creating beautiful posts for their social media or blog.
Gone at the days when people looked down on using Canva for designs.
When I started my blogging journey, I often heard other designers say, “Don’t use Canva for professional designs”.
Apparently, Canva is here to stay as it’s an evolving tool with many amazing features.
Because of its ease of use and versatility, small business owners depend on it for their day-to-day design solutions.
So you see, building an entire business around Canva is a game changer, as you’ll never run out of customers or buyers.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links, and I will earn a commission which I use in running this blog if you buy with my link. This won’t attract an extra cost to you. Read my Disclaimer policy here
Before we delve into ways to make money with Canva, if you are serious about selling your design services or creating templates in Canva for sale, you need to have a Canva Pro account.
Because with Canva pro, you’ll have access to amazing Canva features such as the Background remover tool, resize tool, content planner, and unlimited brands.
Canva is great for making your freelance journey easier because, you’ll also access millions of templates, design elements, fonts, the content planner, unlimited folders etc.
If you are serious about making money using Canva, then Canva Pro is not an option. It is a necessity.
You Cana TRY CANVA PRO FOR FREE For 30-days
Without further ado, let’s find out how to make money with Canva;
11 Creative Ways to Make Money With Canva
If you’re on the fence about learning to earn money using Canva, these 11 ways to make money with Canva are no-brainers.
And the good thing is that you don’t need to be a professional graphic designer to make money with Canva.
1 | Become a Freelance Graphic Designer
These days, people ask specifically to work with designers who’ll use Canva to create designs for them because of the ease of use.
For example: Have you ever been on Upwork to search for jobs available? You’ll see design jobs specifically for designers who use Canva.
And the same goes for Facebook groups and other platforms where business owners meet freelancers.
I dipped into Upwork sometime last year because I was bored and wanted to test out the platform.
So I set up my profile, and a few weeks in, I got my first invitation to create a 97 pages ebook template, for which I charged around $425.
Even on this blog, I have clients reach out to me to create designs, templates, and planners for their businesses.
Do note: I don’t offer freelance services all year round, I mostly open up spots when I don’t have many projects, but I know others who offer Canva design services full time.
My friend Sandee, a full-time Canva freelancer, and a Canva Expert make up to $50K using Canva to work on her clients’ projects.
The only downside is that this type of income is not passive and can lead to burnout sometimes because if you don’t work on projects, you can’t make money.
To kickstart your freelancing with Canva journey, you can sign up on Fiverr, Upwork and check groups on Facebook (Believe me, this works, and you’re competing with fewer people than Fiverr and Upwork) or create a website and offer your services directly.
Another cool way to get in front of potential clients is on Instagram and Pinterest.
And the easy part is you don’t need any fancy tool to do this, just your laptop, and you’re good to start.
2 | Create and Sell Canva Templates
Creating and selling Canva templates is a great way to make passive income with Canva.
To prove this, search for “Canva Templates” on Etsy and see the number of Canva template shops that pop up.
Many businesses use Canva to create graphics and products to run their brand.
For bloggers, course creators and coaches, Canva templates for social media, ebooks, workbooks, and client welcome packet are essential because it saves them time and money.
While for some other industries, templates for invoices, thank you cards, logos, planners, and stickers are essential.
Even individuals buy and edit Canva templates to organize their lives and homes.
For example – Recipe and meal planners, prayer and chore printables, homeschooling printables, wedding signs and invitation cards are so popular on Etsy.
Creating Canva templates for sale is a whole industry on its own, with different niches and templates to sell and make passive income with Canva.
It is essential to note that to sell Canva templates, you can’t edit premade templates in the Canva library and bundle them for sale.
You must create your templates and design from scratch if you want to sell Canva templates.
Now you know it is possible to make money with Canva templates; you can create and sell templates such as;
- Social media templates
- Etsy shop banners, logos, and branding
- Logos, brand kits and brand templates
- Presentation templates
- Ebook templates
- Journals/planners and Trackers
- Thank you cards, Stickers etc
- Wedding invitations
- Business cards
- Resume templates
Above is a list of templates you can create and sell to make passive income with Canva.
And some places where you can sell these templates include;
Etsy, Creative Market, Creative Fabrica, Ladybossboutique, Appsumo, your Shopify or Woocommerce store, etc.
3 | Create and Sell print on Demand
Creating and selling print-on-demand products like planners, t-shirts, sweaters, mugs, journals, etc., is also a method of making money with Canva.
Recently, Canva launched its Canva for prints service, which they help you print and ship your designs for a fee.
With this, you don’t need to worry about printing or bringing your designs to life.
You can create your designs and print them via Canva Print services or other print-on-demand platforms like Redbubble, Printify, etc.
It is worth noting Canva’s license, whether you’re on a free or pro-Canva plan, the number of usages, etc.
To learn more, read about Canva Print and Canva’s licensing policy.
4 | Make Money With Canva as an Affiliate
Do you know you can earn money with Canva as a Canva affiliate?
Aside from being a Canva creator or running a Canva template shop, one of the ways I make passive income with Canva is by promoting and writing Canva-related content on my blog.
I love and use Canva, and there’s no way I’ll talk about my business or what I do without mentioning Canva.
You can attest to that with this blog’s many Canva guides and tutorials.
Therefore, it is natural for me to write about Canva. I include my affiliate link in those blog posts, just like this one, inviting you to sign up for Canva pro and enjoy all the incredible Canva features if you’re serious about making money with Canva.
And I get paid if someone signs up to Canva pro or renews their subscription with my link.
So, if you’ve got a blog, YouTube channel or social media account with an engaged audience, consider earning money with Canva as an affiliate.
5 | Make Money Teaching Others how to use Canva
Another great way to make money using Canva is by teaching others how to use Canva for different purposes.
Truly, Canva is a simple tool with many features that become difficult to keep track of.
And many people will gladly pay someone to teach them how to use Canva to run their business.
For example, one common issue Canva users have is an unorganized Canva dashboard that is a hot mess with designs scattered everywhere.
Hosting a simple guide or workshop on organizing their dashboard, creating designs and keeping things intact will be appreciated.
Maybe you want to teach others how to set up and use their brand kit in Canva to edit templates and still look like a pro.
These are ideas you teach others and make money with Canva. So, brainstorm and see what you’re so good at that you can teach comfortably on Canva.
6 | Become a Canva Contributor or Creator
Do you know you can make money selling your elements and arts on Canva as a Canva contributor and make money monthly?
While Canva creators is a closed group of creative designers handpicked by Canva to create templates for them and it’s a bit difficult getting into the program with the long waiting list.
Here is a notice from Canva on the Canva creator’s signup page;
“Canva Creators is in BETA. We are currently onboarding a small group of creators in select countries to help us make the program the best it can be! If you would like early access, please register your interest. If you are selected, you will receive an email. Otherwise, you will be notified when we officially launch”.
Meanwhile, you can become a Canva contributor and start earning money when Canva Users use your elements and images in their designs.
According to Canva;
- Canva Creators design templates found in the Canva library and can also contribute elements and sets for the Canva library. (And yours truly is a Canva Creator).
- Canva Contributors create assets for the Canva library, including images, video content, graphics, and illustrations.
Both Canva creators and contributors get paid using the Canva royalty pool.
If you want to make an extra buck selling your art and images, hop over to the Canva contributor’s page and sign up or join the waitlist to become a Canva creator.
7 | Start a Canva Guide YouTube Channel
In 2022 YouTube receives approximately 1.7 Billion unique monthly visitors, which means YouTube has many opportunities for you.
Starting a Canva guide youtube channel where you’ll share Canva tips and tricks, the latest product features, how to design products using Canva, ways to use Canva, and how to make money using Canva, etc.
A Canva-focused YouTube channel is not too niche and has much potential.
In fact, my favourite Canva-focused Youtube channel, Design with Canva by Ronny and Dianna, recently hit 200k subscribers in July 2022.
You may be worried and asking, how can I make money with a Canva-focused YouTube Channel?
- Affiliate marketing (Promoting your Canva affiliate links, and this could be a great money-making opportunity)
- Youtube Ads Revenue
- Sponsorship (Canva pays bloggers and influencers to share their latest product features from time to time)
- Promoting your products on your channel: if you own a Canva-focused Youtube channel, I advise creating a shop where you’ll sell Canva templates.
You can direct your viewers to your products and email list. This simple strategy will help you build recurring passive income.
8 | Design and Sell Digital Products and Printables
People make money with Canva by selling digital products and designs they create in Canva, such as ebooks, workbooks, guides, planners, trackers, spreadsheets, and even arts (including wall frame arts), etc.
Additionally, creating and selling Printable is popular and can be a source of passive income revenue.
And unlike selling Canva templates that require creating more than a single template to bundle in a pack.
You can sell just a one-page PDF printable like a password tracker, a chore list, or even create back-to-school designs.
Lately, I’ve seen bloggers and small business owners make money with Canva by selling simple printables and offering them as PLR content (where the buyer gains the license to resell your products).
Some printables you can create to make money using Canva include;
- Homeschooling Printables
- Journals and wellness planners
- Recipe book and meal planners
- Bible study planners
- Password trackers
- Business planners
- Etsy shop management planners
- Goal setting and to-do list
- Budgeting planners’
- Habit trackers and grocery list planners, etc.
9 | Become a Canva Design Virtual Assitant
Becoming a Canva Design virtual assistant is one quick way to earn money with Canva.
Because successful business owners, coaches and online entrepreneurs want to use the minimum time they have for maximum output, including their design tasks.
Hence, outsourcing some of their tasks is ideal, including creating and posting designs for Pinterest, Instagram, and other social media platforms and even email marketing designs.
For example, in the past, I’ve worked with clients who are Pinterest managers because they’ve many clients to manage and create pins for daily.
They outsource the pin designs while focusing on pinning and growing their client’s account.
10 | Launch a Canva Course
Launching a Canva course is one way to make passive income with Canva.
But before jumping on the idea of launching a course, you’ll need to nail and validate your course idea to know if your audience is interested in the proposed topic.
Your Canva course doesn’t necessarily have to be about how to use Canva or make money with Canva.
It can be something as easy as;
Creating digital planners in Canva, creating a presentation in Canva, or a course on how to edit Canva templates and make them look so on-brand.
The truth is, Canva is an evolving platform with new features springing up daily, which means you’ll never run out of ideas on what to teach or talk about.
11 | Offer Canva Organization Service
Can organization service is one ideal Canva service that almost all Canva users need because everyone is busy and trying to be productive.
But no one wants to take a break and organize their Canva accounts, especially those before Canva introduced the Canva folders feature.
So, if you have a knack for organizing things, helping people “Marie kondo their Canva account” is ideal and a great way to make money with Canva.
This service may not be so popular, but it’s needed, and people will happily jump on your offer if you pitch it right to them.
For instance, I know a freelancer that organizes Gmail accounts into folders, and at first, I was like, huh, who pays for that?
But I was wrong. People pay hundreds of dollars to have her organize their Gmail accounts.
Now, you know some creative ways you can make money with Canva. One of the ways you want to earn money with Canva is by selling Canva templates, pintables and designs. You maybe ask;
Where Can I sell my Canva Templates?
You can sell your templates, designs and printables in many places, including;
- AppSumo
- Etsy
- Creative Market
- Dribble
- Creative Fabrica
- Ladybossboutique
- Shopify store
- Amazon for digital downloads
- your website
Although selling in marketplaces like Etsy and Creative Market, AppSumo, is a quick way to get in front of the right audience faster. But the downside is that your shop can be shut down and your source of income lost.
For instance, in 2022, Etsy randomly shut down shops and sometimes for no tangible reason. When your Etsy shop is shut down, you cannot restore or create another Etsy shop.
I’m pointing out that you don’t have control over what happens in your shop in marketplaces.
Another instance is my experience with Appsumo;
I have an Appsumo shop, and I love Appsumo. And like my other shops, I wanted to list a collection of templates.
After listing the workbook, I tried to list the ebook on Appsumo, and it got declined, the reason “they are similar products”,
Of course, they are similar designs from the same template collection.
But with your website, you have full control over what you publish, how you list products, your 100% revenue etc.
Nevertheless, you can have shops in marketplaces and still create a Woocommerce or Shopify shop.
I have my shop here on this blog, and it’s a Woocommerce-based shop with hosting on Namehero and my domain name from Namecheap.
Another cheaper offer is Bluehost, with their lowest plan starting at $$2.95 for WordPress hosting, and you’ll get a free domain name.
Although, I don’t recommend having your domain name and hosting on the same platform. It makes migration difficult.
FAQ on How to Make Money With Canva in 2022
Canva is not limited to designers, business owners or bloggers. In fact, Canva’s goal is to empower everyone worldwide with designs.
So anyone can use Canva. You don’t have to be a designer to use Canva, but here’s a list of people who can use Canva;
- Bloggers
- Freelancers
- Photographers
- Coaches
- Craft sellers and small businesses
- Social media managers
- Pinterest managers
- Small business owners
- Students
- Educational institutions
- Influencers etc.
- YouTubers
Using Canva is not limited to this list alone. Anyone can use Canva.
Fiverr is not a marketplace for selling products. But a marketplace for selling your services. This implies that you can freelance on Fiverr, sell your design services and make money.
Absolutely!!! You can make a living with Canva. In 2021, when I was in National service for a year, I couldn’t blog, but I was making passive income from selling my templates when I wasn’t available to work.
Currently, I make a living as a blogger and full-time as a Canva creator and freelancer.
Additionally, some Canva creators make a full-time income from selling Canva designs on Canva and other marketplaces.
So, it is possible to make a full-time living with Canva.
The difference between offering Canva design services and selling your Canva designs is that one is Active income while the other is passive income.
You can’t make passive income from selling Canva design services (freelancing). Still, you can make passive income with Canva by selling designs like social media, ebook and workbook templates, printables, guides, checklists, and ebooks you create with Canva.
You can also make money with Canva as a Canva affiliate promoting Canva.
Yes, you can sell designs you create with Canva. To sell a design as a Canva template, you need to create the design you want to sell from scratch.
However, you cannot edit a Template created by other designs and package them for sale. You must create your templates from a blank page.
More Blog Post on Canva Design Tips & Tricks
- How to Upload Custom Fonts to Canva and Where to Find Free + Pro Brand Fonts
- 80+ Best Canva Fonts: Ultimate Canva Font Guide for Choosing and Pairing Fonts
- 50+ Best Cursive and Script Font on Canva for Eye-Catchy Designs
- Canva Guide: 50+ Ultimate Canva Tips and Tricks for 2022
- Steps to Create Stunning Ebook in Canva (+Free Canva Templates)
- How to Set up and Use Canva Brand Kit: An Easy Beginners Guide
- Guide to Add a Clickable Hyperlink in Canva (Easy steps)
- Easily Remove Image Background in Canva In 2 Minutes (No Photoshop)
- How to Create Unique Gift Guide for Your Blog (Free Templates)
- How to Easily Create a Brand Board (+ Free Brand board Templates and Examples)
Finally, it is possible to make money with Canva. Some options require much effort to see a steady stream of income.
While others may require minimal effort, devotion and consistency matter to any money-making venture.
So, I hope this helps you decide on using Canva to make money instead of seeing it as just a tool for creating beautiful social media designs.
If you have any questions, do let me know in the comments or if you’re already making money with Canva, do share your method.
Found this post helpful? Save to Pinterest.
Wow, this was such an in depth post that I really enjoyed reading through! I love using Canva for my blog posts and different graphics for my social media. I am interested in trying out Canva Pro.
Hello Tara, I’m so glad you love this post. Canva pro is quite a steal and it has lots of amazing features that will make designing better