15 Ways To Make Money With Canva (I Made $24,000!)

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Have you ever wondered if you could turn your design hobby into a genuine income stream?

I was in your shoes just a few years ago—playing around with Canva for free, creating graphics for my personal social media, and occasionally helping friends with their visual content needs.

Little did I know that this “playing around” would eventually turn into a serious income source that has generated over $24,000 for me so far.

In this article, I’ll share exactly how I managed to turn Canva—a tool that many consider “not professional enough” for serious design work—into a profitable venture.

The best part? You don’t need any formal design education to get started!

1. Become a Canva Creator

One of the most direct ways I began monetizing my Canva skills was by joining the official Canva Creator Program. This opportunity literally puts your designs in front of millions of Canva users worldwide.

Here’s how it works: You create templates or elements, submit them to Canva’s marketplace, and earn royalties every time someone uses your content. The exciting part is that you get paid for both Free and Pro template usage.

>> Click Here To Apply As a Canva Creator

When I first started as a Canva Creator, I was honestly skeptical about how much I could actually earn. But the royalty pools for both elements and templates grow proportionally with Canva’s revenue, meaning your earning potential increases over time.

According to my research, some Canva Creators make around $600 per month consistently, while others report earning significantly more. One creator I spoke with mentioned making about $1,400 in just one month after having several templates go viral within the platform.

The key to success here is consistency and understanding what Canva users are looking for. I found that creating templates for specific niches (like real estate social media posts or coaching business presentations) performed much better than generic designs.

To get started, you’ll need to:

1. Register with Canva Creators and share your portfolio
2. Once accepted, start designing and publishing templates
3. Start earning royalties when your designs are used

Remember that payments are processed monthly after reaching the minimum threshold of $10 or $25, depending on your payment method.

If you’re serious about becoming a Creator, you might want to check out these amazing Canva tips and tricks that will help you design faster and more efficiently.

2. Become a Freelance Graphic Designer

Leveraging Canva as your primary design tool might seem like a limitation, but I’ve found it to be a massive advantage when it comes to freelancing. Why? Because clients love how easily they can edit and manage the designs themselves after you’ve created them!

I started my freelance journey by offering simple services on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. According to recent data, Canva designers on Upwork typically charge between $15-$35 per hour, with the median rate being around $25.

You can also find endless job opportunities in Facebook groups. People are always looking for graphic designers and its a great way for finding new clients without spending a single penny.

My approach was slightly different—I created packages based on deliverables rather than hourly rates. For example:

• Social media content package: $250 for 15 customized templates
• Brand starter kit: $350 for logo variations, social media templates, and basic brand guidelines
• Full presentation design: $200-$500 depending on complexity

The beauty of using Canva is that you can work incredibly fast compared to designers using more complex software. This means you can take on more clients and projects, increasing your overall earnings.

Having a strong understanding of how to create templates in Canva will give you a significant advantage as a freelancer, as it allows you to work more efficiently and deliver consistent results to your clients.

3. Create and Sell Canva Templates (This is What I Did)

This is where the real passive income magic happens. Creating and selling Canva templates has been my biggest revenue generator by far, contributing nearly $24,000 to my total Canva earnings.

The concept is simple but powerful: create high-quality, professional templates once, and sell them on marketplaces like Etsy.

The best part? Once you’ve created and listed them, they can continue generating income with minimal additional effort.

I primarily sell my templates on Etsy, my own website, and through Creative Fabrica. Template prices typically range from $12-$16 per template on most marketplaces, though you can charge more for bundles or specialized designs.

One of my most successful template packages is a social media bundle for coaches and consultants that sells for $37. It includes 30 customizable templates specifically designed for their industry, and it’s sold over 400 copies so far.

Some creators have reported even more impressive results. I came across a case study of someone who made $1.4 million selling Canva templates in just under three years and now works less than 10 hours a week managing their template business!

If you’re wondering whether you can sell Canva designs on Etsy, the answer is absolutely yes! Many creators (including myself) have found great success selling their Canva-created designs on Etsy’s marketplace.

What types of templates sell best? From my experience:

• Instagram post and story templates
• Pinterest pin templates
• Media kits for influencers
• Workbooks and e-books
• Presentation templates
• Resume and CV templates

The key to standing out in the template marketplace is creating designs that solve specific problems for specific people. Generic templates rarely perform well compared to those tailored for particular industries or use cases.

4. Earn as a Canva Affiliate

If you have any kind of online presence—a blog, YouTube channel, or active social media accounts—the Canva affiliate program is a no-brainer addition to your monetization strategy.

As a Canva affiliate, you earn a commission every time someone signs up for Canva Pro through your unique referral link. The commission structure is quite generous, with earnings of up to $36 for each new subscriber who chooses the annual plan.

What’s more, you continue earning that same commission every year they renew their subscription. This creates a growing stream of recurring income that builds over time as you refer more users.

I’ve integrated Canva affiliate links into my design blog and YouTube tutorials, and they’ve contributed about $2,800 to my total Canva earnings so far. While not my biggest revenue source, it’s practically passive once the content is created.

Pro tip: The most effective way to promote Canva as an affiliate is by creating valuable, educational content that demonstrates the platform’s capabilities. Tutorials that show people how to accomplish specific design goals perform exceptionally well.

5. Teach Canva To Others

Teaching others how to use Canva has become an increasingly profitable avenue as more people recognize the value of design skills in today’s digital economy.

There are several platforms where you can offer Canva courses:

• Your own website using course platforms like Teachable or Kajabi
• Udemy, Skillshare, and other course marketplaces
• Through membership sites with recurring revenue
• Via live workshops and webinars

The beauty of teaching Canva is that you can create courses for different audience segments and skill levels. You can sell them to:

• Small business owners who need to create their own marketing materials
• Social media managers looking to streamline their content creation
• Virtual assistants wanting to add design services to their offerings
• Teachers who use Canva for classroom materials

Knowing how to Make SVG files in Canva or Aadding hyperlinks in Canva can give your courses additional value that students will appreciate.

6. Create Canva Tutorial Videos On YouTube

The TeamRonDi channel is a perfect example of how powerful this approach can be.

They’ve built a channel with hundreds of thousands of subscribers by creating high-quality Canva tutorials.

As Canva Verified Experts, they share the latest updates and early access to new features, which helps them stay at the forefront of the Canva education space.

With your channel, you can earn via:

• Ad revenue from YouTube’s Partner Program
• Affiliate commissions from Canva and related tools
• Driving traffic to my template shop and courses
• Attracting freelance clients who see my expertise

What types of Canva videos perform best? Based on my analytics:

• “How to create X in Canva” tutorials for specific design needs
• Videos about new Canva features and updates
• Design hack videos that show time-saving techniques
• Before/after transformations showing design improvements

Don’t worry about your videos being “too basic”—there’s always someone just starting out who needs that exact content. Some of my most viewed videos are the simplest ones explaining fundamental Canva functions.

7. Create a Canva Design Agency

As your Canva skills and client base grow, you can take the next step of scaling from solo freelancer to managing a small design agency. This will allow you to significantly increase your earnings without working more hours personally.

The agency model works particularly well with Canva because:

• It’s easy to train new designers on the platform
• Team collaboration features make workflow management simple
• The learning curve is much shorter than with more complex design software
• Clients appreciate the consistent style and ease of use

We primarily work with small to medium businesses that need ongoing design support but can’t justify hiring a full-time designer.

You can offer monthly retainer packages that start at $750 for basic social media management and go up to $2,500 for comprehensive design services.

8. Create and Sell Print-on-Demand Products

Combining Canva with print-on-demand services will open another income stream in your Canva business portfolio.

Using platforms like Printify, Printful, or even Amazon KDP, you can create physical products featuring your Canva designs without handling inventory or shipping.

Some of the most profitable products you can create include:

• Planners and journals (my bestseller is a social media content planner)
• Motivational posters and wall art
• Custom notebooks and stationery
• T-shirts and merchandise with unique designs
• Calendars with beautiful templates for each month

The profit margins vary depending on the product, but I generally aim for at least a 40% margin after all costs. For example, a planner that costs $8 to produce might sell for $24.95, giving you approximately $17 in profit per sale.

A word of caution: Make sure you’re using Canva elements correctly when creating products for sale. According to Canva’s Content License Agreement, you can use both Free and Pro content to design and sell printed products, but you can’t sell Canva elements on a standalone basis. Make sure you understand whether you can use Canva for commercial use before starting your POD business.

9. Launch a Canva Templates Membership

One of the most scalable Canva business—is creating a membership site offering exclusive Canva templates. Members pay a monthly fee for access to a growing library of premium templates and receive new designs each month.

You can charge anywhere from $27/month to $247/year for membership, if you just manage to get around 120 active members.

That translates to roughly $3,000 in monthly recurring revenue with relatively minimal ongoing work.

The membership model is attractive because:

• It creates predictable, recurring income
• Members tend to stay subscribed for several months
• You can batch-create content in advance
• It builds a community of loyal customers

To make the membership valuable, you can release at least 15 new templates each month, host monthly Q&A sessions to help members with their design questions, and provide exclusive discounts on my other products and services.

Getting started with a membership requires more upfront work than selling individual templates, but the long-term benefits make it well worth the investment.

10. Create Pinterest Pins

Pinterest is a visual search engine where eye-catching designs can drive massive traffic to blogs, websites, or products. With Canva, you can easily create scroll-stopping Pinterest pins using drag-and-drop templates—even if you have zero graphic design experience.

Here’s how you can make money with it:

• Offer Pinterest Pin Design Services: Many bloggers and business owners struggle with creating attractive pins. You can offer your services on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, or even Instagram.
• Sell Pinterest Pin Templates: Create bundles of customizable Canva pin templates and sell them on Etsy, Creative Market, or your own Gumroad store.
• Use Pins to Drive Traffic to Affiliate Links or Your Blog: Design beautiful pins that lead users to your monetized content, like affiliate product reviews, printable shops, or ad-monetized blogs.

Pro Tip: Stick to vertical pin dimensions like 1000x1500px and use bold text, high-quality images, and clear calls to action to boost clicks and saves.

11. Create Websites Using Canva

Yes, Canva lets you design and even publish fully functional one-page websites—perfect for portfolios, landing pages, digital resumes, or event pages.

These are ideal for clients who don’t need complex functionality but still want something sleek and professional.

How You Can Make Money:

• Design One-Page Websites for Small Businesses or Creators: Many small business owners (like photographers, coaches, or Etsy sellers) just want a quick, affordable website to showcase their work or services. Canva’s simple editor is perfect for this.
• Sell Website Templates: Create Canva website layouts that users can duplicate and customize. Sell them on Etsy, Payhip, or Creative Market.
• Bundle Services: Offer a Canva website + branding kit (like logo, colors, and social media kit) as a complete package.

How to Get Clients as a Beginner:

• 🧑‍🏫 Target course creators & coaches in Facebook groups: Search groups like “Online Coaches Hub” or “Course Launch Support” and offer to create landing pages for freebies or lead magnets using Canva. These niches value simple design over tech complexity.
• 🛍️ Look for Etsy sellers without websites: Search Etsy for handmade products or digital sellers who have no link in their bio. Message them with a short, custom-made mockup showing how their Canva website could look. Real effort gets replies.
• 🔍 Use the Canva Community itself: Canva’s own community (Facebook or Canva Design Circle) is full of beginners who need help with turning their designs into websites. Engage genuinely, offer free audits, and turn that into paid work.
• 💡 Offer “Portfolio for Testimonial” Deals: Instead of working for free, offer a polished one-page website in exchange for a strong testimonial and permission to showcase it in your portfolio. These deals help you build trust and credibility faster.

12. Low-Content Books

Low-content books are journals, planners, logbooks, coloring books, and activity books that require little to no written content—perfect for Canva creators. With Canva’s drag-and-drop interface, you can design professional-quality pages and covers effortlessly.

How to Monetize This:

• Sell on Amazon KDP: Use Canva to design interiors and covers, then upload them to Kindle Direct Publishing. Target niche markets like gratitude journals for moms, fitness trackers for teens, or sleep logs for kids.
• Start a Niche Etsy Shop: Create and sell printable journals and notebooks. Canva Pro’s resize feature helps you offer multiple sizes like A4, Letter, or Half-Page.
• License Your Designs: Sell commercial-use templates on platforms like Creative Fabrica or Design Bundles for other creators to reuse.

13. Create and Sell Kids Worksheets

Educational worksheets for preschoolers and early learners are always in demand—especially on platforms like Etsy, Teachers Pay Teachers, or even your own website. Canva has everything you need to design engaging and fun printables.

Ways to Make Money:

• Sell Printable Packs: Bundle worksheets by theme—like alphabet tracing, counting games, or shape matching—and list them as digital downloads.
• Create Memberships or Subscription Boxes: Offer a monthly download pack of themed worksheets to parents or homeschooling groups.
• License to Educators and Bloggers: Many education-focused content creators are looking to buy worksheet bundles with commercial use rights.

How to Get Your First Buyers:

• 🎯 Target Pinterest + Etsy Strategy: Pin your worksheet covers on Pinterest linking to your Etsy store—this is one of the highest-converting combo strategies for this niche.
• 👩‍👧 Join Homeschooling Facebook Communities: Share free sample pages to build trust, then link to your paid bundles. These groups are highly active and always seeking new resource

14. Design Digital Invitations or Cards

Forget store-bought cards—digital invitations are now the go-to for birthdays, weddings, baby showers, and business events. With Canva, you can create beautifully themed invites for any occasion using ready-to-edit templates and design elements.

How to Make Money:

• Sell Editable Canva Invitations on Etsy: Offer customizable templates where buyers can change names, dates, and colors using a simple Canva link.
• Offer Custom Designs for Clients: Parents, party planners, and small businesses often need personalized invitations for events. Sell via Instagram, Fiverr, or word of mouth.
• Create a Seasonal Card Shop: Sell holiday-themed cards like New Year greetings, Christmas party invites, or Valentine’s Day notes. Keep them editable for extra value.

Smart Ways to Get Clients:

15. Create Logos

With Canva’s vast elements library, stylish fonts, and color tools, you can design logos for small businesses, online creators, or product brands—without expensive software.

How to Make Money:

• Offer Logo Design Packages: Create simple, clean logos for small business owners, coaches, or Etsy sellers. Pair with social media kits for a full branding solution.
• Sell Logo Templates: Make editable Canva logo templates that users can personalize themselves and sell them on marketplaces like Etsy or Creative Market.
• Build Niche-Specific Logo Packs: For example, a bundle of logos just for bakeries, pet businesses, or coaching brands. Niche-down = easier to sell.

Smart Client-Getting Strategy:

• 🖼️ Use Instagram’s Discovery Tool: Search for new businesses by niche (e.g., #newbakery or #brandlaunch) and DM them with a one-slide mock logo idea. Visual samples > cold pitches.
• 💬 Post Before-and-Afters in Canva Facebook Groups: Share your logo redesigns with permission from clients. These groups are full of entrepreneurs who need logos but don’t know where to start.

16. Make YouTube Thumbnails

YouTube thumbnails are one of the biggest click-drivers on the platform. A well-designed thumbnail can increase views dramatically, and most YouTubers—especially beginners—struggle to create compelling visuals. That’s where you come in.

How to Make Money With Thumbnails?

• Offer Custom Thumbnail Design Services: Reach out to YouTubers in your niche (gaming, beauty, finance, education, etc.) and offer custom thumbnail creation on a per-video or bulk-package basis.
• Sell Canva Thumbnail Templates: Create fully editable thumbnail templates with eye-catching layouts and text styles. Sell them on Etsy, Creative Market, or your own site.
• Start a Niche Thumbnail Shop: Specialize in one category—like fitness or reaction channels—and offer readymade templates tailored to that audience.

How to Get Clients (Real Methods):

• Comment on New YouTubers’ Videos with Low-Quality Thumbnails: Offer a better-looking mockup and a link to your portfolio. Keep the message personal and non-spammy.
• Post Before & After Thumbnails on Social Media: Share side-by-side improvements you’ve made using Canva. Tag creators (with permission) to get noticed by their audience.
• Join YouTube Creator Forums or Discord Servers: Many creators are actively looking for editors and designers. Offer your service or barter a few thumbnails for testimonials.

Is Canva Right For Your Income Goals?

After generating thousands of dollars through various Canva-related income streams, I’m convinced that this “simple” design tool offers legitimate business opportunities for anyone willing to develop their skills and put in the work.

What I love most about building a business around Canva is the low barrier to entry combined with high scalability.

You can start with zero design experience and minimal financial investment, then gradually expand into multiple income streams as your skills and confidence grow.

The key to success is specialization and solving specific problems for specific audiences.

Rather than trying to compete with professional graphic designers using advanced software, focus on the unique advantages Canva offers: simplicity, ease of use, and accessibility.

If you’re just starting out, I recommend focusing on one income stream at first—whether that’s freelancing, selling templates, or creating educational content. Master that approach before diversifying, and you’ll build a stronger foundation for long-term success.

Have you tried making money with Canva yet? Which approach sounds most appealing to you? I’d love to hear about your experiences or answer any questions in the comments below!

Remember, the $28,000 I’ve earned didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of consistent effort, continuous learning, and gradually building multiple income streams over time. With patience and persistence, you can achieve similar (or even better) results!