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Design & branding

Design.com vs Canva

Updated October 2026

Design.com if the logo has to become a mark you own outright, because its $145 exclusive licence is the only route either tool offers. Canva if the logo is one asset among hundreds you will make yourself, and you accept that Canva states plainly you can never register it as a trademark.

Both tools are assessed against the same criteria, scored before any commercial conversation. How we rank.

These two get shortlisted together because a founder who needs a logo will try both in the same afternoon, and both will produce something usable in ten minutes. On features they are not close: Canva is a far larger and better design tool, and it wins most of the rows on this page.

It is still the wrong choice for some people, and the reason is a single question. Can the logo ever become a mark you own exclusively? Design.com's answer is yes, for $145 on top of its subscription, at which point the design is pulled from sale and the intellectual property transfers to you. Canva's answer is a documented no: its help centre states that a logo made from Canva templates or stock elements is non-exclusive and cannot be registered as a trademark, and that Canva does not sell exclusive rights to a graphic at all, recommending a human designer instead.

So read the table below knowing that the row count does not settle this. Canva takes more rows and is still the wrong pick if you intend to register the mark, because no amount of template breadth substitutes for a licence you can file on.

What we tested: we ran Design.com's free generation flow in late 2025 while exploring directions for a client brand, which is the basis for what this page says about its brief intake and concept quality. We did not buy a logo, so nothing here reports on its paid download. Everything about Canva, and all licence and pricing detail on both sides, comes from each vendor's own published documentation, checked on 7 October 2026.

The short answer

Design.com logo

Design.com

Pick Design.com if Pick Design.com if the logo is going on packaging, signage or a trademark filing. It is the only one of the two that sells exclusivity, and the exclusive licence is what turns an unregistrable design into a mark you can defend.

From
$25/mo
Free plan
Yes

Where it falls short: Exclusivity is a $145 add-on, so budget for it if the mark has to be defensible; the default licence leaves the design available to other buyers. Pricing also sits in a help article rather than a pricing page, and the $25 and $34 figures are described there as "typically" that much alongside a discount code, so confirm what your tier actually costs before you start.

Visit Design.com
Canva logo

Canva

Pick Canva if Pick Canva if the logo is the smallest thing you need. Nothing here competes with it for making the decks, social posts and one-pagers that follow, and the free tier is genuinely enough to launch on.

From
$144/yr
Free plan
Yes

Where it falls short: Canva states that a template or stock-based logo is non-exclusive and cannot be registered as a trademark, and that it does not sell exclusive rights at any tier. There is no upgrade path to one, so if a registrable mark looks likely within a year or two, decide up front whether a rebrand at that point is a cost you would accept.

Visit Canva

Side by side

 Design.comCanva
Default licenceNon-exclusive, royalty-free and perpetual. Others can buy and use the same design.Non-exclusive. Canva's logo templates are customisable and can be used by anyone.
Route to exclusivityExclusive licence $145 one-time, which removes the logo from the store and transfers the IP. Buyout $100 stops future sales only.None. Canva states it does not offer purchasing exclusive rights to a graphic.
Can you register it as a trademarkNot by default. Design.com states it cannot grant or guarantee the right to trademark, and that non-exclusive licences may not be eligible. The exclusive licence is the path.No. Canva states you cannot register a logo built from its templates or stock elements, because the elements in a mark need to be exclusive to you.
Concept generation from a briefGenerates directions from a brand brief, then lets you edit the chosen one.You pick a template from the library and edit it. There is no brief intake.
Cheapest way to a usable file$25 for one month of the Starter package. The vendor suggests subscribing monthly and cancelling before the month ends.Free. The free tier downloads real files with no paid step required.
Pricing you can read before buyingNo pricing page. Figures appear in a purchasing FAQ, hedged as "typically" and subject to a discount code on request.Published pricing page: Free, Pro US$144/yr, Business US$250/yr.
Vector exportEPS, SVG and PDF with any subscription.SVG on paid plans.
Billing modelMonthly or annual subscription. The vendor states there is no one-time option.Free indefinitely, or an annual subscription.
Logos per purchaseOne. A second logo requires a second subscription, though additional logos are discounted.Unlimited designs on every plan, including free.
What you keep after cancellingPerpetual access to the logo and all its files, and the licence survives cancellation.Designs you made remain yours, and the content licence on them persists.
Everything after the logoBusiness cards, social graphics and presentations, with a website builder and link-in-bio tools on higher tiers.1.6M templates free and 3.6M on Pro, brand kits, and effectively every marketing asset format there is.

Which one, given where you are

Pre-seed, testing whether anyone wants the product. Canva, free. Spending on exclusivity before you know the company's name will survive the year is the wrong order. Make something decent, ship it, move on.

About to put the mark on something expensive. Design.com, and buy the exclusive licence rather than only the subscription. Packaging runs, signage, embroidery and trademark filings are all costly to redo, and the $145 is small against any of them.

You need the logo and also forty other assets this month. Canva, and accept the licence for what it is. Treat the logo as provisional and plan a proper mark later, because the exit from Canva's licence is a redesign and it is better to know that now than to discover it from a trademark attorney.

You want both. This is more common than it sounds and it works: buy the mark where it can be exclusive, then do the ongoing design work in Canva by uploading your own logo file. Canva's licence restriction applies to its content, not to artwork you bring with you.

Frequently asked questions

Is Design.com better than Canva?

For producing a logo you can own, yes. For everything else, no, and it is not close. Design.com is the only one of the two that sells an exclusive licence, $145 one-time, which removes the design from sale and transfers the intellectual property. Canva is a much broader and better design tool with a far more generous free tier, and it states in its own documentation that a logo made from its templates cannot be registered as a trademark. Pick on which of those two problems you actually have.

Can I trademark a logo made in Canva?

No, if it uses Canva templates or stock elements, and Canva says so itself. Its help centre states that your rights to a template logo are non-exclusive and that you cannot register it as a trademark, and that stock photos and graphics are unsuitable in a logo because the elements in a mark need to be exclusive to you. Canva also confirms it does not sell exclusive rights to a graphic and suggests commissioning a designer. Customising the template more heavily does not change the licence.

How much does a Design.com logo really cost?

About $170 if you want to own it. The Starter package is listed at typically US$25 a month and includes the logo, vector files and perpetual access, and the exclusive licence is a separate $145 one-time charge. Design.com's own FAQ notes you can subscribe monthly and cancel before the first month ends to approximate a one-time payment, which makes $25 plus $145 the realistic total. Without the exclusive licence you have paid $25 for a design that stays on sale to everyone else.

Does Canva give you an SVG for a logo?

On paid plans, yes. SVG export is a Pro and Business feature, so the free tier gives you PNG and PDF rather than vector. That matters more than it sounds: printers, sign makers and embroiderers ask for vector, and a raster logo will be rejected or rescaled badly. Design.com includes EPS, SVG and PDF with any subscription, so on vector specifically the two are level once you are paying, and Canva is behind if you are not.

What happens to my logo if I stop paying either one?

You keep it on both. Design.com grants perpetual access to the logo and all its downloaded files, and the licence survives cancellation. Canva designs you have already made remain yours and the content licence on them persists. What you lose in both cases is the editor, so making a new variation later means resubscribing. Download every format and colour variation you might want while the subscription is live rather than assuming you can return for them.

Still torn?

Tell us how you’d use it and we’ll tell you which of the two we’d pick.

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