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What is Canva Craft and is it free?

Last checked: 24 October 2026 · The AI Till, UK

Canva Craft is Canva's first image generation model built in-house, by its research team Canva Research. It launched on 22 October 2026 and is available to all Canva users worldwide, including in the UK, through Dream Lab in the left-hand panel of Canva. It makes images up to 2K resolution in more than 30 aspect ratios, and it is designed to put readable text and clean layouts into images, which earlier AI image tools often got wrong.

In plain terms: you type what you want, such as a leaflet for a window cleaning round or a post announcing a new price list, and Craft produces a finished-looking image that you can then edit in Canva like any other design.

What has changed?

Until now, Canva's image generation ran on a mix of models from other companies. Craft is Canva's own. Canva says three things set it apart:

• It plans before it draws. Craft first writes a plan of the image (which elements appear, where they sit, how big they are and what text goes in) and then renders it. Canva says this gives more accurate text and object placement.
• It was trained on design, not just photos. Canva says the training data includes millions of human-made templates from its library: posters, social posts, menus, infographics and other layouts.
• Outputs are editable. Craft images work with Magic Layers, which turns a generated image into separate elements you can move and change.

Canva also says Craft writes text in 55 languages, and that faster, cheaper versions called Craft-fast and Craft-ultrafast are on the way. Developers can use it through Canva's public API, and support through the Canva MCP server (a way for AI assistants to use Canva) is listed as coming soon.

Is Canva Craft free?

Yes, you can try it on the Free plan, within limits. Canva says Craft is available to all users, and image generation on Canva draws on your plan's monthly AI allowance. When we checked Canva UK's pricing on 18 October 2026, the Free plan included up to 20 Standard or Premium AI uses a month, and Pro (£13 a month or £100 a year) included up to 200 Premium AI uses a month. Canva's launch post doesn't say which allowance tier Craft counts against, so check the usage meter in Dream Lab before planning a month of posts. See how much is Canva Pro in the UK? for the full plan comparison.

What can a UK trade or small business use it for?

Craft is aimed squarely at the kind of marketing most small firms do themselves:

• A leaflet or flyer for a door drop: a plumber's boiler service offer, a gardener's spring tidy-up, a dog walker's new round.
• Social posts and stories in the right size for Facebook, Instagram or Google Business Profile updates.
• A price list or menu poster for a salon, café or barber.
• Banner and van-side mock-ups, to see an idea before paying a signwriter.
• Seasonal offers, such as a gutter clean before winter, with the headline in the image.

It is not a replacement for real photos of your work. Customers want to see the actual kitchen you fitted, not an AI picture of one. Use Craft for layouts, backgrounds and offer graphics, and use your own photos for proof of your work.

How do I use Canva Craft to make a flyer?

1. Open Canva and select Dream Lab in the bottom of the left-hand panel.
2. Choose the size. Craft supports more than 30 aspect ratios, or you can enter your own, so pick A5 portrait for a leaflet or square for a social post.
3. Describe the flyer in one or two sentences. Say what it is, the headline, the style and what to leave out.
4. Generate a few versions and pick the best one.
5. Open it in the editor, use Magic Layers to split it into editable parts, then add your logo, real phone number and real prices as normal text.
6. Proofread everything before you print or post.

Prompts to try

• "A5 portrait flyer for a local plumbing business. Headline: Boiler service from [your price]. Clean, trustworthy style, navy and white, a gas boiler illustration, space at the bottom for a phone number. No people."
• "Square Instagram post for a window cleaner. Headline: New round starting in [your town]. Bright blue sky, clean house front, simple bold text, no logos."
• "Landscape Facebook cover for a dog walking business in [your town]. Happy dogs on a park walk, autumn colours, headline: Group walks and puppy visits."
• "Poster price list for a barber shop. Dark background, gold accents, five services with prices as placeholders, modern style."

Keep prices and phone numbers as placeholders in the prompt and type the real ones yourself afterwards. That way nothing in the final design is a figure the AI made up.

Canva Craft or Gemini for business graphics?

Both launched new image tools for small businesses in the same week. On 20 October 2026 Google added on-brand visuals to the Gemini app: you upload your website, brand kit, fonts or colours, and Gemini uses its Nano Banana 2.1 model to keep new images in that style. Craft's strength is that the result lands straight in a Canva design you can edit, resize and schedule. If you already make your posts in Canva, start with Craft. If you mostly plan in Gemini, try its brand style feature, and remember Gemini can also connect to Canva. Our guide to Gemini for small business covers the rest of that update, and which AI is best for image generation? compares the main options.

Limits and risks

• Text can still be wrong. Canva says text accuracy is a strength, but it also says fine print and technical drawings are still being improved. Check every word, number and date.
• Allowances run out. On the Free plan a handful of failed attempts can use up a month's allowance.
• Don't mislead customers. An AI image of a finished job you didn't do, or fake reviews in a graphic, can breach consumer protection law. See can I use AI images in my business?
• Avoid other brands. Don't prompt for other companies' logos, characters or real people.
• Safety. Canva says Craft is covered by Canva Shield, its moderation and privacy controls. Our page on whether Canva AI is safe explains what that does and doesn't cover.

For the words that go on your flyers and posts, the AI Till Trades Pack puts 40 AI prompts for UK trades in one download, with editable quote, invoice and payment reminder templates in Word.

Related questions

Is Canva Craft available in the UK?

Yes. Canva says Craft is available to all Canva users globally from 22 October 2026, and you'll find it in Dream Lab.

Where do I find Canva Craft?

Open Dream Lab in the bottom of the left-hand panel in Canva. Craft is the model Dream Lab uses to generate images.

Is Canva's AI image generator free?

Yes, within the Free plan's monthly AI allowance, which was up to 20 Standard or Premium AI uses a month on Canva UK's pricing page when we checked on 18 October 2026. Pro includes more. See how to use the AI image generator in Canva.

Can Canva Craft put text on images?

Yes. Text inside images is one of the main things Canva built Craft for, and it supports 55 languages. Still proofread it, and add phone numbers and prices as normal text in the editor.

Can I edit a Canva Craft image?

Yes. Craft images work with Magic Layers, which splits a generated image into separate elements you can move, recolour or delete.

Can I use Canva Craft images commercially?

Canva allows commercial use of AI images under its terms, as long as you don't mislead customers or copy other brands. Read can I use AI images in my business? before using one in an advert.

Does Canva charge VAT in the UK?

See do AI subscriptions charge UK VAT? for how VAT works on Canva and other AI tools.

Sources

• Canva Newsroom: Introducing Canva Craft (22 October 2026)
• TechCrunch: Canva releases its first image generation model (22 October 2026)
• Google: New Gemini tools for small business owners (20 October 2026)
• Canva: pricing (UK)

Checked 24 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the source before you rely on it. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.

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