Canva templates: how to create and sell them without breaching the licence

Canva is searched for about 165 000 times a month in Lithuania – it is one of the most popular design tools. Since it is used by small businesses, teachers and event organisers alike, a separate niche has emerged: ready-made templates that the buyer opens in their own Canva account and adapts in a few minutes.

Selling templates is legal, but only if you comply with the Canva licence. This part of the guide covers what it allows and what it does not, how to technically deliver a template to the buyer and where to sell it.

What counts as a template

Canva defines a template as a design with a predefined layout and style that another person further edits or adapts to produce a final result. Examples: a set of social media posts, a CV, an invitation, a menu, a price list, presentation slides, a planner.

An e-book is not considered a template – it is a finished product that the buyer does not need to edit, even if it contains space for notes.

What the Canva licence allows and does not allow

The Canva Content License Agreement allows both free and Pro content to be used in creating products intended for sale – templates, posters, T-shirts, e-books. But the conditions are strict.

Allowed	Not allowed
Selling an original template you created that combines free and Pro content	Selling a template from the Canva library as it is
Selling a template with Pro content as a Canva template link	Selling a template with Pro content as a PDF or another type of file – neither layered nor flattened
Starting from a Canva template, if you fill it with your own content and put in enough of your own creative work for the design to become unique	Selling a single library element (a photo, an illustration) as a standalone item
Creating a logo from fonts, basic shapes and lines or your own uploaded graphics	Using library content in a trade mark (except fonts, basic shapes and lines)
Selling images generated with AI tools, subject to the Canva AI product terms	Creating and selling your own clipart sets or other stock content from Canva content

What “standalone” use is

This is the most common mistake. Canva treats as standalone use content used in its original form, and also content to which only a filter has been applied, the colours or size changed, which has been cropped, outlined, or a single element with minimal additions such as a frame. Such a “design” cannot be sold – it would be the resale of someone else's content.

Pro content

Pro content can be used in templates only when the template is intended for use within Canva itself and is delivered as a template link – one that takes the buyer back to Canva to design. Any other template must not contain Pro content.

How to create a template link

A template link can be created only by Canva Pro, Canva Teams, Canva Enterprise, Canva for Education and Canva for Nonprofits users.

1. Open the design.
2. Click “Share”.
3. Choose “Template link”.
4. Click “Create template link” and copy the link.

Anyone who has this link can view the design and use it as a template. So the link is the product itself – do not publish it openly.

How to deliver a template to the buyer

Marketplaces sell files, not links, so the usual practice is a PDF document that contains:

• a button or link to the template (if the set has several designs – one for each);
• short instructions: create a free Canva account, open the link, choose to use the template, change the text, colours and photos;
• terms of use: what the buyer can do with the template (use it for their own business) and what they cannot (resell it);
• your contact for questions.

AI-generated images in templates

The Content License Agreement does not apply to images created with Canva's AI tools: they can be used for any lawful purpose, including sale, provided the Canva AI product terms are complied with. At the same time Canva warns that in many countries the ownership of AI works is legally unclear – you may not be the copyright holder of a generated image.

If you have altered a library photo with an AI tool, the licence for the original photo continues to apply: it can be sold only as part of an original design.

Where to sell Canva templates

Place	Advantages	What to know
Marketplace (Etsy and similar)	Buyers are already searching for templates	Fees on every sale, strong competition, one Etsy listing holds up to 5 files of 20 MB each
Your own website or shop	The whole price is left, minus payment processing; the buyers' contact details are yours	You bring the buyers yourself
Canva Creators programme	Templates are published in the Canva library itself	You have to apply to the programme; the terms are set by Canva

Some print-on-demand and marketplace services require you to confirm that you hold the copyright in the design you upload. Canva warns that in that case its library content cannot be used – you hold only a licence, not the copyright.

What is worth creating

A template has to solve a recurring task for a specific audience:

• for small businesses – sets of social media posts, price lists, gift vouchers, menus;
• for service providers – proposal and presentation slides, client questionnaires;
• for teachers and lecturers – lesson slides, worksheets, diplomas;
• for celebrations – invitations, place cards, thank-you cards;
• for job seekers – CVs and cover letters.

There is a technical obstacle when creating Lithuanian templates: not all fonts have Lithuanian letters. Before you start, type “ąčęėįšųūž” and check that every font you use displays them properly.

The workflow from idea to listing

1. Choose an audience and one task the template will solve.
2. Create the design from a blank page – not from a library template.
3. Give the layers and pages a clear order: the buyer has to understand what to change.
4. Create the template link and check it from another account.
5. Prepare a PDF with the link, instructions and terms of use.
6. Make 5–7 mockups showing the template in use.
7. Publish and watch which templates sell – build series from them.

Income from templates is income from activity. Which form of activity suits you is explained in the ACS.lt article “Self-employment: registration certificate or business certificate”.

Frequently asked questions

Can templates created in Canva be sold?

Yes, if it is your original design. Templates with Pro content can be sold only as a Canva template link.

Can I sell a template as a PDF file?

Only if it contains no Pro content. Canva clearly states that templates with Pro content cannot be sold as PDFs or other file types.

Do you need a paid Canva plan to create a template link?

Yes. Template links can be created by Canva Pro, Teams, Enterprise, Education and Nonprofits users.

Can I rework a template from the Canva library and sell it?

You cannot sell a library template as it is. Changing the colours or size is not considered an original design.