Canva Translate: how to translate a design, including the text in images
Canva has a built-in Translate app. In the editor, open Apps, search for Translate, choose a language and the pages, and by default Canva writes the translation onto new pages. It works on editable text. Words inside photos, uploaded PNG or JPG graphics and scanned PDF pages are part of an image, so they stay in the original language. This guide covers both parts.
In short
- Editable text: Apps → Translate, pick the language and the pages. By default the translation lands on duplicate pages.
- Limits: Canva presents Translate as a Pro feature you can try once for free; on Pro and Teams it does not count toward the monthly AI allowance (fair use applies). Check your own account.
- Images: translate photos and flattened graphics separately, then swap them in with Replace. Canva's own Grab Text route only works with Latin-script text.
How to use Canva Translate
As of October 2026, Canva describes these steps on its translate page and in its help center:
- Open the design in the editor. If you want an untouched master, duplicate the design first.
- Open the app. In the side panel, select Apps and search for Translate, or select it under More from Canva.
- Set the languages. Pick the language under Translate to. The source language is detected automatically, and some target languages offer an optional tone of voice.
- Choose the scope. Translate whole pages (select which ones) or only text you select on the current page.
- Click Translate. Canva adds the translated version as duplicate pages by default; turning off Duplicate page when translating in the Translate settings applies the translation to the original page instead.
Canva's help adds that you translate into one language at a time, within a 2,000-character limit. Its translate page says Translate supports 134 languages (full list).
Plan limits
| Account | What Canva says |
|---|---|
| Free | A Pro feature you can try once for free (translate page) |
| Pro, Teams | Translate does not count toward the monthly AI allowance; fair-use limits apply (Canva Help Center) |
Canva's help center notes that its AI usage limits have changed, and its pages do not all describe free access the same way. Check your account before planning a 40-page catalog in five languages.
Getting better translations out of Canva
- Write plain sentences, but watch single words. Canva's own translation tips are short, simple sentences, no slang or idioms, and enough context. Isolated words are the trap: a button that says "Apply" (a job, a coupon, a cream?) can be translated several ways, and one word gives the tool little context. Check every headline, button and label.
- Translate from the master. Always translate from your source-language design, never from an earlier translation.
- Protect names. Brand names, product names and trademarked taglines often stay as they are or have an approved local version. Restore them after translating.
- Get a native review. Machine translation is a good draft. Anything you print or pay to promote deserves a second pair of eyes.
What Canva Translate leaves in the original language
Canva describes Translate as translating the text in your design. For words inside a photo, Canva's own image translator workflow first runs Grab Text to turn them into editable text, and only then translates them. Its PDF help says a scanned PDF is imported as a single flattened image whose text can't be edited (Canva Help Center). So plan on text that is part of an image staying in the original language after a normal Translate run.
| Element in your design | Translated by Canva Translate? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Text boxes, headings, lists | Yes | Review the result |
| Words in a photo (shop sign, product label, packaging) | No, they are pixels | Translate the photo, or leave it if the text is incidental |
| Uploaded graphics with text (infographic made elsewhere, screenshot, badge) | No | Translate the image and replace it |
| Logo or wordmark uploaded as an image | No | Usually keep it as it is |
| Imported PDF page that was a scan | No, the page is an image | Translate the page as an image, or extract its text first |
Translate the images: download, translate, replace
- Find the original file. Start from the PNG or JPG you uploaded, which is also in Canva's Uploads tab, rather than from a screenshot of the design.
- If the text is built from Canva elements you cannot separate, download them as an image. Canva's help describes a Download Selection option when you right-click a selection of two or more elements (Canva Help Center); you can also download the whole page as PNG and trim it with our free crop tool.
- Translate it. Upload the file (JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 10 MB) to the image translator, choose the target language and, for promotional graphics, the Marketing mode (its selector shows on wide screens), which asks for persuasive wording and culturally relevant calls to action. For several images or languages at once, the Pro and Premium plans include batch translation: up to 10 images per run, each in one or more languages (50 translated images at most), downloaded as a ZIP.
- Swap it in. Upload the translated file to Canva. Then select the old image, click Replace in the editor toolbar and pick the new file from Uploads (Canva Help Center). For an image in a frame, you can also right-click it and choose Replace image (Canva Help Center).
- Check the crop. The translated file is a newly generated image and its pixel size can differ from the original, so reposition it in its frame if needed, and compare every number and small label with the original.
For specific formats: translating a flyer into Spanish and ad and social media images.
Canva's own route for photo text: Grab Text, then Translate
Canva markets an image translator workflow: select the photo, open Edit, run Grab Text (a Pro feature, per Canva's image to text page) to lift the words into editable text boxes, then use Translate. Canva's help lists clear limits for Grab Text: it works with Latin text only, and it does not support rotated or arched text, languages that do not use the Latin alphabet, or files with more than one page (Canva Help Center).
| Grab Text + Canva Translate | Download → translate the image → replace | |
|---|---|---|
| Result | Editable Canva text boxes over the photo | A new image with the translated text in the original layout |
| Source text | Latin script, straight lines | Auto-detected or chosen source language, including Japanese, Korean and Chinese |
| After translation | Edit the text in Canva at any time | Not editable: translate again or retouch |
| Plan | Canva Pro | Free for personal use; commercial use from the Pro plan ($9.90/month) |
| Good fit | Simple text on a plain background that you will keep editing | Styled text whose look you want to keep, or non-Latin source text such as Japanese packaging |
If a graphic contains three words, retyping them in Canva is the fastest option of all. For a wider view of tools, see our comparison of image translators.
Checklist before exporting a translated Canva design
- Overflowing or shrunken text. Translations are often longer, and Canva's Reduce font size to fit setting is on by default. Check every text box, and make sure similar headings still have the same font size across pages.
- Missing characters. Many display fonts lack accented capitals (É, Ł, Ş), Japanese, Chinese, Korean or Arabic characters, and Canva's help notes that Translate doesn't work with all fonts. If letters fall back to another font or disappear, switch to a font that covers the script.
- Right-to-left layouts. Canva says Translate keeps the design when translating between left-to-right and right-to-left languages, and its Translate settings include Mirror page to match text direction. Still check alignment, arrow directions and the order of numbers such as phone numbers.
- Brand Kit terms. Taglines, product names and legal lines should match your approved wording in each language.
- Pages. Delete or label the original-language duplicates, and select the right page range when you download.
- QR codes and links. A QR code does not translate itself. Point it to the page in the right language.
- Prices, dates and phone numbers. Follow local formats, and compare every figure in translated images with the original.
Translating a slide deck in Google Slides rather than Canva? See How to translate Google Slides.
Translate the images in your Canva design
Upload a photo or graphic from your design, choose a language and review the translated image before you replace it in Canva.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a way to translate in Canva?
Yes. Canva has a Translate app in the editor: open Apps, search for Translate, choose a language and the pages, and by default Canva adds translated pages. It works on the text in your design; for words inside a photo, Canva's own route is to turn them into text with Grab Text first.
How do I translate all text in Canva?
Choose to translate pages and select every page of the design. That covers the editable text on those pages, within the 2,000-character limit Canva's help mentions. Text that is part of a photo, an uploaded graphic or a scanned PDF page has to be handled separately.
Is Canva Translate accurate?
It is machine translation, so it is a good first draft rather than a final text. Canva recommends short, simple sentences and enough context; isolated words such as buttons and labels give the tool little context, so check them first. Have a native speaker review anything you print or pay to promote.
How do I translate a PDF in Canva?
Import the PDF into Canva, open it in the editor and run Translate on the pages. Canva imports a scanned PDF as a single flattened image whose text can't be edited, so translate that page as an image or extract its text first.