2 Free Digital Tools In The New (and Improved) Canva
If you use Canva, you know it's constantly changing. Let's catch up!
Hey there!
I’ve been collecting and sharing free digital tools for nearly a decade.
It started as conference talk — a presentation I still give regularly — called Free Digital Tools You Should Be Using But Probably Aren’t. It’s a constantly evolving session that I update all the time (as you can probably imagine).
Over time, I realized I was sharing these tools with clients and colleagues regularly. So I figured: why not start putting them out into the world more formally?
Thus, this humble newsletter was born.
When I first started talking Free Digital Tools, I used to spend a lot of time hyping up Canva. Back then, almost no one had heard of it — this free tool felt like a hidden gem.
Now? Everyone uses it. And for good reason: it’s amazing.
No, it’s not Adobe (though it’s getting closer every year), but it’s so much easier to use. And while I pay for the pro version, many of its best features are still free.
This month, Canva hosted Canva Create 2025 and rolled out a ton of new features. Let’s dig in.
If you want to see a full round-up with walk-throughs, check out this video. I found it quite helpful.
And here’s Canva’s walkthrough of their new features.
Know anyone who might appreciate what we’re doing here? Invite them to join us! As you know, we’re all really nice, and cool, and we all LOVE free digital tools!
AND, when you refer friends to join us, you’re now eligible to win free stuff. So win/win/win!
Today, let’s just look at just two of their new features.
I’ll give the quick disclaimer that I don’t have all the new tools yet, so I can’t talk about my personal experience working with them.
But I’m pumped for a few of these to roll out into my dashboard soon!
Canva Sheets
Canva does graphics, but it also does much more.
You can design presentations in Canva, and even beautiful docs.
Now, they are also adding spreadsheets to the mix. In their words:
“Canva Sheets are made for the AI era – they’re deeply visual and built for design from the ground up. Need to turn data into a visualization? You can do it in a click – and then drag it straight into a presentation, report, or social post, fully on-brand and beautifully formatted. New AI-powered tools Magic Charts, Magic Formulas, and Magic Insights make even complex data tasks simple, intuitive, and fast.”
Over the years, I’ve found a bunch of AI-powered tools designed to build better spreadsheets. But none so far have replaced Apple Numbers or Google Sheets for me. I’m thinking Canva Sheets just might.
FREE or FREEmium: FREEmium
Canva free is good - Canva paid is sooooo much more powerful.
Canva Code
Have you heard of Vibe Coding? It’s all the rage these days.
The idea is that in this AI world, anyone can now code apps and digital tools. Instead of having to understand code, you can just tell a tool — like Replit or ChatGPT — what you want in simple language and it will build it for you.
I’ve tried a few times and have not been thrilled with the results. But I’ve watched a bunch of videos recently with folks who aren’t coders and are now building apps professionally. Wild times y’all!
Canva is now getting in on the action with Canva Code.
“Now, anyone can bring interactivity into their designs using a simple prompt. From calculators and flashcards to forms and custom widgets, Canva Code makes it easy to turn static content into dynamic, engaging experiences — no coding required, and no external tools. Whether you’re building a landing page, a classroom resource, or a sales toolkit, interactive design is now just a few prompts away.”
I haven’t Vibe Coded anything useful… yet. If you do, I’d LOVE to see it.
FREE or FREEmium: FREE
Like I said, I pay for Canva Pro. It’s a no-brainer for me - it provides so much value compared to the relative cost. But there’s plenty you can do with it for free.
These are just a few of the many new features coming to Canva. If you find anything else you’re excited about, hit reply and let me know. I'm a power user and I still find new features in there all the dang time.
I’ve written two past issues of Free Digital Tools covering Canva features worth checking out in the past. You can find those here and here.
If you like Free Digital Tools, you probably know others who will too. Invite them to join us. They’ll appreciate it… as will I! Refer friends, earn free stuff!
See you in a fortnight.
Josh
joshklemons.com