Adobe vs Canva: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Adobe reported $23.8B of revenue in FY2025 and $7.1B of net income. Canva reported $3.5B of revenue in FY2025 and — of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Adobe
Revenue rose from $5.854 billion in fiscal 2016 to $23.769 billion in fiscal 2025. Fiscal 2025 net income was $7.130 billion, compared with $5.560 billion in fiscal 2024. Adobe's fiscal years in this series ended on the Friday closest to November 30 or, in some years, early December.
Canva
As a privately held 'decacorn' (valued at US$42 billion in its August 2025 employee share sale, before 2026 investor markdowns), Canva has been profitable for years, which is unusual for a venture-backed company of its size; it was reported in August 2026 as profitable for nine straight years. Revenue reached US$3.5 billion in 2025 and ARR about US$4 billion by year end, mostly from recurring subscriptions acquired through its free tier rather than paid marketing. In the June 2026 quarter revenue rose 25.2% to US$921.9 million and cash stood at US$1.47 billion, but rising AI serving costs led Canva to cut its 2026 growth forecast to about 20%. Canva does not publish net income or audited accounts, and it has not set an IPO date.
Revenue and profit by year
Adobe
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $23.8B | $7.1B | 30.0% | +10.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | $21.5B | $5.6B | 25.9% | +10.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $19.4B | $5.4B | 28.0% | +10.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $17.6B | $4.8B | 27.0% | +11.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $15.8B | $4.8B | 30.5% | +22.7% | Source |
| FY2020 | $12.9B | $5.3B | 40.9% | +15.2% | Source |
| FY2019 | $11.2B | $3B | 26.4% | +23.7% | Source |
| FY2018 | $9B | $2.6B | 28.7% | +23.7% | Source |
| FY2017 | $7.3B | $1.7B | 23.2% | +24.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $5.9B | $1.2B | 20.0% | — | Source |
Canva
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $3.5B | — | 0.0% | +40.0% | Source |
| FY2024 | $2.5B | — | 0.0% | +25.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $2B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Adobe
- Digital Media74.3%
Creative Cloud and Document Cloud generated $17.649 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue.
- Digital Experience24.7%
Customer-experience applications and services generated $5.864 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue.
- Publishing and Advertising1.1%
Publishing products and advertising offerings generated $256 million in fiscal 2025 revenue.
Canva
- Canva Pro Individual Subscriptions
Not disclosed
Monthly and annual recurring subscription fees from millions of individual creators, freelancers, and small business owners. Canva does not publish a revenue split; it reported more than 31 million paid users in 2025.
- Canva for Teams & Canva Enterprise Licenses
Not disclosed
Seat-based enterprise contracts providing corporate brand management, administrative security, and cross-functional team collaboration. Canva says 95% of the Fortune 500 use Canva.
- Affinity Professional Creative Software
Not disclosed
Canva relaunched Affinity in 2025 as a single studio-grade app for vector, photo and layout work and made it free for everyone, so Affinity no longer sells perpetual licenses; its revenue contribution is not disclosed.
- Canva Print On-Demand Physical Merchandise
Not disclosed
Transaction margins on customized printed merchandise, business cards, flyers, and apparel delivered worldwide.
Business model and strategy
Adobe
How it makes money
Adobe earns most of its revenue from subscriptions. In fiscal 2025, subscription revenue was $22.904 billion, or about 96% of total revenue. Digital Media includes Creative Cloud and Document Cloud, while Digital Experience includes applications and services for customer experience management. Adobe also reports a smaller Publishing and Advertising business.
Growth strategy
Adobe's stated strategy includes expanding Creative Cloud and Document Cloud, developing Firefly and other AI capabilities, and growing customer-experience applications. In 2026 Adobe also announced that Anil Chakravarthy, who leads Customer Experience Orchestration and worldwide field operations, will become CEO on December 1, 2026.
Competitive advantage
Adobe combines established creative applications, the PDF and Acrobat document workflow, and customer-experience software in subscription offerings. Its fiscal 2025 Form 10-K says its markets are competitive and subject to rapid technology change, so continued product development and customer retention remain important.
Canva
How it makes money
Canva makes money through a freemium subscription model. The core editor and a large template library are free, which pulls in more than 260 million monthly users (2025). Revenue comes from the roughly 31 million of them who pay for Canva Pro, Canva Business, Canva for Teams or Canva Enterprise to unlock premium content, brand kits, Canva AI features and team controls.
Growth strategy
Having conquered the individual consumer and small business market, Canva's large growth strategy is aggressively aimed directly at Adobe and Microsoft in the enterprise sector. They are heavily rolling out 'Canva for Enterprise', a large suite of collaboration tools designed for entire marketing departments at Fortune 500 companies.
Competitive advantage
Canva's edge is ease of use at scale. A beginner can open a template and publish a social post or slide deck in minutes, without the training that Adobe's professional tools assume. A creator marketplace keeps adding templates, and a free tier used by more than 260 million people a month (2025) gives Canva low-cost distribution that newer design apps struggle to match.
Questions about Adobe vs Canva
Which company has higher revenue — Adobe Inc. or Canva Pty Ltd?
Adobe Inc. reported $23.8B (FY2025), while Canva Pty Ltd reported $3.5B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Adobe Inc. is the larger business, with Canva Pty Ltd reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Adobe Inc. vs Canva Pty Ltd?
Adobe Inc. has a market capitalisation of $93.0B. A public market cap figure for Canva Pty Ltd was not available (it may be privately held).
Which is more financially efficient — Adobe Inc. or Canva Pty Ltd?
Adobe Inc. generates $758k / employee in revenue per employee, while Canva Pty Ltd generates $660k / employee. Adobe Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Adobe Inc. and Canva Pty Ltd make money?
Adobe Inc. and Canva Pty Ltd generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Adobe Inc.: Adobe earns most of its revenue from subscriptions. Canva Pty Ltd: Canva makes money through a freemium subscription model.
Is Adobe Inc. bigger than Canva Pty Ltd?
By last reported revenue, Adobe Inc. ($23.8B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Canva Pty Ltd ($3.5B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Adobe vs Canva overview