How to resize a design in Canva
Need your design in a different size? Whether you're turning an Instagram post into a story or adapting a flyer for print, Canva lets you resize an existing design in seconds — without starting over.
This guide covers two ways to resize: the Resize tool (fastest, available on Canva Pro) and the copy-and-rebuild method (works on every plan, including free).
- Resizing with the Resize tool requires a Canva Pro, Teams, or Enterprise plan.
- On the free plan, you can still resize — see Resizing on a free plan below.
- Resizing creates a new copy of your design. Your original stays untouched.
Resize with the Resize tool (Canva Pro)
- Open the design you want to resize.
- In the top toolbar, click Resize & Magic Switch.
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Choose your new size. You can either:
- Pick a preset size (for example, Instagram Story or A4 Document), or
- Enter a custom width and height, then select your unit (px, in, mm, or cm).
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Click Continue, then choose one of the following:
- Copy & resize — keeps your current design and creates a resized copy in a new tab.
- Resize this design — changes the size of your current design in place.
- Canva generates the resized version. Review it and adjust any elements that shifted.
You can select multiple sizes at once before clicking Continue. Canva will create a separate resized copy for each one — useful when you need the same design for several platforms.
Resizing on a free plan
The Resize tool isn't available on the free plan, but you can still move your design to a new size:
- Open your design and select all elements (Ctrl + A on Windows, or Cmd + A on Mac).
- Copy the selection (Ctrl + C / Cmd + C).
- Create a new design in the size you need (Create a design → choose or enter your size).
- Paste the elements into the new design (Ctrl + V / Cmd + V).
- Reposition and rescale the elements to fit the new dimensions.
This takes a little manual adjustment, but it works on every Canva plan.
Why some elements look off after resizing
When you resize between very different shapes — for example, a square post into a tall story — Canva repositions your elements to fit, but it can't always guess your intent. After resizing, check for:
- Text that overflows its frame, or looks too large or small.
- Background images that no longer cover the full canvas.
- Elements that overlap or sit off-center.
Adjust these by hand. Resizing is a starting point, not a final result.