How To Create Digital Products On Canva To Sell On Etsy

Introduction.

If you’ve been looking for a creative way to make extra income online without needing a warehouse, shipping supplies, or even inventory, digital products might be your best bet.

One of the easiest ways to get started is by using Canva—a beginner-friendly design tool—and selling your work on Etsy, a platform known for handmade, custom, and digital goods.

Now here’s the thing: you don’t need to be a professional designer to make this work. I’ve seen so many people—stay-at-home parents, college students, full-time workers—create simple products like planners, templates, and printable art, and actually make real sales.

It all comes down to knowing what to create, how to design it in Canva, and how to list it properly on Etsy so the right buyers can find it.

Let’s walk through everything you need to know to start creating digital products on Canva and selling them on Etsy—even if you’ve never sold anything online before.

What are Digital Products on Etsy?

Digital products are files that customers can download after purchase. There’s no shipping involved, which means no packaging, no delivery delays, and no returns in most cases.

Once you upload the files and set up your listings, Etsy handles the delivery automatically.

Some popular digital products on Etsy include:

Printable planners (daily, weekly, budget, fitness, etc.)
Wedding invitations
Digital art or wall prints
Instagram templates
Business card designs
Vision boards
Coloring pages
Resume templates

The beauty of digital products is that you can create them once and sell them over and over again. That’s why many sellers treat this as a source of passive income.

Why Use Canva?

Canva is one of the easiest design tools out there. It’s free to start, and you can use drag-and-drop features, templates, icons, photos, and fonts—all without needing to learn Photoshop or Illustrator.

Canva also allows you to create designs in the exact dimensions you need, and you can export your files in PDF, PNG, or JPG formats—perfect for Etsy digital downloads.

Here’s what makes Canva great for Etsy sellers:

You don’t need any design experience
It works in your browser (no software download needed)
You get access to thousands of templates for free
It saves your work in the cloud, so you can design on any device
Canva Pro (optional, around $14.99/month) gives you access to even more tools, fonts, and premium content

How Do I Create Digital Products on Canva to Sell on Etsy?

Step 1: Choose Your Product

Before you open Canva, think about what kind of digital product you want to create. Here are some questions to guide you:

What are people already buying on Etsy?
What are your skills or interests?
Who do you want to help with your product?

You can search on Etsy to see what’s trending. Just type in “printable planner” or “Instagram templates” and sort by “Top Customer Reviews” or “Best Selling.” This will show you what buyers love.

Step 2: Sign Up for Canva (Free or Pro)

Go to canva.com and sign up for a free account. You can start designing with a free plan, but if you want access to premium fonts, graphics, or the option to resize your designs easily, Canva Pro is worth trying. They offer a 30-day free trial too.

Step 3: Create Your Design

Let’s say you want to create a daily planner.

Click Create a Design → Custom Size → Set it to 8.5 x 11 inches (standard paper size)
Use Canva’s elements like lines, boxes, and text to lay out your planner
Make sure to keep it simple and useful—think of clean fonts, enough spacing, and maybe some soft colors
Add your branding or logo if needed
When you’re done, click Share → Download → choose PDF Print (for high quality)

Pro tip: Always test your file by downloading and printing it to see how it looks before listing it.

Step 4: Save and Organize Your Files

Make sure your final files are organized. If you’re selling a multi-page planner, consider putting the pages into a single PDF. You can also include a thank-you note or instructions for the buyer.

Many sellers also include a license file (telling the buyer how they can or can’t use the file), especially if it’s a commercial-use item like a template.

Step 5: Set Up Your Etsy Shop

If you haven’t already, go to Etsy.com and open a seller account. It’s free to open, but they charge a $0.20 listing fee per product and take a small percentage of each sale.

Pick a shop name
Add a profile photo and banner
Fill out your shop policies (returns, digital download notes, etc.)

Step 6: Upload Your Product Listing

Go to Shop Manager → Listings → Add a Listing and fill out the form:

Title: Use searchable keywords (e.g. “Printable Daily Planner for Busy Moms – A4 and US Letter Size”)
Photos: Upload mockups of your product (Canva has templates or you can use free mockup tools like SmartMockups)
Description: Tell people exactly what they’re getting. Mention the size, number of pages, format, how to use it, and that it’s a digital download
Price: Most digital products sell for $2 to $20 depending on complexity
Files: Upload your PDF or ZIP file

Once your listing is live, shoppers can buy your product, download the files instantly, and Etsy takes care of the rest.

Tips To Stand Out on Etsy

Use Keywords

Think like a buyer. What would they type in to find your product? Use those terms in your title, description, and tags.

High-Quality Mockups

Your listing photo is what gets clicks. Use clean, clear images that show your product in use.

Offer Value

Bundle your digital products or offer a matching set (like a planner + habit tracker) to increase sales.

Be Clear

Let buyers know it’s a digital product. Write “No physical item will be shipped” in the first line of your description.

Promote Your Shop

Share your listings on Pinterest, Instagram, or TikTok. Pinterest is especially great for digital products.

FAQs

Do I need a Canva Pro account to sell digital products?

No. You can create and sell with a free Canva account. But Canva Pro gives you more templates, elements, and features that make designing faster and more flexible.

Can I sell Canva templates directly?

Yes, but with some conditions. You can only sell templates you create yourself. You can’t resell Canva’s templates as-is.

To sell templates, you’ll need to share a Canva template link (Canva Pro only) and usually add instructions for the buyer on how to edit it.

Is it legal to use Canva elements in products I sell on Etsy?

Yes, for the most part. Canva allows free and Pro users to use their elements in commercial use products like planners and printables. Just don’t use Canva’s elements in logos or trademarked products. Check Canva’s licensing terms here.

How much can I earn from selling digital products?

Some Etsy sellers make a few hundred dollars per month, while others make full-time income. According to Etsy’s IPO filing, over 60% of their active sellers are part-time or hobby sellers, but digital product creators often scale faster because there’s no inventory limit.

Final Thoughts

Selling digital products on Etsy using Canva is a great way to turn your creativity into income—without needing a big budget or a design degree.

Start simple, focus on solving a small problem (like daily planning or social media design), and improve as you go. You’ll learn a lot just by trying, tweaking, and sticking with it.

So, what kind of digital product are you planning to create first on Canva?