No, Canva is not publicly traded. Retail investors can’t buy Canva stock directly today, so the realistic paths are waiting for an IPO, looking at comparable public companies, or — if accredited — exploring private secondary markets.
No, Canva is not publicly traded. Retail investors can’t buy Canva stock directly today, so the realistic paths are waiting for an IPO, looking at comparable public companies, or — if accredited — exploring private secondary markets.
Canva has become one of the most recognizable names in design software, with a product that now spans presentations, social graphics, marketing materials, documents, video, and enterprise brand tools. The company said it reached 260 million monthly users and $3.5 billion in revenue in 2025, which is exactly why investors keep asking how to get in before a possible public listing.
The catch is simple: Canva is still private, and there’s no public ticker to buy. There has been IPO chatter, a recent $42 billion employee stock sale, and growing interest from retail investors who want exposure to the company’s growth. Here’s what Canva does, whether it’s publicly traded, what the IPO outlook looks like, and the realistic ways investors can get exposure today.
What is Canva?
Canva is a visual communications and design software platform. Its tools let users create presentations, social graphics, marketing assets, documents, videos, and enterprise brand content using templates and drag-and-drop workflows. The company’s enterprise offering adds collaboration, brand controls, and security/compliance features, which helps it sell beyond casual consumers and into workplaces.
The company was founded in 2013 and started in Sydney, Australia. Canva’s own 2025 review said it reached 260 million monthly users and $3.5 billion in revenue in 2025. Earlier company materials said it had more than 2,000 employees in 2021, while secondary reporting in 2025 put the headcount around 5,000. Canva later said it does not maintain a traditional official headquarters, even though it remains Australia-rooted with major offices globally.
Is Canva publicly traded?
No, Canva is currently a privately held company, so there is no public ticker or exchange listing for retail investors to buy. Its ownership is founder-led, with Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht remaining the public faces of the business and holding large stakes based on external estimates.
That means there is no direct public-market way to own Canva shares today unless you have access to private shares through approved channels or a secondary transaction.
When will Canva go public?
Canva has not filed an S-1 on SEC EDGAR, and no official IPO filing has been disclosed. Reuters reported in August 2025 that an employee stock sale valued the company at $42 billion and was happening ahead of a reported IPO that year, but later reporting suggested the company preferred to stay private in the near term so it could keep investing without public-market scrutiny.
The most recent disclosed valuation is $42 billion from that August 2025 employee stock sale, up from $40 billion in September 2021. For would-be investors, the key things to watch are a formal S-1 filing, any updated comments from management, and whether the company keeps using tender offers or secondary sales instead of moving toward a listing.
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For most retail investors, the first realistic option is to wait for an IPO. If Canva files and lists, you’d typically buy shares through a brokerage once trading begins, though getting an allocation at the offer price is usually limited to institutions and selected clients.
There is no public parent company to buy instead, so the next best route is to look at comparable public companies that shareholders use as proxies for Canva’s business. Those are usually the names investors end up using when they want exposure to design software, collaboration tools, or enterprise workflow adoption.
A third route is private secondary markets, where Canva shares may appear on platforms such as Forge, EquityZen, Hiive, and Nasdaq Private Market. That path is generally limited to accredited investors, can be restricted by the company, and does not guarantee access or liquidity.
Indirect exposure: backdoor ways to invest
Morningstar’s 2024 Mutual Funds & Unicorns report listed Canva among the most popular private-company holdings in mutual funds, with roughly $670 million of mutual-fund exposure as of June 2024. That means some fund shareholders may have indirect exposure to Canva through private stakes held inside the portfolio.
The limitation is that the report excerpt reviewed here did not provide a complete fund-by-fund list, so there isn’t a clean retail shortcut to buy a specific fund and know you’re getting meaningful Canva exposure. No verified ETF, closed-end fund, or BDC exposure surfaced in the sources reviewed.
Closest publicly-traded alternatives
The closest public comparables are Adobe (ADBE), Figma (FIG), and Smartsheet (SMAR). Adobe is the clearest creative-software peer because it overlaps with design tools and content creation. Figma is the closest collaboration/design workflow comp, though it leans more toward product design and team-based creation. Smartsheet is not a design company, but it gives investors a public SaaS proxy for workflow software, seat-based monetization, and enterprise adoption.
When investors look for a public Canva proxy, these are the names they usually compare against because they capture pieces of Canva’s business model: creative software, collaborative workflows, and enterprise software adoption. None is a perfect substitute, but they’re the closest listed alternatives shareholders typically look at.
Recent news
The biggest recent development was Canva’s August 2025 employee stock sale, which valued the company at $42 billion. Around the same time, Reuters reported the sale was happening ahead of a reported IPO, though no formal filing has been disclosed.
On the product side, Canva said in 2025 that it launched its Creative Operating System and Visual Suite 2.0, with AI and workflow tools at the center of the next product phase. The company also said it reached 260 million monthly users and $3.5 billion in revenue in 2025, while continuing to emphasize enterprise adoption and security features.
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If you want Canva exposure, the honest answer is that you probably can’t buy it directly today. The company is private, there’s no public ticker, and there’s no disclosed IPO filing yet. For most retail investors, the practical move is to watch for a future listing and, in the meantime, use public comps like Adobe, Figma, and Smartsheet if you want exposure to the same broad theme.
If you’re accredited and comfortable with private-market risk, secondary platforms may offer a path to shares, but access is limited and not guaranteed. For everyone else, the public-market proxy route is the realistic one.
▌Common Questions
Frequently asked questions
+Is Canva publicly traded?
No, Canva is currently a privately held company, so there is no public ticker or exchange listing for retail investors to buy. Its ownership is founder-led, with Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht remaining the public faces of the business and holding large stakes based on external estimates.
+When will Canva go public?
Canva has not filed an S-1 on SEC EDGAR, and no official IPO filing has been disclosed. Reuters reported in August 2025 that an employee stock sale valued the company at $42 billion and was happening ahead of a reported IPO that year, but later reporting suggested the company preferred to stay private in the near term so it could keep investing without public-market scrutiny.
+How can you invest in Canva?
For most retail investors, the first realistic option is to wait for an IPO. If Canva files and lists, you’d typically buy shares through a brokerage once trading begins, though getting an allocation at the offer price is usually limited to institutions and selected clients.
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