HR & Recruiting · head to head
Breathe HR vs Canva
The short version
- Only Canva has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Breathe HR pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50; Canva requires active internet connection, no offline editing capability
- They diverge on capability: Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Canva covers Drag-and-drop editor.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Breathe HR and Canva actually diverge.
| Attribute | Breathe HR | Canva |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | £13/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | Unknown |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Category | HR & Recruiting | All industries |
| Founded | 2012 | 2013 |
Identical on both: platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Breathe HR
- Employee Database
- Absence Management
- Document Storage
- HR Reporting
- Performance Management
- Training
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft 365
Only in Canva
- Drag-and-drop editor
- Templates library
- Stock photos & elements
- Text effects
- Animation
- Collaboration
- Brand kit
- Resize tool
Both cover
- Slack
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Breathe HR
- Holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a UK small businessnot Canva
- Storing HR documents, contracts and e-signaturesnot Canva
- Performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teamsnot Canva
Canva
- Social media graphicsnot Breathe HR
- Presentationsnot Breathe HR
- Marketing materialsnot Breathe HR
- Documentsnot Breathe HR
- Video editingnot Breathe HR
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Breathe HR
- Pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50
- Plans are capped by band up to 151 to 200 people, so it is not sold to organisations above that range on the published ladder
- The free trial is 14 days
- Health and safety, e-learning and other modules are sold as add-ons on top of the core HR plan
- Pricing is quoted in pounds and the product is marketed to UK SMEs
Canva
- Requires active internet connection, no offline editing capability
- No vector pen tool or advanced vector editing features
- No CMYK color management or print-ready bleed controls
- Cannot export to PSD (Photoshop) or AI (Illustrator) formats
- Large user base means many templates see repeated use, reducing design uniqueness
Pricing, plan by plan
Breathe HR
£13/month- Core$13/month
- Employee Database
- Absence Management
- Documents
- People Management$18/month
- All Core features
- Performance
- Goals
Canva
Free- FreeFree
- 1.6M+ templates
- 5GB storage
- 50 AI credits/month
- Pro$18/month
- 141M+ premium assets
- Magic Studio
- 500 AI credits/month
- Business$25/user-month
- Unlimited brand kits
- Team collaboration
Which should you pick?
Choose Breathe HR if
- You need employee database.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want absence management.
Choose Canva if
- You need drag-and-drop editor.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want templates library.
Questions people ask
- Is Breathe HR or Canva better?
- Neither clearly leads. Breathe HR starts at £13/month and Canva at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Breathe HR or Canva?
- Canva has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £13/month for Breathe HR and Free for Canva.
- Does Breathe HR or Canva run on more platforms?
- Breathe HR runs on Web, Ios, Android. Canva runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Canva for free?
- Yes. Canva has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Breathe HR starts at £13/month.
- What is Breathe HR best used for?
- Breathe HR is most often used for holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business, storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures, performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teams. Of those, holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business and storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures are not what Canva is typically brought in for.
- What can Breathe HR do that Canva cannot?
- Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting. Canva covers Drag-and-drop editor, Templates library, Stock photos & elements, Text effects. Both handle Slack.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Canva: Is Canva really free?
Yes. The free plan is permanent with no trial or credit card required. It includes 1.6M+ templates, 5GB storage, 50 Magic Studio AI credits/month, and basic collaboration.
SourceCanva: What requires internet connection?
Canva is web-based and requires an active internet connection to use. It cannot be used offline and may experience slowness or freezing on poor connections.
SourceCanva: Can I export to professional formats like PSD or AI?
No. Canva does not support export to Adobe PSD or Illustrator AI formats. Export options are limited to PNG, PDF, MP4, and other basic formats.
SourceCanva: How many AI credits do I get?
Free tier includes 50 Magic Studio credits per month for AI image generation, copywriting, and background removal. Pro and higher tiers get 500 credits/month.
SourceRelated pages
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- Canva vs BambooHR
- Canva vs Workday
- Canva vs Culture Amp
- Canva vs Freshteam
- Canva vs TINYpulse
- Canva vs Zoho People
- Canva vs 15Five
- Canva vs Bonusly
- Canva vs CharlieHR
- Canva vs Kudos
- Canva vs Lattice
- Canva vs Personio
- Canva vs Achievers
- Canva vs Darwinbox
- Canva vs Employment Hero
- Canva vs greytHR
- Canva vs HiBob
- Canva vs Homebase
- Canva vs Adobe Illustrator
- Canva vs Affinity Designer
- Canva vs Gravit Designer
- Canva vs Linearity Curve
- Canva vs ProtoPie
- Canva vs Rive
- Canva vs Spline
- Canva vs Abstract
- Canva vs Balsamiq Wireframes
- Canva vs Krea
- Canva vs Magnific
- Canva vs Marvel
- Canva vs Subframe
- Canva vs Vectr
- Canva vs Zeplin


