Figma is growing and Canva is cutting jobs. What it means for the tools you pay for

The first week of November 2026 told two different stories about design software. Figma reported strong growth. Canva announced job cuts. Both are about the same thing underneath: AI is changing what design tools do and how they charge for it.

Figma's quarter

• Revenue for July to September was 391.4 million US dollars, up 43 percent on a year earlier, Figma said on 4 November.
• It expects 402 to 404 million dollars in the last quarter and about 1.5 billion dollars for 2026.
• As of 31 October, 65 percent of customers paying more than 10,000 dollars a year used the Figma agent every week, and more than 80 percent had used AI credits.
• In August Figma added more credits to its credit add-ons for Professional, Organization and Enterprise plans, without changing the credits included with seats.

On the earnings call, chief executive Dylan Field said design is the new code. Investors were less sure about giving away more AI for the same price. The share price fell about 7 percent after hours on 4 November, CNBC reported, and closed about 17 percent lower the next day, according to market data.

Canva's cuts

TechCrunch reported on 4 November that Canva has cut or changed the roles of 1,271 people, about 22 percent of its staff. Co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins said growth had slowed for the first time in a decade, and the company lowered its revenue growth forecast from 30 percent to 20 percent. In April Canva had launched Canva AI 2.0, presenting itself as an AI platform with design tools. We found no new Canva product announcements in this period.

Adobe is next

Adobe MAX, its yearly creative conference, runs from 10 to 12 November in Miami Beach and online, so expect Photoshop, Illustrator and Firefly news next week. Adobe also has a new chief executive from 1 December, with Anil Chakravarthy taking over from Shantanu Narayen, who becomes executive chair.

What to check before you renew

• Find out how many AI credits your plan includes, what uses them and what happens when they run out.
• Count your seats. Figma's Full, Dev and Collab seats unlock different features, and the agent needs a Full seat.
• Do not switch tools in a hurry. A job cut or a share price drop does not change how your files work tomorrow.
• Keep your brand assets exportable, such as logos as SVG, fonts and colour codes, so you are never locked into one tool.
• Wait for Adobe MAX before you sign anything long term with Adobe.

Not sure which design tools your team really needs? ALXO can review your setup and costs and keep your brand files in order. Get in touch.