Canva Autofill API vs Template Automation API: Things You Should Know Before Choosing One

83% of marketing teams already automate their social media posting process. (A stat we recently shared here)

And if you’re reading this, I am assuming that you are part of the remaining group that is either still figuring out automation or looking to improve how it works for your product or workflow.

Most tools today can help you schedule posts. That part is largely solved. What is not solved is the graphics. Someone still has to design them. And for years, the obvious answer to that problem has been Canva.

For developers, Canva does offer an Autofill API that lets you automate image generation using brand templates. You pass data into predefined fields, and Canva generates designs for you. If your goal is purely programmatic image generation, this approach can work.

But it also comes with limitations. Some are technical, others show up in pricing, access, & how much control you actually get once you start scaling.

Hi, I am Pedro, founder of Templated. I have spent years working in the design industry & building products focused on image automation. Along the way, I have seen what works, what breaks, and where most teams get stuck.

In this article, I will walk you through how the Canva Autofill API really works, where it makes sense to use it, and where it starts to fall short. I will also show you an alternative approach that fills the gaps left behind by Canva Autofill.

Let’s get started.

What’s Canva Autofill API & How It Works?

In simple terms, you first create a template inside Canva. That template contains autofill fields like text, images, names, prices, or dates.

Using the Autofill API, you send data to Canva, & it generates a new design by replacing those fields with your input.

This makes it possible to create large volumes of designs without opening the Canva editor every time. This is what we call generating images programmatically.

Once you send data to Canva, the Autofill API does not generate the design instantly. Instead, it works using a job-based system.

First, you create a design autofill job. This step tells Canva which template to use and what data should be filled into the autofill fields. Canva then starts generating the design in the background. At this stage, you only receive a job ID, not the final output.

Next, you use the get design autofill job endpoint. This is how you check whether the job is still processing, completed, or failed. Once the job is complete, this endpoint returns the generated design details, which you can then use in your workflow.

One API call starts the generation, and another API call is used to retrieve the result when it is ready.

This approach works well for batch generation, but it also introduces a few practical considerations around timing, ownership, and how the generated designs are actually used inside a product.

What Canva Autofill API Is Good At

Canva Autofill works well when:

• You already use Canva as your primary design tool

• Your team operates inside Canva Enterprise

• Designs follow strict brand templates with limited variation

• You want to generate documents or visuals in bulk using structured data

Common use cases include certificates, internal reports, training materials, invitations, presentations, and simple marketing assets.

5 Limitations of Canva Autofill API

While Canva Autofill API works well for certain internal and brand-controlled workflows, it also comes with a set of limitations that become hard to ignore as you scale or productise automation.

Enterprise Account Required

This is the most important & therefore I am taking this as a priority of all the cons. If you have a small or mid-sized team, the Enterprise plan doesn’t make sense at all.

Canva Autofill API is available only to Enterprise users. It is not accessible on Free, Pro, or standard Team plans.

This means:

• You must operate inside a Canva Enterprise organisation

• The API acts on behalf of a Canva user within that organisation

• Pricing is not publicly listed and requires a direct sales contact*

Designs Live Inside Canva

Every design generated through Autofill is stored inside Canva.

You cannot:

• Store designs natively inside your own platform

• Fully control asset ownership and lifecycle

• Treat designs as first-class objects in your product

If your workflow requires tight integration with your own database, CMS, or storage layer, this limitation becomes apparent quickly.

No Embedded or White-Label Editing

Autofill is not an editor. Users cannot edit designs inside your application, make last-mile adjustments in a white-label environment & even cannot use the workflow without a Canva account.

Any design changes beyond the autofill data must be made within Canva’s UI, following Canva’s login flow and branding guidelines.

Limited Flexibility Beyond Templates

Autofill works strictly within the boundaries of predefined templates.

That means:

• Layout logic cannot be dynamic

• Conditional design changes are limited

• Advanced composition rules are hard to model

If your use case involves flexible layouts, user-driven creativity, or dynamic visual logic, Autofill starts to feel restrictive.

Not Built for Product-Led or User-Facing Automation

Canva Autofill is best suited for internal teams and controlled environments.

It is not designed for end-user-generated content inside SaaS products & marketplaces or web-to-print platforms.

If you need automation that feels native to your product, then the autofill API won’t get the job done.

How Templated Approaches Image Automation

Templated takes a different approach to image automation compared to Canva Autofill, and is often used as an alternative to the Canva Autofill API for product-led use cases.

Instead of treating automation as an internal brand workflow, Templated is built for product-led automation, where image generation and editing happen as part of your application, not outside it.

Templates live outside a closed design ecosystem. You create them once, generate images programmatically at scale, and optionally allow users to make last-mile changes using an embedded editor. All of this happens inside your own product.

This makes Templated better suited for SaaS platforms, marketplaces, web-to-print tools, and user-facing products where automation is not just a back-office task but a core feature.

How Templated Solves the Limitations of Canva Autofill API

No Enterprise Account Barrier

Templated does not require an Enterprise plan or a sales-led onboarding process.

You can start using the API with a simple account, clear pricing, and no minimum team size. This makes it accessible to startups, small teams, and growing products that want to automate images without committing to enterprise contracts.

You don’t need to act on behalf of a user inside a closed organisation. Your application controls the workflow.

Designs Don’t Live Inside a Closed Platform

With Canva Autofill, every generated design lives inside Canva.

With Templated, generated images belong to your product.

You can store them in your own database, attach them to users, connect them to CMS records, or treat them as first-class assets in your system. This gives you full control over ownership, lifecycle, and data flow.

For products that rely on tight integration between images and internal data, this difference becomes critical very quickly.

You can refer to the documentation to understand it more.

Both tools automate image generation, but they take very different paths. The table below highlights the key differences between the Canva Autofill API and Templated.

Conclusion

There’s no single “best” tool here. The right choice depends on your exact use case. If automation ends after generation, almost any solution works.

The moment images need to move through your product, accept user input, or plug into existing workflows, the tooling matters more than the brand name.

If you’re exploring Templated, the fastest way to understand it is to try it inside a real workflow. It’s easy to get started; many teams start by using no-code solutions & generate images directly from Google Sheets using Make. Others prefer n8n when logic, conditions, or internal systems are involved. And if you want to avoid no-code tools altogether, Templated also supports spreadsheet-based generation as a lightweight entry point.

I hope, with this knowledge, you would be pretty much sure which one you should go for. If you still aren’t sure, just reach out to me on chat & I would be happy to help you get the best one for your needs. I am just a ‘Hi’ away from chat!

Additional Resources

1. Design Huddle vs Polotno vs Templated: Choosing The Best Image Editor To Embed on Your App

2. Canva Button vs Templated Image SDK: The Better Alternative After Canva Button Shutdown

3. Polotno vs Img.ly vs Templated: A Complete Comparison of White-Label Image Editors