I can’t download my design or video

AI Summary

I can't download my design

What can cause this

This may be due to an unstable internet connection or an outdated device or browser.

What to do

Check your internet connection.
Try refreshing your browser and clearing your cache and cookies.
Update your browser to the latest version, or try using a different one.

If you can't download your design from the editor, download it from the homepage.

Go to
Projects and find the design you want to download.
Hover over the thumbnail, then select
More (ellipsis icon).
Select
Download.

If your designs still won’t download, you can check for corrupted elements and follow these steps:

Replace or remove it – Swap the element for a new one or delete it.
Wait for uploads to finish – If an image or video is still uploading, let it finish before downloading.
Re-upload media – If a file didn’t fully upload, try adding it again from your device.

I can't download my video design

What can cause this

Your video design's file size, length, and frame rate might be too big and affect the downloading.
- The video is very long (typically 10 minutes or more).
Embedding YouTube videos in designs can also sometimes cause the download to fail.
Your design has a corrupted element
Your design contains only one premium image or element
Videos use high frame rates (60 FPS or higher).
The design contains many pages, videos, audio tracks, animations, images, or other elements.
A video in the design has been trimmed to 0.0 seconds which prevents it from being exported.

What to do

Upload MP4 files that you want to use in Canva instead of embedding YouTube videos.
Keep or trim your video to 30 minutes or less, if possible, and make sure it meets Canva’s video upload requirements.
Break down large blocks of animated text into several text boxes.
Share a watch link instead of downloading your design.
Try downloading it on a different device.

If your designs still won’t download, you can check for corrupted elements and remove them from the design.

How to check for corrupted elements:

Invisible Layers
- Go to Position > Layers
- Check if any of the layers are coming up blank; these may contain corrupted elements.
Broken Media icon
- Images may have a broken media icon
Broken Audio Icon
- The audio will appear to have an icon in the video timeline

For a multiple-page design:

Make a copy of the design to avoid changing the original
Isolate the issue by downloading the design in halves (for multi-page designs)
- Example: pages 1–5, then 6–10
- Keep narrowing down until you find the failing page
Check images on the problematic page
- Corrupted elements may be invisible in the editor or Layers
- Some may show a broken icon
- Others may look normal, but still cause issues
Isolate the element
- Delete elements one at a time
- Retry the download after each removal

At the moment, premium images and elements can't be exported on their own. To continue exporting, please modify or add more elements (text, graphics, lines, shapes, private uploads, etc.) to your design and try again.

Check the videos in your design and make sure they have finished uploading.
Wait for any pending video uploads or processing to complete.
If a video appears broken or corrupted, remove it and upload the video again.
Once all videos are fully uploaded and working correctly, try downloading the design again.
Shorten the video length or split long videos across multiple pages.
Download the design in smaller batches instead of exporting the entire design at once.
Reduce the number of elements, media assets, and animations used in the design.
Check that all videos have a duration of at least 0.1 seconds and are not trimmed to 0.0 seconds.
Try downloading the design again after simplifying the content.

Check Canva’s status

Visit the Canva Status page. If it says All Systems Operational, it means things are working on our end.

Try downloading your design again after a while.

Check your internet connection

A stable internet connection is important for your designs to download successfully.

To check if your internet connection is stable enough, try to manually save your design first.

On the editor menu bar
Select File.
Select
Save.

If your design doesn’t save, it means your internet connection isn’t stable.

If you encounter a "Reconnecting" message while you're downloading your design, this means that your network has timed out.

If your internet connection is working properly but you still can’t download, see below for other things you can try.

If your download takes too long, your design’s file size might be too big. This happens when your design has a lot of pages or if you used a lot of images, elements, videos, or animated text.

You may also encounter issues if you’re using premium elements on a free account.

Here are a couple of workarounds you can try.

Check your design’s file size and elements

Download your design in batches

On the editor menu bar, select Share.
Select
Download.
From the Select pages dropdown, select a few pages to download in one batch.
Select Download or Pay and download, then repeat for the other pages.

Split your design into separate files

On the editor menu bar, select File.
Select Make a copy.
Download the designs after checking that they have 10 pages or less.

Remove premium elements

If you’re on a free account, your designs can’t be downloaded if they have premium elements. To remove them:

Select the premium element.
Select the
trash icon to delete it.

If you can’t find the premium element on your design:

Select any random element.
Select Position on the top menu bar.
Go to the Layers tab and check the elements on each layer.
Once you find the layer where the premium element is located, click and hold the
icon and drag the layer to the top of the Layers tab.

The element will now be on the first layer of your design. Select the

trash icon to delete it.

On another hand, if your design is empty, you won't be able to download your design. Add elements to your page first.

Check for corrupted elements

If your designs still won’t download, you can check for corrupted elements and follow these steps:

Replace or remove it – Swap the element for a new one or delete it.
Wait for uploads to finish – If an image or video is still uploading, let it finish before downloading.
Re-upload media – If a file didn’t fully upload, try adding it again from your device.

Check design export size limitations

If you can’t download your design, you might have exceeded the allowed dimensions.

Minimum: 40 x 40 px, Maximum: 8000 x 3125 px (or vice versa).
For larger designs, scale down your dimensions proportionally within these limits. Learn more on our Designing from scratch page.
For Canva websites, pages downloaded as PNG, JPG, or PDF are limited to a maximum height of 30,000 px.

Check your videos’ file size and elements

For videos, the video length and its frame rate can also affect the processing for download.

Embeds aren’t found within Canva, so downloading designs with YouTube embeds will fail. Upload MP4 files that you want to use in Canva instead.

To help with your download, here are some things to try:

Keep or trim your video to 30 minutes or less, if possible.
Reduce resolution down to 1080p (1920×1080), if possible.
Break down large blocks of animated text into several text boxes.
Share a watch link instead of downloading your design.
Make sure your images and videos are completely uploaded.
Try downloading on a different device.
Keep your exports under 500 per day* (1000 for Enterprise) or 75 every 5 minutes*.
Wait until the next day for the limit to reset, if needed.
Try downloading with another account, if available.

*Limits imposed on individual users export activity to ensure good performance and availability for all.

If you also have hundreds of elements in your design, they may cause issues with exporting videos. Reducing the number of elements may help.

Check if your design has only one premium image or element

You'll see this error when your design contains only a single premium image or element with no other content added: "There's only one image or graphic on your design. Premium images can't be exported on their own. Add some elements and then try again."

Canva is responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of our contributors, partners, and our own content. You can only use premium stock media licensed under Canva’s Content Licence Agreement in one design. This licence doesn’t include the right to download premium stock elements as-is.

To continue, add more elements like text, graphics, lines, etc. then try downloading it again. If you’d like to learn more about our Free and Pro content licences, see Content licences and using Canva for commercial purposes.

Download limit reached

Seeing a "Download limit reached" message? Canva uses a rolling 24-hour window to track download activity, meaning your limit resets exactly 24 hours after each download—not at a fixed time each day.

For example, if you hit the limit at 3:00 pm, you’ll regain access after 3:00 pm the next day.

Check your device or browser

If Canva is crashing when you try to download your design or video, it’s likely there’s a problem with your device or browser. Try updating your browser to its latest version or switch to a different browser or device.

For more things that you can try, see Canva is crashing or freezing when I use it.

Refresh your browser and clearing your cache and cookies

Accumulated cookies can sometimes cause trouble. Note that doing this may log you out of other sites.

How to keep downloading smoothly

Keep an eye on your downloads – Track your usage to avoid unexpected limits.
Spread out your downloads – Need multiple designs? Download them over time.
Try different formats – If you're in a rush, exporting in a different format or resolution may help.

If you think you’ve hit a limit by mistake, wait a bit and try again.

Related articles:

Was this helpful?

Helpful

Unhelpful

Help

I can’t download my design or video