How to Make a Table in Canva

There’s lots of reasons you might want to know how to make a table in Canva. Maybe you are creating an infographic and want a table of information. Perhaps you want to show some data in a chart form graphic to make a blog post more visual. It might even be to add to a presentation.

Whatever the reason, Canva has you covered. There’s a couple of ways to make a table in Canva and we are going to look at both.

How to make a table in Canva with shapes

One of the most visual ways to make a table is to use shapes to create the table.  You can make them whatever size or colour you want.

Building the row

Go to Elements and select a shape.  Here I used a square but changed the shape to create a rectangle that’s more useful for a table.  Change the colour if you want and move it to where your header would be for the first column.

Duplicate the box using the ‘+’ icon in the top corner and move the duplicate into the next stop in the row.

Do this again if you want to have more columns.  I’m making three in this demo.

The guidelines will appear to help you make sure they are evenly separated.  To make sure they are centred and spaced, group the row together with the group function.  Then hit the ‘Position’ option on the top menu to see if the grouped row is centred (it will be greyed out if it is in the centre already).

Building the table

Next, duplicate the row and move it below the first line.  You can change the colour if you want it to be different for the body rows to the header as I did here.

Continue to duplicate the lighter coloured row until you have enough rows for your table.

Once you have all the rows, select them together and use the Tidy Up option in Position.  This will make sure they are centred but also that the space between the rows is even and the whole table is in the centre.

If you want, you can also ungroup the individual rows and then group all of the rows together.  This is great if you are making something and want to move the table around to different positions such as in an infographic.  Or you cna wait to do this until after you have added text.

Adding text to the table

Once you have your rows in place, you can add text.  If you are having a header row, you might want to use one font for it and another for body text.

Create a text box and move it into place over the top of the first box.  Add the text then duplicate it and move it into place on the second one.  Repeat as needed.

Make another text box for the body row and add it into place.  Carry on duplicating the text and moving it into place until the table is complete as you need it to be.

If you are making something like a printable for people to write on, you might only create the headers and leave the boxes blank.

Creating a table in Canva with lines

The other way to make a table in Canva is with lines, which is a newer feature.  This is great if you want a simple grid style such as to use for a calendar.

Go into Elements and into Lines.  You can use dotted or dash lines but I’m working with plain lines for this one.  Choose a line and move it into place then adjust the length to be one of the outside lines of the table.

Duplicate it and move it to the opposite side.  The guides on Canva will help you get them in the right place.

Duplicate again then use the rotation button to move to 90 degrees.  Move into place on the side of the table, the grids will help you get this right again.  Repeat for the other side.

Now start adding the internal lines by duplicating either the top or the side of the box.  Move them in place, using the guides to help you line them up.  Select all of the horizontal lines including the top and bottom by clicking while holding shift then use the Tidy Up option to make sure they are spaced evenly.

If you want the vertical lines to be even, do the same.  Or position them depending on how much space is needed for each box.  You can then group them if you want to ensure none of them moves around.

Then you can add text as needed either in the box or above it.

Making the most of tables

There’s lots of ways to use tables in designs and these two methods mean you have options to create just the right table for your project.  From infographics to printables, meal planners to school lessons, there are tons of uses both for business and personal.

If you found this Canva Tutorial useful make sure you check out the rest of them.