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Are Canva Resumes ATS-Friendly?

Sometimes — it depends on the template, not on Canva. Drop your exported Canva PDF into the scanner below to find out in about 20 seconds.

Updated October 9, 2026 · By Andrew Johnson

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Download your design as a PDF (leave "Flatten PDF" unticked), drop it in, and get a score out of 100 plus your top 3 fixes. A free account adds the full breakdown.

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The short answer

Sometimes. Canva exports PDFs with real, selectable text (unless you tick “Flatten PDF”), so a simple one-column Canva resume can parse fine. The trouble is the design most Canva resume templates use: sidebars and columns, freely placed text boxes, icons, photos and skill bars — exactly what parsers scramble or drop. Test the exported PDF; if the text comes out scrambled, move to a one-column layout.

Why many Canva resume templates trip up an ATS

Canva is a design tool: you place text boxes anywhere on a canvas. That freedom is what makes the templates look good, and it is also why the reading order of the exported text can be unpredictable. A parser has to guess which box comes first; with a sidebar, it often guesses wrong.

  • Simple one-column Canva template

    Parses cleanly

    Usually fine if the text is real text and contact details sit in the body.

  • Colored sidebar with contact + skills

    Test before sending

    The most common Canva look. Sidebar lines can mix into your experience.

  • Skill bars, dots or ratings

    Often loses text

    A bar has no words for a recruiter's search to match.

  • Photo or icon header

    Often loses text

    Anything that is part of an image is invisible to a parser.

Four looks you will find among Canva resume templates and how they tend to parse. The first is usually safe; the sidebar is a coin toss across different employers' systems; the last two lose information outright.

What you see · Two-column resume with a skills sidebar

EXPERIENCE

Operations Analyst, Northwind

Cut invoice errors 18% by…

Built weekly KPI dashboard…

EDUCATION

B.S. Economics, 2021

SKILLS

SQL · Excel

Tableau

CONTACT

jane@email.com

Austin, TX

What the parser extracts

  1. EXPERIENCE SKILLS← Two headings merged into one line
  2. Operations Analyst, Northwind SQL · Excel← Skills glued onto the job title
  3. Cut invoice errors 18% by… Tableau← Bullet and skill mixed
  4. Built weekly KPI dashboard… CONTACT← Sidebar heading inside a bullet
  5. EDUCATION jane@email.com← Email lands in Education
  6. B.S. Economics, 2021 Austin, TX← Location glued onto the degree

6 of 6 lines come out wrong

Illustration of the most common failure: a sidebar resume read by a simple left-to-right extractor. Skills and contact details from the sidebar end up inside the experience section, and the email lands under Education.

The 2-minute Canva resume test

  1. 1

    Download as PDF

    Share → Download → PDF Standard. Leave "Flatten PDF" unticked.

  2. 2

    Try to select a word

    Open the PDF and highlight one word. Can't? The text layer is gone.

  3. 3

    Paste as plain text

    Select all, copy, paste into a plain-text editor. Read it top to bottom.

  4. 4

    Or scan itFree

    Drop the PDF into the scanner above for a score and the top 3 fixes.

Testing a Canva resume before you apply. The “Flatten PDF” checkbox is in Canva's download settings (see Canva's Help Center); flattened files can lose selectable text.

Canva documents the flatten option in its Help Center. If you can't highlight individual words in your downloaded file, a parser can't read it either.

How to fix a Canva resume for ATS

  • Do: Pick a one-column template

    Or delete the sidebar and move its content into the main column.

  • Do: Type contact details as text at the top

    Not in an image, a header strip or next to icons only.

  • Avoid: Remove skill bars and ratings

    Replace them with a plain list of skills in words.

  • Avoid: Remove the photo for US applications

    It adds nothing a parser can read; US employers generally don't expect one.

  • Be careful: Rename creative headings

    Experience, Education, Skills — words every system recognizes.

  • Be careful: Keep a design version for people

    Bring the Canva version to networking events; send the plain one online.

Fixes in order of impact. Many people keep two versions: the designed one for humans and a one-column one for job portals.

Rebuilding is often faster than fixing. Our ATS-friendly templates page compares layouts that parse cleanly, and the resume builder imports your Canva PDF into a one-column template (free account; downloads are Pro). The general rules are in the ATS-friendly resume guide.

Frequently asked questions

Are Canva resumes ATS-friendly?

Some are. Canva exports PDFs with real text unless you choose to flatten them, so a simple one-column Canva resume can parse fine. Many Canva resume templates, though, rely on columns, freely placed text boxes, icons and skill bars — the things parsers most often lose or scramble. Test the exported PDF before you apply.

How do I check if my Canva resume is ATS-friendly?

Download it as a PDF without ticking "Flatten PDF", then scan it with the free checker on this page or open it, select all, and paste into a plain-text editor. If your lines come out in order with nothing missing, the layout is fine. If they're scrambled or missing, switch to a one-column layout.

What does "Flatten PDF" do to a resume?

It merges the design into a single layer. Flattened PDFs can lose their selectable text, which leaves a parser nothing to read. For job applications, leave Flatten PDF unticked and confirm you can highlight individual words in the downloaded file.

Should I stop using Canva for my resume?

Not necessarily. Use a one-column Canva template with real text and no skill bars for online applications, or keep your designed version for networking and printing and send an ATS-friendly version through job portals.

Check yours, then fix it in one place

The scanner at the top is free and needs no account. When you are ready to edit, upload the same file to the builder: a free account keeps your resume and the full score breakdown; downloads, tailoring and cover letters are Pro.

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Published by OneTwo Resume, which makes the scanner on this page and an AI resume builder. Examples are illustrations, not captures of any specific employer's system; where we state a fact about ATS software or another company, it links to a source.