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Genogram Builder vs Canva

Genogram Builder vs Canva compares a dedicated family editor with a whiteboard you can use to draw a genogram. Canva is a design tool for documents, posters and presentations, and its whiteboards offer genogram templates with lines and shapes to arrange by hand. Genogram Builder draws only genograms, in the standard notation, and drafts them from written notes. This page sets the two side by side for someone who already designs in Canva and now needs a family chart.

Last checked on 5 November 20266 minute read

At a glance

Genogram BuilderCanva
PriceFree plan. Pro is $12 a month or $99 a year.Free plan. Pro is US$144 a year for one person.
Free limitsTwo genograms of up to 50 people each.5GB of cloud storage and up to 20 AI uses.
Genogram notationMcGoldrick, Gerson and Petry, with a key on every chart.Lines and shapes from the Elements tab, in a style you choose.
Drafting from notesFive drafts a month on the free plan, reviewed before they are added.Not stated for genograms.
ExportsPNG, PDF and JSON on Free, SVG on Pro.PNG, JPG or PDF from a whiteboard.
Templates34 example families. Most include case notes.Genogram and family tree whiteboard templates among 1.6 million.

Canva builds a genogram from lines and shapes on a whiteboard

Canva describes its genogram maker as part of Canva Whiteboards. You search for a genogram, choose one of its templates, and drag lines and shapes from the Elements tab to where they need to be. A three-generation chart is a matter of placing squares and circles, joining them and keeping the generations level by eye.

In Genogram Builder the same chart can be drawn with the Person and Connect tools, or written as a few sentences of notes. The assistant proposes a draft that lists every person and line with the sentence behind it, and each item is kept, edited or removed before it reaches the chart. The chart is arranged by generation as it grows.

Your notes

Ellie Hawkins, born 2009, is the client, a sixth form student with generalised anxiety disorder. Her brother Jack, born 2006, is an apprentice plumber and is close to Ellie. Her parents, Paul Hawkins, born 1971, and Helen Hawkins, born 1974, married in 2003 and are distant from each other.

Found in the notes

  • Ellie Hawkins, 2009
  • Jack Hawkins, 2006
  • Paul Hawkins, 1971
  • Helen Hawkins, 1974
  • Paul and Helen, married 2003
  • Jack and Ellie, close
  • Paul and Helen, distant

On the chart

771944–2021Walter HawkinsHeart diseaseRetired postman791947–Joan HawkinsDepressionRetired schoolsecretary801946–Raymond FletcherRetired electrician771949–Pauline FletcherRetired pharmacyassistant571969–Carol HawkinsDistrict nurse531973–Neil HawkinsCar mechanic541972–Dawn ReillyUnknown551971–Paul HawkinsAlcohol misuseTrain driver521974–Helen HawkinsPrimary schoolteacher202006–Jack HawkinsApprenticeplumber172009–Ellie HawkinsGeneralised anxiety disorderSixth form student
The example family on the home page, from the notes to the chart drawn beneath them. The full draft lists eleven people, four marriages, twelve parent lines and five emotional lines.

How to make a genogram on Canva with shapes and lines

To create a genogram on Canva, you place one shape for each person and join them with lines that stay attached. The notation and the key are yours to draw.

  1. Start a whiteboard

    Search Canva for a genogram template, or open a blank whiteboard.

  2. Add the first person

    Open Elements in the side panel, choose Shapes and add a square for a man or a circle for a woman. Press Ctrl+D on Windows or Cmd+D on a Mac to duplicate it.

  3. Name each person

    Double-click a shape and type the name and the year of birth inside it.

  4. Join each couple

    Press L to add a line and drag each end to the edge of a partner until it snaps. A connected line follows the shape when the shape moves.

  5. Hang the children

    Draw a line down from the couple to each child, and set its Line type to elbow so it turns at a right angle.

  6. Label the lines and add a key

    Double-click a line to type a label, such as the year of a marriage, and draw a key for each line style you use.

Drawing a genogram in Canva. Each step follows the Canva Help Center.

Canva describes emotional and medical genograms, and leaves the lines to you

The Canva genogram page explains that an emotional genogram shows whether a relationship is close, distant, conflicted or abusive, and that a medical genogram traces diseases in a family. These describe kinds of genogram rather than features, and the page names no emotional line styles or medical markers. On a Canva whiteboard a relationship is a line you style yourself and explain in a legend you draw.

681958–Ruth421984–Leah

Close

681958–Ruth421984–Leah

Distant

681958–Ruth421984–Leah

Hostile

681958–Ruth421984–Leah

Cutoff

681958–Ruth421984–Leah

Focused on

Five of the emotional lines that Genogram Builder draws, taken from its notation reference. Each is drawn by the editor itself.

Canva is priced for design work, and a genogram rides along

The Canva free plan is US$0 and, in the words of its pricing page, offers over 1.6 million templates, 5GB of cloud storage and up to 20 Standard or Premium AI uses. Canva Pro is US$144 a year for one person with 100GB of storage, and Canva Business is US$250 a year per person. Prices exclude tax, and the page showed yearly figures only.

A Canva genogram comes across as a picture and goes back as one

A Canva whiteboard downloads as a PNG, JPG or PDF file, as its family tree page states. None of these is a family file, so a genogram drawn in Canva does not open here as people and unions. Keep the image for the record and write the family down in a few sentences, which the assistant turns into a draft to check against the picture.

Feature by feature

Each row states what the two products offer in their own terms. Checked on 20 October 2026 on canva.com and on this site. The drawing steps were checked on 5 November 2026 on the Canva Help Center.

FeatureGenogram BuilderCanva
Where it runs and what it costs
Free useIncluded. One genogram without an account, and two genograms with a free account.Included. A free plan available to anyone, with 5GB of storage.
Paid plansIncluded. Pro at $12 a month or $99 a year, Max at $29 a month or $228 a year.Included. Pro at US$144 a year, Business at US$250 a year per person, tax excluded.
Drawing the family
Drafting from notesIncluded. Five drafts a month on the free plan, each reviewed before it is added.Not stated. AI uses are counted on each plan. Drafting a genogram from notes is not stated.
Standard notationIncluded. McGoldrick, Gerson and Petry, 59 symbols and connections, with a key on every chart.Not stated. Lines and symbols are chosen from the Elements tab. A standard notation is not stated.
Emotional relationship linesIncluded. Close, fused, distant, hostile, cut off and the rest of the standard set.Not stated. Described as a kind of genogram, not as a feature.
Files
ReadsIncluded. GEDCOM, GenoPro, Gramps, Mermaid and spreadsheets.Not stated. A family file format is not stated.
ExportsIncluded. PNG and PDF on the free plan, SVG on Pro and Max, JSON on every plan, including Free.Included. PNG, JPG or PDF from a whiteboard, as its family tree page states.
Watermark on free exportsIn part. A small watermark on Free, none on Pro and Max.Not stated. Not stated.
IncludedOn a paid planIn partNot includedNot stated

Sources: Canva pricing, the Canva genogram page, the Canva family tree page, the Canva whiteboard page, Canva help on shapes, Canva help on lines, Canva help on connecting lines, Canva help on duplicating, Genogram Builder plans.

Before you decide

Drawing a genogram on the Canva free plan

The free plan includes the whiteboard templates and the Elements tab, so a genogram can be drawn without paying. Whether a free download carries a watermark is not stated on the pages read. Genogram Builder draws one genogram with no account, and two of up to 50 people on a free account, with a small watermark on free exports.

Whether Canva has genogram symbols

Its genogram page points you to the Elements tab for lines and shapes in your preferred style. It does not state that a set of McGoldrick symbols exists, so the symbols and lines are assembled by hand. Genogram Builder draws the 59 symbols and connections of that notation and prints a key on every chart.

Putting a genogram in a Canva report

Export the chart here as a PNG and add it to the Canva document as an image. The chart keeps its key, and the report keeps the fonts and colours you designed in Canva.

Draw a genogram in the browser now, or describe a family and watch the draft arrive. No account is needed to begin.

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