How to Strikethrough Text in Canva: Quick Formatting Trick

I spent years hunting for this feature in Canva. Turns out it’s hidden in plain sight, but the path isn’t obvious at first glance.

Here’s the thing—this isn’t buried under layers of menus. With one keyboard shortcut or a single click, you can add a clean line through any text block. Works on desktop, web, and even mobile if you know where to look.

You’ll get professional-looking edits for presentations, social posts, or quick mockups without leaving the platform. No workarounds, no third-party tools, just Canva’s built-in formatting power.

Takes under 10 seconds once you learn the trick. Between you and me, I use this daily for client revisions.

What Youll Need

Instructions

Here’s the quick method I use to add strikethrough formatting in Canva every time.

Log in to your Canva account and open the design where you want to apply the strikethrough effect. I always start with an existing project to avoid recreating elements, but you can begin with a blank canvas if needed. Ensure the text you want to modify is already added to the design.

Double-click the text box to select the text. If the text isn’t editable, it might be part of an image or locked element—check the layers panel to confirm.

With the text selected, look at the top toolbar for the text formatting options. You’ll see standard formatting tools like bold, italic, and underline, but strikethrough isn’t visible by default. This is where most users get stuck, assuming the feature doesn’t exist.

Click the Effects button (it looks like a sparkle icon) in the toolbar. This opens a dropdown menu with additional text effects, including strikethrough.

In the Effects dropdown, scroll down until you see the Strikethrough option. It’s usually near the bottom of the list. Click it once to toggle the effect on. The strikethrough line will appear instantly across your selected text.

If the strikethrough doesn’t appear, ensure you’ve selected the correct text box. Some elements, like shapes or images, won’t support this effect. For multi-line text, the strikethrough will apply to all lines within the text box.

After applying the effect, review your text to confirm the strikethrough looks clean and aligned. Canva automatically centers the line through the middle of the text, but you can adjust the font size or line spacing if the line appears uneven.

If you need to remove the strikethrough later, simply reselect the text, return to the Effects menu, and click Strikethrough again to toggle it off. This works the same way on both desktop and mobile versions of Canva.

Tips and Common Mistakes

Small details make the difference between frustration and a perfectly formatted design in seconds.

The Selection Trick: In Step 1, double-clicking the text box isn’t always enough. If your strikethrough isn’t appearing, click and drag to highlight the specific characters you want to modify—sometimes the entire text box isn’t properly selected, even if it looks like it is. This is especially true for multi-line text elements.

Effects Menu Navigation: For Step 2, don’t waste time searching the toolbar. The Effects button (sparkle icon) is always in the same location—third from the right in the text formatting section. If you’re on mobile, tap the three-dot menu to find it. I’ve seen users miss this because they expect it to be grouped with bold/italic.

Toggle, Don’t Redo: When removing strikethrough in Step 4, remember it’s a toggle. Many users delete and re-add text when they can simply click the Strikethrough option again to undo it. This works for both desktop and mobile versions, saving you from recreating complex text elements.

Alignment Check: After applying the effect, zoom in to 100% in Step 4. Sometimes the automatic centering looks off at certain font sizes. Adjust your line spacing (1.2-1.5 works best) rather than trying to manually reposition the strikethrough—Canva doesn’t allow that level of customization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Now you know how to strikethrough text in Canva like a pro! 🎯 Whether you’re editing designs or marking tasks as complete, this simple trick saves time and adds clarity. Try it out in your next project and see how it elevates your workflow. Happy designing!