Affinity designer
Affinity is a graphics design and photo editing and layout designing application. It was originally developed by a company called Serif Europe (based in the UK), later acquired by Canva.
Affinity designer
Earlier, it was a separate program called Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, Affinity Publisher. Later, all the features were combined and released as the Affinity app.
Affinity designer features and benefits
Below are some of the important features that are available in the app.
– Support for both vector and raster graphics. Such as drawing vector shapes, using raster brushes.
– Support for multiple layers, non-destructive editing facilities.
– Ability to export/import to various file formats. Such as SVG, PSD, PDF, etc.
– Advanced tools for designing user interfaces and workflows. Such as pan and zoom, real-time view, etc.
– Canva AI Studio integration in the new version, which provides AI-based tools such as background removal, generative fill.
Who is it for
Here are the types of people or tasks this app is good for:
– Graphic designers, illustrators who create vector/raster graphics.
– Photographers or image editors who also do pro-grade “photo editing”.
– People who design publishing or layouts – such as magazine layouts, book designs, social media templates.
– Those looking for an alternative to the big Adobe software, especially those who don’t want to go into a subscription model.
Pricing and licensing model
– In the previous version, these apps were on a one-time purchase basis.
– However, recently (October 2025) there has been a major change: the app is now launched on a “free forever” basis (although some AI features will remain under additional subscription).
– This means that there is no regular fee to use the core software, but some advanced features or AI-modules may be controlled by subscription.
Limitations and things to watch out for
-While the core functionality is very good, using AI-based features may require a separate subscription.
– Platform support is not the same everywhere. For example, some users have experienced that it is not fully available for Android.
– There are some complications or questions regarding licenses/updates or redownloads for previous users.
– Some users have experienced problems with the experience (e.g. crashes, performance issues) during new versions or model changes.
Summary
Affinity is a powerful design software platform that can be used for vector, image, and layout design. Previously, it was premium, but now it has a free version with most of the features. This is especially useful for those who work at a professional level or want to avoid Adobe’s subscription model. However, there are some things to keep in mind, such as the new model, subscription features, platform limitations, etc.