Affinity Designer is a design tools tool for Freelancers and Agencies, offered as free. Founded in United Kingdom in 2014.
About Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer is a professional vector and raster design application originally built by Serif, a UK software company that Canva acquired in 2024. It is used for illustration, logos and brand identity, icons, UI mockups and print layouts, and has long been the most credible alternative to Adobe Illustrator for designers who refuse to pay a monthly subscription. The new unified Affinity app runs natively on macOS and Windows, with an iPad version announced to follow; the earlier Affinity Designer 2 also has a full iPad edition.
The core strength is the persona system: a Designer persona for precise vector work (pen, node, boolean and shape tools, symbols, artboards, constraints) and a Pixel persona for raster retouching and texture inside the same document. Performance is fast even with complex files, and it imports and exports PSD, PDF, SVG and EPS, with partial support for AI files. In late 2025 Canva merged Designer, Photo and Publisher into a single Affinity app and made it free to download, while generative AI features are tied to a Canva Pro subscription.
Affinity fits freelance designers, illustrators, small studios and students who want professional output without Adobe Creative Cloud costs. It is weaker for real-time collaboration and shared design systems, where Figma is the standard, and agencies whose clients send native Illustrator files may still hit compatibility issues. Compared with Illustrator it has a smaller plugin and tutorial ecosystem; compared with Inkscape, which is also free, it is faster and more polished, especially for print work.
Key features of Affinity Designer
- Vector and raster workflows in one app
- Artboards and symbols
- Precise typography and print tools
- iPad version
- PSD, AI, PDF compatibility
- Unified with Photo and Publisher
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free (2025)
- Professional quality
- Fast performance
- No subscription lock-in
Cons
- Less collaboration than Figma
- Smaller plugin ecosystem
- Some Adobe file incompatibilities
- AI features tied to Canva
Affinity Designer pricing
Affinity Designer uses a free model.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Affinity | $0 | Free for individuals; org SSO via sales |
Source: www.affinity.studio · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How Affinity Designer compares in Design tools
- Rank by votes
- #2 / 21
- Starting price
- $0
- Free alternatives
- 3
0 votes from members
Category median is $12/mo
Free or open-source tools in Design tools
Affinity Designer ranks #2 of 21 design tools tools by community votes and is not directly comparable on price.
Common use cases
- 1Logo and brand identity design
- 2Illustration and icons
- 3Print materials
- 4Replacing Illustrator
Best for
Designers wanting a professional Illustrator alternative.
Not ideal for
Collaborative UI design (Figma).
Integrations
- Affinity Photo
- Affinity Publisher
- Canva (owner)
- PSD/AI/PDF import and export
Our take
Affinity is the best free professional design suite after Canva's move.
FAQ
- What is Affinity Designer?
- Affinity Designer is a Design tools tool: Professional vector design app, free since Canva.
- How much does Affinity Designer cost?
- Affinity Designer is Free; there is no mandatory paid plan.
- What does Affinity Designer integrate with?
- Affinity Designer integrates with Affinity Photo, Affinity Publisher, Canva (owner), PSD/AI/PDF import and export and more.
- Which platforms does Affinity Designer support?
- Affinity Designer is available on macos, windows, ios.
- Who is Affinity Designer for?
- Designers wanting a professional Illustrator alternative.
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