The suite of graphics applications from Serif, Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher have long been viewed as the perfect alternative to Adobe’s subscription only suite of tools. However, last year Serif was purchased by Canva and many feared the era of reasonably priced but powerful tools was coming to an end. The fear grew even more when last month Affinity Products were no longer being sold replaced by an promise of an October 30th announcement. Well, today is October 30th and we now know the details of that announcement.
The TL;DR version is, Affinity products have all been merged into a single application and that application is available for Windows and Mac (iOS in development) completely free. Basically everything you can do in Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher today you can continue to do for free! There of course must be a catch… and there are, but they are very reasonable. First, you need to register an email address with Canva to download the product. Second, there is a new suite of integrated AI tools which require a Canva subscription to activate. Ignore the new AI features and you have basically the exact same products you did before, except merged into a single product and completely free.
The summary from the Canva blog post:
- The all-new Affinity is here. A fully reimagined professional design app that unites photo editing, vector design, and layout tools in one powerful platform.
- Designed for ultimate flexibility, creatives can personalize their workspace, mix and match tools, and share custom studios for a workflow that adapts to the way they work best.
- Affinity is now free for everyone. Professional-grade design software, available at no cost to all users.
- The launch introduces a bold new Affinity brand and visual identity, marking the next evolution in professional design and its new chapter as part of Canva.
Key Links
Introducing the All New Affinity Blog Post
They have clarified some key concerns I am sure people will have:
Is Affinity graphic design software really free?
Yes, Affinity really is free. You can use every tool in the Pixel, Vector, and Layout studios, plus all of the customization and export features, as much as you want, with no restrictions or payment needed. The app will also receive free updates with new features and improvements added.If you’re on a Canva premium plan (Pro, Business, Enterprise, Education), you’ll also be able to unlock Canva’s powerful AI tools within Affinity via the Canva AI Studio.
Canva have also verified that AI will NOT train of your work which is of course a concern with modern day software.
You can learn more about the Affinity suite of products and see the new Affinity Studio in action in the video below. I will spend some time with the brand new Affinity Studio and cover that in an upcoming video.