All-new Affinity: Pro design, now free for everyone
Key takeaways
- The all-new Affinity combines professional photo, vector, and layout tools in one seamless, lightning-fast, and completely free platform.
- Built from the ground up, it offers unmatched precision, performance, and customization tailored for professional designers.
- Customizable studios let designers create personalized workspaces that fit their exact workflows and preferences.
- Integration with Canva’s AI tools—like Generative Fill and Background Removal—brings powerful automation while maintaining full creative control.
- With its cross-compatibility and familiar interface, Affinity ushers in a new era of pro design freedom without subscriptions or limitations.
The all-new affinity is here! An entirely new professional design app that lets you edit photos, vector design, and use layout tools all in a single platform. It’s fully featured, lightning fast, and entirely free.
Introducing the new Affinity: Why is it a big deal?
For too long, designers have had limited options in the tools they use, from bloated software that is way too slow to subscriptions that stack up and workflows that are just not seamless, interrupting their work. Over the years, the creative community has called out their frustrations: for the need for a more speedy, powerful, and flexible app. Designers have longed for a tool that has it all, and Canva has built something better.
The all-new Affinity app brings professional vector
For over a decade, Affinity has been the go-to choice for professionals who deeply care about their work and value precision, speed, and control within the tools they use.
The all-new Affinity was built with its community of creators in mind and shaped by their conversations and shared ideas. It’s a release that reflects what professionals want the most: reliability, performance, and the freedom to create. From the biggest design systems to the tiniest details, every feature is built with the designer in mind.
World-class editing tools
The all-new Affinity app offers professional photo, vector, and layout tools in one powerful platform that features everything you need for your design needs without breaking the flow or switching to other apps.
If you think in lines, curves, and grids, Affinity’s vector tools strike the perfect balance between precision and speed. Here’s what stands out:
- Real-time performance: Work on massive, multi-layered files with no lag, even when applying complex effects or adjustments.
- Precise vector and pixel editing: Switch seamlessly between vector and raster workflows without losing quality.
- Advanced text handling: Gain full control over typography, spacing, and alignment for perfect layouts.
- Smart selection tools: Intuitively isolate and edit elements with AI-assisted accuracy.
- Unlimited artboards and non-destructive editing: Experiment freely while keeping your original work intact.
Every tool is designed to feel responsive, minimal, and intuitive, removing the clutter found in traditional software. Whether you’re refining an illustration or preparing a print-ready magazine, Affinity offers the flexibility to handle it all smoothly.
Game-changing layout tools
Affinity’s layout tools allow structure and creativity to blend with ease. From creating mini brochures to multi-page ebooks or reports, designers can edit images, graphics, and text directly in their document while seeing every change updated in real time.
Whether you’re building a brand identity, building a portrait, or designing a report, the all-new Affinity maintains your workflow thanks to its balance of power, precision, and speed.
Fully customizable studios
We know how every designer has different work habits and preferences, and Affinity does too. The updated app offers outstanding new personalization features with entirely customizable studios.
Designers can customize their tools by switching between Vector, Pixel, and Layout modes to create a workspace that perfectly fits their workflow. They can rearrange panels, select the tools they need, and remove those they don’t. Additionally, they can share and download custom studios, opening new opportunities for creative communities to exchange workflows and learn from each other.
The tools adapt to every designer and the way you work best. Affinity is built on a high-performance engine that updates in real time from instant previews and allows edits at 10,000,000% zoom (yes, that’s in millions) for projects with thousands of layers.
However, even though the all-new Affinity has been reworked from the ground up, it will feel instantly familiar to its regular users.
Affinity and Canva: for the members
Affinity has been building a platform that cares about passionate designers. These include professionals who notice every detail and stay up late perfecting the final pixel, as well as those who take pride in their work. That hasn’t changed, and they’ve launched the all-new platform with something special for the Canva community.
If you have a Canva Premium account, the AI tools are included in the new Canva AI studio inside Affinity. This includes all your favorite features, like Generative Fill, Expand and Edit, and Remove Background, which are the features that speed up your everyday work while still maintaining complete control over every detail.
Everything professional designers look for in Affinity as a precision tool remains at its core: including speed, control, and depth. Now, the same qualities are elevated by Canva’s latest tech, providing new ways to work more efficiently, experiment without limits, and know that your tools will always be compatible. Whether you want to extend a part of an image or refine a complex composite, the features work seamlessly in the background to support the process without interrupting the workflow.
Potential Impact of Affinity on Adobe
The transition to a free or one-time purchase model has marked a major shift for designers and freelancers. Below are the key areas where Affinity may impact Adobe’s dominance in the design sector:
Pressure on pricing and subscription
“Affinity just killed Adobe” are some of the words buzzing in the community, as Affinity offers pro-level tools without recurring costs (or at a much lower starting plan). Adobe’s subscription model may be under pressure as designers look for more affordable solutions.
Professional toolset diversification
Recently, users are more comfortable transitioning workflows as long as they provide convenience and a better work experience. If Affinity continues to close feature gaps, it will broaden the competitive field in design and challenge Adobe’s status as the “industry standard.”
Pushing innovation and feature evolution
Adobe has led in areas like cloud collaboration, generative AI (like Firefly), and integrated multi-app ecosystems. Affinity’s next step in the free/pro space may encourage Adobe to further innovate, such as through pricing transparency, or provide more flexible licensing to retain market share.
A new chapter for Affinity: Created by creatives, made for you (A section for Canva video about Affinity)
This marks the new chapter in professional design. Some in the community may still be curious about what this means for Affinity’s identity, and rest assured, it remains exactly what it’s always been: a professional design platform for designers who care deeply about their work, now enhanced by Canva’s support that takes it beyond the standards.
Download the all-new Affinity today for Mac, Windows, and iPad, coming down the line soon. You can activate affinity with your existing Canva account, and new users can create a free Canva account and directly download it.
If you have existing work, you can bring it with you seamlessly as Affinity supports PSD, PDF, AI, SVG, IDML, TIFF, and more. This makes it easy to open, edit, and collaborate without having to start from scratch.
Today marks the beginning. The all-new Affinity’s professional tools will continue to build a future where everyone can bring out their top-tier designs without barriers.
FAQs on the all-new Affinity
Still have questions about the all-new Canva app? We’ve rounded up the best answers to them below:
Do I need to download new software to use Affinity if I already have Canva?
Yes. Affinity and Canva are currently two separate platforms. Canva runs in your web browser, while Affinity apps (Designer, Photo, and Publisher) need to be downloaded and installed on your computer or iPad. If you’re used to working only online with Canva, Affinity will feel a bit different because it’s designed for desktop-based, professional editing and doesn’t require an internet connection to work.
Can I edit my Canva designs in Affinity apps?
Not yet. Canva and Affinity use different file formats, so you can’t open a Canva project directly in Affinity. However, you can export your Canva design as a PDF, SVG, or PNG and then open it in Affinity Designer or Photo for more advanced editing. Canva has mentioned that deeper integration between the two systems could be possible in the future, so this workflow might become smoother later on.
Is Affinity easier or harder to learn than Canva?
Affinity is more advanced than Canva. It’s designed for designers who want full creative control, like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign. While it may seem more technical at first, Affinity offers plenty of flexibility once you get familiar with it. The good news is that Canva plans to make learning resources and tutorials easier to access for both beginners and pros looking to explore Affinity tools.
Do I need a subscription to use Affinity now that Canva owns it?
No. Affinity still offers one-time purchases for each of its apps. That means you pay once and own the software forever, which is one of its most attractive features for designers who don’t want ongoing subscriptions. Canva might add optional cloud or collaboration features in the future, but using the Affinity suite itself doesn’t require a Canva Pro subscription.
What kind of design projects should I use Affinity for instead of Canva?
Canva is great for quick visuals like social posts, presentations, and marketing materials, while Affinity shines for high-detail design work. Use Affinity Designer for complex illustrations and logos, Affinity Photo for professional image editing, and Affinity Publisher for print materials like magazines and brochures. You might start a layout in Canva for speed and branding consistency, then move it to Affinity if you need more precision and control.
Can Affinity Designer open .ai files?
Yes, Affinity Designer can open Adobe Illustrator (.ai) files, but with some limitations. It can open most AI files saved with PDF compatibility enabled in Illustrator. This allows you to view, edit, and export vector elements, but some advanced Illustrator-specific features (like specific effects, brushes, or live text styles) might not transfer perfectly. If you frequently switch between Adobe and Affinity, it’s recommended that you save your Illustrator files with PDF compatibility enabled for the best experience.
Can Affinity Designer open .psd files?
Absolutely. Affinity Designer (as well as Affinity Photo and Publisher) natively supports Adobe Photoshop (.PSD) files. You can open and edit layers, masks, adjustment layers, and blending modes seamlessly. This makes it easy to collaborate with Photoshop users or reuse past projects. In many cases, Affinity preserves the file structure almost perfectly, making the transition seamless for designers who frequently work across both ecosystems.
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Over 10 years of experience in SaaS UX design, built 150 projects, owns two SaaS businesses in the iGaming space, and is passionate about tennis & books.
