When I announced at Canva World Tour in October that the all-new, professional-grade Affinity would become completely free, the design world reacted with a mix of shock, curiosity and - among many - relief.
In an industry long dominated by expensive subscriptions, locked ecosystems and tools that feel increasingly distant from the needs of working designers, the idea of studio-grade software at zero cost feels almost radical.
Since then, more than three million people have downloaded Affinity in just a few weeks. And that proves this isn’t a gimmick. Instead, the move signals a deeper shift in what the creative community values: power, accessibility and ownership now come first.
As the CEO of Affinity, I’ve seen just how much designers value tools that support their craft rather than complicate it, and how deeply the community has longed for genuine creative freedom.
Now, Canva and Affinity’s shared mission is clear for everyone to see. Creativity shouldn’t be gated. Tools should empower, not extract. And workflows should respect the craft of the people who use them.
A new chapter in professional design
There’s no catch, no hidden data play, and no background AI training pipeline.
Ash Hewson, Affinity CEO
Affinity’s relaunch marks our most ambitious evolution yet. The new app brings vector design, photo editing and layout together in a single high-performance workspace - no app-hopping, no slowdown, no missing features. There’s no catch, no hidden data play, and no background AI training pipeline.
Built alongside creators and guided by Canva’s Designer Advisory Board, it doubles down on what professionals say matters most: performance, reliability and creative freedom. The result is a unified environment where every type of design work happens seamlessly in one place.
Flexibility sits at the heart of the new platform. Creatives can personalize their workspace in ways that reflect how they actually work: mixing and matching tools from the vector, pixel and layout studios; rearranging panels; building multiple saved setups for different projects; and even sharing custom studios across teams.
The tools themselves are engineered for precision and speed. Vector curves, grids, shapes and paths update in real time, even in heavy files. Photo workflows remain non-destructive, GPU-accelerated and endlessly adaptable - from RAW development to retouching and compositing.
Layout tools bring structure without restricting creativity, with smart Master Pages, shared styles and advanced typography that keeps complex documents consistent. It’s a design environment shaped directly by its users - fast, fluid and precise down to the last pixel. And now, it’s available to everyone at no cost.
That decision wasn’t just strategic; it was philosophical. Every designer deserves tools that respect their craft and give them complete ownership of their work. Making Affinity free is an extension of that belief - a vote of confidence in designers themselves.
Whether you’re developing a brand identity or building a multi-page publication, Affinity keeps you in flow - deeply capable, never overbearing.
Free forever - and built for artists first
A designer’s value shouldn’t be determined by what they can afford.
Ash Hewson, Affinity CEO
The all-new Affinity isn’t just cheaper. It really is free. There’s no pared-down version. No upsell. No usage limits. No ‘AI-first’ caveat hiding in the terms and conditions.
Instead, it’s all about putting artists first - a commitment to putting creative control, ownership and respect for craft ahead of business models and industry trends, represented by our .af file extension.
We know it’s a bold move in a market where professional tools have long equated subscription fees with legitimacy. But alongside Canva, we argue that true creative freedom starts with access. A designer’s value shouldn’t be determined by what they can afford.
This is design software as a public good - not a locked service. While Affinity remains a precision tool built for designers who obsess over detail, its partnership with Canva unlocked new possibilities for us.
Some will say this move is disruptive. Others will call it idealistic. But making professional design software more accessible has always been the philosophy of both Affinity and Canva, and this is simply a step toward the future we want to build - a future where every creator has the tools to make their best work, and where the industry raises its expectations for what ‘professional software’ should look like.
Affinity remains exactly what it has always been: a powerful, precise, professional-grade design suite crafted for people who care about design. Now, supported by Canva’s resources and technology, it can evolve faster, go further and reach more people than ever before.
The all-new Affinity is available for Mac and Windows, with the iPad version coming next year. Existing Affinity users can transition seamlessly, and new users can download the software free by creating a (free) Canva account here.
➡️ Read our full guide to the best photo editors
1. Best overall:
Adobe Photoshop
2. Best Adobe alternative:
Affinity
3. Best Photoshop & Lightroom alternative:
CyberLink PhotoDirector 365
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