The Future of Affinity Under Canva: A Free, All-in-One Creative Suite Emerges The trajectory of Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher, the popular subscription-free alternatives to Adobe’s Creative Cloud, became a topic of intense speculation following their developer Serif’s acquisition by the design platform giant Canva in 2024. Over a year later, the vision is clear, and the changes are substantial. Canva has relaunched the software not with a dreaded subscription model, but by making it entirely free, albeit with a freemium twist. The newly rebranded Affinity by Canva represents a fundamental shift in structure. Instead of three separate applications for illustration, photo editing, and desktop publishing, Canva has merged them into a single, unified software. This new all-in-one app combines the tools from Designer, Photo, and Publisher, allowing users to toggle between dedicated Vector, Pixel, and Layout workspaces within one interface. Available now as a desktop application for both macOS and Windows, with an iPadOS version promised for the future, the core functionality of the original Affinity apps appears largely intact. The key innovation is the fluid integration of their capabilities. Users are no longer forced to switch between different programs; they can seamlessly move from vector illustration to photo retouching to page layout without leaving the app. Canva also emphasizes the ability to mix tools from different personas and create custom toolbars tailored to specific workflows. While the foundational tools remain familiar, Canva’s influence is evident. The app now requires a free Canva account to use, integrating it into the larger Canva ecosystem. A new feature allows users to send projects directly from Affinity to their Canva account for further work or sharing. The most significant addition is the incorporation of AI-powered features from Canva’s AI Studio. Users gain access to tools like automatic background removal and Generative Fill for intelligent photo editing. For longtime Affinity users who valued the one-time purchase model, these changes may feel like a double-edged sword. The promise of a free, powerful, and integrated creative suite is compelling. However, a free app that requires an account and introduces premium, subscription-based AI features represents a different philosophy from the buy-once-own-forever approach that originally defined Affinity. Canva has assured users that they can continue using their existing purchased copies of the old Affinity V2 software, providing a path for those resistant to change. The acquisition of Affinity was part of a larger trend in 2024 that saw major Adobe competitors being absorbed by tech giants. Later that same year, Apple acquired Pixelmator, the developer behind a suite of well-regarded photo and image editing apps for its platforms. While Pixelmator’s apps continue to be available, it remains unclear if Apple will eventually shift them to a subscription model, leaving users of both Affinity and Pixelmator to watch the evolution of their preferred software under new corporate ownership.
