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[PC, Mac, iPadOS] Free with Canva Account - Affinity (Pixel, Vector & Layout Studios) @ Affinity by Canva

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[PC, Mac, iPadOS] Free with Canva Account - Affinity (Pixel, Vector & Layout Studios) @ Affinity by Canva
Go to Deal
Hiphopopotamus on 31/10/2025 - 04:48 affinity.studio (3128 clicks)
Last edited 31/10/2025 - 16:18 by 1 other user

Affinity is now free, the paid/subscription based apps have been combined into one free app.

An iPad version is coming soon.

Is Affinity Really Free?

Yes, Affinity really is free. That doesn’t mean you’re getting a watered-down version of the app though. 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.

Computing iPadOS App Mac App Serif Europe Software Vector Graphics Editor Windows App

Related Stores

Affinity by Canva
Affinity by Canva

Comments

Search through all the comments in this post.
  • SkyeMG on 31/10/2025 - 05:09

    So how does this compare to the old Affinity Photo + other suite?

    Is this possible to run offline still? How much data to they get from us?

    • Hiphopopotamus on 31/10/2025 - 05:14

      The same with some new features.

      You will need to be online to download and activate your license with your free Canva account. From then on, there is no requirement to be online, even with extended offline periods.

      • SkyeMG on 31/10/2025 - 05:29

        that's good

    • kungfuman on 31/10/2025 - 08:52

      so the mac version is also free?

      • boxall on 31/10/2025 - 15:54

        Yes

    • digitalaxon on 31/10/2025 - 08:58
      +6

      Old version runs, new version crashes on start up (at least for me)

      It seems that the AI features from V2 have been removed and are now only available with a Canva subscription. (Not sure of price, as Canva won't show anything unless you log in.)

      You need to be connected initially to activate (not unlike V2).

      I think it's great for students and casual users, but I'm concerned that new features that align Affinity more with Adobe (excluding cloud services) will require a subscription, while V2 features will become free.

      Feels a bit like two steps forward, one step back.

      • gviddy on 31/10/2025 - 10:11
        +1

        Crashes for me to. Great introduction to Affinity by Canva.

      • bluemyself on 31/10/2025 - 13:10

        What AI features were in V2 that are removed in studio? I thought it was just object selection (and inpainting?) but that looks to be in Studio.

      • boxall on 31/10/2025 - 15:55
        +2

        I had to uninstall the EXE version and then go with the MSIX version, and all is good now.

        • daydreams on 31/10/2025 - 20:58

          It works! Thank you so much.

      • daydreams on 31/10/2025 - 20:54

        It crashes on start up.

    • bluemyself on 31/10/2025 - 13:14

      I've only played around it for a bit, but something good with Studio is that switching between the "personas" (terminology from V1/V2) is a lot quicker which is nice.

  • slipperypete on 31/10/2025 - 06:40
    +4

    I'm trying to be annoyed about this because I paid for the apps a while ago, but I guess as long as I can still use the same features such as stacking astro pics, then c’est la vie.

    • AustriaBargain on 31/10/2025 - 07:37
      +5

      I wish they would give you the AI features if you had paid for it already. I guess anyone who really needs the AI features for work probably already has them with Adobe CC.

    • slipperypete on 31/10/2025 - 07:52
      +1

      Ok, so far not good. I have a couple of costly astro plug ins that work across photoshop and affinity. I bought affinity to use these to get away from photoshop. They don't work!

      It may require an update, but if not then this is shit!!

      • ShiKu on 31/10/2025 - 10:14
        +2

        I think that speaks more about the developers of the plugins rather than Affinity itself

        • slipperypete on 31/10/2025 - 10:33

          I think you may be right. It still has the same "allow photoshop plug-ins" tab in the settings, so I am hoping it's just that it's a rebuild and will be sorted. It is doing the same with Topaz as well. In the meantime, I still have to original Affinity.

    • KARMAAA on 31/10/2025 - 08:12
      +1

      It would have been nice if they gave old customers a month or two of Canva's top plan as a thank you, that literally costs them nothing, but regardless, I'm just happy someone's willing to take on Adobe other than FOSS stuff.

      • tin tin on 31/10/2025 - 08:58
        +3

        There might be something like that:

        P.S. Keep an eye on your inbox in the coming weeks — there’s a special thank you gift on the way for existing Affinity users.

    • kaleidoscope on 31/10/2025 - 09:53
      +1

      I'm trying to be annoyed about this because I paid for the apps a while ago

      You bought it because you saw a value in it. Be happy 😵‍💫

  • dr-collossus on 31/10/2025 - 06:43
    +1

    WOW. I guess like everyone else I've been waiting to see what they were going to do with this. ngl this wasn't on my radar. Interesting to see how long they keep this up, I really don't see this actually funnelling any new customers into Canva Premium.

    • camshandez on 31/10/2025 - 08:32

      Just installed and this is a copy paste from the Settings tab for Machine Learning tools, I've just added free or sub where there is icons.

      Machine Learning | Inference: CPU
      Download optional machine learning models to add extra capabilities to Affinity Photo. The size of each
      model is shown, as are buttons to install or uninstall a particular model. All machine learning operations in
      Affinity Photo are performed "on-device" - so no data leaves your device at any time.

      Segmentation 290 MB (FREE)
      The segmentation model allows the creation of precise, detailed pixel selections from
      pixel layers or placed images. Use the "Object Selection Tool" to make your selections.

      Depth Estimation 99 MB (Canva Subscription)
      Depth estimation can build a depth map from pixel layers or placed images. The depth
      map enables the "Pixel > Filters > Blur > Portrait Blur" filter and the "Pixel > Pixel
      Selection > Select Sampled Depth" command.

      Colorization 215 MB (Canva Subscription)
      Colorization is used to restore realistic colors from a black and white pixel layer. Use the
      "Pixel > Filters > Colors > Colorize" filter to restore black and white photographs.

      Super-resolution 5 MB (Canva Subscription)
      Super Resolution allows pixel layers to be scaled up in size without loss of quality. Use
      the "Pixel > Filters > Sharpen > Super Resolve" command.

      However, the generative AI tools are cloud based behind a subscription, and their website Canva AI and Affinity Machine Learning (ML) says the following:

      …you will need to be online to use many of the AI tools including:
      Generative Fill
      Generative Expand
      Generative Edit
      Generate Image/Vector
      Remove Background
      Subject Selection

      Seems to be a great FREE tier vs Premium paid sub to unlock AI tools split.
      Also great to see Pixel and Vector in the same application on the same project file, that's incredibly useful!

      I'm hopeful the free base functionality will remain with future updates, and presume Canva are hoping the AI powered tools will constantly tempt users, seeing the buttons there that they can't use unless they subscribe.

      • anonym on 31/10/2025 - 08:35
        +2

        Unfortunately, the easiest way to push users into paying for AI features like generative fill is to make existing fill features worse…

        I can already think of so many insidious ways they can make the base (i.e. free) version worse just to push people into subscribing. This is a sad day for all Affinity users…

        • camshandez on 31/10/2025 - 09:49
          +1

          Hi Clippy, totally get your stand point as Clippy only wanted to help, and many companies would want to make your generative fill worse to encourage subscription.

          But, from my initial tests this morning with object selection and Inpainting Brush tool, the results are the same between Affinity Photo 2 and Affinity by Canva.
          The machine learning segmentation model is also 290MB in Affinity Photo 2.
          Worth noting though that the Saliency model 72MB from Affinity Photo 2 is missing in Affinity by Canva:

          Saliency
          Saliency allows Photo to understand what is visually important in a pixel layer or placed
          image. Installed alongside the Segmentation model, it enables the single-click menu item
          "Select Subject".

          don't think this is a big loss though as is was pretty much a "one click" object selection that often required me to manually use Segmentation based object selection to refine anyway.

          • dekekun on 31/10/2025 - 10:50
            +2

            @camshandez: I am not a previous Affinity user, just spun this up to give it a go because "free!".

            The inpainting tool succcccckkkkks. Like this is 2015 era ai object removal tool. Google Photos free tier does a better job.

            Can't compare it to their paid AI tier because I'm not invested enough to pay.

        • LilSlip on 31/10/2025 - 10:20
          +2

          Completely valid concern, but I don't think we should panic just yet.
          In one of their four pledges to the community, Affinity promised to 'always offer perpetual licenses' , meaning that subscriptions should always be optional.

          Are these empty words by a company looking to not alienate their customer base? Perhaps. Time will tell. For now, I'm cautiously optimistic but ready to switch to an open source alternative should things go south.

      • camshandez on 31/10/2025 - 11:40
        +1

        Can't edit original comment as there's been replies.

        After reflection I've realised that the new Machine Learning models, that are "on-device" processing, go against Affinity's initial standpoint on subscriptions.

        Sure cloud based ones make sense, servers chewing electricity, got to cover the "on going" costs.
        But the models that are run locally, they would have been included in Affinity Photo v3 if there ever was one, with development costs covered by purchase of a life-time license.

        In general though, it's good to have a free option out there for people to use.
        But now fully realising "on-device" features are subscription locked, it kinda feels like Affinity Photo v3 has released as a subscription.

        • anonym on 31/10/2025 - 12:30
          +1

          it kinda feels like Affinity Photo v3 has released as a subscription.

          I've been worrying about this ever since they started dropping hints. The only real potential competitor to Photoshop and the one of the few remaining guards of the perpetual licensing model has fallen…

  • guidedlight on 31/10/2025 - 06:52
    +11

    So long Adobe, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

  • anonym on 31/10/2025 - 07:00
    +4

    Hmm, I don't get it. "Free" doesn't seem sustainable in the long term?

    And as the age-old internet adage goes… If you get to use something for free… You're the product!

    So what's the catch here? Are they using our work to train AI models or what? This is just too suspicious a move to not expect there to be any ulterior motives.

    • agravier on 31/10/2025 - 07:03
      +1

      It's Canva… They make money on premium subscriptions. I suppose they will use this to sell that

      • anonym on 31/10/2025 - 07:07
        +2

        As mentioned by an earlier comment from @dr-collossus…

        Interesting to see how long they keep this up, I really don't see this actually funnelling any new customers into Canva Premium.

        I don't see how this move is going to pan out well for Canva either. If anything it might actually take people away from paying for premium features, or divert revenue from Canva products into cheaper third party marketplaces where Canva has much less control over.

        I'm going to be really annoyed when the product I bought and paid for starts pushing premium subscription features very aggressively…

        • deadpoet on 31/10/2025 - 14:44
          +1

          It's about short-term growth. It's the enshittification of everything. In the long run this (big tech companies gobbling up smaller ones) is bad for everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if they discontinue the Affinity products in the next few years.

      • CheapandUsed on 31/10/2025 - 07:18
        +4

        I think this might be a market share grab, trying to pull business users out of using Adobe tools plus Canva and into the Affinity tools plus Canva.

        I'm sure we will all be disappointed in the future when the free tier starts losing new features to a new premium tier.. But it's good for now.

        • anonym on 31/10/2025 - 07:42
          +2

          trying to pull business users out of using Adobe tools plus Canva and into the Affinity tools plus Canva

          Still makes no sense to me. Businesses who wishes to not use Adobe can easily purchase Affinity products once and write it off as a business expense. Businesses who can not part themselves from Adobe will simply remain stuck in their subscription ecosystem.

          Making Affinity available for free slightly lowers the barrier for entry, but doesn't really seem to offer much of an incentive for businesses to try and make a push to switch.

          To truly incentivise business stuck inside Adobe's ecosystem to leave, Canva needs to further develop the Affinity suite into a true competitor for the entire suite of Adobe products, and they need money for something like this to happen. "Free" doesn't do them any good here.

        • dr-collossus on 31/10/2025 - 08:04

          This is almost certainly it actually.

        • anonym on 31/10/2025 - 08:08

          I'm sure we will all be disappointed in the future when the free tier starts losing new features to a new premium tier.. But it's good for now.

          It signifies the end of any new developments being added to the Affinity suite through a pay-once-use-forever model though.

          All new features in the future will now be locked behind a subscription paywall.

          That's pretty sad to me…

          • anonym on 31/10/2025 - 08:31
            +2

            @anonym: Huh, I realized I just answered my own question.

            Canva plans to turn the Affinity suite into a subscription product, but is trying to distract us from the fact by offering all existing Affinity features for free.

            The buy-once-use-forever design software is officially dead, i.e. no longer being actively developed or improved.

            All new features will now be tacked on as premium subscription features.

            And the enshittification continues…

    • AustriaBargain on 31/10/2025 - 07:39
      +3

      Canva is worth 100 billion dollars. They only paid 0.58 billion of Affinity. And existing versions of Affinity may be free, but any cool features added like AI are going to be behind a subscription.

      • anonym on 31/10/2025 - 07:53
        +2

        So… A marketing move that is mutually beneficial for their users to promote Canva's premium subscription features?

        I hope that's as deep as the rabbit hole goes, but I've been on the Internet for far too long to trust large corporations like Canva to do anything off the goodness of their heart 😅

        • AustriaBargain on 31/10/2025 - 07:57
          +2

          I think so. Buying Affinity instantly gave Canva some much needed serious design cred, giving it away for free for their basic functions might help leech some designers that use Adobe or some clients that need designers that use Adobe. I'd expect Adobe to retaliate by making basic version of Photoshop and Illustrator free on iOS.

          • anonym on 31/10/2025 - 08:01

            @AustriaBargain:

            Buying Affinity instantly gave Canva some much needed serious design cred

            True, I've never viewed Canva as a serious tool for designers until now, but adding the Affinity suite into their lineup changes this somewhat.

      • slipperypete on 31/10/2025 - 07:53

        yea, its not much more to simply get photoshop if you want ai features

      • Zythyx on 31/10/2025 - 11:49

        Trying to find your claim of Canva being worth 100 billion. The most recent valuation that I could find is $42-49 billion, half what you're saying.

        • AustriaBargain on 31/10/2025 - 17:52
          +1

          I found 65 billion USD valuation, which is 100 billion AUD

          • Gmag on 31/10/2025 - 21:26

            @AustriaBargain: 42B USD is about 65B AUD. So I think the 65 you saw was the AUD value

            • AustriaBargain on 31/10/2025 - 23:23

              @Gmag: Google AI might be smart enough to give it to me in AUD actually. In any case it's a lot of billions. And a core suite of good design apps is exactly what Canva was missing to compete with Adobe. Vector art, raster art, and layout. The big three Adobe apps are more or less replicated by Affinity.

    • KARMAAA on 31/10/2025 - 08:10

      mm, I don't get it. "Free" doesn't seem sustainable in the long term?

      And as the age-old internet adage goes… If you get to use something for free… You're the product!

      Maybe they track usage and whatever. But to be honest I think they're just trying to get people to use Canva and buy a subscription to it and become a competitor to Adobe. I think their hope is, you download Affinity, you use it and then you'll buy Canva subscription and use Canva for templates and Affinity to edit everything, rather than use Adobe's stuff.

      • AustriaBargain on 31/10/2025 - 17:54
        +1

        Adobe is worth 217 billion, if Canva can take half their customers one day they will be sitting pretty. Canva Pro isn’t exactly cheap.

    • brich1980 on 03/11/2025 - 00:36

      That's easy…because after a while, maybe a year from now, Canva could release Affinity "Pro" or "Expert" version of adding more features while the original version would be kept at same level of functionality.

  • corvusman on 31/10/2025 - 08:24
    +8

    If you struggle to understand the business logic here - look at Figma.

    Great product offered for free, got huge user base, started selling business features, started slowly squeezing free features out, pushing users and organisations to pay more and more.

  • glenn955 on 31/10/2025 - 08:31
    +2

    Didn't realise that they are an Australian organisation.

  • ironworthy on 31/10/2025 - 08:44

    Can you sign up with the affinity account which we made from getting the free version a few weeks ago or do we need a canva account. Pretty dumb if you do

  • auditek on 31/10/2025 - 08:45
    +1

    Pretty sure anyone with an .edu.au email can get free canva pro access, at the very least every school student. Well done Canva for the free access.

    • Ironic fear on 31/10/2025 - 14:26

      Will have to look into this, pretty sure I still have a uni of TAS student email but haven't needed it for anything recently.

      Also for anyone who doesn't have one, they have a bunch of free undergrad courses so you can learn and get a .edu email address.

      • keeperofthegood on 03/11/2025 - 14:23

        Can you link me to more info on these free courses?

  • artcvan on 31/10/2025 - 08:47

    Still annoyed that V2 went off sale… also wondering what this means for people who use (and want to continue to use) V2 on Desktop devices and use Canva for non-profits/Education for their license, mainly since transfering to V3 / Studio doesn't do much since the new version is free anyway. Glad at least the iPadOS versions were free tho.

    Not exactly trusting of it being completely free either, essentially depending on AI features from users who might use Canva Premium is an interesting model. So long as the new app can be used 100% offline and isn't just a PWA like Canva is… I'll be okay with it for now. Might see if I can just stick to V2 though, especially since we can't open V3 / Studio files in V2.

  • elgrande on 31/10/2025 - 08:47

    How does this compare to Gimp?

    • alcadive on 31/10/2025 - 11:04
      +6

      “Bring out the affinity” doesn’t have the same ring to it.

  • mskeggs on 31/10/2025 - 10:07
    +1

    There is a long tradition of companies giving away stuff to bleed out competitors.
    Computer hardware makers gave away operating systems to reduce that barrier to selling hardware. GPU makers gave away games so you had something to show off the hardware straight away.
    AI is giving away use in the hope you will come to depend on it.

    It makes a lot of sense for Canva, who makes all their money selling nice assets but competes against Adobe, who make almost all their money from software and a little bit from assets. If Canva can sell more assets/subscriptions because they capture all the users who can’t justify an Adobe subscription, they get that money Adobe was leaving on the table.
    And if they can tempt the edge case users away from Adobe (they got me years ago, for my infrequent use) they win more.

    And it is also a solid bet on AI, which could possibly eat the assets market. If the mass user base knows how to perform AI tasks via your free Canva website, or free Affinity app, the barrier for a competitor is raised.

    So I don’t think there is a motivation to make existing Affinity products worse, and I think they will continue to improve them to be valid alternatives to Adobe - it is in their interests to do so.
    If they can capture the bulk of non-professional graphics (which they are really doing) and become a viable alternative for pros, then they have a good chance of beating Adobe, who is worth more than double Canva’s business.

    • Crownanchor on 31/10/2025 - 10:56

      Do you think the good features will be on subscription? Im guessing Canva has been keeping to their promises about not having subscriptions for Affinity and they do that by releasing the Affinity that Canva purchased free, but AI may become the future and we may need AI, which will be on a subscription, plus maybe other good features could be in the subscription, so we may need a subscription for the good features. It looks like the $500 Million purchase was a good deal for Canva and they will make a nice return on the investment.

      • mskeggs on 31/10/2025 - 11:13

        Probably?
        They are a business and want the make money.
        They want to outcompete Adobe and also lower the bar for general users.
        This means to me they will keep improving Affinity as a valid alternative to Adobe.
        If Adobe gives away ai capabilities that are useful and desirable, Canva will likely have to respond.
        If they remain a subscription add-on then Canva will likely offer the same.

        I'm viewing it as a positive that there is another free, highly featured piece of software - if you need ai tools to do things faster for your work or business, I don't really object to another business charging for that.

        • Crownanchor on 31/10/2025 - 11:31
          +1

          Yes, im also positive about this and purchased V1 and V2. Hope it is sustainable. I wonder how much we will rely on AI features in the future.

  • iNeedMoreMoney on 31/10/2025 - 10:31

    keeps crashing on app start :/

    • projectfallback on 31/10/2025 - 12:13

      I uninstalled with Revo which also cleared out leftover stuff from prior versions, then reinstalled and all good for me now

    • man2000 on 31/10/2025 - 14:44
      +2

      Had initially installed the msix version, kept crashing. Uninstalled and then installed via the .exe version. Launches now.

      • iNeedMoreMoney on 02/11/2025 - 10:01

        Yes yes it worked! Thank you !!

    • boxall on 31/10/2025 - 15:57
      +1

      Try the MSIX instead of the EXE. That worked for me.

  • Foodstamps on 31/10/2025 - 11:26
    +1

    Looks sweet! Finally, something that gives a bit more freedom than Canva but let's me use the AI functions still. Death to Adobe and their pricing!

  • monky on 31/10/2025 - 14:02

    So I can't get updates unless I make a Canva account?— Didn't Serif promise that Canva wouldn't have any access to customer information after they did the merge?

    Classic enshittification… The future is FOSS, as always.

    • netsurfer on 01/11/2025 - 02:05

      It only asks for email. You can sign up as Luke Skywalker if you want. Canva has no intention to migrate Serif customer details to Canva.

      Affinity v3 is free (except AI features). People who bought v2 can still download them. For now, it looks like Canva wants the market share. Affinity v2 customers will most likely sign up for Canva. There is a good chance people fed up with Adobe and haven't tried Affinity v2 will more likely to try Affinity v3.

  • PredatorvsAlien on 01/11/2025 - 16:56
    +1

    Gonna give this a go. I stopped paying for Adobe, their subscription model sucks and on principal decided to cut them. Even if it means relearning new software. I hope droves of people leave Adobe for Affinity

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