Canva takes direct aim at Adobe's egregious prices and moves Affinity to a free model — Here's what all this means for creators

Affinity, one of the only tools that competes directly with Adobe’s photo and design suite, is now completely free. It arrives as a single, reimagined app that unifies photo editing, vector design, and layout tools in one place. According to Affinity, it is free forever for everyone on Windows and macOS, with an iPad version coming soon.

Affinity is now part of Canva after last year’s acquisition, and the company is seemingly sticking to its promise to preserve the product’s power and feel. There is no stripped-back tier here. You can download it, use the full suite, and never touch a subscription if you do not want to.

There is an optional Canva Premium subscription, which unlocks Canva AI tools inside Affinity, but it is not pushed on you. I used Affinity Photo before this update, and this new all-in-one app feels great so far, especially for photo editing.

This move stands in sharp contrast to Adobe. Photoshop alone costs $22.99 a month if billed annually, or $34.99 if you pay month to month. Try to cancel, and you are hit with a fee for leaving early if you’re on the annual plan. If you thought Adobe’s pricing was already frustrating, this change from Affinity makes it look even more out of touch.

Affinity becomes free forever

Affinity - First Look - YouTube

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This new Affinity app is an all-in-one workspace for vector, pixel, and layout tools. It includes RAW development, live filters, batch processing, smart selection, and more. Everything runs in real time, so edits feel smooth and responsive even on complex projects.

It also supports major design formats, including PSD, AI, PDF, SVG, and TIFF, and you can export directly into Canva for collaboration if you want to, but you can just export as normal, too. Some users online suggested you must sign in manually with a Canva account, but as far as I can tell, I was able to sign up via my Google account instead, which presumably creates a Canva account from the information in my Google account, just like anything else.

AI tools are available here, too, but only for Canva Premium subscribers. Canva has stated that Affinity work is not used to train AI features. That stance matters, especially after Adobe faced backlash over similar concerns, which pushed it to update its customer agreements and reassure users that it also does not use customer content for training generative AI.

Adobe’s subscription squeeze and failed Figma play

If you want access to all of Adobe’s creative tools, the full Creative Cloud plan costs $59.99 a month when you commit to a yearly subscription. Cancel within the first 14 days and you can walk away for free. Cancel after that, and Adobe charges 50% of the remaining contract value as an early-termination fee.

You can choose a month-to-month plan instead, which is more expensive, but it avoids early-termination fees.

It is a shame because Adobe’s software really is excellent and ahead of the curve in many areas. The frustration has never been about the quality of the tools; it has always been about the pricing and policies wrapped around them.

Adobe also attempted to acquire Figma for $20 billion, but the deal was terminated in 2023 following scrutiny from UK and EU regulators. That left the door open for tools like Canva and Affinity to grow, and now Affinity has moved to a zero-cost model that makes Adobe’s subscription approach look even tougher to justify.

A new era for creative tools?

Fortunately, it feels like we are entering a time where Adobe is no longer the only option for professionals and aspiring creatives. Affinity, which previously had a one-time purchase model, is now completely free and offers a full suite for design work.

There are strong alternatives across other creative categories, too. Davinci Resolve continues to dominate in the video space for many editors, and there are plenty of other tools out there if you are willing to look.

Choice could finally become part of the creative software landscape again, and that can only be a good thing for users.

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