--- title: Affinity Designer Reviews meta_title: 'Affinity Designer Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 451 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Affinity Designer works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.5 review_count: 451 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-06-19' parent_category: name: Graphic Design url: https://www.g2.com/categories/graphic-design --- # Affinity Designer Reviews **Vendor:** Canva **Category:** [Vector Graphics Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/vector-graphics) **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 451 ## About Affinity Designer Proud winner of an Apple Design Award in 2015, Affinity Designer brings inspiration to illustration in a strong, sleek tool. Combining vector design and raster finishing naturally in one tool, this innovative illustrator lets your ideas flow. Put simply, its speed, power and precision make creating art feel fun and spontaneous again, while delivering high-end results in both macOS and Windows. “We’ve been wondering when a serious challenger would appear, and Serif has thrown down the gauntlet in fine style.” Expert Reviews “Stunningly powerful.” TechRadar “Great UI, buttery smooth software and jaw dropping price.” Medium.com “A very attractive investment for anyone from beginners to professionals.” Touch Reviews “A remarkably polished design environment.” Stack Social ## Affinity Designer Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users find Affinity Designer's **ease of use** remarkable, making it accessible even for those new to graphic design. (10 reviews) - Users value the **high-quality graphics** produced by Affinity Designer, highlighting its efficiency and user-friendly interface. (6 reviews) - Users love the **ease of vector editing** in Affinity Designer, facilitating quick and professional graphic creation. (6 reviews) - Users appreciate the **affordable pricing** of Affinity Designer, making it a great choice for budget-conscious professionals. (5 reviews) - Users love the **user-friendly interface and powerful design tools** of Affinity Designer, enhancing their creative workflow. (5 reviews) - Users appreciate the **easy-to-use tools** in Affinity Designer, which enhance their design experience and versatility. (3 reviews) - Users appreciate the **affordable pricing and professional interface** of Affinity Designer, making it an excellent alternative to Adobe Illustrator. (3 reviews) - Vector Editing (3 reviews) - Users value the **compatibility** of Affinity Designer with Adobe Illustrator, enhancing their design experience effortlessly. (2 reviews) - Efficiency Improvement (2 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find **tool limitations** in Affinity Designer, facing issues with plugins, compatibility, and advanced features compared to competitors. (4 reviews) - Users find **import issues** with Affinity Designer due to limited file compatibility and fewer third-party resources. (3 reviews) - Users are frustrated by the **limited features** of Affinity Designer, especially when compared to industry-standard tools like Adobe. (3 reviews) - Users find the **complexity of the tools** challenging initially, needing time to adapt and learn effectively. (2 reviews) - Users report **performance issues** with Affinity Designer, particularly when handling complex files and on Windows systems. (2 reviews) - Vector Issues (2 reviews) - Users note **compatibility issues** with certain file types when converting from other software, affecting overall usability. (1 reviews) - Design Limitations (1 reviews) - Users note **high system requirements** for Affinity Designer, leading to performance lags with complex files on Windows. (1 reviews) - Learning Curve (1 reviews) ## Affinity Designer Reviews ### 1. Powerful Professional Design Tool Without Subscription Fatigue **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rohit M. | Product designer, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 06, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** What I like most about Affinity Designer is how it combines professional-grade capabilities with speed and simplicity. A few things really stand out to me. The one-time purchase model means there’s no forced subscription, which many designers appreciate, especially compared with Adobe’s ecosystem. Performance is also extremely smooth, even when I’m working on large artboards or more complex vector files. The Persona system is another highlight. Being able to switch between Vector, Pixel, and Export workflows within the same app feels genuinely efficient and keeps my process moving. On top of that, the UI is clean and less overwhelming, while still being powerful enough for branding, UI design, illustrations, icons, and social creatives. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** Some of the biggest drawbacks people mention about Affinity Designer are less about raw design capability and more about ecosystem maturity and workflow compatibility. Common frustrations include: Smaller ecosystem compared to Adobe - Fewer plugins, integrations, templates, tutorials, and third-party resources. - Harder to find team workflows built around it. Collaboration limitations - Not as seamless for real-time collaboration or developer handoff compared to tools like Figma. - Can feel isolated in team environments. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer solves several major problems for designers by providing a professional design tool that is fast, affordable, and efficient without relying on expensive subscriptions. The biggest benefits are: It removes the burden of recurring monthly costs while still offering professional-grade vector and graphic design capabilities. It helps create logos, illustrations, UI assets, social creatives, and branding materials in a smooth and lightweight workflow. The software performs well even on complex projects, which makes the design process feel faster and less frustrating. ### 2. Blazing-Fast RAW Editing and a Streamlined Non-Destructive Workflow **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** SERGIO ROYO ESCANILLA 2. | Graphic Designer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 21, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** What I like most about Affinity Photo is its exceptional performance, especially the hardware acceleration that makes editing high-resolution RAW files feel incredibly smooth and responsive. The UI/UX also feels modern and far less cluttered than legacy software, and features like “Live Filter Layers” make it easy to maintain a fully non-destructive workflow. As someone who uses the full suite, I find the StudioLink integration to be a real game-changer. Being able to access Photo’s professional retouching tools directly inside Publisher—without constantly switching between apps—has noticeably streamlined and optimized my workflow. On top of that, the pricing/ROI is hard to beat: the one-time purchase model for the V2 Universal License delivers professional-grade tools like advanced frequency separation and HDR merging, without the burden of a monthly subscription. Overall, it strikes an ideal balance of power, speed, and cost-efficiency. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** The biggest drawback of Affinity Photo, in my view, is that it still lacks some of the more advanced AI-driven capabilities offered by its main competitors—especially tools like generative fill or more sophisticated neural filters, which have increasingly become industry standards for speeding up retouching work. Also, even though the UI/UX is strong, the app can run into integration friction: third-party plugin support isn’t always as seamless as it could be, and the industry’s heavy reliance on .psd files as the primary exchange format can create additional hurdles. Finally, I’ve found the Support/Onboarding resources to be less comprehensive than Adobe’s, which can make troubleshooting more niche technical issues a bit more time-consuming when you’re working at a high-output professional pace. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Photo helps me avoid high recurring operational costs by offering a professional-grade alternative to subscription-based models, which has noticeably improved my business’s ROI. It also boosts my workflow efficiency thanks to its seamless integration with the rest of the V2 Suite. Being able to edit images in real time within a layout via StudioLink removes the hassle of constantly exporting files and re-linking them. As a result, I can deliver high-quality, high-resolution assets to clients faster, while still keeping the entire editing process completely non-destructive. ### 3. Simple to Pick Up, Powerful Once You Get Into It **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Daniel B. | Content Producer, Designer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Still pretty new to Affinity Designer, but it’s been easier to pick up than I expected. I like not having to switch tools for vector and raster work—it speeds up my workflow a lot. A few things feel different coming from other software, but overall it’s been solid and reliable so far. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** some tools feel a bit hidden compared to what I’m used to, so I occasionally slow down trying to find things. Also, compatibility with files from other software isn’t always perfect, which can be a bit frustrating when collaborating. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps me avoid jumping between multiple tools for vector and basic raster edits, which saves time and keeps my workflow more focused. As someone doing freelance and small projects, it also cuts down software costs while still letting me deliver solid, professional-looking results. ### 4. Fast, Efficient, But Lacks Collaboration **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Abhigyan D. | ux desginer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 14, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I use Affinity Designer mainly for vector work in my UI/UX designs, and I find the artboards feature really smooth, especially when working in a short time. The biggest advantage for me is that it eliminates the Adobe subscription headache. Affinity Designer is a one-time purchase, which is a huge relief as I don't have to pay monthly just to use a design tool. It's fast, has no bloat, opens quickly, and handles complex files without choking. The way it switches between vector and pixel models in the same file is really handy because I don’t have to jump between apps constantly. The performance is the best, and I also think the Studio Link feature is good; it lets me switch modes on the same file and canvas, everything is right there. I can click into Affinity Photo mode for raster edits and then switch back to Designer. The setup is also straightforward, with a simple download and install process, no account needed, and no activation servers being weird. Once you buy it, you use it—simple as that. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** The biggest gap is the collaboration tool like Figma. There is no web-based or real-time collaboration feature, which is a huge bummer. Also, the component feature feels more basic compared to Figma. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer's artboards make working quicker. It eliminates the need for an Adobe subscription, saving me time and money. It's fast, handles complex files well, and allows easy switching between vector and pixel modes with Studio Link, enhancing efficiency. ### 5. Versatile, Efficient, and Perfectly Integrated **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Gianluca R. | copy creative, Design, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 01, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I use Affinity Designer to develop mockups, user interfaces, and graphic layouts. I find it very versatile even for photo editing and vector graphics tasks. I like the ability to have multiple workspaces together, like managing two or three suites that handle all phases of the creative process. I often switch from a vector base, using vector brushes and then combining raster tools and effects that I wouldn't have on other platforms like Adobe Illustrator. Moreover, its business model is touching, so much so that I was among the first to use it and I remain faithfully with Affinity Designer. The initial installation is very easy, from Serif's website the download is immediate. For me, Affinity Designer is my gold standard even for managing PDFs and SVGs. Furthermore, the likelihood that I would recommend Affinity Designer to a friend is 10 out of 10, so much so that my interns start directly with this software rather than with Adobe. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I find the use of the Text on Path tool a bit cumbersome, I would like a set of tools and also pre-set patterns, it would make the work even easier. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer solves the problem of switching between applications, halving the time of my workflow with comprehensive tools and integration with Canva AI. It is versatile for mockups, interfaces, photo editing, and vector graphics, reducing my dependency on Adobe. ### 6. Simple, Clear UI with Great AI Tools—Amazing Value Compared to Adobe **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Leonardo S. | Social Media Marketing Expert, Marketing and Advertising, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** It has a simple and clear UI to create designs, specially with the update that centralized this version along with Designer and Photo. The pricing is amazing, since its free!! (Although I paid the version before the current, even then it was good) Much better than Adobe alternatives The AI integration is good, it has many tools to improve images and refine details **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I would like integrations with other apps such as Davinci Resolve to be available as well as more advanced onboarding tutorials for usage. The performance is good, but there has to be more tools available **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** It allows me to improve my designs in a professional manner, fast and free ### 7. A Solid, Cost-Effective Alternative to Adobe with Strong Performance Options **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lee Ann M. | President, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 30, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I find Affinity Publisher a decent alternative to the more expensive options, such as Adobe products. There's still a bit of a learning curve, but with the options for integration, solid performance, and ability to transform documents from .pdf, using Affinity Publisher is a good option. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** Affinity Publisher does have a learning curve. It's not the easiest software to use if you are a beginner. There aren't many template options and you do need a basic understanding of publisher software to use it correctly. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I appreciate the ability to transform documents from .pdf to Affinity. It assists in creation of book covers, flyers, and other necessary items for publishing purposes. ### 8. Affordable Adobe Alternative with Great UI **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pruthviraj M. | Product Designer, Design, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 12, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I believe the UI is really great, and it feels lightweight, not overwhelming like Adobe tools. The actual tools needed are right in front, which makes it convenient. There's this toggle feature where you can easily switch between vector and raster modes, and that's really good. Also, the inclusion of a feature similar to Canva AI is a good addition, and I'm planning to try it in the future. Using Affinity Designer means all the AI, EPS, and other file formats can be opened in a single application without the need for multiple Adobe applications. It's great as an alternative for Adobe's creative suite since it feels similar and the basic tools are the same. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I feel it would be really great if Affinity Designer could be made similar to Figma as a web-based platform. Sometimes if the files are local and I want to share them, I have to share the actual file. A web-based application would make collaboration easier. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I find Affinity Designer solves the problem of high Adobe costs, providing the ability to open AI, EPS, and other formats in one app. It's reliable for social media creatives and basic illustrations, offering a lightweight UI that's not overwhelming. ### 9. Affinity by Canva: Free, easy to learn. Unlockable potential with Canva Pro **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Emanuel R. | Departamento de Infotecnología, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 07, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Since its update to Affinity by Canva, it has received many improvements by consolidating the 3 apps into one. It is a very comprehensive software with a small learning curve to start using, and the best part is that it can be used for free with basic day-to-day functions. However, if you want the AI functions, they are unlocked when synchronized with the CANVA PRO account, and you would already have several software with the same account and value: Affinity graphic design, photo editing, page design, and Canva, all in the same account. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** So far, the only thing I've noticed is some slowness when running certain processes, since there are three software programs in the same application, which could be understandable. Let's hope for an update that improves optimization. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is a suite for graphic design and photo editing that works very well for small businesses or individuals who are starting in graphic design and want to learn. The best part is that most of the features are free. ### 10. Free, Professional Design Tool That EASILY Rivals Illustrator **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Alejandro R. | Product Designer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** It’s free, and it’s a professional design tool for creating print-ready files as well as logos and branding for companies. It’s so complete and robust that you can basically do anything you’d be able to do in Illustrator. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** It still needs more ways to create shapes and paths, similar to Illustrator. I feel like it’s still missing a few features overall, and sometimes exporting files can alter the design, especially when I’m using text. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** It really helps me create print-ready files and design logos for companies when designing or redesigning brands. ### 11. Affordable, Intuitive Vector Tools That Are Easy to Pick Up **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Marketing and Advertising | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** It's really affordable and offers good array of tools and great for vector work. I'm a marketer not a designer and I find it easy to use, it's intuitive enough to be able to pick up fairly quickly especially if you've used Adobe before. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** There's not a great deal to dislike. No it's not Adobe but neither is the price. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I was looking for a cost-effective way to create designs, logos, POD, and more, and this ticks all the boxes for my business. It fits what I need and makes it easier to produce the kind of work I’m aiming for. ### 12. Effortlessly Fast and Budget-Friendly Design Tool **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Valeria S. | Executive Producer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 05, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I like the option to globally change and update colors in Affinity Designer because we often have to reskin the design systems. Being able to apply different brand colors to all our components and their states is a very handy feature. It makes rebranding our components for different companies and campaigns very, very easy and seamless. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** Not a lot of third party integrations or plugins **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer is great for creating a vector-based design asset library inspected by developers and turned into components. Global color changes simplify reskinning for different brands, making rebranding easy and seamless. ### 13. Versatile Designing with Room for Improvement **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rakesh M. | Head **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Some of the best features of affinity designer as far as the vector plus raster in one app you know it’s another great space that actually helps in providing the pain the texture, the shading without leaving the file. The second best thing about them affinity designer is of course super fast and lightweight. Great thing I loved it actually **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I dislike that affinity designer is a smaller plug-in ecosystem and fewer third-party resources compared to Adobe industrial operation is still limited. So file compatibility with some client can be an issue consideration features and cloud-based workplace are also wekaer **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Offended designers, all the problems, expensive subscription-based design software by offering a powerful one time purchase it benefits me by combining vector and rest of her close in a single application, improving speed, creative flow and efficient ### 14. Faster Than Photoshop With a Smooth, Responsive Interface **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Fabio C. | CAD, BIM Designer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 29, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** It’s faster than Photoshop, and the interface feels very responsive and smooth to use. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** You have to have an account to use it, and that limits your access when you’re working offline. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I can use it to edit my drawings pretty quickly, and it gives them a professional look with great results. ### 15. A Snappy, Subscription-Free Pro Alternative to Adobe **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Marketing and Advertising | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 02, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Switching between Vector and Pixel personas is seamless, and the performance is way snappier than Photoshop. The best part? No predatory subscriptions. It’s a pro-grade powerhouse you actually own. It’s easily the best Adobe alternative on the market. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** AI features still need a canva subscription. but for most usecases it more than what we need. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer kills the "subscription tax." For those of us who don’t use it daily, like project managers, the one-time buy is a total budget lifesaver. No more jumping between apps either; having vector and pixel tools in one place is pure efficiency. It’s pro power without the monthly bill. ### 16. Outstanding Value and Professional Features Without a Subscription **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Damaris V. | New York Cancer and blood phlebotomist, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Affinity Photo is highly regarded for its one-time purchase model, which removes the need for a subscription. The software delivers professional-grade features, including non-destructive editing, live filters, and advanced tools such as HDR, focus stacking, and panorama creation. Its interface is fast and intuitive, similar to Photoshop, making it approachable for both beginners and experienced users. Overall, Affinity Photo stands out as an excellent value and a strong alternative to Photoshop. I use Affinity Photo at work for everything from RAW processing in the Develop Persona to creating complex composites in the Photo Persona. I take advantage of features like live filters, AI tools such as Generative Fill/Expand and Smart Selections for efficiency, and appreciate its seamless integration with Designer and Publisher for flexible workflows. The ability to customize panels and tools to suit specific tasks—whether I'm designing social media graphics, album art, or UI elements—makes it a versatile choice for a wide range of creative projects. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** There isn't anything I dislike about Affinity Photo. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Photo addresses the needs of photographers and designers by providing a robust and cost-effective alternative to subscription-based software. With a one-time purchase, it delivers professional-grade tools such as RAW development, non-destructive editing, and compositing. The software also integrates smoothly with its companion apps, Publisher and Designer, enabling a comprehensive creative workflow. Users benefit from notable cost savings, a cohesive ecosystem, and access to advanced features, all without the unnecessary complexity often found in other programs. ### 17. A worthy Rival to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Non-Profit Organization Management | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 25, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** It has many of the same features you would find on Adobe programs, but I find it much more intuitive. Its the only program I can think to rival the long standing Industry standards like Photoshop and Illustrator **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** It does take some onboarding, like any software. There are also some small improvements that could be made, like keeping me logged in so I don't have to go through the screen each time I boot up the program **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** A non-subscription-based design program with deep creative control ### 18. Personalized Creation Powerhouse—The tool of the moment. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** José Antonio M. | Conceptual Design Specialist, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 02, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** The program for personalized creation for the new era. Once you cross that learning threshold, you won't want to go back to any other program. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** That same learning time that you have to dedicate to learning the basics **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Its new shortcuts and ways of processing the finishes of each design. And above all, its interface for each tool. ### 19. Comprehensive Design Tool with Minor AI Shortcomings **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Muhammad Rizky B. **Reviewed Date:** December 11, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I find Affinity Designer really good and worth using. The newest version is really attractive and it can do almost everything like Photoshop, illustrating, and layout tasks. It even supports reading and recollecting, which is amazing to see. I really like that it's not just one tool; it's every tool in one. I really appreciate the features because they give us the best experience. The setup meets my expectations because it really looks like a tough illustrator, so it wasn't very hard to learn. Plus, it has a very interactive UI, making it easy to do everything. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I find that Affinity Designer doesn't meet my expectations in AI features. It doesn't look as good as other AI software. Additionally, there are little things that need improvement, like AI and adaptation in RTL format. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Affinity Designer for great design and 3D project rendering. It's comprehensive, combining tools for Photoshop, illustration, layout, and more, making it really worth using. ### 20. Fluid, Fast, and No Subscription **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Andrea R. | Graphic designer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 11, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I like that Affinity Designer is very fast and allows for a smooth experience, even when I work with large projects, it continues to function very well without freezing. It is a very intuitive tool; it was very quick to understand the interface when I started using it. Additionally, I really appreciate that it doesn't have a monthly subscription, but rather is a one-time purchase. It is also very useful because it allows me to design logos and icons and export them in SVG, serving as a quick alternative to other tools like AI. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I feel that there are features that could be further developed or elaborated on, they could add the possibility of adding plugins like in Illustrator. The interactive tracing tool or Autotrace has details that it doesn't detect well, it uses too many nodes, many irregular edges. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer allows me to design logos and icons quickly and export them in SVG. It does not require a subscription, which is a great relief. Its interface is intuitive, and the performance is smooth even on large projects. It is a great alternative to Illustrator. ### 21. Effortless 360 Editing with Intuitive Tools **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pranav S. | Management Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 10, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I find Affinity Photo really easy to use and understand, especially when working with 360 images. I love that I can view images in VR mode and edit them simultaneously, which is amazing. Affinity Photo allows me to quickly remove unwanted elements, like tripods and people, from videos efficiently and effortlessly, doing it fast and easy in just three clicks. Additionally, the initial setup was really easy, as our professor explained it to us quickly. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I find it harder to locate tools because I'm used to Photoshop's design. I would love if they have a learn mode like Adobe, which leads you to their videos to learn that specific tool of the software. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I find Affinity Photo great for 360 images, it's easy to use and works well for editing images without affecting the whole image. It simplifies removing unwanted elements quickly and allows me to edit in VR mode, making it valuable for my design projects. ### 22. User-Friendly with Specialized Features for Design **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Delon R. | Graphic Designer, Graphic Design, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I like Affinity Photo for its ease of use and layout, which helps me with typography layouts, editing sketches, photo editing, and image compositing. I appreciate how the integration of typefaces allows me to prototype edits and see them in different settings, and how the ability to adjust and tweak brushes adds versatility to my work. Additionally, the initial setup was super easy and straightforward, only requiring registration. This combination of features makes Affinity Photo valuable for creating business cards and graphic designs effectively. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I find it challenging to use OpenType features and have difficulty accessing alternate characters when editing layouts. The software also functions better with a wider screen display. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Photo solves typography, enabling business card and graphic design with a human touch. I use it for typography layouts, editing sketches, photo editing, and image compositing. I love its ease of use and layout, along with typeface and brush integration for prototyping different textures and formats. ### 23. Affordable, Intuitive Design Software **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Kanhaiya S. | Sr. Associate - Experience Design (UX/UI), Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I use Affinity Photo for image manipulation and creating mockups. It's a big money saver for a solo designer like me because it's a one-time purchase, not a subscription, saving me over $100 every year. I like the affordability and the thoughtful user experience of the app, which doesn't feel overwhelming and offers easy control and customization. I can do all kinds of projects with it and have mastered the software in a shorter time. The switch from a competitor to Affinity Photo was really easy, especially if your fundamentals are clear. Also, the initial setup was easy, taking just a few clicks. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I find the app a bit laggy coming from Photoshop. Laggy means it's missing the smoothness on zoom or when moving around the project. I think Photoshop utilizes the GPU and CPU better than Affinity. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Photo saves me money with a one-time purchase, making it affordable for a solo designer. I appreciate its thoughtful user experience, making it easy even for complex projects. ### 24. Easiest-to-Understand Design Software with Powerful Functionality **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Saúl G. | Analist, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 08, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Its functionalities are easier to understand than any other design software. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** Honestly, I don't find any flaws or insurmountable complexities that are present in other software. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** As someone who is not a designer, I find the tool's capabilities very accessible. ### 25. A Solid Photoshop Alternative with a Familiar Feel **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Media Production | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 01, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I like that it is an alternative to Adobe Photoshop and functions very similar. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I wish that it had more of the same features as Adobe Photoshop. One key feature that I love from Adobe Photoshop is generative fill that is not easily done well in Affinity **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps us get away from subscriptions. That is our main reason for getting away from Adobe products and using Affinity. ### 26. Affinity Designer Review **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** simon l. | Founder and Designer at Luntdesign, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 27, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** It is alot less money than adobe and gives me most of what I need to create the work I do **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I need to create vectors from images and also outline fonts but I think that has now been solved with the new canva app **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** As I designer it does pretty much anything I need and it is improving all thew time so at present I am happy ### 27. With no doubts, a photo editor with no limits **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Hamza A. | Data Processor, Research, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 29, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I really appreciate how professional it feels while still being easy to use once you get the hang of it. The one-time payment is a huge plus compared to subscription models and once you tried it once, you will stick to it and use if often, and the performance is smooth even on large RAW files. I also like that its easy to setup and it supports non-destructive editing and has most of the advanced tools I’d expect from high-end software without overwhelming the workspace. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** For me, the learning curve can be a bit steep if you’re coming from other editors like Photoshop. Some tools and workflows take time to get used to, and a few niche features available in Adobe’s ecosystem aren’t here yet. Also, having more built-in tutorials or guided help would make the transition easier for beginners **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** As a video editor using Filmora, I often need to create custom thumbnails, overlays, and quick touch-ups for still frames. Affinity Photo makes that process seamless without bogging down my workflow or forcing me into a subscription. Coming from Photoshop, I was tired of paying monthly just to use a handful of tools, and Affinity solves that by giving me everything I need with a one-time purchase. The software handles large RAW files and layered projects without lag, which is a big benefit when I’m editing high-resolution frames for my videos. It also integrates well with my Filmora workflow since I can export assets quickly and in multiple formats. Overall, it solved the cost issue, gave me professional-grade tools without locking me into a subscription, and keeps my editing process fast and efficient. ### 28. Best Creative Design Software: All the Tools You Need, Easy to Use **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Bhavuk K. | Graphic Designer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 29, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** The best Creative design software, with all required tools and easy to use . Used more than 100 times and created multiple Project, easy to integrate **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** The Tools is bit complex for new user, but could be familiar after a few timesof usage **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** The Problem of all tools for design at one place is expert and well-equipped ### 29. Victorious Vectors **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Alan H. | Artist, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 27, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I like I'm easily able to create seamless vectors. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I dislike the little annoying things such as the program not drawing properly when connected to my tablet or vectors not welding correctly. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer solves my graphics problems to a T. I've been reliably able to create stunning artworks for over 5 years now thanks to Affinity. ### 30. Super handy and very useful to all **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Naushad K. | Fashion designer , Apparel & Fashion, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 24, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** The most helpful thing is Vector + Raster flexibility, and the biggest upside is pro-level design without expensive subscriptions. The ability to switch seamlessly between vector and raster modes (called Personas in Affinity). We can create sharp, scalable vector outlines (perfect for logos, fashion flats, or clean illustrations). Then instantly switch to pixel/raster mode to add texture, shading, embroidery detail, or fabric effects. All in the same file, without needing two separate apps (like Illustrator + Photoshop). This saves tons of time and makes it very flexible for both precision design and creative illustration. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** Compared to Adobe Illustrator and other high-end graphic tools, Affinity sometimes lacks features such as: Image tracing / auto-vectorization. Some complex warp/distort/envelope tools, blend-tools, or vector effects/filters. No built-in “vector eraser” in some contexts, making corrections harder. If I had to pick the biggest downside: that would likely be “feature gaps with respect to Illustrator / industry standard vector tools” (especially when clients expect certain file types or tools). Also, performance on Windows sometimes lags behind what users expect (especially with complex files). **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer solves several business problems for creative professionals, studios, and small brands that need high-quality design work without the overhead of expensive or complex software. Affinity Designer solves the cost, workflow efficiency, and accessibility problems of professional graphic design, while still offering speed, flexibility, and high-quality results. ### 31. User-Friendly Design Tool with Non-Destructive Editing **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Piyush P S. | Educator, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I use Affinity Designer for designing posters, flyers, and certificates. I love that Affinity Designer simplifies access to tools with a user-friendly interface, unlike other complex software. I also really appreciate the non-destructive editing, which keeps original layers and files alive. The selection of Affinity Designer was influenced by its user-friendly tools and its ability to collaborate with Canva. It was easy to set up compared to other design software. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I have not found any dislikes so far, but the user interface could be developed to be much easier to handle. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer simplifies access to tools with its user-friendly interface and offers non-destructive editing, keeping original layers and files intact. ### 32. Stable, Free, and Feature-Packed. Hard to Beat **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Health, Wellness and Fitness | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 08, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** The software is very stable. It's free and feature packed. Hard to recommend another competitor. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I wish it was available on Linux so I could use it personally. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Easy to access, professional design features that don't break the budget. It allows us to create media for print and digital. ### 33. Powerful, User-Friendly Vector Design at a Great Value **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Leisure, Travel & Tourism | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 14, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Affinity Designer offers a user-friendly interface and high-performance vector design tools that make it easy to create professional-quality graphics. The one-time purchase model is cost-effective compared to subscription-based alternatives, and the software runs smoothly even on mid-range hardware. Frequent updates and cross-platform support enhance its usability for both print and digital design. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** Affinity Designer lacks some advanced features found in other industry-standard tools, especially in terms of collaboration and third-party plugin support. There can be a learning curve for users transitioning from other platforms, and some export options are limited. Integration with other design software could be more seamless. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer solves the need for a robust, affordable graphic design tool without ongoing subscription costs. It enables the creation of both vector and raster designs in a single application, streamlining my workflow and improving efficiency. The intuitive interface and fast performance save time on design tasks, while the one-time purchase model makes it an attractive option for freelancers and small businesses. ### 34. Outstanding! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Brian H. | Brick Designer, Design, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I was looking for an affordable yet professional alternative to Adobe Illustrator, and this is the best of the best! Affinity Designer has a perpetual license for an affordable price, compared to Adobe that offers an expensive subscription. In my opinion, the interface is easier to use than Adobe Illustrator, and seems to have just about everything Illustrator has (if not more). How things are done will be slightly different than Illustrator, but in my opinion it's a perk because it makes my work more efficient. I highly recommend Affinity Designer, especially if you are a professional graphic designer on a budget. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** The only con is that it cannot export in Adobe Illustrator AI files. This makes it hard to share original files with clients and coworkers who only use adobe. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** It's affordable! The problem I had was that I couldn't afford continuing to pay for an Adobe subscription, but I still needed to perform quality graphic design work for my clients. ### 35. Effortless Vector Design with Lifetime Value **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Aman V. | Logo Animator, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 17, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I use Affinity Designer for vector design and editing vector files like logos and banners. I like that it's easy and fast for vector editing and design. The lifetime deal aspect is great too. Also, I find the pen tool very easy to use compared to Illustrator. Setting it up was easy, and I'd definitely recommend it. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** The export option is a bit confusing. I'd like it to be more simple and quick. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Affinity Designer for easy and fast vector editing and designing logos and banners. ### 36. Powerful Non-Destructive Editing Without Subscription fee and usable even on old PCs **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Franco C. | Manager, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Strong non-destructive editing, with layers, masks, RAW support. It's great for retouching images and designing promo material in minutes. Fast performance on reasonable hardware and no recurring subscription fee. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** More limited when it comes to advanced photo manipulation workflows, plugins or asset management compared to full studio-level image editors. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I’ve run it on an old laptop and handled 3000×3000px raw images without any lag, it's also great on older, slower-running machines. Also, the fact that it’s a one-time purchase without subscription, makes it very attractive for me. ### 37. The Cheapest way to be a Professional Creative **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Alvaro H. | CTO CISO CDO, Construction, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 01, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Affinity Photo combines ease of use with a powerful feature set that rivals much more expensive software. The interface is intuitive and clean, allowing new users to quickly get started, while offering advanced tools like live filters, non-destructive editing, and professional-grade RAW development. The one-time purchase model makes implementation incredibly easy—no licensing hassles or subscriptions. I use it frequently, both for quick adjustments and complex compositions, and it consistently performs well. It’s a complete, dependable tool that adapts well to various creative needs, from photography to digital art, all without recurring costs or bloated software suites. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** Despite its strengths, Affinity Photo has some implementation quirks, especially for users migrating from Adobe tools—certain workflows take adjustment. While it's packed with features, a few key Photoshop-specific ones—like smart objects or more advanced automation—are missing. Also, the learning curve can be steep if you're new to image editing. I’ve also noticed that customer support, while helpful, isn’t as fast or comprehensive as that of larger providers. Still, these are minor trade-offs considering the value offered. With a bit of self-learning, Affinity becomes an everyday tool in my creative workflow. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Photo helps me solve the problem of accessing professional image editing tools without being tied to expensive subscription models. For a one-time cost, I get a robust solution that supports everything from advanced retouching to preparing marketing graphics and social media visuals. This makes it highly cost-effective for freelancers and small businesses. It also reduces our dependency on Adobe, simplifying license management. Thanks to its performance and reliability, I can handle design tasks in-house without outsourcing, saving both time and money while maintaining full creative control. ### 38. Game-Changer Integration with Canva, Plus Great Brushes and an Easy Interface **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Graphic Design | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 03, 2026 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I love the texture and blending brushes, the interface is just as easy as illustrator and love that it is now integrated with Canva, which is game changer! Love that it has about all the same features as Illustrator. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** It would be awesome to have a font integration similar to adobe fonts. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is more accessible that adobe illustrator. ### 39. Can get the job done **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Wyce G. | Graphic Designer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 28, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** The best thing about Affinity Designer is the affordability. Other publisher apps charge an arm and a leg. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** Affinity Designer is not as intuitive as I would like it to be after using other similar apps for years. Also Affinity Designer is a bit buggy and the screen takes time to refresh after a change is made. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Designer allows me to layout social posts and other media formats in a professional way. It lacks little when it comes to creating media for professional printing or social media posting. ### 40. A powerful graphic design software, excellent alternative to more renowned and expensive products **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jacopo Z. | Marketing specialist, Retail, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** This software is very reliable and fast, it can edit even large files without stress (vector and raster graphics). I also appreciate the fact that it has a perpetual license instead of the annual subscription, the cost is adequate. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** Nothing in particular, just some rare lags when opening large files with many embedded elements. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** This software allows me to edit vector graphics files in a fluid, simple and structured way, with professional tools that are very similar to the ones available in Illustrator, but at a significantly reduced cost. ### 41. The best alternative to the competition **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Apparel & Fashion | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 08, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** It is worth mentioning positively that Affinity does not have a subscription system. YOU pay for the software and get the updates for free. I love the interface. It looks much more modern and you find the tools faster than with Adobe. There are enough tutorials for the tool. Of course, it can't be compared to Adobe, but that's difficult when Illustrator has been on the market for so many years. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** The color settings are often not intuitive. It is difficult to use the workflow that one had with Adobe in Affinity. Sometimes it is frustrating. Of course, it is different software, but some things I don't understand why they have to be different. There are three workspaces (Vector, Pixel, and Export), which are sometimes confusing. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I complete my designs for my screens. I create screens for screen printing. Sometimes I also take on graphic assignments. I can't imagine doing it with any other tool except Illustrator. However, I find the subscription way too expensive. ### 42. Great replacement for popular vector image design program **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Steve K. | CSO, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 23, 2019 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** It's easy to use, cost effect and works. Serif are constantly updating and keeping it relevant and it supports multiple file formats both for importing and exporting **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** nothing really, it's a great product and updated reasonably regularly. It can be annoying if you buy from Serif directly (say for a beta) and then they release it o the app store and there's no way to get the App Store version without purchasing again **Recommendations to others considering Affinity Designer:** Great software, works well, supports lots of formats both for importing and exporting **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Competing products are much more expensive and Affinity Designer is a really good replacement. I use it for all vector work and it performs really well. Serif are also very helpful in the support forums when there are problems. I have a laser engraver and it works really well for producing artwork that cuts/engraves really well. Important to group the correct objects together and use layers to the correct paths are followed. ### 43. A hugely capable alternative to Design Software **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Paul G. | Director, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 11, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Great UI and UX. Quick to get to grips with the basics. Hugely capable with top features and compatibility. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** The only drawback is the compatability with certain filetypes if converting from other software. Not really a dislike, but could really make it even greater. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** This works really well as an additional design option. And also when supplied certain file types so that we can convert or export to use in other platforms. Speeding up our workflow and output. ### 44. Affinity Designer -- My Goto Tool for Creating My Social Images **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Staffing and Recruiting | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 29, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I have purchased the suite of Affinity tools, but it's Designer I use the most. I have found that it's one of the easier graphics packages to pick up and use without a massive learning curve. I use it to resize and take images to the final publishing stage for our social media. I like the way that it is easy to manipulate images. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I learn what i need to know, as many others do. I would like to know it inside and out ideally. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** I generally take stock images, Ai images, Canva images and then import them into Affinity Designer to resize and add graphics to make them ready for social media. Image manipulation is very precise in Affinity. ### 45. The Best Photo Editing Software in The Near Future **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Saad L. | freelancer & content creation, Financial Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 02, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Ease of use Simple and easy interface Various and varied tools **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** There are not enough tools for artificial intelligence, even though other programs are built-in. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Integration in terms of image editing with excellent and easy-to-use tools ### 46. The best alternative to Illustrator **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Alpha L. | Graphiste indépendant Print / Web, Graphic Design, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 07, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Simplicity and the ecosystem between Affinity software. The handling is simple, easy, and can be used in vector illustrations. It's my alternative tool to Illustrator. The handling is not obvious at first, but by using it every day, it will become automatic. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** The handling is not easy, especially when you've been using Illustrator for 15 years; the transition is complicated. However, there is one thing that still hasn't been fixed, which is the interpretation of EPS files created in Illustrator or other software, which is disastrous for file usage. It seems like it interprets the file. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** The price because today paying a monthly subscription with Adobe becomes too expensive. ### 47. Wonderful photography editing experience **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Juliusz N. | Engineer / Low-code Developer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 23, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Somewhat different interface but it was easy to use and have fun **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** It took me some time to get used to some features. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps to deliver my digital artworks with a best result possible ### 48. A great alternative to Adobe **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Patrick H. | Editor, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 12, 2024 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** Affinity runs smoothly and offers all the core Image manipulation tools that one may expect from more expensive industry software, while available at a single affordable price point. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** It does have a little bit less documentation than some other, more widely used platforms. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Having to use photo editing software for my job and for freelance projects, it's extremely convenient to have a platform that doesn't require a subscription in order to access the tools on multiple desktops. It's convenient to have an account and download the software to a work or home computer and manage all my software at a single price. ### 49. Creativity always within reach. My Affinity Photo review. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Human Resources | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 23, 2025 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** I like the customizable cropping tools as they allow me to save templates and save time in my design projects. Affinity Photo has high capacity to handle high resolution images without affecting performance. The quality in its retouching tools allows me to work with multiple layers to experiment with different versions of an image; it works on both my laptop and iPad. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** It has a smooth learning curve and frequent updates but Affinity Photo could improve if it added tools that automate area fills, visual content generation, etc. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** Affinity Photo allows me to expand my creativity and get new ideas at an affordable price. The interface is familiar and this reduced my adaptation time. With Affinity Photo I improve the quality of the materials I create and always have access to updates and new features. ### 50. Affinity Designer is a professional tool for creating vector graphics **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Сергей . | Художник компьютерной графики, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 05, 2021 **What do you like best about Affinity Designer?** The vector editor, Affinity Designer, really impressed me. First of all, it is not expensive, has many export formats (including EPS, which is very important for me as a designer working with micro stocks and has necessary functions that I'm not seeing in the most famous vector editors. Also, I like the user-friendly and customizable interface. I didn't have many programs crashes with Affinity Designer, although I sometimes worked with large files. **What do you dislike about Affinity Designer?** I wish to see more valuable features in Affinity Designer. Significant improvement needs a Bezier tool and a tool that allows cutting forms. It would be great to improve the export window to obtain a faster result, especially with many exported files. The trace function also needs development. **What problems is Affinity Designer solving and how is that benefiting you?** As a graphic designer, I used Affinity Designer to create logos, illustrations, brochures, web pages and e-mails. This powerful tool allows me to create content for micro stocks such as Shutterstock and Adobe Stock. ## Affinity Designer Discussions - [What is Affinity Designer used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-affinity-designer-used-for) - 2 comments, 2 upvotes - [Children's Picture Book - read Publisher is unable to create epub or mobi files](https://www.g2.com/discussions/children-s-picture-book-read-publisher-is-unable-to-create-epub-or-mobi-files-782f04d4-841a-419f-8d52-afa67bdb8be6) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [Where can I find a complete tutorial set for beginners?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/51827-where-can-i-find-a-complete-tutorial-set-for-beginners) - 5 comments, 1 upvote - [Is Affinity designer good for beginners?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/36810-is-affinity-designer-good-for-beginners) - 8 comments, 1 upvote - [How can I add text around circle in Affinity Designer?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/34756-how-can-i-add-text-around-circle-in-affinity-designer) - 6 comments, 1 upvote - [View Affinity Designer pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/affinity-designer/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-06-22+22%3A44%3A39+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=31950dd1-5c09-4c74-b5e3-ee1d26b679ef&secure%5Btoken%5D=3df5436be75b4a6fe0b49cafe86c2409252c28fe6dc14d56418b20bcb51ac702&format=llm_user) ## Affinity Designer Integrations - [Adobe Illustrator](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-illustrator/reviews) - [Adobe Photoshop](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-photoshop/reviews) - [Affinity Photo](https://www.g2.com/products/affinity-photo/reviews) - [Affinity Publisher](https://www.g2.com/products/affinity-publisher/reviews) - [Autodesk 3ds Max](https://www.g2.com/products/autodesk-3ds-max/reviews) - [Canva](https://www.g2.com/products/canva/reviews) - [Figma](https://www.g2.com/products/figma/reviews) - [LibreOffice Writer](https://www.g2.com/products/libreoffice-writer/reviews) - [Revit](https://www.g2.com/products/revit/reviews) ## Top Affinity Designer Alternatives - [Adobe Illustrator](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-illustrator/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (6,043 reviews) - [Sketch](https://www.g2.com/products/sketch/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (1,209 reviews) - [CorelDRAW](https://www.g2.com/products/coreldraw/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (539 reviews)