The photo-editing world has just experienced one of its biggest shake-ups in years: Canva has made Affinity completely free.
If you’ve been following the industry, you may remember that Canva acquired Affinity last year, gaining a full suite of Adobe competitors—Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Publisher. Now, these have been bundled into a single platform called Affinity, and Canva is offering it at no cost. Only the AI-generation tools remain behind a Canva Premium paywall.
This move is especially interesting for photographers who don’t want to be tied to Adobe’s monthly subscription. So how does Affinity compare to Photoshop, Lightroom, and the other editors we rely on?
Affinity Photo vs Photoshop
Affinity Photo has always been known for its speed, clean UI, and professional-quality toolkit. It includes:
- Non-destructive RAW editing
- Layer-based editing
- Advanced masking
- Colour management
- Retouching and compositing tools
For many photographers—especially landscape, travel, portrait, and hobby shooters—Affinity Photo already covers 90% of what Photoshop does. The main missing pieces are Adobe’s powerful AI features and deep Creative Cloud ecosystem. But for pure editing, Affinity more than holds its own.
Affinity (RAW Editing) vs Lightroom
Affinity doesn’t replace Lightroom’s entire catalogue workflow. There’s no built-in photo library, cloud syncing, or preset marketplace. Lightroom still wins when it comes to managing huge volumes of images.
But as a RAW editor, Affinity is more capable than most free alternatives. You can develop your files with excellent colour control, clarity, tone curves, and local adjustments—then move into full Photoshop-style editing within the same app.
Many photographers will choose to organise their files using:
- Apple Photos
- Windows Photos
- Capture One Express (when available)
- Simple folder-based workflows
…while relying on Affinity for the heavy lifting.
Compared to Other Free Tools
Photographers have long had access to free editors like GIMP or Darktable, but they often come with dated interfaces or steep learning curves.
Affinity gives you:
- A modern, polished workspace
- Fast performance
- Professional tools
- A workflow that feels familiar to Adobe users
This instantly makes it one of the strongest free editors available today.
Why This Is Big News for Subscription-Weary Photographers
Not everyone wants—or needs—to pay for Adobe every month. This shift benefits:
- Hobbyists who edit occasionally
- Students just learning the craft
- Photographers on a budget
- Travellers who want a lightweight editing setup
- Anyone who prefers owning tools outright
With Affinity now free on Windows and Mac, and with an iPad version arriving in 2026, photographers finally have a serious, cost-free alternative that doesn’t require compromises.
The Only Catch
Only the AI-generation features are locked behind Canva Premium. If you don’t rely heavily on generative tools, you won’t feel the limitation.
Final Thoughts
This move by Canva is good news for our community. Whether you’re editing a handful of RAW files from last weekend’s outing or preparing a gallery-worthy print, Affinity now gives photographers a professional toolset without the subscription burden.
If you’ve been looking for an alternative to Adobe—or simply want to reduce your monthly expenses—this is a perfect time to try something new.
