Canva has relaunched its Adobe-rivalling Affinity suite as a single, all-in-one app for photo editing, vector illustration, and page layout design.
The big news that’s sparked all the noise? Affinity is now completely free. That’s not a free trial. “Free forever. For everyone.”
So is this a step toward true creative freedom for designers, or just a smart business move?
Canva’s mission has always been to democratise design, to make creativity accessible to anyone. Affinity takes that idea further, focusing on solving the frustration of switching between different tools by bringing everything together in one place with the .af format. The new app combines all of Affinity’s products into “one powerful product with one universal file type,” meaning users no longer have to switch between different apps for different tasks.
“This is an architectural change that we deeply believe in,” says Duncan Clark, Head of EMEA at Canva.
Still, for many designers, habits run deep. We all have our own workflows and preferences built around familiar software. Transitioning to a single platform that handles everything might sound appealing in theory, but in practice, change takes time.
A lot of designers have long been cautious about tools like ChatGPT and Canva, fearing they could dilute the craft. But Clark argues otherwise: “The role of the professional designer is more important than ever - as the tastemaker, the craft expert, the person who can provide the visual layer on top of what everyone else is doing.”
At Open All Hours, we share that belief. Taste sits at the core of every project we take on. If Affinity can make it easier for designers to produce better work drawing on their taste and skill, we’re all for it.
Affinity’s relaunch also lands in the same week Adobe unveiled new AI tools at its MAX conference in Los Angeles, and as Figma continues to roll out its own AI-driven media generation features. In contrast, Affinity offers a refreshing take: AI isn’t baked into the core experience but available as an optional extra.
It’s clear Canva and Affinity are positioning themselves directly against Adobe. And while Canva has its own commercial ambitions around paid AI tools, this move feels like a clear challenge to Adobe’s dominance. As the company repeated throughout the launch, Affinity is free. Truly free.
That alone shifts the landscape. By lowering the barriers to entry, Canva and Affinity may have just opened the door for a new wave of designers.
Frustration with Adobe’s pricing has been simmering for years, and perhaps this was the moment everyone was waiting for. An easy tap-in that changes the game.
What’s your take?
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