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Affinity Designer Reviews

About Affinity Designer

Responsive graphic design application that can be used for UI projects.

Learn more about Affinity Designer

Pros:

Easy to download more brushes, typefaces, and anything else you need. Now integrated with copyright-free photo services like pixabay, pexles, and unsplash.

Cons:

Many tools/commands are similar but different. Deciding when to use Designer vs Photo is confusing.

Affinity Designer ratings

Average score

Ease of Use
4.4
Customer Service
4.5
Features
4.5
Value for Money
4.8

Likelihood to recommend

9.1/ 10

Affinity Designer has an overall rating of 4.7 out 5 stars based on 451 user reviews on Capterra.

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Filter reviews (451)

Vasilis
Vasilis
Web Developer and Designer in Greece
Verified LinkedIn User
Information Technology & Services, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great software especially if we consider its price

5.0 last month New

Comments: My overall experience is great so far. It's a very capable software and I really love the one-off payment that gives you access to the entire suite.

Pros:

It has a nice user interface and plenty of powerful features such as seamlessly switching between vector and raster graphics.

Cons:

I wish there was an Image Trace feature for converting png images to vector.

Frank
Founder and CEO in Germany
Public Relations & Communications, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Perfect for a wide range of graphic tasks in a marketing agency environment

5.0 5 months ago

Comments: I was looking for a tool to do my entire design - from print materials to social media URL preview images. It covers it all and is easy to use.

Pros:

Pricing for what you actually get on functionality.

Cons:

Some minor issues on figuring out how to set up the studio.

Kristen
Owner in Canada
Fine Art, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

User friendly

3.0 5 months ago

Comments: I think that losing quality when sizing images needs to be improved as it is a significant issue

Pros:

It’s very easy to figure out how to use, and it’s user friendlt

Cons:

Image sizing loses quality of the image for vectors

Nikolas
Graphic Designer in Greece
Graphic Design Software, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

The best alternative to illustrator

5.0 3 months ago

Comments: Affinity designer is a very feature complete alternative to adobe illustrator, I feel that some tools are even better, and it is also much faster than illustrator.
Unlike illustrator, designer is made from scratch and as for that utilize modern hardware much better and everything works much faster.
I use is as a freelance graphic designer since v.1 and the compatibility with adobe apps is pretty good, but even if you have trouble you can simple share PDF files that work fine. For example if I need to outsource some printing I send a PDF that can be saved in a PDF standard (like PDF X-1a:2003) and nobody have ever complained about incompatibilities or anything. Devs are improving the app all the time adding new tools and features. Personally I do miss from illustrator the image trace tool and the newer AI tools, although since affinity is bought by Canva maybe the AI gap in tools will soon be eliminated. Also you buy once in a very reasonable price and you can have it for ever. The newer universal license is pure gold value as you can have all 3 affinity apps for all available platforms for the cost of few months of adobe subscription (although yeah adobe suite give you a wider arrange of apps, me as a graphic designer simple need the 3 basics illustrator/photoshop/indesign, why to pay every year for apps that I don't use?). All in all it have a 60 days trial, so you can try for yourself for free. Just arrange the workspace the same way you had it in illustrator and the transition will be very smooth. The only thing that works completely differently is the clipping mask, but it is not a big deal.

Pros:

Simple put, it is a very good and fast alternative to adobe illustrator with very competitive pricing and one off buy.

Cons:

Technically speaking it is still on it's infancy, while it covers a lot of functions for a program that new, there are still things that are not yet implemented that I would love to have (although I have faith on the dev team that eventually will add everything that you may ever need).

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Photography, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Powerful software for graphic design and illustration

5.0 last month New

Comments: Fast and powerful software with everything needed for graphic design and illustration.

Pros:

Extremely good software for graphic design and illustration. Offers all needed tools. One-time payment instead of subscription model.

Cons:

Everything I need is included, but generative AI tools like in Adobe products would be nice to have.

Gabriel
Business Owner in Ireland
Consumer Services, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Why Affinity Earns My Loyalty: A Review of Their Customer-Centric Approach

5.0 7 months ago

Pros:

Affinity has always been a value-centered brand that genuinely cares about both the quality of its products and the satisfaction of its users. While many brands focus on maximizing profits and squeezing out every penny, Affinity chooses to do right by its customers with straightforward and simple purchase models. That's why their apps remain indispensable in my toolkit, and I feel a deep sense of loyalty toward their brand. Great job, team, and I think your 6-month model is brilliant. I wish you every success with it.

Cons:

Learning curve takes time and help files could be better.

Marcus
Marcus
Owner in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Marketing & Advertising, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Breath of fresh air for design products

5.0 8 months ago

Pros:

Full-featured suite that reminds me of the way Adobe products used to work prior to subscriptions and feature bloat.

Cons:

Some features are still missing, but I’m hopeful they will arrive with the Canva merger.

Anonymous reviewer
Staffing & Recruiting, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Affinity Designer - love it, and grab the 50% offs they do

5.0 2 months ago

Comments: Required some playing with to learn the features, but the control on elements is so precise.

Pros:

I already had Affinity Photo and Publisher, purchased during the 50% off deal. 50% off came back again, and I was getting frustrated with the lack of control on precision Canva - so Affinity Designer absolutely gave me the control I need to produce my images. I could take my Canva work for example, and then continue in Affinity. The product was £26. A bargain.

Cons:

Obviously, with any package like this, including MS Word, if it's not part of your job you only learn the bits you need. But, it's easier to learn than Adobe packages.

João
Creative director in Portugal
Design, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

More compatível with Photoshop than ilustrator

5.0 9 months ago

Comments: Great, very very fast comparing with illustrator, fast redraw on complex documentos. Less RAM requirement to work and very good export options and compatiliby with Adobe friends

Pros:

Pasta inside mutch better than illustrator with thouse cliping paths from last Century. Speed, and opening PSD in layeres and exporting in PSD format among other features and easy to learn and work.

Cons:

The mini Photoshop inside, the perna stuff

TERI
Designer in US
Graphic Design Software, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Affinity Designer is more bang for your buck

5.0 3 months ago

Pros:

Great alternative to Adobe products for an affordable price.

Cons:

The UI is a little different than Adobe so there was a learning curve

Phil
Manager in New Zealand
Leisure, Travel & Tourism, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Best value vector design software

5.0 last year

Pros:

After using Illustrator since it first came out in the late 80's I have found Affinity Designer to be a very good experience and the best alternative I have ever found. I like the on-off price rather than the subscription model, and the option to upgrade if I find value in that.

Cons:

Some features that I have been used to in Adobe Illustrator are missing. I am hoping that they add them future updates. It took awhile to get used to the different way of using vector tools but got the hang of it and in some instances are much easier now.

Harrison
Marketing Manager in US
Automotive, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Sublime platform for all creatives and illustrators

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Affinity Designer has been paramount in the marketing department from graphics designs for our social media platforms to vector graphics of cars and automotive solutions.

Pros:

It offers a perfect artboard layout and infinite social media templates which I find simple and fun to use. I also use Affinity Designer for digital prints output due to its impeccable resolutions!

Cons:

Definitely a bit complex when starting off. Training and tutorials helped me get accustomed. It is quite enjoyable now when I understand most tools and shortcuts.

Kathryn
Owner in US
Arts & Crafts, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Viable one-time-purchase option to get out of Adobe's subscription model

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: I have a one-person business where I design 2D files for laser cutting, as well as doing my own graphic design for packaging and promotional materials, photography, post-processing, etc. I am not a "power user" of Adobe CC or CS but I'm looking for something good at doing detailed vector artwork that doesn't feel like I'm back in the 1990s or something. I tested Affinity Designer on a project that I started in Adobe CS4, continued in Adobe CC; working on it in Affinity Designer was seamless.

Pros:

I have worked on one project to test it during the trial period before purchasing. The vector editing features are very similar to Adobe Illustrator, but it's a one-time-purchase for this version and updates rather than a subscription model. I'm happy that I can use it on multiple computers for my own use, as I have both a home and a studio workstation. Because my workflow includes tracing over photos, I appreciate having a suite (Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher) where it's easy to go back and forth with photo editing. I also do my own product photos and print materials so this suite is just what I needed.

Cons:

I have not tried to transfer files back and forth between workstations using Affinity and Adobe.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Health, Wellness & Fitness, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: Free Trial
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Better than I expected

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: I saw ads for the Affinity suite in the past, but always dismissed them as one of those half-baked knock-offs of photoshop that like to rope you in with "free"trials that don't let you save your files or something. Turns out I was very wrong! Affinity Designer and Publisher are both legitimate and very good pieces of software. They are feature rich, have some innovative features that aren't seen in other software and have ongoing development with regular updates. Affinity Designer is quite intuitive, can do most things Illustrator can, can open and edit Illustrator files, so the transition was very smooth, with hardly any learning curve. Still had to google some to to figure out how certain operations were done in Designer that were different to Illustrator, and grapple with a few odd choices the devs made, over all I've been pretty pleased with Designer. Decided to transition from Illustrator because it didn't make sense for us to pay for the subscription model because we only need to use it several times a year for creating product labels, and starting and cancelling subscriptions constantly is just cumbersome. Plus we already have a Photoshop and Lightroom subscription. I tried to move from Illustrator to Inkscape in the past, but that was just impossible, Inkscape can't open Illustrator files properly (even PDFs) and lacks so many features that it wasn't possible to use for what I needed it.

Pros:

Coming from Illustrator, it's very easy to adapt to, just minor differences in some workflows, but mostly it's intuitive. It can open and edit Illustrator files if they are pdf compatible, even deal with complex things like knockout groups correctly. It's also has some great ideas that I was pleasantly surprised by that made the workflow better and faster. Affinity devs listen to user feedback and regularly update their apps, so any features that it lacks it will probably get soon.

Cons:

Lack of a good font manager, it just takes the fonts you have installed in your OS. No Google fonts integration or anything like Adobe Fonts, so if you're missing fonts you have to manually find them online and (buy or) download them the old-fashioned way. Some odd workflow choices, minor things that can slow you down. Like no native way to permanently reset the bounding box of an object after it has been rotated, they have a toggle that works for 1 operation and switches back to the (skewed or rotated) original. The align UI and the order of actions to chose what to align to what is strange and can waste time. Other minor things like that that I ran into, but all in all it works well and gets the job done.

Destiny
Owner / Graphic Designer in US
Graphic Design Software, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

So impressed with Affinity Designer!

5.0 3 years ago

Comments: Overall, this program has been more beneficial than any other art program I've used. I create coloring books and the vectoring tools have made the process so much faster, easier, and cleaner looking than the hand-drawn rastered techniques I was using before.

Pros:

This is the easiest vectoring program I've ever used for lineart and I'm amazed at its affordability compared to insanely-priced subscription services like Adobe.

Cons:

I only have two gripes with this program. 1) As of the writing of this review, you can't merge vectored strokes into one layer. You can merge multiple shapes into one shape but every vectored line/stroke has its own layer and can only be 'grouped', not merged. When I'm done with a lineart, I want it to be one layer-- not thousands. 2) Protecting/locking PDFs from editing does not seem to be possible at the moment and that's a huge security issue for a lot of artists who don't want their work edited without authorization. Would really like to see this issue fixed.

Richard
Creative Director in UK
Graphic Design Software, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

A powerful tool for all levels...

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: It's been stress-free. If ever I get stuck trying to do something I just search for video tutorials and there's always something to help you on your way. I've never had to contact support and to be honest, I don't even think I've had to upgrade more than once, and If I have it was a free upgrade. Affinity is really a great provider and suite of tools. Like I said I used to be all Adobe, but now I haven't looked back. Best workflow decision I've ever made.

Pros:

An easy-to-use layout design tool that is capable of absolutely everything I need to do. I've been in the creative industry for over 30 years and Affinity Designer can handle everything I'm throwing at it from logo design and layout to full-blown artwork, and art collections I'm developing. It integrates well with the Affinity family of products (obviously). Essentially it's easy, fast, full-featured, and straightforward to get started. I used to use Illustrator (a little) but now I use Affinity and have never looked back. The transition took me minutes rather than hours. It's very intuitive.

Cons:

I haven't hit any limitations with the software yet. I always generally feel the things we don't like about the software is that we've mainly not learned how to use particular features or combinations yet, so really it's on us to work it out and innovate. Sure in any software there can be occasional bugs. But I haven't come across any yet, or anything particularly frustrating about the workflow, tool, or system as a whole.

Jens
Graphic Designer & Artworker in UK
Computer Software, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

IMO the Best Vector Editing Software on the Market

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Fabulous. I bought the software in 2014 when it was first released and Serif has supplied free upgrades for almost seven years now (bringing it from version 1.0 to 1.9).
It's super easy to learn when you come from competing software and because it's newly developed it doesn't carry the heft of many, many years of old code and compatibility issues around (looking at you, Illustrator!).

Pros:

It's modern, FAST (in capitals), easy to use, affordable and regularly updated. Also, Affinity Designer (and it's companion applications Photo and Publisher) are available on both Windows and macOS with 100% file compatibility; In addition there is an iPad edition available, again with 100% compatible files and great drawing features for Apple Pencil.

Cons:

The management of ,global colours' and 'normal colours' needs some getting used to. Once you know how it works, it works well, but it's a bit different than I expected.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Information Technology & Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Budget alternative to Adobe's increasingly expensive product line..

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: The pricepoint and feature set make this a steal when you compare it to Adobe's competitor Illustrator. We bought a single license and had our most experienced designer test drive it. He ultimately recommended it and we've enjoyed a huge cost savings for software, while not missing a beat in terms of workload and output.

Pros:

This is a fantastic alternative to Adobe's Illustrator, especially at Affinity's pricepoint. To be fair, we're not a design agency first, we make websites and do marketing primarily. However, when we do want to work with vector graphics, Affinity Designer matches up almost 1:1 with Adobe Illustrator. The real pro is the one-time fee of $50 instead of a full adobe suite subscription. This allows our small team to effectively open, edit, and export vector graphics, without having a several hundred dollars per month bill to foot. For small teams, this is a huge win. I'd imagine some experienced designers will scoff that a few of their old shortcuts don't work, but all in all, the interface and function almost mirrors Adobe's for a fraction of the cost. We also use their photo editing software too, which replaces Photoshop.

Cons:

Some of the terminology and keyboard shortcuts made the onboarding slightly more difficult for our long-time Adobe Illustrator users, but they've adopted nicely over time. There's always growing pains when you switch tools, but there are many more features that do match up 1:1 that this was a no brainer for our company.

Srdan
Operations Manager in Portugal
Apparel & Fashion, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

My essential UX, Vector Creating tool

5.0 3 years ago

Comments: I am very satisfied with the performance the look, style and usability of Affinity Designer I am also using the Affinity Photo and Publisher.

Pros:

It's built for Mac OS, an it works flawlessly with my M1 MacBook and my Dell 27" external screen. It has all the features and tools as Adobe Illustrator and then some more. I absolutely love it!

Cons:

Nothing that I can think of at the moment, all is rainbows and smiles after few years of using it.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Design, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

image editor

5.0 last year

Comments: it's a very practical program that offers many vector design features

Pros:

it's an easy to use tool with a lot of basic and advanced features for vector design,it's a software for any artist who wants to create art,logo,poster.

Cons:

its very intuitive interface, the button animation needs to be improved, otherwise it remains a complete program for vector creation

Debbie
Manager in New Zealand
Health, Wellness & Fitness, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Affinity Designer from a Person who is not techie

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: The main problem that Affinity Designer solves is the need for a comprehensive and powerful vector graphics design solution. Affinity Designer provides users with a suite of tools and features to create sophisticated vector designs, including vector shapes and paths, complex masking, and advanced color and text manipulation.The benefits of using Affinity Designer include:1. Professional-grade design capabilities: Affinity Designer offers a robust set of tools and features that allow users to create sophisticated and professional-looking vector designs.2. Intuitive user interface: Affinity Designer has a clean and intuitive user interface, making it easy to create complex designs with ease.3. Full compatibility with Adobe Creative Suite: Affinity Designer is fully compatible with Adobe Creative Suite, allowing users to continue to work on their Adobe projects within the Affinity Designer interface.4. Cost savings: Affinity Designer is a one-time purchase, which means users don't need to pay for a subscription or purchase upgrades. This can save users money in the long run.

Pros:

-Affinity Designer is an intuitive and powerful vector design software that is easy to use.-It has an efficient workflow and allows for the creation of complex designs quickly and accurately.-It offers a wide range of tools to help create professional-looking designs.-It is compatible with both Mac and Windows.-It has a great user interface and is well organized.-It offers support for vector and raster images.-It can be used to create illustrations, logos, icons, diagrams, and web page layouts.

Cons:

-The learning curve can be a bit steep for those who are new to vector design.-It lacks some of the advanced features found in other vector design software.-It does not have a built-in library of templates and shapes.

Wil
Sys Admin in US
Information Technology & Services, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Affinity Designer

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Great Software for designing logos and other vector graphics. A great alternative to the more expensive Adobe products

Pros:

Great overall software and the Affinity Designer Software 2 with the universal license is even better.

Cons:

I feel it has a slight learning curve coming from Adobe

Ronald
Ronald
Digital Media Coordinator in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Religious Institutions, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Affinity Designer for the win!!!!!!

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Affinity Designer has been great for vector graphics designing for print and digital. With the seamless integration between Designer, Photo, & Publisher our materials look much cleaner.

Pros:

What do I like most about Affinity Designer? EVERYTHING!!! This software replaced an older version of Adobe Suite Desktop. No subscription plan and excellent updates were among the winning reason to switch.

Cons:

If I had to pick something to not like, it would be that some of my presets and LUT functions could not be imported into Affinity. I do run into some minor issues with layers when importing AI files.

Ismaël Huberson
Ismaël Huberson
founder in Côte d’Ivoire
Verified LinkedIn User
Apparel & Fashion, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Affinity Designer

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: The best vector graphics software.

Pros:

Affinity Designer is a vector graphics software that allows you to do retouching, illustration and drawing. It is a great tool for designers and is compatible with most operating systems. The Affinity Designer software is easy to use with its intuitive tools and easy navigation. It is a great software for creating artwork for business, creating marketing materials, designing logos and more.

Cons:

It's a nice software to use, suitable for beginners as well as for professionals.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Nonprofit Organization Management, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Can import both HEIC and WebP files

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Great for any image format.

Pros:

I capture a lot of HEIC images with the iPhones and knowing that I can easily import them into Affinity Designer without the need to convert them into any other format or always trying to remember and change my phones camera settings to JPEG every time i take photos is a big plus. Thanks to AD and It has always been my first to go software when planning to use images from my phone. I would also like to mention about the shape builder in Affinity Designer which has been a fun tool and very easy to use. I use it a lot for quick logo designing. Quick steps such a simple drag to combine segments works perfectly.

Cons:

I appreciate that AD comes with an iPad version which is a plus. However, in other use case, the blend modes seem not to work and sometimes I have experienced freezes when trying to export slices. Hopefully an update will address this soon.