Canva has launched a free, unified version of its Affinity creative suite, offering professional-grade photo editing, vector design, and page layout tools as a direct alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

Key Points

• Canva acquired developer Serif in 2024 and released the unified "Affinity" app in late 2025.
• The software combines previous standalone tools—Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher—into one integrated workspace.
• The core professional toolkit is free for all users, requiring only a free Canva account for access.
• Generative AI features, such as background removal and Generative Fill, remain locked behind a $120-per-year Canva Premium subscription.
• Affinity is optimized for Apple Silicon, offering faster performance and lower memory usage compared to Adobe Photoshop on macOS.
• Over one million users registered for the new platform within the first four days of its launch.

Why it Matters

This move disrupts the long-standing subscription model for professional creative software by providing a high-performance, no-cost alternative to Adobe’s industry-standard tools. It forces a shift in the market that challenges the necessity of monthly fees for independent creators while positioning Canva to capture a larger share of the professional design ecosystem.