Affinity Suite
Affinity Suite (by Canva/Serif) is a three-app professional design suite — Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher — originally offered as a perpetual one-time purchase with no monthly subscription. Since October 2025, Canva has released Affinity v3 free for all users. The optimal cost choice for businesses that need powerful design tools without being locked into Adobe CC.
Overview
Affinity Suite is a three-app professional design suite developed by Serif and now owned by Canva: Affinity Photo (photo editing and retouching), Affinity Designer (vector and UI design), and Affinity Publisher (layout and publishing). It is a trusted Adobe Creative Cloud alternative among professional designers worldwide.
The most compelling differentiator of Affinity Suite is its low cost model: since October 2025, Canva has made Affinity v3 free for all users — advanced AI features require Canva Pro. Compared with an Adobe CC subscription, Affinity represents significant long-term licence savings.
The Studio Link interface in Affinity Publisher 2 allows seamless switching between Photo, Designer, and Publisher within a single window — no copy-pasting between apps. Affinity v2 delivers notable performance improvements and native CMYK support for print, as well as the ability to open PSD and AI files (to a reasonable degree).
Affinity is best suited to freelancers, small studios, and businesses that do not need 100% Adobe file compatibility, do not use Premiere Pro or After Effects for video, and want to control long-term software costs. If the business needs to exchange files with print houses or clients using Adobe, file formats should be agreed upon in advance to avoid compatibility issues.
Key features
Affinity Photo 2
- → RAW processing for 500+ camera formats, non-destructive adjustments
- → Layer-based editing, blend modes, and adjustment layers comparable to Photoshop
- → Retouching: inpainting, clone brush, and advanced frequency separation
- → HDR merging, focus stacking, and panorama stitching built in
- → Batch processing — automated handling of large image sets
Affinity Designer 2
- → Vector and raster in the same document — no mode switching required
- → Logo, icon, illustration, and UI/UX design with Artboards
- → Boolean operations: Add, Subtract, Intersect, Divide
- → Symbols and Assets — reusable design components
- → Multi-platform export: SVG, PDF, PNG, JPEG, WebP
Affinity Publisher 2
- → Master pages, styles, automatic table of contents and index
- → Native CMYK, overprint, bleed, and slug for professional print
- → Studio Link — open Photo/Designer personas within the same window
- → Export PDF/X (PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, PDF/X-4) to industry print standards
- → IDML import — migrate documents from InDesign
Who it's for?
Freelancer / Small Studio, 1–5 Staff
- Ngành
- Freelance designers, small studios, bloggers
- Quy mô
- 1–5 employees
- Use case
- Logo design, social media graphics, product photo retouching, brochures and marketing collateral for SME clients
- Vì sao chọn
- Lowest cost in the professional tool segment — one-time purchase, no subscription concerns. Affinity handles 90% of typical design work with ease.
Publisher / Education / NGO, 5–50 Staff
- Ngành
- Publishers, education, NGOs, organisations needing polished documents
- Quy mô
- 5–50 employees
- Use case
- Internal document layout, textbooks, annual reports, product catalogues, periodic marketing publications
- Vì sao chọn
- Affinity Publisher 2 is the most capable one-time-purchase layout tool available — capable of replacing InDesign for the vast majority of publishing tasks. Significant savings compared with Adobe CC when scaled across multiple users.
Commercial Photography, 1–10 Staff
- Ngành
- Commercial photography: food, real estate
- Quy mô
- 1–10 photographers and photo editors
- Use case
- Batch RAW processing, product and real estate photo retouching, compositing, simultaneous web and print export
- Vì sao chọn
- Affinity Photo 2 handles RAW processing and batch operations very well — a capable replacement for a Lightroom + Photoshop workflow. The one-time purchase saves photography teams significantly compared with Lightroom subscriptions.
Strengths
- ✓ Perpetual purchase model — no subscription, no annual price increases
- ✓ Universal Licence: Windows + macOS + iPad in one purchase
- ✓ Studio Link — seamless switching between Photo, Designer, and Publisher in one window
- ✓ Native CMYK and spot colour — professional print output without plugins
- ✓ High performance; runs smoothly on lower-RAM machines than Adobe
Limitations to consider
- ! Not 100% compatible with Adobe PSD/AI/INDD files — some specialist layers may be lost
- ! No video apps — cannot replace Premiere Pro or After Effects
- ! Much smaller plugin ecosystem than Adobe
- ! No generative AI like Adobe Firefly — lacks advanced creative AI features
Pricing
Free
- ✓ Affinity Photo v3, Designer v3, Publisher v3 — free
- ✓ Windows + macOS + iPad
- ✓ Advanced AI features require Canva Pro
- ✓ Enterprise deployment — consult Dzo
Frequently asked questions
What apps are included in Affinity Suite?
Affinity Suite includes three apps: Affinity Photo 2 (replaces Photoshop/Lightroom), Affinity Designer 2 (replaces Illustrator/Sketch), and Affinity Publisher 2 (replaces InDesign). The Universal Licence covers all three apps for Windows, macOS, and iPad in a single purchase.
Is Affinity compatible with Adobe files?
Affinity can open PSD and AI files at a basic level — some specialist layers, smart objects, or complex blending modes may be lost. Affinity Publisher 2 supports IDML import but cannot read native INDD files. If files need to be exchanged with a print house or Adobe-using clients, export to PDF or agree on the file format in advance.
Do I need to repurchase Affinity v2 if I have v1?
Yes. Affinity v2 is a new licence, not a free upgrade from v1. However, v1 users were offered a discounted upgrade price. Both v1 and v2 are perpetual licences — no subscription.
Is a VAT invoice available?
Yes. When purchasing Affinity Suite through Dzo, your organisation receives a valid electronic VAT invoice under Decree 123/2020, with VND payment accepted — no foreign-currency card required.
Should I choose Affinity or Adobe Creative Cloud?
Choose Affinity if: budget is limited, 100% Adobe file compatibility is not essential, Premiere Pro/After Effects are not needed, and you prefer a perpetual purchase over a subscription. Choose Adobe CC if: full file compatibility with print houses and Adobe-using clients is required, video production is needed, Firefly AI is important, or you are an agency working with diverse client types.
Interested in Affinity Suite?
Dzo delivers an exact quote within 24h — e-VAT invoice, VND payment, local training.