Affinity's Image-Editing Apps Go 'Freemium' in First Major Post-Canva Update (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0179922212
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/10/31/1411210/affinitys-image-editing-apps-go-freemium-in-first-major-post-canva-update
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/canvas-new-affinity-app-is-free-to-use-but-locks-ai-features-behind-a-subscription/
> When graphic design platform-provider Canva [1]bought the Affinity image-editing and publishing apps early last year, we had some major questions about how the companies' priorities and products would mesh. How would Canva serve the users who preferred Affinity's perpetually licensed apps to Adobe's subscription-only software suite? And how would Affinity's strong stance against generative AI be reconciled with Canva's embrace of those technologies.
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> This week, Canva [2]gave us definitive answers to all of those questions : a brand-new unified Affinity app that melds the Photo, Designer, and Publisher apps into a single piece of software called "Affinity by Canva" that is free to use with a Canva user account, but which gates generative AI features behind Canva's existing paid subscription plans ($120 a year for individuals).
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> This does seem like mostly good news, in the near to mid term, for existing Affinity app users who admired Affinity's anti-AI stance: All three apps' core features are free to use, and the stuff you're being asked to pay for is stuff you mostly don't want anyway. But it may come as unwelcome news for those who like the predictability of pay-once-own-forever software or are nervous about where Canva might draw the line between "free" and "premium" features down the line.
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> [...] There's now a dedicated page for the older versions of the Affinity apps, and an FAQ at the bottom of that page answers several questions about the fate of those apps. Affinity and Canva say they will continue to keep the activation servers and downloads for all Affinity v1 and v2 apps online for the foreseeable future, giving people who already own the existing apps a way to keep using the versions they're comfortable with. Users can opt to link their Serif Affinity store accounts to their new Canva accounts to access the old downloads without juggling multiple accounts. But those older versions of the apps "won't receive future updates" and won't be able to open files created in the new Canva-branded Affinity app.
[1] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/03/26/2013227/canva-acquires-affinity-to-fill-the-adobe-sized-holes-in-its-design-suite
[2] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/canvas-new-affinity-app-is-free-to-use-but-locks-ai-features-behind-a-subscription/
"for the foreseeable future" (Score:2)
I've seen that statement made many times, after many mergers / buyouts. And, somehow, that "foreseeable future" always ends up being a much shorter time period than I would have expected.
At this point, past experience teaches me it means 3-4 years at most.
Gimp me up (Score:2)
I've been trying to come to terms with Gimp's UI. For some reason it is more difficult for me than most other application switches.
But there is no way I'm going to rent core functionality, like text editing and image manipulation. And Canva here is already declaring they're going to use file format changes strategically, anyone who has been around the block knows how that game works.
So using these tools is accepting you're going to be bent over a barrel at some point. Expect it.
ipad v2 is free, get it while you can (Score:1)
They made the ipad versions of affinity 2 free while they wait to release the ipad version of the new combined app. Seeing as they pulled the mac app store versions, it's a brief window you can get the ipad versions, and do the zero dollar in app purchase to have them all for free without the AI additions. I pulled them all yesterday and registered. These will be removed from the app store, so get them while you can.
Pleasant surprise (Score:2)
There was widespread speculation they would be switching entirely to a subscription model, so this comes as pleasant news.