October 30, 2025
Free… but at what login cost?
Affinity Studio Now Free
Free forever? Fans cheer as Affinity unlocks everything—if you sign in with Canva
TLDR: Affinity’s pro design app just went free, with all tools unlocked, if you sign in via a Canva account. Commenters are split: thrilled by the price, nervous about required logins, online checks, and future “enshittification,” plus confusion over branding and whether this replaces Serif’s apps.
Affinity just dropped the mic: the all‑in‑one creative app is now free, with full pro tools for design, photo editing, and page layout—plus those “pixel‑perfect export” bragging rights. The catch? You have to sign in with a Canva account (free or paid), and paid Canva users can pipe in Canva’s AI tools for a turbo workflow. Canva bought Affinity earlier this year, and the official line says no watered‑down features and free updates. Designers are asking: is this the same Affinity from Serif? Short answer: yes—just under Canva’s umbrella.
The comments are pure popcorn. Relief leads the mood—“better than expected after the acquisition,” celebrates nocoiner. But then the login alarm goes off: cosmic_cheese warns that mandatory accounts enable future “enshittification” (translation: slow, sneaky decline), with fears of forced updates and always‑online checks. Confusion spirals: aquir asks if this is “Affinity Studio from Serif or not,” while TechSquidTV drops a spicy “maybe a lawsuit” over branding vibes. Some hope it’s a supplement, not a replacement for existing Affinity apps. Meanwhile, memes fly: “Free like a puppy—cute, but needs a login,” and “Canva‑finity” jokes. In short: designers love the price, side‑eye the strings, and brace for the sequel.
Key Points
- •Affinity is now free to use and download with a Canva account.
- •The app offers full professional toolsets across Pixel, Vector, and Layout studios.
- •Export options include object-, slice-, and document-level control for pixel-perfect output.
- •The free version includes all features and will receive free updates with new improvements.
- •Canva premium customers can unlock Canva AI tools in Affinity via Canva AI Studio.