Side-by-side comparison · Image, Logo & Design

Affinity vs Canva

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Affinity

4.4

From Your Canva subscription

Details Visit

Best overall

Canva

4.5

From $144/yr for one person

Details Visit

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Affinity4.4

Best value

Pick it if: Designers, photographers and confident DIYers who want professional design software without an Adobe subscription.

Canva4.5

Best overallEasiest to use

Pick it if: Anyone who needs good-looking marketing material regularly and doesn't have a designer on call.

Canva scores highest overall, but Affinity gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

Attribute	Affinity	Canva
In one line	Free pro design app for photo editing, illustration and layout, with optional Canva AI.	Make social posts, decks and flyers from templates, with AI that writes and edits for you.
Pricing model	Free	Freemium
Starting price	Your Canva subscription	$144/yr for one person
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Works with Claude Code	No	Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

Attribute	Affinity	Canva
Overall rating	4.4	4.5Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.	3.0	5.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.	5.0	4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.	4.5	4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.	5.0	4.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.	4.5	4.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

Attribute	Affinity	Canva
Access & platform
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	Yes
Desktop app	Yes	Yes
Browser extension	No	No
API access	No	Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace	No	Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO	Yes	Yes
Connects to other apps	Yes	Yes
Open source or self-hosted	No	No
AI abilities
Works with your files	Yes	Yes
Understands images	–	Yes
Makes images	Yes	Yes
Makes video	No	Yes
Writes code	No	No
Runs agents or automations	No	No
Learns your brand or style	No	Yes
Works in many languages	Yes	Yes
Capabilities score	8/ 17	13/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

Attribute	Affinity	Canva
Plans	FreeOur pick Free Individuals, for personal or business use.	Free Free Occasional posts and trying it out.
	With Canva Pro Your Canva subscription People who already pay for Canva.	ProOur pick $144/yr for one person Anyone making marketing material every week.
	Canva Enterprise Custom Organisations rolling it out to a team.	Business $250/yr per person Teams who need shared brands and approvals.
		Enterprise Custom Large organisations with security requirements.
Which plan to pick	Download it free. Only connect a paid Canva plan if you want the AI tools inside Affinity, or if you already pay for Canva anyway.	Use Free until you find yourself fighting it, usually over the brand kit or background removal. Pro pays for itself the first time you skip a stock photo subscription. Business only makes sense once two or more people are working in the same brand.

Key features

Attribute	Affinity	Canva
Standout features	Photo editing Vector design Page layout One app for all three Canva AI Mac, Windows and iPad	Templates for everything Brand Kit Canva AI Magic Resize Docs, sheets and video Claude connection

Pros and cons

Attribute	Affinity	Canva
Pros	Professional design software for free Photo, vector and layout in one app Runs on Mac, Windows and iPad Opens and exports Adobe and PDF files No subscription for the core app	Nobody needs training to use it The free plan is big enough to run a small business on Brand Kit and Magic Resize save hours every week Covers decks, documents and simple video as well as graphics Works with Claude, so designs can start from a chat
Cons	Steep learning curve compared with Canva AI tools need a paid Canva plan Complex Adobe files don't always open perfectly	Template designs can look generic unless you customise them Fine control over type and layout is limited next to Figma or Adobe Built-in image generation is a step behind the dedicated generators AI features burn through credits faster than you expect on Free

Who each one is for

Attribute	Affinity	Canva
Best for	Replacing Adobe apps without the subscription Logos and vector illustrations Print layouts like brochures and menus Detailed photo editing	Social media posts and stories Quick decks and one-pagers Resizing one design for every channel Simple logos and brand kits
You'll find it used by	Designers Photographers Illustrators Small businesses Students	Small business owners Marketers Social media managers Teachers Agencies

Questions people ask

Which is better, Affinity or Canva?

Canva scores highest overall in our ratings (Affinity 4.4/5 and Canva 4.5/5). Affinity is best for Replacing Adobe apps without the subscription and logos and vector illustrations. Canva is best for social media posts and stories and quick decks and one-pagers.

Which is cheaper, Affinity or Canva?

Affinity: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at Your Canva subscription. Canva: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $144/yr for one person.

Which is easier to use, Affinity or Canva?

Canva rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who needs good-looking marketing material regularly and doesn't have a designer on call.

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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