Side-by-side comparison · Image, Logo & Design
Affinity vs Canva vs HeadshotPro
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Designers, photographers and confident DIYers who want professional design software without an Adobe subscription.
Pick it if: Anyone who needs good-looking marketing material regularly and doesn't have a designer on call.
Pick it if: Businesses that need consistent staff photos, and professionals who want a LinkedIn headshot without booking a shoot.
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 | HeadshotPro |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | Turns your selfies into professional headshots for LinkedIn and your team. |
| Pricing model | Free | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | Your Canva subscription | $144/yr for one person | $29 one-off |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Affinity | Canva | HeadshotPro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.4 | 4.5Winner | 4.2 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Affinity | Canva | HeadshotPro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | – |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | – |
| Browser extension | No | No | – |
| API access | No | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | No | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | No | Yes | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No | – |
| Learns your brand or style | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | – |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 13/ 17 | 8/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Affinity | Canva | HeadshotPro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | FreeOur pick Free Individuals, for personal or business use. | Free Free Occasional posts and trying it out. | Basic $29 one-off One person on a budget. |
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. | ProfessionalOur pick $39 one-off Most individuals. | |
Canva Enterprise Custom Organisations rolling it out to a team. | Business $250/yr per person Teams who need shared brands and approvals. | Executive $59 one-off People who want more choice and 4K files. | |
Enterprise Custom Large organisations with security requirements. | Team From $19.50/person, volume discounts Companies with 5 to 1,000 staff. | ||
Enterprise Custom Organisations with 1,000+ people. | |||
| 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. | An individual should take Professional: the free redo is worth the extra $10 over Basic. Companies should use the Team plan, where credits never expire and the per-person price drops as you buy more. |
Key features
| Attribute | Affinity | Canva | HeadshotPro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | Affinity | Canva | HeadshotPro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | Affinity | Canva | HeadshotPro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
Questions people ask
Which is better, Affinity, Canva or HeadshotPro?
Canva scores highest overall in our ratings (Affinity 4.4/5, Canva 4.5/5 and HeadshotPro 4.2/5). 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. HeadshotPro is best for matching headshots for a whole team and LinkedIn and email profile photos.
Which is cheaper, Affinity, Canva or HeadshotPro?
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. HeadshotPro: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $29 one-off.
Which is easier to use, Affinity, Canva or HeadshotPro?
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.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
Swap in another tool
More tools from Image, Logo & Design in the library.
