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

Affinity vs Canva vs Pomelli

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

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Best overall

Canva

4.5

From $144/yr for one person

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Pomelli

4.1

Free to start

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Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Affinity4.4

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.

Pomelli4.1

Pick it if: Small business owners who need regular on-brand social posts and ads but don't have a designer or much time.

Overview

Attribute	Affinity	Canva	Pomelli
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.	Free Google tool that reads your website and makes on-brand marketing images and posts.
Pricing model	Free	Freemium	Free
Starting price	Your Canva subscription	$144/yr for one person	Free
Free plan	Yes	Yes	Yes
Works with Claude Code	No	Yes	No

Rating breakdown

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

Attribute	Affinity	Canva	Pomelli
Overall rating	4.4	4.5Winner	4.1
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	3.5
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	5.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.	4.5	4.5	4.0

Feature comparison

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

Attribute	Affinity	Canva	Pomelli
Access & platform
Free plan	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	Yes	No
Desktop app	Yes	Yes	No
Browser extension	No	No	No
API access	No	Yes	No
Teams & business
Team workspace	No	Yes	No
Enterprise plan or SSO	Yes	Yes	No
Connects to other apps	Yes	Yes	No
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	Yes
Writes code	No	No	No
Runs agents or automations	No	No	No
Learns your brand or style	No	Yes	Yes
Works in many languages	Yes	Yes	–
Capabilities score	8/ 17	13/ 17	6/ 17

Pricing

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

Attribute	Affinity	Canva	Pomelli
Plans	FreeOur pick Free Individuals, for personal or business use.	Free Free Occasional posts and trying it out.	FreeOur pick Free Every small business. There's no paid plan.
	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.	There's only the free version. Sign in with a Google account, paste your website, and check the Business DNA it builds before you make anything.

Key features

Attribute	Affinity	Canva	Pomelli
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	Business DNA Campaign ideas Photoshoot Animate Product catalogue Easy edits

Pros and cons

Attribute	Affinity	Canva	Pomelli
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	Completely free Learns your brand from your website in minutes Product photoshoot uses Google's Nano Banana Very easy for non-designers Animate turns posts into short videos
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	A Google Labs experiment that could change or close Designs are simpler than Canva or Lovart No scheduling or posting Needs a decent website to learn your brand from

Who each one is for

Attribute	Affinity	Canva	Pomelli
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	On-brand social posts without a designer Studio-style product photos from a phone shot Campaign ideas for a sale or launch Turning posts into short animated clips
You'll find it used by	Designers Photographers Illustrators Small businesses Students	Small business owners Marketers Social media managers Teachers Agencies	Small businesses Online stores Cafes and restaurants Solo founders

Questions people ask

Which is better, Affinity, Canva or Pomelli?

Canva scores highest overall in our ratings (Affinity 4.4/5, Canva 4.5/5 and Pomelli 4.1/5). 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. Pomelli is best for on-brand social posts without a designer and studio-style product photos from a phone shot.

Which is cheaper, Affinity, Canva or Pomelli?

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. Pomelli: It's free to use.

Which is easier to use, Affinity, Canva or Pomelli?

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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Affinity vs Canva vs Pomelli

At a glance

Overview

Rating breakdown

Feature comparison

Pricing

Key features

Pros and cons

Who each one is for

Questions people ask

Which is better, Affinity, Canva or Pomelli?

Which is cheaper, Affinity, Canva or Pomelli?

Which is easier to use, Affinity, Canva or Pomelli?

How we compare

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