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

Affinity vs Nano Banana

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

Nano Banana

4.6

From $19.99/mo

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.

Nano Banana4.6

Best overallEasiest to use

Pick it if: Marketers, store owners and creators who need realistic images and edits that stay true to the original person or product.

Nano Banana 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	Nano Banana
In one line	Free pro design app for photo editing, illustration and layout, with optional Canva AI.	Google's image model. Describe an edit and faces and products stay the same.
Pricing model	Free	Freemium
Starting price	Your Canva subscription	$19.99/mo
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	Nano Banana
Overall rating	4.4	4.6Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.	3.0	4.5
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	5.0
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	Nano Banana
Access & platform
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	Yes
Desktop app	Yes	No
Browser extension	No	No
API access	No	Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace	No	No
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	No
Writes code	No	No
Runs agents or automations	No	No
Learns your brand or style	No	No
Works in many languages	Yes	Yes
Capabilities score	8/ 17	9/ 17

Pricing

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

Attribute	Affinity	Nano Banana
Plans	FreeOur pick Free Individuals, for personal or business use.	Free (Gemini app and AI Studio) Free Trying it and occasional images.
	With Canva Pro Your Canva subscription People who already pay for Canva.	Google AI ProOur pick $19.99/mo Marketers and creators making images every week.
	Canva Enterprise Custom Organisations rolling it out to a team.	Google AI Ultra From $99.99/mo Heavy daily image and video makers.
		Gemini API From $0.034 per image Developers and automated workflows.
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.	Start free in the Gemini app to see if it suits your work. If you make images most weeks, Google AI Pro is the one to buy because it adds Nano Banana Pro and comes with Gemini, video credits and storage. Developers should use Nano Banana 2 on the API and save Pro for hero images.

Key features

Attribute	Affinity	Nano Banana
Standout features	Photo editing Vector design Page layout One app for all three Canva AI Mac, Windows and iPad	Edit by describing Consistent characters Blend reference images Sharp text and 4K Grounded in Google Search Gemini API

Pros and cons

Attribute	Affinity	Nano Banana
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	The best at editing a photo while keeping the person or product identical Free to try in the Gemini app Pro renders accurate text and up to 4K Cheap, fast API with a half-price batch mode Built into Canva, Photoshop and Higgsfield as well as Google's apps
Cons	Steep learning curve compared with Canva AI tools need a paid Canva plan Complex Adobe files don't always open perfectly	Less artistic flair than Midjourney Free images carry a visible watermark, and every image has an invisible SynthID mark Model names and plan limits change often Safety filters can block harmless requests involving people

Who each one is for

Attribute	Affinity	Nano Banana
Best for	Replacing Adobe apps without the subscription Logos and vector illustrations Print layouts like brochures and menus Detailed photo editing	Editing photos by describing the change Product shots and lifestyle scenes Consistent characters across images Posters and graphics with readable text
You'll find it used by	Designers Photographers Illustrators Small businesses Students	Marketers Ecommerce store owners Content creators Designers Developers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Affinity or Nano Banana?

Nano Banana scores highest overall in our ratings (Affinity 4.4/5 and Nano Banana 4.6/5). Affinity is best for Replacing Adobe apps without the subscription and logos and vector illustrations. Nano Banana is best for editing photos by describing the change and product shots and lifestyle scenes.

Which is cheaper, Affinity or Nano Banana?

Affinity: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at Your Canva subscription. Nano Banana: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $19.99/mo.

Which is easier to use, Affinity or Nano Banana?

Nano Banana rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Marketers, store owners and creators who need realistic images and edits that stay true to the original person or product.

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

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