Affinity
Free pro photo, vector and layout editor from Canva, with paid Canva AI tools
Affinity is Canva's desktop creative suite for photo retouching, vector illustration, graphics and page layout, sold as studios inside one app (Pixel, Vector Studio, Layout). The core app has been free for individuals since October 2025; Canva AI features such as generative fill, AI upscaling and image decomposition need a paid Canva plan. Affinity 3.3 (September 2026) added 60+ features and a JavaScript Scripting Studio.
- 1 creator using
- Freemium pricing
- Moderate learning curve
What Affinity can do
- Infinite canvas No
- AI agent Partial
- Node / flow builder No
- Public API Not confirmed
- MCP server Not confirmed
8 of 26 capabilities confirmed
| Capability | Supported | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Text to image | Partial | Canva AI image generation inside Affinity on a paid Canva plan |
| Image editing | Yes | Generative Fill and Expand via Canva AI; Mask and Deform tools in 3.3 |
| Text to video | No | |
| Image to video | No | |
| Video to video | No | |
| Native audio in video | No | |
| Lip-sync | No | |
| Voice / TTS | No | |
| Music & SFX | No | |
| Upscaling | Yes | Cloud AI image upscaling (paid) plus Generative Upscale with faithful and creative modes |
| Character consistency | No | |
| Camera control | No | |
| Custom training | No | |
| Third-party models | Not confirmed |
| Capability | Supported | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Infinite canvas | No | |
| Node / flow builder | No | |
| AI agent | Partial | Scripting Studio can AI-generate JavaScript to automate repetitive tasks (Affinity 3.3); it is not a multi-step planning agent |
| Chat assistant | Partial | Claude connector for Affinity on desktop |
| Team collaboration | Partial | Send artwork to Canva to collaborate live with teammates; deeper ProSuite file sharing is planned |
| Capability | Supported | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Public API | Not confirmed | |
| MCP server | Not confirmed | |
| Mobile app | No | iPad version listed as coming soon |
| Desktop / local | Yes | Native Mac (Apple silicon and Intel) and Windows apps; local AI models in 3.3 |
| Open source | No |
| Capability | Supported | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes | Core app free for individuals; Canva AI features need a paid Canva plan |
| Commercial use | Not confirmed |
Yes Partial No Not confirmed by the vendor
What makes Affinity different
- 01
The core app is free for individuals with no watermark or trial clock, which is the main gap against Photoshop's 7-day trial and paid-only plans.
- 02
One app covers raster, vector and page layout as switchable studios, so a logo, its print layout and its photo mockup stay in one document.
- 03
Opens PSD, AI, IDML and DWG files directly, so it works alongside an existing Adobe-based pipeline without a conversion step.
- 04
Generative tools (fill, expand, upscale) are paid through the Canva plan, not through a per-app credit wall; the core editing is not gated.
- 05
Cavalry (free full version) gives a path from the same artwork to motion graphics without a separate paid motion tool.
About Affinity
Affinity is the desktop app for working on stills: retouching and compositing photos (Pixel), drawing logos, icons and vector art (Vector Studio), and laying out print or document pages (Layout). Its three studios can be switched inside one document, and a single script can run across all three. It opens PSD, AI, IDML and DWG files, so it can sit beside an Adobe-based pipeline.
What changed in 2026: Canva acquired Cavalry in February 2026 and made its full version free in April 2026; in September 2026 Canva grouped Affinity, Cavalry, Leonardo.Ai and Flourish under the name Canva ProSuite. Affinity 3.3 added a Mask tool that paints masks automatically, a Deform tool for reposing people, a Blend tool for morphing vector shapes, a Scripting Studio that can AI-generate JavaScript for repetitive work, and import of InDesign and Publisher files. Paid Canva subscribers get new local models (noise reduction, motion blur reduction, SDR-to-HDR, object and region detection) and cloud models (AI upscaling, image decomposition into editable layers, Layer to 3D).
For a film or video workflow, Affinity is a still-image and graphics tool. It is useful for key art, posters, title cards, lower-third frames, texture and matte cleanup, storyboard panels and frame stills for AI video references. It does not generate or edit video. Motion work goes through Cavalry, which Canva lists as a separate download that can take Affinity artwork directly.
What's new in Affinity
-
Affinity 3.3 ships with 60+ features and Scripting Studio
New Mask and Deform tools, a Blend tool for vector shapes, a JavaScript Scripting Studio, InDesign and Publisher import, and cloud and local AI models for paid Canva subscribers.
Source: cgchannel.com ↗ -
Canva ProSuite launches, grouping Affinity, Cavalry, Leonardo.Ai and Flourish
The suite is mainly branding for now; each app installs separately and Affinity and Cavalry remain free, with file-sharing integration planned.
Source: alternativeto.net ↗ -
Cavalry full version made free
Canva bought the motion design app Cavalry in February 2026 and made its full version free in April, including for commercial work by individual artists; studios need a paid Canva account.
Source: cgchannel.com ↗
Key Features
- Pixel studio for photo retouching and compositing
- Vector Studio for logos, icons, illustration and graphic design
- Layout studio for print and document pages, with InDesign and Publisher import (3.3)
- Mask tool that generates and paints masks automatically (3.3)
- Deform tool for distorting parts of an image, including reposing people (3.3)
- Blend tool that morphs between vector objects with live groups (3.3)
- Scripting Studio: JavaScript scripts, AI-assisted, that run across all studios (3.3)
- Cloud AI upscaling and image decomposition into editable layers (paid Canva plan)
- Generative Fill and Expand through Canva AI (paid Canva plan)
- Opens PSD, AI, IDML and DWG files
- Native Mac and Windows apps; iPad listed as coming soon
When to reach for it — and when to skip
Reach for it when…
- Core app is free for individuals with no subscription required for editing
- Good PSD compatibility for an existing Photoshop-based pipeline
- Fast, native desktop performance on Apple silicon
- Vector and raster in one document, with page layout built in
- Free full Cavalry for motion work on the same artwork
Skip it when…
- No video generation or video editing; stills and graphics only
- AI features sit behind a separate Canva subscription, with a monthly allowance that runs out quickly on heavy generation
- Ownership and roadmap questions after the Canva acquisition, with the ProSuite still mostly branding
- No iPad app yet; Windows works best with a dedicated GPU
- Smaller plugin and tutorial ecosystem than Photoshop
Best For
✓ Ideal for
- Key art, posters and title cards for a film or doc, built without a Photoshop subscription
- Logo, lower-third and end-card graphics that need vector output and print layouts
- Cleaning up and masking still frames before feeding them to an AI video model as references
- Upscaling a frame or still for a deliverable with the cloud upscaler on a paid Canva plan
- Making storyboard panels or pitch-deck stills on a budget
✗ Not built for
- Editing or generating video clips
- Teams that need a mobile-first or iPad workflow today
- Studios that depend on Photoshop plugins or Adobe's Firefly model choice
Working Tips from Filmmakers Using Affinity
- 01 Keep the core app free and pay for Canva only in the months you need generative fill or upscaling; the AI credit allowance is per month, so batch the AI work into one session.
- 02 Export layered PSD from Affinity when a client will need to edit the file later; PSD keeps the layers that an AI-only export flattens.
- 03 Use the Scripting Studio to rename, resize and export a batch of stills for a deck or a shot list rather than doing it by hand.
- 04 For AI video references, export stills at the project frame size (for example 1920x1080 or 3840x2160) so the image model does not crop or upscale them twice.
Affinity pricing in 2026
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Affinity (core app) | Free n/a |
|
Prices checked against Affinity's pricing page on 9 Oct 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm before you buy.
Affinity vs Adobe Creative Cloud vs Figma
| Affinity | Adobe Creative Cloud | Figma | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Core app free; Canva AI tools inside Affinity need a paid Canva plan | From $9.99/mo (Firefly Standard); Creative Cloud Pro $69.99/mo list ($34.99/mo first 3 months for new subscribers) | Free Starter. Professional Full seat $16/editor/mo; Dev seat $12/mo; Collab seat $3/mo (annual pricing) |
| Infinite canvas | No | Yes | Yes |
| Node / flow builder | No | Not confirmed | Yes |
| AI agent | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Chat assistant | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Team collaboration | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Text to image | Partial | Yes | Partial |
| Image editing | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Text to video | No | Yes | No |
| Image to video | No | Yes | No |
| Video to video | No | Yes | No |
| Voice / TTS | No | Yes | No |
| Music & SFX | No | Yes | No |
| Upscaling | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Camera control | No | Partial | No |
| Custom training | No | Yes | No |
| Third-party models | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Public API | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | Yes | Partial |
| Desktop / local | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page. "Not confirmed" means the vendor doesn't say.
Open the full Affinity vs Adobe Creative Cloud vs Figma comparison →Use Cases
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Creators Using Affinity
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against Affinity's own pricing, product and changelog pages on , then cross-checked with independent coverage where vendor pages were silent. Anything we couldn't confirm is marked "Not confirmed" rather than guessed.
- Affinity official site (products, pricing claims, AI notes) affinity.studio
- CG Channel: Canva releases Affinity 3.3 (Sept 2026) cgchannel.com
- AlternativeTo: Canva ProSuite launches alongside Affinity 3.3 alternativeto.net
- CG Channel: Canva makes Cavalry free (April 2026) cgchannel.com
- Adobe Photoshop plans and pricing (comparison) adobe.com
- Adobe Photoshop desktop release notes (comparison) helpx.adobe.com
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.
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