Like the headline says, it seems that Affinity have just released a new version that combines everything under one roof (photo editing, graphic design, and page layout tools)… and it’s free.*
*However, you have to have a Canva account and (by default) you share usage information to help train AI models. It looks like you can opt out of this (TBC, I haven’t installed it yet).
You also won’t get access to the premium AI features unless you sign up to a premium plan which is paid. However if you don’t need those, or use something else for this, you can ignore that all together and enjoy the rest for free:
On the face of it that’s a lot of horsepower for (essentially) nothing.
I’m not suggesting it replaces PhotoLab as a bespoke RAW editing application but it could compliment it very well, especially for those keen to stay away from Adobe.
This is just the RAW development section (not a pixel editor, that comes after) and it’s:
Very slick. Changes made are reflected almost in real time, where PhotoLab needs to sit and have a think.
Quite intuitive. The basic development tools are on the right, with control over exposure, white balance, contrast, saturation etc. all there.
There’s also basic masking, including an Auto-Brush tool with very effective edge detection. I like that you can use the same edge detection to subtract from the mask as well, so any errors are very quick to iron out. I don’t see any AI masking here, but then I don’t have Canva Premium so I’m not sure what (if anything) that unlocks.
There’s also noise reduction, sharpening, and lens correction tools. I haven’t played around to see how accurate or powerful they are.
It is, of course, not as complete as PhotoLab at this stage, and you’re only editing one image at a time (rather than having a folder of images open).
Completing the “develop” section takes you into the pixel editor, where you can attack things more like PhotoShop if you want to. You can move back and forth into RAW development by the looks of it.
Overall editing did slow down as I added more masks to my image, but the actual interface remained very responsive - just a slight pause when compiling changes - and still more responsive than PL9 (in fairness to PL9, I was probably asking it to do “more” by this point, in the form of NR and sharpening, lens corrections etc.).
The Retouching and Colour Grading section seems to have a lot of handy-looking tools. It looks as though these are not so much segregated sections as “here’s a selection of tools you already had access to, but laid out in such a way that it’ll be handy for this task”. In other words; the Levels, HSL, and White Balance tools (to name but a few) exist in BOTH sections.
I’ve been using Affinity Photo since ver. 1. It’s always been a solid app in my view.
I just hope Canva don’t spoil it and that they also introduce a competitive denoise function (even a paid one if it’s reasonably good/priced).
Based on my first test, you are going to be disappointed, unless it is available under the premium subscription. It denies after a fashion, but nowhere near as well as DeepPRIME
I’m not entirely surprised it’s not as powerful as PhotoLab or even Lightroom for denoising.
The trouble with Affinity being a swiss-army-knife of media applications is that it can do a lot of things, but isn’t specifically a photography tool with all the NR/sharpening etc. that more bespoke offerings go for.
Affinity is built to take on the big three from Adobe.
It does that quite well. Not in all areas but better in some and to a far lower cost - even before they went free.
Definitely seeing that. I picked up Affinity Photo 2 last year on a Black Friday deal (who knew it’d be free a year later…) and while it’s not quite as intuitive as Adobe’s UI, it does an awful lot for a hell of a lot less (and now free).
At first glance, what they did is amazing. We are basically getting Affinity 2 with a few improvements in one, complete package for free (plus a few new features). For the AI functionalities from Canva, you simply have to pay for Canva. I just think that a typical, existing Affinity user (especially the Photo module user) actually doesn’t need them. So, I’m wondering: where’s the catch? For now, it looks great because the “old” AI from Affinity 2.x (AI masks) are still available without a subscription. How are they actually going to make money? Maybe I’m wrong and these AI features from Canva will be the “workhorse”? But can you imagine that suddenly, for example, Photoshop is free and only a few, rarely used features are paid for? It all seems a bit strange. But maybe I’m overly suspicious. For now, I’ve installed this new Affinity. It works like the “old” one. Only it’s… just free. The only people who might feel a little “unimpressed” right now are those who bought the Affinity applications recently. Now, all of that is free. “Old” users who still have accounts from the 1.x and 2.x versions only received emails with the cryptic message: ‘Keep an eye on your inbox in the coming weeks — there’s a special thank you gift on the way for existing Affinity users.’ So we’ll see what it turns out to be…
I’ll check it out! Thanks!
On a side note, this also puts whole “Windows-based” branches of applications like GIMP or Inkscape in an interesting situation.
Affinity has a decent Astrophotography function, as well as Panorama, HDR and Focus Stacking. I found it a little cumbersome but didn’t play around with it much outside of some Astrophotography.
Of course. I realize that, but I still think that the maneuver they performed is truly, at the very least, unusual/unprecedented. Especially considering what kind of software this is. Affinity licenses have always cost little and presented a quite good alternative to Adobe for many users. Their programs ran faster and better than free counterparts like GIMP. But now they have truly done something extraordinary.
I have never been a Canva user (which now owns the entire Affinity suite) and I can only see what has been happening over the last 24 hours on the Discord server that they used to replace their previous forum. I’m not claiming that anything bad has happened. However, I think this move has a deeper purpose that Canva is pursuing and the acquisition of Affinity software is a tool to achieve that goal. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Some of the statements and quotes coming from Affinity on Discord even suggest that this is an ideological, almost world-fixing activity. Maybe we should just trust them. And maybe this article describes their plan quite well:: https://petapixel.com/2025/10/30/affinity-going-the-davinci-resolve-route-is-brilliant-and-a-proven-success/
