Is Affinity photo editing software really free?

Yes, Affinity really is free. You can use every tool in the Pixel, Vector, and Layout studios, plus all of the customization and export features, as much as you want, with no restrictions or payment needed. The app will also receive free updates with new features and improvements added.If you’re on a Canva premium plan (Pro, Business, Enterprise, Education), you’ll also be able to unlock Canva’s powerful AI tools within Affinity via the Canva AI Studio.To learn more about why we made Affinity free, check out: “Why we made Affinity free, and how we’ll keep it that way.”

What file formats can I export to?

Affinity exports to high-resolution raster formats like JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and WebP — plus press-ready PDFs for print. You can batch-export in multiple sizes and formats, with full control over compression and color profiles.

Can I import Photoshop (PSD) files into Affinity?

Yes. You can open layered PSDs in Affinity — including masks, groups, and adjustments in most cases. Smart objects and advanced filters may flatten, but core editability is preserved.

Can I export from Affinity to Photoshop?

You can export your designs as clean PDFs or PNGs that open in Photoshop, however, this does not preserve editability. If someone wants to make changes to your Affinity files, just tell them to download Affinity for free to start editing immediately.

How does Affinity compare to Photoshop?

Affinity and Photoshop support similar workflows — including image retouching, RAW development, compositing, and creative edits.The main difference is that Affinity does not require a subscription (it’s free!) and includes tools for photo editing, layout, and vector design in a single, customizable app.

Do I need a Canva account to use Affinity?

Yes. Affinity is now brought to you by Canva, and your Canva account gives you access to Affinity and other Canva products and features.

Do I need Canva Pro or other premium Canva plan to use Affinity?

No. You can access all of Affinity’s vector, layout, and pixel tools for free with just a free Canva account. If you’d like to unlock Canva AI tools within Affinity, however, you will need a premium Canva plan.

Are AI features available?

Yes. With a Canva premium plan you can unlock Canva AI features in Affinity.

Can I access AI tools without a Canva Pro or other premium plan?

No, these are only available to those with Canva premium accounts.

Do I need to switch apps to use the tools in the Canva AI Studio?

Nope! All of these AI tools can be unlocked within Affinity, no exporting or app-hopping required.

Will Affinity by Canva get free updates and new features?

Yes. The new Affinity by Canva app will receive free updates and new features over time.

Photo editing

Everything you need from professional photo editing software, without the high costs or creative limits.

Get Affinity

Non-destructive editing by default

Edit with complete freedom and peace of mind with non-destructive editing by default. Make adjustments, experiment with filters, masks, and more, without ever committing, flattening, or damaging your original image. You can even save your undo history with your file, keeping everything reversible from your first draft to final export.

Close-up of a person’s face with pink and blue lighting, lips selected for editing in Affinity Pixel Studio

Serious power, zero cost

Affinity gives you an entire photo editing toolkit — RAW development, retouching, HDR, batch, macros, unlimited layers — completely free. You can even import PSDs with layer fidelity, and then collaborate with teammates on the free .af file format.

Rocket launching with smoke and scaffolding being edited in Affinity Pixel Studio

Fast and frictionless

Affinity’s hardware-optimized, GPU-acceleration renders every brush stroke, zoom, and live filter instantly, keeping full frame-rate panning and editing no matter how big the file grows. It’s fully-fuelled photo editing, built to keep up with you.

Portrait with blue and orange glitch effect being edited in Affinity Pixel Studio

The most advanced photo editing tools

Everything in Affinity has been painstakingly designed to deliver the best possible experience for all types of photo editing and pixel-based workflows.

Start of section: The most advanced photo editing tools

Skip to end of “The most advanced photo editing tools” section

Live filters and instant previews

Preview every change in real-time without breaking your flow.

Close-up of a green fly on a flower being edited in Affinity Pixel Studio

RAW power

Make accurate RAW edits non-destructively, from first tweak to final export with lens correction, noise reduction, and precise control of details and tones.

Epic images, built layer by layer

Stack photos, textures, and other elements to create epic image composites.

A (re)touch of genius

Touch up your images so fast and flawlessly, the edits are undetectable with advanced retouching tools, frequency separation, and a full suite of liquify tools.

Person wearing a large fur coat in a dry field being edited in Affinity Pixel Studio

Batch. Stack. Ship.

HDR Merge, Focus Merge, Astrophotography Stacking... use Affinity’s stacks, macros, and batch processing features to automate your workflow and save tons of time.

Multiple portrait photos being processed in a new batch job in Affinity Pixel Studio

The brush stash of your dreams

Choose from an enormous library of brushes for a natural painting experience, or create your own.

Digital artwork with orange and pink brush strokes being edited in Affinity Pixel Studio

Refined selections

Fine-tune the most intricate details of your work.

Flower stems with pink and white blossoms being edited with refine selection in Affinity Pixel Studio

Skip to start of “The most advanced photo editing tools” section

End of section: The most advanced photo editing tools

The most advanced photo editing tools

Everything in Affinity has been painstakingly designed to deliver the best possible experience for all types of photo editing and pixel-based workflows.

Start of list: The most advanced photo editing tools

Skip to end of “The most advanced photo editing tools” list

Live filters and instant previews

Preview every change in real-time without breaking your flow.

RAW power

Make accurate RAW edits non-destructively, from first tweak to final export with lens correction, noise reduction, and precise control of details and tones.

Epic images, built layer by layer

Stack photos, textures, and other elements to create epic image composites.

A (re)touch of genius

Touch up your images so fast and flawlessly, the edits are undetectable with advanced retouching tools, frequency separation, and a full suite of liquify tools.

Batch. Stack. Ship.

HDR Merge, Focus Merge, Astrophotography Stacking... use Affinity’s stacks, macros, and batch processing features to automate your workflow and save tons of time.

The brush stash of your dreams

Choose from an enormous library of brushes for a natural painting experience, or create your own.

Refined selections

Fine-tune the most intricate details of your work.

Skip to start of “The most advanced photo editing tools” list

End of list: The most advanced photo editing tools

Side-lit portrait of a person in a white tank top holding a jacket, looking thoughtful in soft lighting

Portrait of a person in a black top, sitting at a patterned table with arms crossed and a calm expression

Portrait of a person in a red shirt and white undershirt, facing forward with a neutral expression.

Close-up portrait of a person in a yellow and grey checked outfit and matching hat against a neutral background

Studio portrait of a person in a black hat and velvet jacket, sitting with folded arms against a grey backdrop.

Made in Affinity

“I know from having worked with Affinity quite closely over the years that it's a team of creatives dedicated to creating tools that are actually useful to me and other photographers."

Ivan Weiss

Portrait Photographer

Made in Affinity

“I know from having worked with Affinity quite closely over the years that it's a team of creatives dedicated to creating tools that are actually useful to me and other photographers."

Ivan Weiss

Portrait Photographer

Everything you need in a photo editor

Unlimited raster, vector, and text layers

Non-destructive adjustment layers and live filter layers

30+ blend modes with on-canvas live preview

Curves (RGB and individual channels)

Levels and exposure adjustments

Color balance and selective color

Spot healing, inpainting, and clone stamp

Dodge and burn with pressure sensitivity

Liquify, mesh warp, and lens correction filters

Refine edge workspace for hair and complex subjects

Channel, luminosity, and depth masks

RAW Develop with lens profiles and noise reduction

Layer groups, clipping masks, and linked layers

Non-destructive crop and straighten tools

Glitch, lighting, and distortion effects

High-bit-depth workflow with ICC profiles

Unlimited raster, vector, and text layers

Curves (RGB and individual channels)

Spot healing, inpainting, and clone stamp

Refine edge workspace for hair and complex subjects

Layer groups, clipping masks, and linked layers

High-bit-depth workflow with ICC profiles

Non-destructive adjustment layers and live filter layers

Levels and exposure adjustments

Dodge and burn with pressure sensitivity

Channel, luminosity, and depth masks

Non-destructive crop and straighten tools

30+ blend modes with on-canvas live preview

Color balance and selective color

Liquify, mesh warp, and lens correction filters

RAW Develop with lens profiles and noise reduction

Glitch, lighting, and distortion effects

With Canva premium plans

Photo AI that keeps you in control

Our AI tools are made to support the way pros actually work. Use Generative Expand⁠(opens in a new tab or window) to reframe without reshooting, Generative Fill to clean up distractions, and Smart Selections and Depth-Aware Masking to isolate subjects fast — even in complex scenes. Portrait Blur and Colorize help you dial in depth or reimagine tone, without pushing your work into filter-land.
Portrait Blur adds pro-looking depth. Colorize reimagines old shots. Super Resolve gives you the detail to crop closer, print bigger, or just push your image further. You stay in charge of the look — the AI just gets you there faster.
When you’re working with multi-layered edits or building composites, our AI speeds up the grunt work by letting you mask in a click, sharpen and scale without rework, and more.

Learn more

Canva AI generating a mountain landscape image, with a progress bar labeled ‘Generative expand.’

How to start editing your photos

Select whether you’d like Affinity for macOS or Windows over on our Downloads page. This will prompt you to sign in with your Canva account (or create one for free). Follow the instructions to install Affinity from there.

Get Affinity

Get started

Once you launch Affinity, set up a new document or open an image in Pixel Studio, where you’ll find all your photo editing tools.

Customize your workspace

Tailor your photo editing studio precisely the way you want. That might mean removing tools to streamline your workspace, adding vector or layout tools for extra power, or simply leaving it as is. It’s up to you.

Edit your images

Edit an image or get to work building a multi-layered masterpiece. Whatever your project, Affinity has all the photo editing capabilities you need.

Export directly to Canva

Want to do more with your finished product? You can quickly send your Affinity files straight to Canva, where you, your clients, or colleagues can collaborate and create at scale.

FAQs

Yes, Affinity really is free. You can use every tool in the Pixel, Vector, and Layout studios, plus all of the customization and export features, as much as you want, with no restrictions or payment needed. The app will also receive free updates with new features and improvements added.
If you’re on a Canva premium plan (Pro, Business, Enterprise, Education), you’ll also be able to unlock Canva’s powerful AI tools within Affinity via the Canva AI Studio.
To learn more about why we made Affinity free, check out: “Why we made Affinity free, and how we’ll keep it that way.”⁠(opens in a new tab or window)
Affinity exports to high-resolution raster formats like JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and WebP — plus press-ready PDFs for print. You can batch-export in multiple sizes and formats, with full control over compression and color profiles.
Yes. You can open layered PSDs in Affinity — including masks, groups, and adjustments in most cases. Smart objects and advanced filters may flatten, but core editability is preserved.
You can export your designs as clean PDFs or PNGs that open in Photoshop, however, this does not preserve editability. If someone wants to make changes to your Affinity files, just tell them to download Affinity for free to start editing immediately.
Affinity and Photoshop support similar workflows — including image retouching, RAW development, compositing, and creative edits.
The main difference is that Affinity does not require a subscription (it’s free!) and includes tools for photo editing, layout, and vector design in a single, customizable app.
Yes. Affinity is now brought to you by Canva, and your Canva account gives you access to Affinity and other Canva products and features.
No. You can access all of Affinity’s vector, layout, and pixel tools for free with just a free Canva account. If you’d like to unlock Canva AI tools within Affinity, however, you will need a premium Canva plan.
Yes. With a Canva premium plan you can unlock Canva AI features in Affinity.
No, these are only available to those with Canva premium accounts.
Nope! All of these AI tools can be unlocked within Affinity, no exporting or app-hopping required.
Yes. The new Affinity by Canva app will receive free updates and new features over time.