Canva Makes Affinity Design Suite Free Forever
Canva has delivered a massive surprise to the creative industry, announcing that its newly consolidated professional design software, Affinity, will be available completely free for everyone, forever. This move ends speculation following Canva’s acquisition of Affinity’s original developer, Serif, and dramatically alters the landscape for design software users across the globe.
The launch introduces the all-new Affinity—a single, fully reimagined professional design app that now unites photo editing, vector design, and page layout tools into one fast, responsive platform. The tools previously known as Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Publisher have been combined. Users can seamlessly toggle between Vector, Pixel, and Layout modes within the same application, offering a fully featured, lightning-fast creative experience. The new Affinity is available for Mac and Windows desktop platforms, with an iPad version slated for release in 2026.
To access the free software, users must simply sign in with a verified Canva account (a free account is sufficient). Canva users can activate Affinity with their existing credentials, while new users can create a free Canva account to download the app directly. There is no catch, no stripped-back version, and no core functionality locked behind a paywall; the full, professional-grade tools are open to all. However, Canva is integrating its premium AI features: users with a paid Canva Pro or Enterprise account will be able to access Canva AI Studio tools—such as Generative Fill, Generative Expand, and Remove Background—directly within the Affinity application. Users without a paid subscription can still use the core Affinity features for free.
THIS IS Our Take
This is a monumental mic drop from Canva. By making the entire Affinity suite free, they haven’t just challenged the traditional design software model; they have potentially rewritten the rules for professional creators worldwide. Affinity was already the strongest subscription-free alternative to major industry tools and making it perpetually free removes the last barrier to entry for millions of students, freelancers, and small businesses in Southeast Asia and beyond. This aggressive move ensures that the next generation of designers will likely learn on Canva and Affinity, cementing Canva’s position as a dominant force in the global creative ecosystem.
