Affinity has delighted the creative world by making its app completely free forever – and has just been rewarded with over a million downloads in the week since the announcement. All three of the Canva-owned creative apps (Designer, Photo and Publisher) have been combined into one single Affinity app and you can download it right now to use at zero cost – with a guarantee it will remain that way.
But there has been a burning question: exactly how has it been made possible? After all, this is the best Illustrator alternative we're talking about, not a small sideline app. Surely there must be some catch, especially in the landscape of AI.
Affinity has stepped up and released a video explaining everything – and it's brilliant news.
"We've been listening to your comments and there is one big question that's being asked. How the hell is that even possible?" says Canva's co founder and CPO, Cameron Adams.
Find out below by watching the video (and then check out the stunning new rebrand).
"There is no catch," Cameron explains. "We don't sell your data, we don't train AI features on your files, we don't monetise your creativity behind the scenes. Your work stays yours, always."
"We believe every designer deserves tools that respects their craft. Because industry needs a shift, from gate-keeping to generosity. And because at Canva, we've built a sustainable business model that allows us to support this kind of access without compromising on product quality or user trust. This isn't a marketing stunt, it is a long term bet on creative freedom."
Cameron explains that everyone with a Canva Premium plan will be able to access select features in Affinity, but that the Affinity app you "know and love" will be free forever. And the benefit to Canva is that when more pros use Affinity, more pros end up using Canva – leading to business growth that way. He ends by encouraging users to ask the questions that hold them to a high standard because "that's what we would do".
This will come as a welcome surprise to some critics of the Canva buyout, who genuinely believed that bad news was on the horizon. But instead of moving to an Adobe-style subscription model that favours AI features, Affinity has gone the other way. It's a move that will cement its position as a brilliant graphic design software and digital art software choice – and will send shockwaves across the creative software market.
Download Affinity for mac and Windows here. The iPad version is coming soon.
