Affinity Designer

Professional vector design, one-time price.

Best for: Professional designers who want Illustrator-level tools without a subscription.

$69.99 one-time

4.7/5Editorial score 91/100affinity.serif.com

Starts at

$69.99 one-time

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Editorial score91/100

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The editorial note

What to know about Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is a professional vector and raster graphics editor by Serif, available as a one-time purchase — making it the leading alternative to Adobe Illustrator for designers who reject subscriptions. It supports both vector and pixel personas in one app, offers precise pen and node tools, and handles logos, icons, UI designs, and print work. Version 2 brought significant performance improvements and is available on Mac, Windows, and iPad.

Is it right for you?

Who Affinity Designer suits

Choose it if

Professional designers who want Illustrator-level tools without a subscription.

Look elsewhere if

Teams that need real-time collaboration or heavy automation workflows — Figma or Adobe Illustrator serve those use cases better

What you get

Key features

Vector Persona and Pixel Persona — switch between vector and raster editing
Precision pen tool with Bézier curves and node editing
Grid, isometric grid, and snapping tools for technical illustration
Non-destructive effects and live filters
Export Persona for multi-resolution asset export
Artboards for multi-page document layouts
Support for PDF, SVG, EPS, PSD, and AI file formats
Constraints for responsive UI design

Works with

Integrations6

Affinity Photo Affinity PublisherAdobe Photoshop (PSD import/export)Adobe Illustrator (AI file support)CanvaFigma (SVG export)

What it costs

Pricing

Affinity Designer pricing plans
Plan	Price	What it includes
Perpetual License	$69.99 one-time	Buy once, own forever — no subscription required, free minor updates
Universal License	$164.99 one-time	All Affinity apps (Designer, Photo, Publisher) across all platforms

Prices are recorded from the vendor's public pricing page and can change. Check before you buy.

The trade-off

Pros and cons

Pros

One-time purchase (~$70) with no subscription — major advantage over Adobe
Dual vector and raster personas in a single app
Professional pen tool and node editing for precise vector work
Excellent performance — handles complex files faster than Illustrator
Available on Mac, Windows, and iPad with a consistent feature set

Cons

Smaller plugin ecosystem compared to Adobe Illustrator
No cloud collaboration features like Figma or Adobe Cloud
Some advanced Illustrator workflows require a learning curve to replicate
No subscription means no automatic incremental updates until the next major version

Quick read

At a glance

Category: Design & Creative
Pricing model: One time
Entry plan: $69.99 one-time
Free plan: Not listed
Free trial: Not listed
Website: affinity.serif.com

The verdict

Our take on Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is the right choice for professional designers who want Illustrator-level tools without a subscription. One-time purchase with no subscription and excellent performance, making it one of the stronger options in its category. The main caveat: smaller community and fewer learning resources than Adobe. It is a one-time purchase, so factor that into your evaluation.

Visit Affinity Designer Compare before deciding

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