I've been using this software for a few years now, I don't miss Adobe at all.
From their website:
We are offering a 90-day free trial of the Mac and Windows versions of the whole Affinity suite for anyone who wants to use them. Even if you used the trial last year, you can do it again. There’s also a 50% discount if you would prefer to buy and keep the apps, including our iPad versions, as well as a half price offer on all content in the Affinity Store.
Many comparison videos on YouTube. But one thing stands out and that is that Affinity isn’t subscription based and all updates are free. I’ve been using it for a number of years now and there’s only been a few small occasions where I required the use of photoshop.
You should probably specify that it's $38.99 for each app, not for all 3. Still a bargain though.
Thanks!
All applications are more optimised for Apple silicon too, definitely going to try this out!
Professional graphic designer here: I've been using the Affinity suite for a couple of years now as my main design software. I have Photoshop and Illustrator installed on my work machine too but rarely have to resort to using them. Even on a brand new upper-end 2019 iMac, the Adobe suite runs like a dog - slow and bloated. Affinity is fast and nimble. Not to mention it's a one-off purchase compared to Adobe's subscription.
The only issue I do have with Affinity is that sometimes vectors downloaded from stock image sites don't render correctly, but that's generally because the creator saved it as an Illustrator-specific file.
I haven't had any problems sending files to printers either. Give them a go, it's well worth it.
for photoshop there's like a 30 days free course like phlearn.
do you know if there's something similar for affinity photo ?
Yes they have a trial – or at least you can contact them for a trial (I did for my business).
I will say that the way Adobe does business is terrible, support Affinity. As an Adobe pro I'll tell you that 98% of what Photoshop can do, Photo can do as well. It's only workflow specific things like smart objects and cutting edge features that are missing – and that goes both ways.
Support Affinity!
Sorry, still quite a noob to ozbargain so not sure if you're replying to me.
I meant like a training course to learn the software with tutorials etc etc.
@derpderpderp: Oh I see – they've got heaps here: https://affin.co/PhotoTuts
Plus heaps of example project files on the Welcome screen
smart objects exists, but they work a bit differently. you cant create a smart object inside then file you are working in, you need to make a new affinity file then drag it to the artboard of the file you want it to appear in. its then called an embedded object and you can double click its thumbnail to edit the file.
whty added this sometime last year, or just before, as i needed them to switch my who;e worklow over to affinity!
hope this helps
Does anyone know if I can download now for windows and then move to Mac later? Going to get a macbook later this year.
I won't need it on both devices just don't want to have to buy twice.. i.e. remove from window, install on mac
Only caveat with Affinity software is you need to buy the Mac and Windows versions separately.
I don't think so, I'm pretty sure they're separate serial numbers.
Thanks, maybe I should just get the apple version now and wait to use it later
Edit: bought it for mac, $116 for all 3, didn't know what this was 20 minutes ago…
You waiting for the Macbook revision later this year? I'm a long time windows user - and unless Intel comes up with a miracle, I'll probably be moving to the new MBP too!
Does leave me in a pickle about buying this software though! Use Windows at work, but would use the Mac for personal use. Might have to just cop both licenses.
@poppingtags: Yeah the rumoured 14" macbook pro would be awesome… if not I should just get one now.. But willing to wait and see what comes out. This will be my first Mac, I switched to iphone when the 11 came out and really liking the eco system. The user experience is super nice. I will likely try out linux on this laptop once I have my Mac, so I can be free from windows.
But yeah, bought the software and not able to use it yet…
@FreshPrinceofKP: Yeah, I reckon it'll be worth the wait! A redesign built around Apple Silicon would be rad, hopefully they get rid of those bezels.
I actually moved from iPhone to Android and am reluctant to jump back on an iPhone. iOS definitely presents a more stable user experience - but Android's customisation has really won me over, especially in terms of how seamlessly I can back up data/photos/video to multiple cloud providers.
If you buy via the apple app store I guess you can use the current offer at Coles - 15% off iTunes vouchers!! Bringing it down to about $33
Yes.
Ozbargain elite account: confirmed.
Oh when does this end? I need to stock up for my Netflix subscription :D
Quick question, what is the main differences between the iPad and Desktop applications? Mainly just curious.
None that I have noticed.
Obviously, using a mouse on desktop doesn’t translate to the iPad. I recommend using an Apple Pencil on iPad if you need to do precision work.
The UI is similar enough that I have no problems moving between the two.
Thanks so much for your input mate. I just purchased these apps for iPad. iPad now has mouse and keyboard support as well. Basically was wondering if I should buy the desktop version as well.
Quick note, affinity has some support for Photoshop plugins. Definitely a strong alternative from Adobe Photoshop.
I paid for affinity photo at about $50 and consider it a bargain. This is the 2nd best software for serious post-processing if cost is not a consideration. With cost concerned, it is by far the best and worth every penny. Imo this is the only real Photoshop alternative without a subscription. There are other good photo apps but they are more of Lightroom alternatives, without full layers/channels/plugins editing abilities. What's better it is also compatible with Photoshop filter plugins.
Which one is the alternative to Photoshop and Illustrator? I’m a poor man, have been using GIMP and Inkscape, and have been a little frustrated. I did come from Photoshop and Illustrator but can’t go back to warez.
Photo = Photoshop, Designer = Illustrator, Publisher = InDesign
Awesome, thanks!
Agreed.
Used Pixelmator for years, recipient of Apple's Editor's Choice (like Affinity), and optimised for the latest Apple tech at both the software (impressive use of ML) and hardware levels (optimised for Apple Silicon on the M1 Macs).
However, Affinity Photo is on sale and definitely more attractive on price, assuming they both serve your needs.
This looks interesting. What do you use to organise your photographs? IE Lightroom substitute?
Probably Photo with the Develop persona
The people that still need cataloging of photos use CaptureOne now as an alternative.
This. Really wish Affinity would come up with a Liightroom competitor.
Yeah I'm looking for this as well.
I found this Luminar https://skylum.com/luminar-ai-b but it's quite expensive to get for personal use
got a skylum software bundle from one of the humblebundle. Hard to recommend their software. Currently using it for their assets only.
You could always try darktable or rawtherapee since they're free and open source (and really quite good imo, though I don't use the cataloguing features extensively)
Really hoping they make a competitor to PremierePro/After Effects so I can drop Adobe software completely, but I doubt it'll happen soon.
Davinci! Boom, no excuse not to ditch Adobe now
No Linux support…👎
And this year being the year of Linux on the desktop!
I have come to the conclusion that if you like Linux but need commercial desktop applications (e.g. Microsoft Office, Affinity), then macOS is the way to go.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Linux and have several systems at home running it, but when it comes to doing work on a laptop, I turn to my MacBook.
I remember having similar discussions of commercial vs open source software 20 years ago. Every few years I get hopeful that these applications would be released on Linux, but every year nothing seems to change.
I guess more options are always good, but between gimp, rawtherapee, darktable, inkscape etc are paid programs really necessary?
tested it - very unoptimized and not at all intuitive. Humble gave me a refund straight away.
I'm guessing all these can open or import all files that can be opened by Illustrator like .svg, .eps, .png, etc, right?
Yep – and Affinity apps will even do an okay job of importing Adobe project files.
What about saving to that format?
Download the free trial version and convince yourself - it is that good.
Make sure you purchase it before the offer expires otherwise you'll be like me and pay more or wait another year and hope the offer is repeated.
Any acrobat DC alternative?
Not from Affinity but this is my favourite: https://pdf.wondershare.com/
If you're on Mac, though, Preview does quite a lot of things from compression to adding/removing pages to marking up documents. Even Chrome does a lot of that too.
Is there a substitute for Lightroom as well?
Darktable is a decent free alternative to Lightroom
It's open source and pretty decent if you shoot jpeg I believe.
I didn't like how it renders my FujiFilm raw files at all so I splurged for Caputer One.
But give Darktable a go
https://www.darktable.org/
For another option, Rawtherapee is similar but with better support for fuji xtrans demosaicing imo
Except if you're on Windows… lots of complaints in their forums from Windows users. I tried to take it up but kept having issues as well.
When does this offer end? Can I use the 90 days trial first then purchase later?
Also interested in this - would be great if the option to purchase @ 50% off was offered at the end of the trial!
Apparently they haven’t announced an end date. If it was me I’d try trial it over the next few days then buy if happy. It’s not a subscription with any end date, so no real benefit to maxing out the trial as long as you play long enough to know you’ll want it.
Affinity +1 upvotes
This might be cheaper if you pay in USD
Nice catch, it's US$ 24.99, with 0% forex fee card (ING, Macquarie) it should end up being just under A$ 32.50!
Just an FYI, paid via ING on the US webstore, ended up being A$32.58
Amazing thanks will do the same :)
How do you pay in USD?
You'll need a US VPN to take you to the US webstore.
Hi all! Great post and comments/discussion!
Can anyone recommend an alternative to InDesign (apologies if I've missed it)!
Sorry, I re-read the Comments, I think Affinity "Publisher" = InDesign… please correct me if I am wrong :) Thanks!
I believe Publisher is Affinity's version of InDesign.
Publisher is Affinity's InDesign competitor. I don't do complex work in Publisher, but for setting up brochures and catalogues I haven't had any issue whatsoever.
Affinity photo is vastly better for editing 360 photos than photoshop. If you use PS a lot, it's actually handy to have both at this price point. I'm grabbing Affinity Designer now. Don't have Illustrator any more, but if I ever do need it, I'm sure as hell not paying Adobe the same $ for a single month of access as Affinity charges for lifetime ownership!
Ipad app question: Can it support RAW files for photo editing?
I know Lightroom doesn't support it unless I join up with the subscription.
iPad has support for RAW images. The current release uses the Apple raw engine however the current beta (almost release candidate), also has the serif raw decoder (same as desktop). This really is a powerful photo editing app. The current betas for Designer and Photo offer several new features and address a few annoying bugs.
The Mac/Windows version allow switching between Designer, Publisher and Photo without closing and opening apps. Just changes the ui to suit the task as all three programs use the same file format.
Publisher is hopefully coming to iPad. Was due this year.
Thanks OP! Didn't jump on this last time it was on sale and still not willing to pay Adobe pricing, so this is perfect.
Does Affinity have a video editing software as well? I downloaded DaVinci however apparently it doesn't open mp4 files. Need another program to change format and then import it which is a pain.
If they don't, any other recommendations for basic editing software that's free?
dont really work with video, but i have used handbrake on a mac to convert files, and its free.
I've downloaded Handbrake, but it's double handling. Was after another free video editing software like DaVinci.
For iPad you cannot beat LumaFusion video editor. It is a professional level editor so probably more than you need if just changing formats (but it will do that too🙂
Should have specified, using PC.
Hitfilm Express is a superb free video editor, I'm not sure if it opens mp4 files though.
I believe mp4 is just a "container" anyways, it depends on the specifics of the codec your device shoots in… I think
found this from the hitfilm website:
Video formats: Supporting Quicktime, AVI, MOV, MP4 (AVC/H264, H.265 & AAC), MPEG-1 (TS, PS, MPE, MPG, MPEG, M2V), MXF (DVCPro HD), DV, HDV, WMV, HitFilm can use the most commonly used video file types. Providing unlimited creativity.
Is there an alternative to Adobe Fireworks? Is Affinity Designer supposed to be the equivalent?
Yes not too far off. I'm an old Fireworks user and find Designer pretty usable.
Have you tried other programs?
I love how easy it was to draw and edit pictures/photos on fireworks. Designers giving me slight headaches
Does anyone know if the Microsoft Store version of Affinity Photo is the same? There is a link at the bottom of the Affinity Photo Buy page "Also available from Microsoft Store" but on the Microsoft Store page it shows Release Date: 24/10/2017 so wondering if it's an older version.
Just thinking of the extra cash back with Cashrewards or Shopback.
Someone stated that the MS version can only be installed on 5 PCs, where as the one bought directly from Affinity can be installed on as many windows PCs as you own. See the comment above about paying in US$ to shave off about $7 too.
Is it possible to uninstall/deactivate from 1 PC so you can install on another or is it locked to the first 5 PC's it is installed to?
Not sure sorry, but I would assume that's how it worked - definitely double check though!
Have you tried contacting affinity and asking if the ms store version is always up to date with the version sold direct from their website?
How is this compared to Photoshop 6?