I need to make sure I have my old Affinity installers. I'm sure I won't be able to activate in a few years because they decide to take down the authentication server.
this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2025
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This is a good point. I'm going to download all the installers they have today and ferret them away just in case.
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So this is basically v3, and they’re trying to gain critical mass adoption vs Adobe.
I’m happy with my v2 for now, but I have a hunch if I migrate to “3” I’ll be modifying my hosts file in the future.
This frustrates me so much.
I paid for v1 and v2 of the suite precisely because I’m willing to pay for a tool that works for me, predictably and reliably and with no compromise in goals. Now I’ll have to switch platforms yet again, because they’re going to monetize somehow, and if it’s not by taking my money, it’ll be by taking something else.
Is Inkscape a reasonable replacement for Illustrator yet? Is there an equivalent for InDesign?
I don’t want to get stuck in a Canvas walled garden, and I’m not going to pay rent to use software.
At least V2 still works and won't just disappear. You can still use those apps you bought.
But it's just sad to see this new path. I used to buy all the apps just because I liked the business model. I don't really ever use Publisher, but I bought it anyway.
Now...there's nothing that'll get me to use this "free" shit.
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Still no Linux support. As someone who purchased the Affinity Suite, I'm not sure I like this shift in model. If they keep to just fencing off AI in premium and keep investing in the whole app, fine, but I don't have my hopes up.
Oh no. Affinity was a good paid alternative to the adobe shite, now this is going to turn down a subscription route after they get people hooked, isnt it?
If a business charges nothing for a product then it is not the product. You are.
Sometimes that's harmless as in they're wanting you to try their service. Your business for other projects is still the product in that transaction.
Other times it's your personal data that is the product and they're wanting to then turn around and monetize that data.
But in both scenarios, you, or something of yours, is the product.
I almost bought publisher last week, and postponed till Black Friday. Just wow!!!
You might have tried, but the company took all its products off the market for the last several weeks in anticipation of this announcement. You could use the trial, but you couldn’t purchase a new license.
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I have it installed on my laptop. I'm not using their AI web app.
I sent them feedback back when I heard the news about the Canva merger.
I knew this would happen but it still hurts.
I can only hope I can keep my current version as is without further updates.
Holy shit this is huge… I still have trouble believing it, but holy shit…
Like, a company that actually listens?!??
It seems reasonable for now: you can use all the tools except the AI stuff for free, so it's still (I assume) as full-featured as the last Serif version of Affinity was. And if the AI stuff is not done locally, then that costs them money to run so fair enough that they charge something. But we don't know what Canva plans to do with Affinity. Will the tools be gradually hollowed out while more and more features go behind a paywall? Will they start filling the desktop software with ads? What will they do when they judge that they have poached enough of Adobe's users? Will they brick your software if you close your Canva account? I don't entirely trust them.
I stumbled upon them years ago when I discovered they had online colour tools. However, they've gradually leaned into AI and seem to be racking up a portfolio to rival Adobe.
Affinity has been the best alternative to some of the key Adobe tools for a while now, and it was a one-off payment of about $200 for the whole suite, which was good value. Now it's "free" I'm just a bit worried. Sure, it's not exactly a subscription but where are they going?
I don't know either, and that's the problem. Open source projects can justify being free, even if some of the business models are a bit questionable (e.g. open core). What I do know is companies behind proprietary software has proven time and time again that we're the product.
Hook line and sinker...