Adobe Illustrator vs Affinity

Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Adobe Illustrator

The industry-standard vector graphics app for logos, illustration, icons and print artwork.

Paid

Visit Adobe Illustrator Adobe Illustrator profile

Affinity

Free professional design app from Canva combining vector, pixel and page layout tools.

Free plan + paid

Visit Affinity Affinity profile

The short answer

Pick Affinity if you want professional vector, photo and layout tools in one free app with no subscription, and can do without Adobe's ecosystem. Pick Illustrator if your clients, agency or printer expect Adobe files and workflows, or you rely on Photoshop, InDesign and Adobe Fonts. The biggest difference is price and ecosystem: Affinity is free for individuals, Illustrator is a paid subscription at the centre of Creative Cloud.

Adobe Illustrator or Affinity: our take

Illustrator is Adobe's professional standard for vector work: logos, icons, illustrations, packaging and print, with deep pen, shape and type tools, artboards, image tracing and Adobe Firefly generative features. Its strength is its place in Creative Cloud, linking closely with Photoshop, InDesign and Adobe's font and stock libraries. Affinity, made by Serif and now owned by Canva, merges the former Designer, Photo and Publisher apps into a single application with Vector, Pixel and Layout studios, so one file can hold illustration, retouching and multi-page layout. It opens PSD, AI, IDML and DWG files with layers preserved, which makes moving from Adobe practical.

The pricing models could hardly be more different. Illustrator is subscription-only, with no perpetual licence, sold as a single-app plan or in Creative Cloud bundles, with a 7-day trial and a full refund if you cancel within 14 days. Affinity is free for individuals with no subscription; AI tools such as generative fill require a paid Canva plan, and finished assets can be sent to Canva for team collaboration.

There are trade-offs on both sides. Affinity needs a Canva account to sign in, the older standalone apps no longer get updates, and there is no iPad version yet after the merger. Illustrator includes an iPad app with most plans, but it has a steep learning curve and costs much more over time. Both run on Windows and macOS.

Freelancers, small studios and students who want professional tools without a monthly bill have strong reasons to choose Affinity. Designers embedded in agencies or print workflows built on Adobe formats, or who depend on the wider Creative Cloud, will usually find Illustrator still worth paying for.

Choose Adobe Illustrator if…

Professional designers and agencies who need the vector format clients and printers expect
You need iOS, which Affinity doesn't list
Industry-standard file format and workflows
Deep vector, type and print tools

Choose Affinity if…

Designers who want professional vector, photo and layout tools without an Adobe subscription
You want a free option (Adobe Illustrator is paid only)
Free for individuals with no subscription
Vector, pixel and layout tools in one app

What is Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator is the long-standing professional standard for vector graphics. Designers use it for logos, brand identities, icons, illustrations, packaging, typography and print layouts, and its .ai format is what printers, agencies and clients most often expect. It has deep pen and shape tools, precise type controls, artboards, gradients, patterns and image tracing, along with Adobe Firefly generative features for recolouring artwork and creating vectors from text prompts. Tight links with Photoshop, InDesign and Adobe's font and stock libraries make it the natural pick for people already working in Creative Cloud. The drawbacks are cost, a steep learning curve and a subscription-only model with no perpetual licence. It is sold as a single-app plan or as part of Creative Cloud bundles, billed monthly or annually, with a 7-day free trial. Illustrator runs on Windows and macOS, and an iPad version is included with most plans.

What is Affinity?

Affinity is the professional creative app originally made by Serif and now owned by Canva. The former Affinity Designer, Photo and Publisher apps have been merged into a single application with Vector, Pixel and Layout studios, so you can draw logos and illustrations, retouch images and lay out multi-page documents in one file. It opens PSD, AI, IDML, DWG and other formats with layers preserved, which makes switching from Adobe practical. The core app is free for individuals with no subscription; AI tools such as generative fill are unlocked for people on a paid Canva plan, and finished assets can be sent to Canva for team collaboration. Enterprise and education deployments go through Canva's sales team. It runs on macOS, natively on Apple silicon and Intel, and on Windows, with an iPad version in development. You need a Canva account to sign in, and the older standalone apps no longer receive updates.

Side by side

Attribute	Adobe Illustrator	Affinity
Pricing	Paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Windows, macOS, iOS	Windows, macOS
Best for	Professional designers and agencies who need the vector format clients and printers expect	Designers who want professional vector, photo and layout tools without an Adobe subscription
Status	Active	Active