The creative software industry has declared war on Adobe / If you can't beat them, undercut them on price.
The Verge, archived at https://archive.ph/EPBt2#selection-1285.0-1293.48
Almost three years after the launch of Affinity Photo 2, Canva has launched Affinity Studio, which is available to download now. Affinity CEO, Ash Hewson, is calling the new design suite – not just photo editing software – “A fully reimagined professional design app that unites photo editing, vector design, and layout tools in one powerful platform.” And what’s more, it’s “completely free”. I certainly didn't see that one coming!
Affinity looks set to take a leaf out of Canva’s book by implementing a free model. And it really is free. As Hewson told the crowd live from Australia at the Canva Keynote speech: "We're proud to announce that the all-new Affinity is entirely free, forever, for everyone (...) This isn’t a stunt; it is a statement. A commitment to your creative freedom." He continued: “Affinity is free forever because creatives deserve better.”
As it stands, the only paid element is the newly launched Canva AI Studio that lives within Affinity Studio. This AI-powered feature is available to users with a paid Canva account that allows AI access.
OTHER ADOBE COMPETITORS AT THE LINK. EVEN APPLE (on price).
Affinity Photo is now FREE for everyone as the editing software is reborn as Affinity Studio!
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/photography/photo-editing/breaking-affinity-photo-is-now-free-for-everyone-as-the-editing-software-is-reborn-as-affinity-studio
Canva launches Affinity Studio, pulling the entire Affinity software suite into one program amidst a bold new redesign and a free-for-all model
Affinity looks set to take a leaf out of Canva’s book by implementing a free model. And it really is free. As Hewson told the crowd live from Australia at the Canva Keynote speech: "We're proud to announce that the all-new Affinity is entirely free, forever, for everyone (...) This isn’t a stunt; it is a statement. A commitment to your creative freedom." He continued: “Affinity is free forever because creatives deserve better.”
As it stands, the only paid element is the newly launched Canva AI Studio that lives within Affinity Studio. This AI-powered feature is available to users with a paid Canva account that allows AI access.
How can they make money with free software, AI an extra-cost option?
Canva’s AI has been used over 22 billion times. It’s partnered with AI giants OpenAI, Black Forest Labs, Google, and now Leonardo AI. Today, Canva has revealed a world-first AI launch, the Canva Design Model. Canva Founder, Cameron Adams, says, “it can create a fully editable Canva design in seconds.” Once the content generation is finished, you can head in yourself and tweak it manually. Canva Design Model isn’t just accessible in Canva, but also in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
That's apparently it. Free for AI-deniers, Dinero for AI-users.
Home Page: https://www.affinity.studio/
Get Affinity: https://www.affinity.studio/get-affinity
Downloads: https://www.canva.com/download/
Available on Windows, iOS, Android, and Chromebook.
Pricing: It looks like a signup is still needed with free, though "offline" storage is available.
DISCLAIMER!
I recommend free products that I find, but I haven't even explored Raw Therapee, DarkTable, or Ansel.
I basically use Apple's Preview.app (a kind of supercharged, free to use xv, from the really old days) and GIMP on the jpegs my cameras produce, and not (yet) on the raw images.
That's just a time limitation, given that I have fun with creative graphics here on DU, I process a whole lot of images, and am kind of swamped by unfinished chores around the home and "estate" here.
I will never ask anyone to spend a nickel on software, but I'll also never recommend a real loser software package.
YMMV, of course!