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Alfred's Serif Users' Forums → General Discussion → Affinity Studio is now available
https://www.affinity.studio/download
It's free. Some features like AI will need to be purchased.
It looks familiar but yet there is much to process. Previously purchased content can be linked to the Canva account. 
The immediate downside that I see is Internet activation, which means if Canva ever shuts down their activation servers or otherwise goes kaput, you won't be able to re-install and activate the software if needed.
I may have to stick with v2 while searching for alternatives.
Exactamundo! Meaning, we still need a F/OSS alternative…
https://www.affinity.studio/download
It's free. Some features like AI will need to be purchased.
It looks familiar but yet there is much to process. Previously purchased content can be linked to the Canva account.
Have not looked at the keynote, but, will this, Affinity Studio, be available on iPad as well?
Exactamundo! Meaning, we still need a F/OSS alternative…
I wonder if it would make any difference if a large enough group of people/us participated in the forums for Scribus, Inkscape, GIMP, etc. to make suggestions and maybe even contribute some money to the projects?
The immediate downside that I see is Internet activation, which means if Canva ever shuts down their activation servers or otherwise goes kaput, you won't be able to re-install and activate the software if needed.
I may have to stick with v2 while searching for alternatives.
The same applies to Affinity v2!
dcr wrote:The immediate downside that I see is Internet activation, which means if Canva ever shuts down their activation servers or otherwise goes kaput, you won't be able to re-install and activate the software if needed.
I may have to stick with v2 while searching for alternatives.
The same applies to Affinity v2!
I bought the business licenses for v2 which do not require Internet activation.
I am happy. What we have is not very far from what I had imagined it would be.
Whilst the dreadful speculation is over, the angst is only just beginning: Discord is full of disgruntled people who've argued for a whole month leading up to this and are arguing again now and have been since yesterday's launch: they obviously can't be happy, whichever way things go. It beggars belief, quite frankly. If they are so damned disaffected, why don't they just flounce off somewhere else as they have been threatening to do ad nauseam for weeks?
Hopefully the dust will settle soon and the more rational voices will gain more prominence. The world moves on, and nobody is likely to be 100% happy however things play out.
Discord is full of disgruntled people who've argued for a whole month leading up to this and are arguing again now and have been since yesterday's launch: they obviously can't be happy, whichever way things go.
With a name like ‘Discord’ it would have been foolish to expect anything else!
Well, I know - it's the irony of ironies!
If you steer clear of the general-affinity-chat section, it's not as bad as it could be, though. It's halfway to usable, for now, until (hopefully) this forum and CreoFora gain traction.
I am happy. What we have is not very far from what I had imagined it would be.
Whilst the dreadful speculation is over, the angst is only just beginning: Discord is full of disgruntled people who've argued for a whole month leading up to this and are arguing again now and have been since yesterday's launch: they obviously can't be happy, whichever way things go. It beggars belief, quite frankly. If they are so damned disaffected, why don't they just flounce off somewhere else as they have been threatening to do ad nauseam for weeks?
Hopefully the dust will settle soon and the more rational voices will gain more prominence. The world moves on, and nobody is likely to be 100% happy however things play out.
Disappointed in your post.
Many wanted a V3 Affinity with a perpetual licence and no subscription.
They haven't got that.
This free studio has, because you have not bought a licence, no obligation to the users. Canva can change it at any time and in any direction, including turning it off. IT also has an optional subscription component.
What is more worrying is the market positioning with Canva, they have taken affinity down market to the non-professional Canva market. Adobe will be pleased. The push is on AI and the Canvas presentation had a lot of users saying they wanted AI and template to effectively do the wok for them.
Putting all 2 and 1/2 apps in to one is a backward step. Especially for Publisher users, the "layout" section being barely mentioned in anyone's presentation and it is looking less like an inDesign competitor by the day.
I have been on the inside of several similar buy outs like this Canva-Affinity one (not I am not naming names as there are NDA's) and I have seen how it works over the years. Hence, my caution for the future.
Ali if you want to be a Canva shill flounce off and join their Discord. There are many rational heads here who don't like the way Affinity has gone so you will find the discussion is not to your liking.
Now perhaps we can raise the tone back up to an adult level?
Now perhaps we can raise the tone back up to an adult level?
I am sorry that you are disappointed that I don't share your negativity. It does not, however, make my point of view childish, and it certainly does not give you the right to make a comment like this. However, I shall overlook it.
Now, let's just get real here: I have my opinion, and you have yours, and both are valid. Neither of us can claim to be any more 'right' than the other: your negative appraisal may prove to be correct in the long run, but so might my more optimistic one.
Ali if you want to be a Canva shill flounce off and join their Discord.
This is also uncalled for. It's not about being a 'Canva shill' (whatever that is): it's about remaining loyal to Serif, and actually seeing a lot of good in what has happened. I am already on Discord, by the way.
You seem to be suggesting that opposing what's happened is a prerequisite of being here: I think you will find that those of us who are happy about it will remain welcome here, too, but that will be for Alfred to decide.
Ali if you want to be a Canva shill flounce off and join their Discord. There are many rational heads here who don't like the way Affinity has gone so you will find the discussion is not to your liking.
Now perhaps we can raise the tone back up to an adult level?
Uncalled for.
[This is also uncalled for.
I was mirroring your comment of " If they are so damned disaffected, why don't they just flounce off somewhere else as they have been threatening to do ad nauseam for weeks? "
So I suggest you raise your level of discourse or expect to respond to in kind and stop whining when people reply to you in the same tone you use.
Now can we reset and start again an adult level?
Now can we reset and start again an adult level?
No reset required - once again, our opinions differ. My frustration with some of the negative voices (NOT the rational ones!) is perfectly valid, even if you don't share that frustration. My comment was not aimed at you or anyone here: you, however, chose to make it personal, which is a shame.
Now, let's move on.
Putting all 2 and 1/2 apps in to one is a backward step. Especially for Publisher users, the "layout" section being barely mentioned in anyone's presentation and it is looking less like an inDesign competitor by the day.
I take that you mean 2½ apps, and I presume you’re calling it that because the last standalone version of Publisher was missing a large amount of expected functionality and there are still huge gaps in that area of the new app.
JAmedia wrote:Putting all 2 and 1/2 apps in to one is a backward step. Especially for Publisher users, the "layout" section being barely mentioned in anyone's presentation and it is looking less like an inDesign competitor by the day.
I take that you mean 2½ apps, and I presume you’re calling it that because the last standalone version of Publisher was missing a large amount of expected functionality and there are still huge gaps in that area of the new app.
95% of both presentations concentrated on the bitmap and vector drawing tools.
JAmedia wrote:Ali if you want to be a Canva shill flounce off and join their Discord. There are many rational heads here who don't like the way Affinity has gone so you will find the discussion is not to your liking.
Now perhaps we can raise the tone back up to an adult level?
Uncalled for.
You are correct that Ali's comments on flouncing off were uncalled-for, which is why I replied to her using her own language to highlight it.
You seem to be suggesting that opposing what's happened is a prerequisite of being here: I think you will find that those of us who are happy about it will remain welcome here, too, but that will be for Alfred to decide.
I set up this site after Serif announced that the official CommunityPlus support site — for the legacy ‘Plus’ applications — was going to be closed (and not merely closed to new posts like the official Affinity Forums, but removed completely so that posts and attachments became unavailable). I added Affinity sections when the official forums were locked, providing a space where users could continue to post, and nothing that’s happened in the past sixteen hours or so has changed the purpose of those new sections.
It goes without saying that I’m very disappointed to see ad hominem attacks on you or anyone else here.
I went over to Canva to pick up my downloads. <snip>
I wonder who picked the name for Customer Support, or is Customer Happiness Team the moderne 2025 term for it now? I'm so behind the times, I can never tell when the joke is on me.
Yes, and I wondered if the same person may have helped choose Discord - both have sort of a similar antithetical vibe.
... CreoFora ...
Thanks for mentioning this new forum Ali! Looks like the domain was registered 1 Oct 2025 - when did Serif post notice of its forum's eminent closure?
Ali wrote:... CreoFora ...
Thanks for mentioning this new forum Ali! Looks like the domain was registered 1 Oct 2025 - when did Serif post notice of its forum's eminent closure?
About a week before its closure on 02 (?) October. I received a PM on the old forums on 01 October with a link to CreoFora. I still don't know exactly who is behind it.
This free studio has, because you have not bought a licence, no obligation to the users. Canva can change it at any time and in any direction, including turning it off..
I disagree on this with regard to no obligations because it is free, before Adobe went all-in on subscription people were notified that they had to upgrade to the latest CS versions to be able to update yearly. Shortly after the deadline they announced there would be no future perpetual CS version, only subscription. Adobe just dropped the entire CS perpetual license despite lots of people having just paid quite a bit to be upgraded to the latest perpetual CS version.
Being a paying customer does not bring future obligations to their customers.
If a company thinks it is better to drop their existing products for something entirely new with a new file format etc. they can do so as they please Or just drop segments of their products with no new alternatives.
I have experienced that more than once with a company collapsing, or just quitting.
Adobe killed FreeHand, GoLive Cyberstudio, PageMaker (though InDesign was a good replacement) for products that I considered to be lesser. FreeHand ran circles around Illustrator at the time for example.
FOSS may be good for professional use in some cases, not really suitable for heavy professional use in more cases but you are dependent on volunteers. Unless they are well funded like Blender, LibreOffice, Open Design Alliance (ODA) and QGIS to name a few by users who have a significant stake for the software to remain actively developed. Or you have to deal with very small businesses (1-3 people) and hope there will be someone in the future to keep it going when the founder retires (e.g. PhotoLine, VectorStyler, High-Logic FontCreator and MainType).
There is no guarantee for any software to last indefinitely for anyone unless they develop it themselves (of pay others for the continuous development on your behalf). All we can hope for is that the file formats will be somewhat neutral so that they can easily be opened in other software should your preferred software cease to exist/being further developed. (e.g. OpenOffice formats, SVG, DWG etc.)
JAmedia wrote:This free studio has, because you have not bought a licence, no obligation to the users. Canva can change it at any time and in any direction, including turning it off..
I disagree on this, before Adobe went all-in on subscription people were notified that they had to upgrade to the latest CS versions to be able to update yearly. Shortly after the deadline they announced there would be no future perpetual CS version, only subscription. Adobe just dropped the entire CS perpetual license despite lots of people having just upgraded to the latest perpetual CS version.
Yes, I have a perpetual CS6 licence and used one of the Apps 2 days ago. It is a perpetual licence. That is what I paid for. IT was a contract that is legally enforceable.
With the free Affinity Studio there is no licence as such and what there is they can change at will, including stopping the app you currently have. So, worst case scenario: anyone who uses the Affinity Studio whilst their computer is connected to the internet could find that Canva have decided to remove/disable or change various features and access unless you upgrade to a new paid subscription. It might be a "light" subscription of €1 a month (€10 a year in advance) but it will be there.
Remember whilst there are 10's of thousands who hate subscriptions with a passion we tend to be older, and it is a de-facto reality and normality for the youngsters. Adobe did the calculations and are surviving.
The problem is whilst Adobe are still chasing the pro market it is clear Canva isn't the direction of travel for the Canva Affinity Studio is not into the pro market.
I'm back from Discord. Have you people really minds so fast to be able to discover some hint of thread of conversation in that mess?
Alfred's Serif Users' Forums → General Discussion → Affinity Studio is now available
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