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Canva Acquires Serif's Affinity Apps
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Hmm... I just bought the V2 Universal licence less than a month ago... not sure if that's a good move or not 🤷🏻
I think it is a good move.
1) They are not going to rip your license away, so get it while you can before subscriptions take hold.
2) More purchases using this model will help support and show business that it is a good viable way for them to provide products to us.
Yeah, that’s what many devs do… they make it not worth it because it’s absurdly priced.
VectorStyler is a good alternative to Affinity Designer and it has real vector brushes like Illustrator.
Photomator would be a good option… if it wasn’t because I had already bought it before it went to a subscription model, and they didn’t provide me the macOS version when they made Photomator an universal app.
I have Pixelmator Pro tho, for Mac. Although I haven’t used much because I still have to learn how to use it.
I'm not sure how these things are implemented at a detailed level, but one of the other trends I'm seeing, and Affinity already does this I believe, is authenticate licenses through their servers.
I have two problems with subscriptions: the recurring cost with no guarantee of active development (I don't pay for a meal as I enter a restaurant), and the risk of having a product stop working denying me access to my data. One time payments solve the recurring cost problem, but if I can't log into my Affinity account do I lose the ability to open and export my afphoto files? I haven't tried, but I'd bet I do.
How do they have any say here? It is a small UK company and Canva is Australian. Not to mention the size of the deal is probably below the threshold of what the EU would go after, even if they did have a say.
I bought the whole 2.0 Suite the day it was released and I do like it. But I do not use it daily, so there ist no justification for a subscription for me. If they change the licensing model I am gone. I have also bought Photomator and this is one good alternative.
I think, that Capture One is way better that Lightroom regarding RAW development. And I do like the UI of C1 better.
It lacks in terms of DAM, sadly I haven't found any DAM that is as good as Aperture was.
I think, that Capture One is way better that Lightroom regarding RAW development. And I do like the UI of C1 better.
It lacks in terms of DAM, sadly I haven't found any DAM that is as good as Aperture was.
So much doom and gloom - Canva is an amazing company with a really great product. I doubt they will tamper with Affinity's model and success - i.e. one-time purchases.
What Canva will likely do is find a way to roll this into their online platform - I can replicate what I need from InDesign in Canva with some work arounds - Canva is easy to use - InDesign is not - not is Affinity really - if they can bring a web based version of something like that with the ease of use they are known for, that is a win and I don't think they are going to cut off a revenue stream from the desk top products like Apple would.
If anything, Affinity products will likely see a lot of benefit in leveraging some of Canva's tech.
What Canva will likely do is find a way to roll this into their online platform - I can replicate what I need from InDesign in Canva with some work arounds - Canva is easy to use - InDesign is not - not is Affinity really - if they can bring a web based version of something like that with the ease of use they are known for, that is a win and I don't think they are going to cut off a revenue stream from the desk top products like Apple would.
If anything, Affinity products will likely see a lot of benefit in leveraging some of Canva's tech.
Aa a owner o v1 of Serif Apps, i've decided today to buy v2, so i just did. Later on i got the e-mail info about the Canva overtake. So, yes, it will get AI treatment, and subscribtion. My take on this, v2 ist my last. Sorry Serif folks.
Canva has saved me thousands of pounds - I can quickly get stuff done now to a better standard than a average graphic designer - no morew need for Adobe's extortionate subscrilptionand licensing model
For the moment let's give Canava a confidence bonus.
They have a free plan and even offer free access to the subscription version to charities and registered public interest associations.
And –no problem– I found our association in their worldwide database. Looks very serious.
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Canva serves a totally different customer/market than Affinity (Adobe has it's version of Canva that sucks and is much less friendly to use that is oft forgotten about in Spark).
Why shouldn't Canva want to go after a more pro market? Affinity - 90 whole employees there - obviously has resource constraints that Canva can help with. I think you'll see a better Affinity product in a few years leverage some Canva tech and vice versa.... but these are different users and use cases.
Adobe really has no competition in many of those spaces - how many companies are adopting Affinity over Adobe??? Yeah, NONE. There is a ton of potential for Canva to steal MarketShare on the pro end.
They have a free access to the paid-version for registered non-profits. Looks good so far...
Canva do offer a free tier for their products, However a single person licence is £99 for a year and for more than one user you contact the sales team.
Considering Adobe is currently £56.98 per month for a single user Canva are way cheaper.
As far as Serif products go Canva is fully invested in subs and unfortunately its unlikely The Affinity suite will stay with its current pricing model.
That said the Apps are still available for purchase on the Mac and IOS App Stores
Considering Adobe is currently £56.98 per month for a single user Canva are way cheaper.
As far as Serif products go Canva is fully invested in subs and unfortunately its unlikely The Affinity suite will stay with its current pricing model.
That said the Apps are still available for purchase on the Mac and IOS App Stores
i have v1, and just went with upgrade to v2, and about 30% price cut, so it is fine.
Nice option.
Disappointed the once free Vectornator became Linearity Curve with a subscription model.
Canva are very much a service subscriptions company. It probably makes sense for a new owner to transition to this model. Exciting times.
I just checked and the non-subscription version for a non-upgrade price is over $500. In that price class it's competing with Affinity Publisher about as much as it's competing with Scribus.
Specifically, how is C1 way better than LR in RAW processing. What features does it have that LR is lacking. Does it have the multiple auto-masking features LR has?
What made Aperture a non starter was that it didn't support non-destructive editing.
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Been using Affinity Photo since version 1.4 or 1.5 . I've found it a reasonable substitute for Photoshop . Plus it's affordable and non subscription . I'm disappointed to hear they've been gobbled up like so much decent software has over the years . With VC money lurking in the background , I can't see the 3 Affinity programs not being subscription within a year , 18 months , tops . The money guys gotta get paid .