Comparison

Adobe Photoshop vs Affinity Designer

On the evidence we track, Affinity Designer leads this comparison with a composite score of 65/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Adobe Photoshop28
★Affinity Designer65
Score
vioscaleAI score
Adobe Photoshop28 / 100medium · 54%
Affinity Designer65 / 100medium · 52%
Pricing
Free tier
Adobe Photoshop✗
Affinity Designer✓
Model
Adobe Photoshopcommercial
Affinity Designerfree
Price level
Adobe Photoshopunknown
Affinity Designerfree
Transparent
Adobe Photoshop–
Affinity Designer✓
Integrations
Count
Adobe Photoshop1
Affinity Designer1
Security
Disclosure policy
Adobe Photoshop✓
Affinity Designer–
Gdpr
Adobe Photoshop–
Affinity Designer✓
Trust center
Adobe Photoshop–
Reliability
Status page
Adobe Photoshop✓
Affinity Designer–
Market
Availability
Adobe PhotoshopAvailable worldwide
Content
Faq
Adobe Photoshop3 items
Affinity Designer5 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for design & creative software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Discipline
Raster / photo editing
Adobe Photoshop✓
Affinity Designer✓
Vector illustration
Adobe Photoshop-
Affinity Designer✓
DTP / page layout
Adobe Photoshop-
Affinity Designer✓
Digital painting
Adobe Photoshop-
Affinity Designer✓
Platform
Platform breadth
Adobe Photoshop-
Affinity DesignerDesktop (macOS, Windows) and mobile (iOS)
Output
CMYK / print production
Adobe Photoshop-
Affinity Designer-
Interoperability
PSD / AI import
Adobe Photoshop-
Affinity Designer-
Collaboration
Real-time collaboration / cloud
Adobe Photoshop-
Affinity Designer-
AI
Generative AI features
Adobe Photoshop✓
Affinity Designer-
Extensibility
Plugin / template ecosystem
Adobe PhotoshopExtensible via third-party integrations
Affinity Designer-
Pricing
Pricing model
Adobe Photoshop-
Affinity Designer-
Free / open-source available
Adobe Photoshop-
Affinity Designer✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Adobe Photoshop

A cloud-based application for photo editing and design work that combines advanced image manipulation capabilities with generative AI features for tasks like background composition, object removal, and image enhancement.

Independently observed

Affinity Designer

Leader

A comprehensive design tool that integrates vector drawing, photo editing, and layout capabilities with real-time performance, precision controls, non-destructive editing, and broad export support.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Adobe Photoshop

Subscription
as of verify ↗

Affinity Designer

Leader
FreeFree tier

Completely free with all features included

  • AffinityFree
    • Vector design with pen precision, snapping, and alignment
    • Symbols and constraints for UI component consistency
    • Non-destructive editing
    • Real-time pixel previews
    • Raster and photo editing tools
    • +8 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Adobe Photoshop✓
Affinity Designer✗
macOS
Adobe Photoshop✗
Affinity Designer✓
Windows
Adobe Photoshop✗
Affinity Designer✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Adobe Photoshop✓
Affinity Designer–

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Adobe Photoshop

2 total
  • Topaz Labs
  • Adobe Express
Independently observed

Affinity Designer

Leader
1 total
  • Canva
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Adobe Photoshop or Affinity Designer: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.