vioscaleAI
Comparison

Affinity Designer vs darktable

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.

Affinity Designer full profile →darktable full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Affinity Designer65
darktable52
Score
vioscaleAI score
Affinity Designer65 / 100medium · 52%
darktable52 / 100medium · 59%
Pricing
Free tier
Affinity Designer✓
darktable✓
Model
Affinity Designerfree
darktableopen_source
Price level
Affinity Designerfree
darktablefree
Transparent
Affinity Designer✓
darktable✓
Integrations
Count
Affinity Designer1
darktable–
Security
Gdpr
Affinity Designer✓
darktable–
Scorecard
Affinity Designer–
darktable5.6
Trust center
Affinity Designerhttps://affinity.serif.com/en-us/privacy/
darktable–
Vulnerabilities
Adoption
Dependent repos
Affinity Designer–
darktable0
Github stars
Affinity Designer–
darktable13,279
Activity
Commits last 30d
Affinity Designer–
darktable100
Release
Cadence days
Affinity Designer–
darktable63
History
Affinity Designer–
darktable20 items
License
Spdx
Affinity Designer–
darktableGPL-3.0
Language
Primary
Affinity Designer–
darktableC
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Affinity Designer5 items
darktable5 items

Capabilities

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

Discipline
Raster / photo editing
Affinity Designer✓
darktable✓
Vector illustration
Affinity Designer✓
darktable✗
DTP / page layout
Affinity Designer✓
darktable✗
Digital painting
Affinity Designer✓
darktable✗
Platform
Platform breadth
Affinity DesignerDesktop (macOS, Windows) and mobile (iOS)
darktableLinux, Windows (10+), macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD
Output
CMYK / print production
Affinity Designer-
darktable✓
Interoperability
PSD / AI import
Affinity Designer-
darktable-
Collaboration
Real-time collaboration / cloud
Affinity Designer-
darktable✗
AI
Generative AI features
Affinity Designer-
darktable✓
Extensibility
Plugin / template ecosystem
Affinity Designer-
darktableLua API for scripting and extensibility
Pricing
Pricing model
Affinity Designer-
darktableOpen-source (free)
Free / open-source available
Affinity Designer✓
darktable✓

What each one is

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

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

darktable

A digital photo management and editing application that organizes images in a database and enables non-destructive raw image processing and enhancement for photographers.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

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 ↗

darktable

Open sourceFree tier

Free, open-source

  • darktableFree
    • Non-destructive raw image editing
    • Virtual lighttable and darkroom interface
    • Digital negative database management
    • Professional color management for print output
    • GPU-accelerated processing
    • +3 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
macOS
Affinity Designer✓
darktable✓
Windows
Affinity Designer✓
darktable✓
Linux
Affinity Designer✗
darktable✓
Deployment
Self-hosted
Affinity Designer–
darktable✓

Integrations

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

Affinity Designer

Leader
1 total
  • Canva
Independently observed

darktable

Not documented yet.

Still deciding?

Affinity Designer or darktable: 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.