Comparison

Affinity Designer vs GIMP

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.
★Affinity Designer65
GIMP43
Score
vioscaleAI score
Affinity Designer65 / 100medium · 52%
GIMP43 / 100medium · 74%
Pricing
Free tier
Affinity Designer✓
GIMP✓
Model
Affinity Designerfree
Price level
Affinity Designerfree
GIMPfree
Transparent
Affinity Designer✓
GIMP✓
Integrations
Count
Affinity Designer1
GIMP2
Security
Gdpr
Affinity Designer✓
GIMP–
Market
Availability
GIMP–
Content
Faq
Affinity Designer5 items

Capabilities

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

Discipline
Raster / photo editing
Affinity Designer✓
GIMP✓
Vector illustration
Affinity Designer✓
GIMP✗
DTP / page layout
Affinity Designer✓
GIMP✗
Digital painting
Affinity Designer✓
GIMP✓
Platform
Platform breadth
Affinity DesignerDesktop (macOS, Windows) and mobile (iOS)
GIMPGNU/Linux, macOS, Windows, and more operating systems
Output
CMYK / print production
Affinity Designer-
GIMP✗
Interoperability
PSD / AI import
Affinity Designer-
GIMP-
Collaboration
Real-time collaboration / cloud
Affinity Designer-
GIMP-
AI
Generative AI features
Affinity Designer-
GIMP-
Extensibility
Plugin / template ecosystem
Affinity Designer-
GIMPPython, Scheme, C, C++ with extensive community-developed plugins and scripts
Pricing
Pricing model
Affinity Designer-
GIMPOpen-source (free)
Free / open-source available
Affinity Designer✓
GIMP✓

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

GIMP

An open-source image editor supporting multiple operating systems, offering tools for photo manipulation, creative artwork, and programmatic image processing through scripting.

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 ↗

GIMP

Open sourceFree tier
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✓
GIMP✓
Windows
Affinity Designer✓
GIMP✓
Linux
Affinity Designer✗
GIMP✓
Deployment
Self-hosted
Affinity Designer–
GIMP✓

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

GIMP

2 total
  • Scribus
  • Inkscape
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Affinity Designer or GIMP: 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.