vioscaleAI
Comparison

Affinity Publisher vs darktable

No clear leader: darktable (52.4) and Affinity Publisher (51.1) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Affinity Publisher full profile →darktable full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Affinity Publisher51
darktable52
Score
vioscaleAI score
Affinity Publisher51 / 100low · 4%updating
darktable52 / 100medium · 59%
Pricing
Free tier
Affinity Publisher–
darktable✓
Model
Affinity Publisher–
darktableopen_source
Price level
Affinity Publisher–
darktablefree
Transparent
Affinity Publisher–
darktable✓
Security
Gdpr
Affinity Publisher✓
darktable–
Scorecard
Affinity Publisher–
darktable5.6
Vulnerabilities
Adoption
Dependent repos
Affinity Publisher–
darktable0
Github stars
Affinity Publisher–
darktable13,279
Activity
Commits last 30d
Affinity Publisher–
darktable100
Release
Cadence days
Affinity Publisher–
darktable63
History
Affinity Publisher–
darktable20 items
License
Spdx
Affinity Publisher–
darktableGPL-3.0
Language
Primary
Affinity Publisher–
darktableC
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Affinity Publisher4 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 Publisher✓
darktable✓
Vector illustration
Affinity Publisher✓
darktable✗
DTP / page layout
Affinity Publisher✓
darktable✗
Digital painting
Affinity Publisher-
darktable✗
Platform
Platform breadth
Affinity PublishermacOS, Windows, iOS
darktableLinux, Windows (10+), macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD
Output
CMYK / print production
Affinity Publisher-
darktable✓
Interoperability
PSD / AI import
Affinity Publisher-
darktable-
Collaboration
Real-time collaboration / cloud
Affinity Publisher-
darktable✗
AI
Generative AI features
Affinity Publisher-
darktable✓
Extensibility
Plugin / template ecosystem
Affinity Publisher-
darktableLua API for scripting and extensibility
Pricing
Pricing model
Affinity Publisher-
darktableOpen-source (free)
Free / open-source available
Affinity Publisher-
darktable✓

What each one is

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

Affinity Publisher

A desktop page layout application that integrates image editing, vector graphics, and typography tools in a unified workspace, enabling creators to design multi-page publications without switching between applications.

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 Publisher

Pricing not documented yet.

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
iOS
Affinity Publisher✓
darktable✗
macOS
Affinity Publisher✓
darktable✓
Windows
Affinity Publisher✓
darktable✓
Linux
Affinity Publisher✗
darktable✓
Deployment
Self-hosted
Affinity Publisher–
darktable✓
Still deciding?

Affinity Publisher 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.