Intuitive tools, smart and simple layer controls, streamlined UI. The use of the machine resources is optimal and I particularly love the easy switch between Draw, Pixel and Export persona, that significantly accelerates the way I work. It is a one time purchase (not a subscription) so it has effectively replaced my previous vector illustrations editing software.

Export options are a little limited and it just misses a few key features to be able to replace my current publishing software and their announced Affinity Publisher keeps getting delayed. PDF export makes files that are heavier in filesize than other solutions, not an issue when exporting a PDF for print, but can be for PDFs for a website where each KB is key.

Perfect for its price.

Affinity Designer provides you with great value for your money. Awesome features and great UI are all here. Everything you would expect from a much higher priced competition.

Affinity designer does a few things a bit differently, mostly for the better, but sometimes it can be frustrating (like locking a layer with a single click)

I really like that I have pro-level design tools at my hands when I need them, without having to worry about spending too much or paying a monthly fee for a software that's way over priced.

I love the toolset that is offered to me at a price that makes complete sense. No longer do I have to pay for a much more expensive graphic design solution to get similar tools. The user interface is design well to fit nicely into the visuals of my Mac. Affinity runs smooth, and is pretty easy to get familiar with. It's similar enough to other design applications where I'm not completely lost, but unique enough to feel different, new, and powerful. I love that I opens vector/eps, Photoshop, and other pro formats. And the formatting of those file types don't get jacked up like it sometimes does when opening with another competing product that I've used in the past.

Sometimes it's difficult to decide between using Affinity Design or Affinity Photo for a project. For me, and it's probably just the type of project I normally do, I usually end up using Affinity Photo.

I've used Affinity Designer mainly to get away from the Adobe subscription model. I've not only found it much cheaper, but also more capable in a lot of sections. The UI feels natural. The app loads fast and I get things done. What can I say? Designing on a budget doesn't have to look cheap!

- Affordable: It's a one price only, so you don't pay per month. How cool is that?

- Features: It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Photoshop and it probably will never have them.

I was searching for an escape route from Illustrator when I came across Affinity Designer. It was on sale at the time and I figured, 'how could I go wrong?' I bought it and haven't looked back since. I've also purchased Affinity Photo and I've been working with the Beta of their Publisher app. All are very impressive and I'd highly recommend them to anyone like me, looking for alternatives.

The interface is clean and makes good sense after watching a few of the tutorial videos. I really like how vertices adjustment handles work, they are quite intuitive for me. The non-destructive effects are great.

I found it a bit difficult at first to understand how layers worked, but after watching tutorials and some experimentation, it's become second nature. You can import *.ai files but you can't export them. Not a huge deal since it exports very nice PDF and EPS files.

I am using this software to design graphics for website, facebook page banner & covers.

I have been using graphic design softwares for last 18 years now. I have used Photoshop, PhotoImpact, Corel Draw but I find this one very best and very easy to use. Any new user can also start using it without any prior knowledge of Graphic Designing. As compared to other softwares available in the market its very light weight hardly a 400MB installer.

I would like to see more file format support in it like CDR, AI etc

I started with Designer and have since adopted the entire Affinity Suite.

Affinity has really outdone themselves with Designer. For a fraction (literally) the cost of Adobe Illustrator, Designer is a full featured, professional alternative - with a one time license fee (you own it, forever).

I wish Affinity could add support for Adobe file extensions. Within the Affinity/Serif world, you're fine. If a client requests an Adobe specific format, you will have trouble.

My workflow was much smoother and faster as I didn't have to wait ages to see my edits applied and I could and my creative process was quicker. However, there were some times where I wish I was using Illustrator as some of the functionality was lacking with Affinity Designer. I do find this program to be great value as it's a one time cost and there's no subscription like with Adobe products.

The program is so fast and smooth. All edits and changed are live before they're applied and everything is fluid even on a not very powerful machine.

Some of the features found in other competing programs like Adobe Illustrator are not found in Affinity Designer and the features that are similar aren't as powerful. Adding custom brushes is also quite a pain compared to other brands.

Being able to pay for a licensed fully reliable software, at a reasonable price. Hey! It's a no-brainer.

Designer, along with its brother Photo, makes the best out of a designer software, without the hustle and cost of a larger suite, such as Adobe CC. Every feature you are used to having on Illustrator you will find in Designer. The layout is very similar and with some name changes you are just at home. Additionally, Serif develops templates and themes that you can use just by being a registered user.

The only problem for most designers is to find where the usual tools (shadowing, rasterizing, among others) are located. Once you get familiarized with where is what, you are free.

Great feature set. Good UI. Does everything I need it to. I switched to Affinity from adobe and the transition was pretty much problem free. In fact I prefer working with the affinity products. I love that I was able to buy it outright for a nominal fee instead of a monthly subscription and cloud based type of thing.

There are some shortcuts and quick key type of functions that I am missing, although I may be able to set them up with some research and custom configuration. The functions are all there but sometimes the flow isn't.

Affinity Designer has thought through several of the most commonly used design features and enhanced them to make it faster and easier to use than most design software. It is affordable and has extensive font options.

The one thing that has frustrated me for a while is ​it does not have any live trace options. It would be great to have this​ option. The other thing is that the workspace organization​ complicated at times. overall it is easy to use though.

Affinity Designer is a great program and a great low one time price.

I love how it looks a lot like adobe's program but it has new things added on as well as is completely cheaper. There are no yearly subscriptions on this program which is a HUGE Plus. I love how this company affinity listens to its customers. I read a lot info in the forums. I'm just excited once they create a competitor to adobe lightroom.

I think they are limited on the programs they have currently but once the company builds competitive programs to adobe's programs, it would be smart to sell a bundle since currently they sell stuff individually.

I LOVE AFFINITY DESIGNER!!! This software has been the absolute best money I have ever spent on a software program. This is a full-featured vector design tool that can stand toe to toe with programs like Adobe Illustrator which cost 10x more. If you are a graphic design professional that uses vector design tools every day it would probably be worth that extra expense to move up to AI, but Affinity Designer does 90% of what you'd get out of AI at a small fraction of the cost. Overall this program delivers a truly outstanding value! If you're searching for something like this and haven't yet committed to AI try Affinity Designer now!

Affinity Designer delivers an unbeatable feature set for the price.

Missing some more advanced features found in AI

Their business model. Affinity provides an amazing product that I don't feel like I am buying again every month. I am sorry but Adobe is out of their mind to think that a casual user that occasionally needs design software is going to pay more for their product than they do all their streaming services combined. Affinity designer is an amazing piece of software that allows me to create and design simple print projects to.. something that I cannot do, create beautiful pieces of art. I have a tremendous amount of loyalty to Affinity. Bonus: they produce their own tutorial videos and post them online, so even if there is a task you don't know how to accomplish they help you.

I don't dislike anything about this software. I use is constantly and am always impressing friends and coworkers with the projects I complete with it.

I use Affinity for more than two years and the truth is that what can be achieved is satisfactory, that it is easy to use because it resembles others, it contains the exact thing to illustrate and when deploying it in the graphic arts department it was very appropriate for us. Its low cost, its help methods grow over time and this allows you to be informed of innovations in the product.

Affinity is a good competitor for other tools that are giving you something to talk about and they show it with this software that enhances your designs, an interface that does not depart from familiar tools. Its low cost and updates draw attention, I had the opportunity to test it on MacOS and I wanted it to come out for windows, later my prayers were heard and today is part of my group of applications that I use to illustrate, Serif intends to get into the game with a program that offers a lower cost of good quality than others that are expensive.

Although upgrades improve it and make Affinity more similar to other software, it lacks many tools that would boost it and put it at the top, but eventually we'll see it.

Awesome alternative to Adobe products, clean interface and makes my project flow much more efficient.

I really like how intuitive the software is for designers who are familiar with any standard design platform. I've been using Serif products for 9 years now and have always been impressed with how affordable and functional their design software has always been. They made design accessible to anyone in a market where design software pricing made it out of reach for many struggling graphic artists and designers. This newest offering is, in my opinion, superior to the industry standard vector offering, Adobe Illustrator. At a base level Affinity Designer offers all of the functionality of it's competition, with more ease of use and a much more affordable rate.

As Affinity Designer is still fairly new there are some small bugs, however, the Affinity support team works hard to address those and update the software often. Also, while most of the features are super intuitive the more advanced offerings can be harder to figure out. More tutorials offered by the company and the design community would be beneficial to allow people to really get all of the value that they can. The software is capable of so much but learning about those advanced features can be frustrating.

Alternative to more expensive grpahic suites.

Not everybody works as a full-time graphic designer. Some people need to develop infograpics or illustration from time to time, Affinity Designer was developed with these people in mind. It has the same features as competing suites but is 10x time less expensive.

Up to recenlty I had a problem when this software would crash sporadically. Support was not very helpful. The problem was solved when I switched rendering from default to "videcard".

All of Serif's software is amazing, and Affinity Designer is easily the best graphic design program I've ever used.

It's a lightweight, super functional graphics design software for the ages. It has 99% of the tools I need for vector and pixel art creation, all in one program. In some ways, it's like a hybrid of Illustrator and Photoshop.

There's not much I don't like, but it is missing a few features that make it hard to completely abandon adobe products. However, those are in the development roadmap, so it's only a matter of time.

I bought Affinity Designer last year because it was at offer, i think on black friday. Initially I was reluctant to buy it and use it because I thought it would be hard to use and understand another application. If you know Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator you know how to use Affinity Designer. It seems to be a combination of them, but from my point of view better on working with vector elements.

First of all, because when you create vector elements and delete a point, it does not destroy the whole element that you've created. I like that you can organize in folders what you are doing and by double clicking on an item in the folder you selected it and you can edit it. For now, I've used affinity designer to make pdf documents as giveaway for my readers on the blog and to make design for my cutting machine. When I bought the application I received some templates to use, I have not used them yet but I assume they are useful. You can also create artboards to make design for sites and applications. You can export each artboard separately in different formats.

I faced a little problem. It is not compatible with Adobe Illustrator. At work I had this program and I sent a file home to make some changes but I could not do that because I could not open my document. Instead I have no problems with the eps format.

It been beyond outstanding for us. Super satisfied and I can’t recommend it enough. It was super easy to migrate completely from the Adobe Suite. No hiccups at all.

It is lightning fast! And not to mention super affordable. Here is a piece of software with great customer support and an amazing community behind it. It is very intuitive and the learning curve is not steep at all. In fact, far more intuitive than Adobe Suite.

So far, all good! Maybe how it opens files from the Adobe Suite could improve but it has nothing to do with Affinity as much as how Adobe packages their files.

No garbage monthly subscription. One of my associates said it perfectly: It's the Illustrator Killer.

Couple display bugs; just needs a reset every 20-30 hours (yes, I use it for that long at a time) Don't judge me, or the software for it.

I switched at some point from Fireworks/Illustrator to affinity. I was looking for a Fireworks replacement after adobe discontinued it and I not only found a great app but I even ended ditching Illustrator and now I only use Affinity Designer instead.

Some features are still missing but every update gets better and better. For example the typography related tools got a great boost recently so I’m confident that it will only get better in time.

The software is very familiar if you come from Photoshop and Illustrator, but manages to make it a smoother and more modern feeling experience. As far as I can tell all the main tools you'd need from Adobe's software is here. Best of all, you pay the price you'd pay for one month of Adobe software... and you actually own it! So if you can't or don't want to pay for the upgrade in a couple years, you aren't just up poop creek like you are with Adobe.

The only con I have encountered so far is the lack of a button you can hold to switch to colorpicker. This would speed up my workflow a fair bit.

An affordable, feature-rich vector editor that gets frequent updates.

Affinity Designer has 99% of what I need from a vector editing tool. The UI is easy to work with and some things are actually easier to do with Designer than Illustrator.

I wish the expand stroke function was more accurate. The results are inconsistent and makes the feature essentially unusable since you cannot trust what it will output.

I love the vector based tools of this App. I used to be an avid user of Fireworks and when Adobe decided to kill it I kept looking for a good replacement that offers the best of both worlds: pixel based design and vector. So far Affinity Designer covered both and now I even feel more comfortable using it than I ever did in Fireworks.

Some text tools are still rudimentary but every update keeps getting better. For example they only caught up with vertical alignment on the last update and I'm sure they'll keep adding more details in the future.

I prefer Affinity Designer over Adobe Illustrator because of the fast start up and the interface. You will easily find what you need and can if it's not there you can easily add it. So user experience is really good. Because I am not working on digital art like other people but create simpler art Designer is okay for me as I don't need all the features missing from Illustrator. And the price - you really buy the software, you don't rent a cloud package - this is super and affordable for not so deep pockets.

Affinity Designer is easy to use and makes navigating easy to find what you are looking for. Features are okay and not too much at the beginning. If you were using Illustrator before you will understand the User Interface. It's also easy to export your designs, easier to create designs. It also loads faster than AI.

Illustrator is missing some features from Illustrator which you may like to use, it's the problem if you wanted a better overview. Less features means a better interaction, shorter ways and fewer shortcuts, but also fewer ways to create masterpieces of art.

When it comes to meeting up with deadlines, I choose to work with Affinity Designer because it helps me get the task done fast. I've been using it for more than a year now and I love it. I've used Affinity Designer to design amazing and interactive page layouts for clients who end up referring other clients to me. My latest work with Affinity Designer was a layout design I did for a campus newspaper.

I love the fact that it's lightweight, and I also love the simple and beautiful user interface plus an amazing user experience.

I discovered that some advanced features found in tools like InDesign and Illustrator are lacking in thiS software.

Very positive - I was a pixelmator user because I like simplicity but this is several steps up.

Great range of functions and easy to learn and use. I purchased Affinity Designer to complement a Watcom tablet. Didn’t want to pay the big photoshop money and AD was a great deal cheaper and has the same (as far as I know) functionality. I've been using it consistently for 6 months and keep getting more proficient and learning new things.

Hardly a negative, but so much functionality it tends to be a bit overwhelming. The different personas were also a bit confusing at first. Minor stuff!

Overall experience has been extremely positive since first purchasing about 5 years ago. Cost effective, feature-rich, easy to use, and produces high quality results.

I started using this with an employer about 5 years ago and loved it immediately. An additional Creative Cloud license for me was not an option at the time, so I did research and found Affinity Designer. The features were comparable to what I'd have used with Illustrator and InDesign, and most of the shortcuts were the same, which helped me get started even faster with Affinity Designer. Exceptional price point, great features, and a dedicated development team that listens to feedback from users and builds needs into their roadmap. I continue to use this regularly for personal use and also occasionally for professional use.

Some of the features are still slightly behind where Adobe features are at, but the updates are ongoing and this works great for anybody that needs graphic design software at a more affordable cost. A team/cloud sharing option would a bonus for those collaborating on design frequently.

I use Affinity Designer on my MacBook Pro to design different graphics for websites and print media. I've been using it for just over a year now and have no desire to go back to Illustrator. I've created website icons, email graphics, t-shirt designs, and company logos in it and can say that it is a positive experience. Looking forward to getting an iPad and trying it out on that platform.

- The biggest pro for me is the no subscription required!

I've found a few minor bugs that had already been reported. Seems that they'll be fixed in the near future, but wish the updates would come a little faster.

As the leader of a small-to-medium-enterprise and an educator in sound for media, many times I have the need to create simple graphics. From schematics and diagrams to icons and beyond. I use them for my company's internal knowledge-base, when I blog, for my presentations in classrooms, and even to create our own software graphical assets from mockups to finished product. First of all, it's no secret that working in vector is what every software developer should do, as it allows for the generation of all the graphic assets to be made in various bitmap resolutions, so your application looks clear and crisp in any device. Lately, even the Unity game engine introduced a pipeline to use vector graphic assets to create games, so that they render in any resolution, I definitely recommend checking this out if you are a game developer.

What I liked most about this program, is the workflow and interface. The developers managed to create a simple to use application for vector graphics, that everybody can operate. I can't remember how many times I got frustrated trying to make a simple graphic in other programs, while in Affinity Designer, the workflow is mapped so well, that everybody can use it. From computer graphics professionals around the world, to amateurs like me, it is straight forward to open the application and start creating. The online help system is awesome and omni-present and the graphical interface is sleek and looks good in any monitor that I tried it, even small ones. I also consider a great bonus that the company keeps a straight policy about pricing, they don't use the subscription model which is very good for SMEs.

Some advanced vector tools are missing, but the software is still young and I'm sure it will develop to a great tool. After all, the developers seem to have usability, ease of use and fast workflows in mind, so they add new features very carefully, to keep Affinity Designer the great tool that it is now.

The fastest proffesional graphic design software, with great results and amazing speed using symbols.

It's an incredible app that has everything you need for designing, sketching, drawing and more! I't one of my favorite apps of the decade! All the features are amazing: the infinite zoom gives you precision, the smart guides are really smart, the layers panel, the tools, the view modes and more.

It's a little limited on typography tools, and object effects as blending between shapes, gradient mesh and others are on my wishlist.

It was a rough start, but I really wanted to get used to it. Creating vector art with a specific software is just about muscle memory. If you're persistent enough, you can work with any app. Affinity is a great non-subscription based application, with plenty of features to create professional graphics very quickly. It can be as good as any other alternatives.

The user interface of Affinity Designer is very intuitive, easy to use and also looks great. Features are easily accessible.

It has some stability issues, sometimes crashes and the vector output after expanding a shape is not optimized very well yet. I suppose this will change with time.

It's really easy to use, modern and beautiful UI. Almost all tools to make a digital vector art is present. And really, it's easier than Illustrator.

I don't like the way bleed works, we can't see the bleed area.

I've really enjoyed using this software as it works so well. And the biggest plus, no subscription!

Affinity's Designer is the closest thing to Adobe's Illustrator. Yet it has other great options. I particularly like how you can switch between vector and pixel mode. Additionally, it's really smooth to use. That's quite a hard thing to explain but it just works really well. It's also partly about how it feels like a mix of InDesign and Illustrator. I particularly like how you can easily export to many different formats.

I can't say there's anything really. I'm still slightly adjusting to the details of this from Adobe but that's to be expected, not that there's that much to pick up really.

It gets the job done. That's probably the best thing I can say about it. It gets the job done, but I trudge through every moment of the job.

It's surprisingly fully-featured for the price. Once you know what you're doing, it can accomplish just about any task you'd use Illustrator (the industry standard) for.

The workflows are just ... Annoying. Maybe it's because I'm coming from Illustrator, where everything feels effortless, but it feels like every aspect of Affinity Designer was made unnecessarily complicated. Using the program makes me want to pull my hair out, because I know how much quicker and easier and just ... More "common sense" the process would be in Illustrator. Also, and this is a big one: Most stock vector files are completely useless in Affinity Designer. If there's any degree of complexity (meaning more than one shape), it's going to be an absolute disaster to work with in Designer.

Using Affinity Designer allowed me to work with vectors in a format similar to Adobe Photoshop.

Affinity is hands down the best design software on the market. It's affordable but oh so powerful. I've been using it since it came out and it just keeps getting better. As a designer that used Photoshop for a long time I was excited to see something better.

The only con I can think of is that they are still building up a user base so sometimes it's harder to find design resources made for Affinity.

It is fantastic for my graphic design and editing needs.

I love this software. It is fast, very affordable and I don't have to worry about paying a subscription. Serif backs their products as well with awesome updates.

Absolutely nothing. I have no complaints about this software.

The design tools in Affinity Designer are simplified, making shorten the design process. I appreciate the clean user interface in their softwares. The tools are up to date and also offers formats that meets the industry standard.

There have been some minor problem while I am using the software such as program automatically closed while I was doing my work. I hope they are able to fix the issue that I've encountered in the foreseeable future.

Affinity Designer is a great choice for any designer looking for a cheap alternate to the most popular tools of the market. I loved that the interfaces and tools were similar to what I was used to.

A lot of the features I used in other softwares were present in some form here. There was a bit of a learning curve, but they kept interfaces similar enough as to not totally confuse users making the jump.

There were a couple of features that I used in other softwares that were missing. I did also like how different programs integrated with one another, but since this is the only one everything seemed a bit packed in.

As a long time vector artist I have used nearly everything and nothing comes close to the amazingly fluid and easy to use interface of Affinity Designer. Though it is missing some power tools from the bigger name software and it's predecessor. I find that I can complete any task that doesn't require any highly specialized tools in a fraction of the time in Affinity Designer with higher quality results.

- Intuitive and easy to learn user interface.

- Not well optimized. It clearly can not take advantage of modern hardware.

The one major benefit and the reason I started using Affinity is the fact that its cheaper than Adobe Illustrator as you do only once-off payment compared to the monthly subscription you are tied to with Adobe.

This software is perfect for new and professional designers. It's easy to learn and understand and can go toe to toe with the best design software at a much lower price point. If you are familiar with any other design software you'll quickly get the hang of Affinity Designer. In the tool selection you are spoilt for choice, if you can think it chances are this software has a tool to bring it to life. Pen tool, pencil tool for custom shapes, brush tool and gradient tool to name a few. Affinity is amazing I definitely recommend it to you.

This software is easy to use, cheaper than the closest competitor and does everything at the same level if not better, there isn't anything I can think of as draw back or that I like the least its a well thought out software and is perfect for the work I do.

Well, it helps a lot for me because every day, I need to make some post on my Facebook page, and this software is a blessing for me.

I was searching for software would be alternative to Photoshop, and I found "Affinity Designer" This software is so powerful. The most I like to this software is: It is a LIFETIME LICENSE. Very cost-effective to those beginners like me. Also, there's a lot of tutorials online, especially on YouTube.

Honestly, I don't see any cons so far, and I really love using it for my everyday task.

The price, of course and the fact that it's easier to manipulate and more robust than other vector drawning programs. I tested it as a replacement of a well-known vector software, and fell in love with it. I use it every day, to nearly all the use you can imagine a such a tool. Really one of the best value you can find !

Nothing really, maybe, and that's a maybe, a lack of typo tools that other package have form a long time.

My overall experience with the whole Affinity brand is supremely positive. Every aspect of their service: from the products they provide to the support, tutorials and workbooks they offer is of a supremely high standard. I'm incredibly excited to see how this brand evolves and will definitely be purchasing any product they add to their catalogue in the future.

Designer is an incredibly deep application that can satisfy just about everyone's demands for digital illustration. It has a phenomenal feature set and works on multiple devices, thus enabling the user to maximize their output and enhance their workflow. The accompanying Workbook is a brilliant way to familiarize the user to the capabilities of the software, and as the only viable alternative to Adobe Illustrator, anyone making the transition will feel right at home - you can even open up your Illustrator projects in Designer! Another great function is the seamless integration with Affinity's other applications - Publisher and Photo.

Since making the transition from Illustrator, I've honestly not looked back once. There is nothing in my workflow that Designer isn't capable of performing. As such, I have no cons and can't think of any reason not explore Designer and its capabilities.

Affinity Designer is a powerful tool that is easy to use, even for beginners.

Affinity Designer is the best vector graphics authoring platform I have used. I have used Illustrator for years and even tried open source options like GIMP and Inkscape. Affinity allows me to take existing .ai files, import them, edit and export in a variety of formats. Best of all, its a one time fee .

The ONLY feature this program is missing is Live Trace, and frankly, live trace is the only reason I still have Illustrator installed

I use Affinity Designer almost every day to design websites, print material, logos. Haven't found a project yet that it hasn't been perfect for.

Amazing user interface and incredible performance, especially on a Mac. I left Adobe's subscription model years ago and would never go back, thanks to this software. Having complete file compatibility between this software and their Photo and Publisher platforms is indispensable. The fact that there's an iPad version with almost the exact same feature set is a huge plus.

I really have found nothing not to like about this software. I use it for professional design work just about every day and love every aspect of it.

Overall Affinity products are amazing and what I would encourage anyone looking for a lot of features for a good price to go with.

Honestly this is such an amazing alternative to Photoshop and Illustrator. It is a one time buy that is updated frequently and is what I suggest to all of my students who take themselves and the things they make seriously but not serious enought to pay a car payment to get it each month like the Adobe Creative cloud. Functions great and amazing price for what you get.

I think that there are frequent updates which is amazing, I am sure it is just a setting but it would be nice if the updates just happened in the background and I didn't have to actually download and install them.

My overall experience with Affinity Designer has been very positive. The software has allowed me to create hundreds of vector designs with ease and I've saved hundreds of dollars getting out of the Adobe subscription model! I highly recommend the Affinity suite to any professional designer or photographer.

Affinity Designer allows you to create professional vector designs and illustrations without a lifetime subscription. It has won many accolades for it's ease of use and functionality from Apple and others in the design industry. For $50 you get the equivalent of an Adobe Illustrator AND support for pixel/raster designs alongside vector work.

Although the team Serif is constantly updating the software, Affinity Designer lacks some of the features that have been native to Illustrator for many years like vectorizing raster images or a scissors tool. This will often lead you to search for a workaround on the Affinity forums or YouTube.

I have been looking for a good replacement since Adobe discontinued Fireworks. There is a bit a of leap between Fireworks and Photoshop and I've never got on with the transition very well, also I'm not keen on the excessive subscription fee.

Massive negative for me is no "easy" magic wand tool to quickly remove the a single/similar colour background from an image such as white from a logo. I know there is sort of a way of doing in the photo portion of the software however it's hard to use and when you finally get what you want it just doesn't produce a good result around the edges.

Mostly love it. I am able to do what I need to do.

I love that I did not have to pay ongoing for this tool. I paid once and own it for life. I am not a graphics designer and am self-taught and I find it fairly easy to use.

Most of the things I don't like are really my own lack of skills in design and in learning more about this program. I do wish there were some basic clip art drawings to use.

It has a lot of great features, you can design and do a very basic photo edition, also is great when you need to adapt the same design in different sizes.

It might be a little confusing at first if you are used to other design softwares

Very positive, I like how much power I have over the image I create! And how there are not so many panels everywhere it takes a while to get used to if you are switching from Adobe, but there is an elegance to their thinking!

Fluid ease of use, very little is a struggle to understand! Compared to Illustrator this is an exercise in brilliant illustration vector software! This is quality software well thought out and a joy to use!

Nothing, although gradients could be easier to apply! They are a struggle to find, but once you do they are logical and easy to find, just do not expect to find a panel for everything like in Adobe software!

Affinity Designer feels like a friendlier vector design option as compared with some of the other usual suspects. While old-school designers and illustrators may prefer a more traditional approach, A.D. doesn't make you work quite as hard for basic shapes, text, etc. On the other hand, the departures may make it a harder transition for more experienced users. And, while this isn't a reflection on the software specifically, as a newer addition to the space, there are fewer tutorials available. I don't use it exclusively in design work, but I definitely favor it in many ways.

The interface is user-friendly, although there is definitely a learning curve coming from other vector design packages. I appreciate that there is a library of built-in shapes. When I'm trying to work through a design, I'd rather not have to draw a call-out or a cog or a heart. It's nice to be able to just pop them in. I also find that the basic text tool is friendlier than other packages.

There are some features that don't work as intended or are missing entirely, when compared against other vector design software. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to auto-trace a raster image, which would be helpful for my use.

Overall product is amazing. I use it everyday to create vector illustrations and icons. So far, I have only good experience with this product

Product is professional. Rich with features and has pleasing UI. You can do 90% of everything you do in Adobe Illustrator CC. This is the best alternative for professional vector design.

Snapping is sometimes confusing, especially if you are coming from Adobe Illustrator CC. There is no easy way of defining custom patterns.

Absolute pleasure! I couldn't afford the Adobe package but now I have Affinity Designer and Photo and it more than meets all my needs for website graphics and photo editing and design.

So much cheaper than Illustrator / Photoshop and packs all the features I need. Easy to use, easy to learn. Many tutorials from Affinity as well as other skilled users. Use it for simple projects or very in-depth. Replace expensive and subscription services with this one-time very reasonably priced vector graphics software. They also have an iPad app that is just as powerful and neither suck up resources!

If you are very used other software like Illustrator, it will take some time to adjust at first. You may have to find different ways to do the same task in Designer, but it is just a quick look-up away from learning.

This app has become an invaluable tool in my workflow.

This app is great for creating graphics, logos, icons, and shapes. It has a great type tool that can be used for artistic text or blocks of text. It offers graphics creation for vectors as well as raster graphics.

The way that layers are arranged or not arranged can be frustrating. It is merely a learning curve, though.

I started to use Affinity Designer in order to wake up the creativity in me. I took several classes to learn how to use it - each class was having a certain project as a goal. It is not so difficult to learn and I think you learn best when you have a certain end in mind. If you are used with Illustrator, it will be very easy to use Affinity Designer. Some cannot give up using Illustrator, but if you are just beginning or on a tight budget, I really recommend Affinity Designer.

I like how much you get for the money you pay. It is a one-time payment, very budget-friendly, and you get a software that gives you everything you need to create what you have in mind: create a logo, write something or make an amazing artwork to print, to share. I am still amazed by the things that you can do with this software.

It is not that I don't like this, but you really need to put in the time and energy to learn it. And this was expected because you can create such amazing things with it. You can find tutorials and classes that will guide you. Just take your time and don't give up.

Unseating the great Adobe Illustrator is no easy task. Illustrator has been a stalwart of the design industry for decades. If there's a contender out there, this is it. I dare say, Affinity Designer may be better than AI. While there are some serious migration issues if you're an AI veteran, within a week or two, you will have forgotten about Illustrator. What's most impressive about AD is that it's blazing fast, super stable and has no monthly subscription requirement. It's also got a host of great features for app / software interface design, and reusable elements to speed up complex images. The brush tools are great, and the support for drawing tablets is well implemented. You'll also find support for loads of image formats and portability to Affinity's Photo product.

The learning curve is a little daunting for long-time Illlustrator users. For me it had been a long time since I had to learn a new drawing application. Fortunately YouTube is already filling up with tutorial videos and how-to's. If you can get past the awkward early-stage, there's a lot to love here. But be prepared for initial frustration.

Overall, this is a great tool for beginners. If you don't mind having dedicated iOS apps and working the cloud and just using this platform as a start, then I would highly recommend this.

I have used the Adobe Suite before - Illustrator included. At the time it seemed like you needed to use one platform, since that was the standard. However since these lower cost options became available, the standards are a bit blurred and everything is starting to become compatible. This is very easy to use and has a majority of the same features that Illustrator has ( for more than half the price)

Some of the tools - specifically text tools are lacking a little bit, there seem to be updates happening fairly often, which are addressing some of the problems.

Not really a finished app

It's cheap, although it still remains less powerful that some free apps

Development seems to have ground to a halt on this app. Investing time and energy learning could be a waste of time as it may not be around in the future.

I love a lot of things about Affinity Designer, and even though I have an active Adobe subscription, I will be keeping Designer around to use for icon work and some non-text logo work. It's very flexible, extremely affordable, and hash probably 75% of the functionality of Illustrator. Most people will get by fine. But if you need file compatibility, you'll be disappointed as I was.

I love how Affinity Designer was built from the ground up to address workflow and performance issues that Illustrator has suffered from. Designer is innovative and is very clearly the next closest competitor for Adobe Illustrator. Some things, like managing gradients, text, and shapes, is very well done and very slick.

Importing and exporting files to be used with Illustrator is not fun. If you're working in this industry, you're going to interact with others who use Illustrator. So the files need to be compatible. But with Designer, while you CAN import and export these files, you lose a lot. Layer effects don't translate well, font layers are turned into paths and no longer able to be edited as text, and you just end up having to redo a lot of work.

My overall experience with Affinity Designer has been overwhelmingly positive. Seriously, there isn't a better vector/raster program for Windows, Mac, and iPad for the price. It's changed my design workflow for the better and I hope it disrupts the stranglehold a certain suite of tools has on the industry.

Affinity Designer has helped me cut the expensive cord that tied me to the Adobe suite of graphic design tools. The price is absolutely mind-blowing for what this software can do. It does everything programs like Illustrator can do--creating vector art and manipulating nodes on the fly. But it also adds raster tools allowing you to combine smooth vector designs with detailed bitmaps. There's so much Serif has packed into this amazing app at an insanely affordable price that there's no reason every designer and hobbyist should be adding to their toolbox today.

My only nitpicks about this software is that occasionally it will crash when you're handling large files with lots of layers and that new versions don't come out as quickly as I'd like. But Serif is a small team who's passionate about their product and I know they'll continue to develop it to be the best it can be.

I like it. After many years of using Adobe products I switched over to Affinity and I am happy with the switch. The transition was pretty painless and I like the interface better. The one time purchase price and a low price at that is a big plus for me over a monthly contract to use adobe stuff. Overall satisfied.

There are a few areas where there was a fast and easy way to do something with the "other" software that I miss on the Affinity version. There are probably tricks, customizations and work arounds that I just haven't discovered yet though.

I've switched my primary vector design tool to Affinity a little over 2 years ago. Since switching, I've taken time to learn the Affinity products, and really appreciate their features. I bought both books (Designer and Photo books), as well as both ipad apps, and am beta testing Affinity Publisher. So far, they have been great to use, and never caused me any issues. I highly recommend all of their software!

Price! Features, GUI, import / export options, plays nice with adobe, company is great at providing tutorials, updates, and enhancing the product.

learning curve is there (it's not an adobe clone), but take the time to learn this tool, it's worth it!

Overall I've used Affinity Designer to create logos, website layout wireframes and mockups, pdf documents, and a bunch of other things. It's really fast and doesn't lag at all

First and foremost, the cost of this app is stellar! You can't beat the price for what you're getting. AD is a vector and pixel based program and it's simplified workflows for those of us who wanted something different to the new subscriptions introduced by Adobe. I find AD really easy to jump into and use, and their tutorials out there are genuinely helpful, plus there are many 3rd party resources to help you learn more.

Since it's still a fairly new product, some features we may be used to in for example Illustrator, are not present. For one, I miss being able to do live traces and also I find the pathfinder functions work a little differently than they do in Illustrator.

BUY!

I make tshirt designs and Affinity designer is an incredibly effective tool for this. I regularly use it and find it to be almost as feature rich as adobe illustrator. Best of all, this is a one time fee for 50 dollars and you keep it for life. This is a great alternative to paying monthly for adobe products.

Some features from adobe illustrator aren't out yet, namely line tracing and a few others. I hope they continue to work on this product.

I use Affinity Designer every day to created and edit images. One of the best purchases I've made in a long time.

One of the best things about Affinity Designer is the price. It's a one-time payment and the software is just as good as Adobe Illustrator. Also, all the shortcut keys you're already used to simply work.

Has a small learning curve, but not as much as you would think. It's very similiar to Adobe already.

Amazing work output at a decent cost

I love the fact I can do 90% of things i would normally do with illustrator in affinity designer. I just wish they could add the image tracing feature so that I could finally make the switch for good as I did with photoshop -> affinity photo.

not much to say, just would be great to finally get image tracing which is mentioned all the time in the forums.

Speed, joy, fun and reliable output

Open compatibility, Export features, lightspeed interface, smooth and beautiful artwork display, Corner tool, Constraints to containers and a lot more

Some features are still missing like Blending, Select by attributes, Anchor points alignment, Pixel persona lacks some basic tools like Clone stamp

I saved a lot of money by not having to pay a subscription model for bloated software. Affinity Designer gives me all the tools I need.

Affinity Designer is very easy to use, especially if you've worked with products like Adobe Illustrator in the past. Tools are easy and intuitive to use and the ability to customize the UI so you only see the things you need really cleans up your work space. I love the variety of export methods and use of canvases. Another big pro is the ability to open several different file formats, including .ai.

It can take a little effort to setup your workspace the way you like it. It's not always easy to find out how to display a specific palette of functions via the main app menu. I prefer submenus in tool docs so I can see what tool palettes I can add directly.

Great alternative to Illustrator, and great time saver if Illustrator crashes my file! I can turn to Designer if Illustrator starts to misbehave!

The great fact is that I can just paid once and forget it. I don't have to be concerned about paid upgrades for in the future. And this is the most important factor that I had considered before investing on AD.

What I found lacking is that it does not support plugins like Adobe Illustrator does. Also, it is not updated as frequent as Adobe Illustrator does. Certain complex design workflows may be not easily achievable within AD with a few steps. There is still room for improvement though for the software to be as powerful and even better than Illustrator.

Affinity designer is fresh, affordable and easy to use. It has the features one would need from an app like Illustrator and it doesn't feel like too much was crammed into it. Some of the way the interface works reminds me of CorelDraw which I really enjoyed using, but has become a bit dated and is not available on Mac. This is a great app for illustration work, and for print design like business card design. The separate vector and pixel personas keep tools organized well.

Affinity Designer isn't specifically designed to be used for UI design, while I'm fine with this, it would be interesting if in the future it could handle some of the features that applications like Sketch do that make it great for UI design. That said, I wouldn't want this if it made the app cluttered. Right now Affinity Designer is great because it is easy to get around.

Adobe isn't exactly the most loved software company in the world right now, not even among designers who depend and even like its products. So if you dislike Adobe as much as I do, Serif's Affinity Designer has at least these things going for it: No subscriptions! Great, personal support! Engaged-with-the-community developers! Not built by a boring, unresponsive, impassive corporation that ignores its customers! But thankfully it's also a powerful and incredibly inexpensive piece of software. Stuff I really like:

Not as power-packed as Illustrator so some task still need Adobe, particularly for prepress. (For prototyping, you probably want Sketch.) Not as impressive as its sister application Affinity Photo. Proprietary format is obviously not an industry-standard like Adobe. No iPad app yet.

It is one of the best companies in terms of web design, not only because it tries to help in all possible ways to its customers but also because it presents a wide variety of services and is extremely effective in each and every one of them, I recommend it 100%, currently it is very difficult to find a company as effective and fast as Affinity Designer. If you are thinking about working with this company let me tell you that you have nothing to think about and you should start doing it now, I recommend it 100% effective, fast, attentive, versatile .. it has everything a customer needs and knows how to use it ..

I really do not have any complaints about this company, I go alone with nice and good comments, because it is everything that the company left me, I am 100% satisfied and very happy to have worked with Affinity Designer without a doubt I will do it again a future .. Very good company and very good way of working, really admirable and recommended, I'm not disappointed even for a second. There should be more companies that do everything as simple as Affinity Designer does and treat clients' doubts and concerns in the same way that they do. It does not compare with anything, its treatment and attention to details are very good. Highly recommended