By Canva acquiring Affinity came as a shock to everyone. I did not see this coming.
Usually, most startups and companies get acquired by the competition, in this case that’s Adobe. However, Canva swooping in to buy Affinity for $380 million was completely unexpected.
Even the Affinity CEO, Ashley Hewson says that it only took about 2 months to negotiate the deal and get acquired by Canva.
Canva is on a mission to compete with Adobe creative suite and with the acquisition of Affinity, they now have the strongest Adobe competitor at their disposal.
This news was not well-received by the Affinity community. I was also worried about the future of Affinity software.
I chose Affinity almost entirely because of its perpetual license. I was tired of companies like Adobe charging monthly fees just to get access to Photoshop.
Given Canva’s subscription pricing model, I was skeptical about whether they plan to integrate Affinity software into their subscription plan. Thankfully, the company made another announcement to clear out all of the assumptions.
In an article titled The Affinity and Canva Pledge, the company announced 4 “pledges” to the community.
Lifetime License, Forever!
The first pledge is to continue to provide the lifetime licensing plan for the Affinity Software.
“We know this model has been a key part of the Affinity offering and we are committed to continue to offer perpetual licenses in the future.”
However, they did subtly mention plans for a subscription model saying “If we do offer a subscription, it will only ever be as an option alongside the perpetual model, for those who prefer it.”
This makes sense for Canva users, who might be able to get access to Affinity software through the Canva subscription plan.
Super-charged Updates
With the Canva behind for support, Affinity can now super-charge their software development and might even introduce AI-powered features like Photoshop into the software kit.
“We’re committed to using our shared resources to continue expanding Affinity’s products through further investment in Affinity as a standalone product suite.”
Free For Non-Profits
Affinity and Canva have decided to offer the Affinity software for free to non-profits and schools.
Canva already offers its subscription plans at no cost to schools and non-profits around the globe. Affinity will join this program to make their offering even more generous.
“We’re excited to extend this programme to include free access for schools and nonprofits to Designer, Photo and Publisher. ”
What Does This All Mean For Us?
I’m hopeful about the future of Affinity. I would have preferred the company to stay independent and be a strong competitor to Adobe. But I also understand that it takes more than just selling lifetime licenses to develop software these days.
Either way, I look forward to seeing the accelerated development of my favorite graphic design software. And I will continue to support Affinity in my own way by providing guides and tutorials.
