Canva Acquires Affinity to Become a Player in Professional Photo Editing

The web-based design platform Canva has acquired Affinity, a creative software suite that includes Affinity Photo, an app similar to Photoshop that is made for professional photographers.

Canva now owns Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher — a creative suite that is a rival to Adobe’s Creative Cloud. The exact figure Canva has paid has not been revealed but Bloomberg reports that is “several hundred million” British pounds.

It’s Canva’s largest acquisition to date. The unicorn startup based in Australia says it attracts 170 million monthly global users and that Affinity has over three million customers around the world. But before today, Canva didn’t have any serious offerings for photographers, video editors, and illustrators.

Earlier this year, PetaPixel picked Affinity Photo as the best overall alternative to Photoshop praising it for its one-time fee and no subscription.

“Users will find many of the familiar Photoshop tools and features also available on Affinity Photo, such as the ability to work with unlimited layers, various blend modes, and smart object support,” writes Anete Lusina. “In short, it’s wildly powerful and offers a similar user experience to the industry standard.”

Today’s announcement will likely make Adobe sit up and take notice with Canva now looking like a serious competitor. Although Affinity’s user base is a tiny fraction of Adobe’s, its one-time purchase fee is popular with its users, especially those looking to work outside of Adobe’s subscription system.

“Since the inception of Affinity, our mission has been to empower creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and artistry flourish,” says Ashley Hewson, CEO of Affinity.

“We’ve worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable. Canva’s commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with those values. We couldn’t be more excited about becoming part of the Canva family and can’t wait to see what we will achieve together.”

Since its inception, Canva’s focus has been on people who don’t have design training and aren’t creative professionals. But as noted in its press release, Canva says “By joining forces with Affinity, we’re excited to unlock the full spectrum of designers at every level and stage of the design journey.”