Affinity Photo Review (2026): Is It Still Worth Buying for Photo Editing?

What Is Affinity Photo?

Affinity Photo is a professional-grade raster graphics editor widely regarded as a strong alternative to Adobe Photoshop on Windows, macOS, and iPad. Designed for photographers and designers, it offers advanced capabilities such as non-destructive editing, RAW development, layer-based compositing, vector support, and real-time previews—without relying on a traditional subscription model.

In March 2024, Canva officially acquired Serif, the company behind Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher. As a result, the Affinity suite is now offered as a single, integrated application called Affinity Studio by Canva, providing access to professional-grade tools at no cost, with optional AI-powered features available through a Canva Pro add-on.

Despite this platform shift, Affinity Photo’s core philosophy remains the same. Rather than relying on heavy automation, it emphasizes manual control and precision. This makes it a powerful solution for detailed, high-quality editing, but also means that many tasks still depend on user input rather than fully AI-driven workflows—a trade-off that becomes more noticeable in today’s speed-focused editing environments.

This emphasis on manual control is a key reason Affinity Photo maintains its professional reputation. However, as modern photo editing workflows increasingly prioritize speed, automation, and AI-assisted tasks, it raises an important question for today’s users: how far does Affinity Photo go when it comes to AI?

Does Affinity Photo Have AI?

Yes, Affinity Photo does include AI-assisted features, but its approach to AI is noticeably more conservative than that of many modern editing tools. Rather than offering fully automated, one-click solutions, Affinity Photo uses AI primarily to assist with specific tasks:

• Automatic subject and object selection
• Content-aware fill for removing unwanted elements
• Assisted masking and refinement tools

In practice, this means AI can help reduce manual effort, but it does not replace it. Users still need to spend time refining edges, correcting selections, and adjusting results, especially when working with complex subjects, detailed backgrounds, or large batches of images.

Affinity Photo Core Editing Features (Hands-On Review)

RAW Processing

Affinity Photo includes a capable RAW processing engine that gives photographers detailed control over exposure, highlights, shadows, white balance, and tonal range. It performs well when recovering detail from underexposed or high-contrast images, and lens corrections help address common issues such as distortion and vignetting.

While the results are solid and professional, the workflow remains largely manual. Unlike newer AI-driven editors that automate enhancements, Affinity Photo expects users to fine-tune settings themselves, rewarding experience and precision, but requiring more time per image.

Layers, Masks & Blend Modes

Layer-based editing is one of Affinity Photo’s strongest areas. Users have access to an extensive range of blend modes, adjustment layers, and masking options, allowing for complex, non-destructive edits and detailed compositing.

This flexibility makes Affinity Photo well suited for advanced creative work, but it also contributes to a steeper learning curve. Achieving clean results, especially with complex subjects, often depends on careful manual masking rather than automated assistance.

Retouching Tools & Portrait Editing

Affinity Photo offers a full set of retouching tools, including healing, clone, and patch brushes. These tools are powerful and precise, making them suitable for detailed skin retouching, object cleanup, and portrait work. However, most retouching tasks require manual input. While this allows for fine control, it also means that repetitive tasks, such as cleaning multiple images or removing backgrounds consistently, can become time-consuming without additional AI support.

Color & Tone Adjustment Tools

Color correction is another area where Affinity Photo excels. Curves, Levels, HSL adjustments, and LUT support provide professional-grade control over tone and color balance. For photographers and designers who care deeply about color accuracy, this level of control is a major advantage.

That said, color adjustments rely heavily on user judgment. There is little automation beyond basic presets, which can slow down workflows when processing large image sets or aiming for consistent results across multiple files.

Advanced Selections & Edge Refinement

Affinity Photo includes advanced selection tools designed to isolate subjects and refine edges. These tools work well on simple images and offer decent control for more complex selections when refined manually.

Compared to Photoshop, selection accuracy is competitive in straightforward cases, but struggles become more noticeable with hair, fur, or intricate edges. Users often need to spend additional time refining masks to achieve clean cutouts, highlighting a key area where dedicated AI matting tools can significantly improve efficiency.

Performance and User Experience

On modern hardware, Affinity Photo performs very well. It is stable, responsive, and capable of handling large files with many layers.

Where performance becomes a concern is workflow efficiency rather than speed. When editing a single image, Affinity Photo feels fast and capable. When editing dozens or hundreds of images, especially those requiring background removal, the manual nature of the tools becomes a bottleneck.

Affinity Photo Download and Pricing

Affinity Photo’s pricing model has evolved in recent years. Affinity Photo is now included in the free “Affinity by Canva” app, giving users access to core pixel, vector, and layout tools without an upfront cost.

• Free access to essential photo editing features
• No mandatory monthly subscription for core tools
• Optional paid Canva plans for advanced AI features

It’s important to note that some newer AI-driven features, such as Generative Fill, require a Canva premium subscription. As a result, Affinity Photo’s original one-time purchase model has effectively shifted toward a freemium structure with optional paid AI add-ons.

For users who dislike subscriptions, the free core tools still make Affinity Photo appealing. However, pricing should be evaluated alongside time cost and workflow efficiency, not just the price tag, especially when background removal or batch processing is involved.

Where Affinity Photo Excels and Struggles with Background Removal?

While Affinity Photo is widely recognized for its professional-grade editing tools, background removal clearly exposes its limitations in modern workflows. The software offers excellent manual control and precision, but achieving clean cutouts relies heavily on time-consuming, skill-dependent masking techniques.

This manual-first approach works well for detailed retouching and color correction, yet it becomes difficult to scale when handling product photos, marketing assets, or eCommerce listings, especially when dealing with complex edges such as hair, fur, or transparent objects.

In real-world scenarios, such as product photography or content production at scale, these limitations can significantly slow down workflows. This is where dedicated AI background removal tools become a practical complement to Affinity Photo.

A Practical Alternative for AI Background Removal: Aiarty Image Matting

For users who frequently need accurate background removal, Aiarty Image Matting offers a more practical solution.

Aiarty Image Matting is a dedicated AI-powered tool designed specifically for:

• Clean background removal with smooth edges and minimal color bleed.
• Accurate edge detection for fine details like hair, fur, and transparent objects.
• One-click background replacement for quick swaps with solid or custom backgrounds.
• Batch processing to handle multiple images efficiently and maintain consistency.

Compared to Affinity Photo’s manual masking, Aiarty Image Matting delivers faster and more consistent results, especially when working with large numbers of images. Rather than replacing Affinity Photo, it works best as a complementary tool.

Quick Guide to Batch Remove Background in Aiarty Image Matting

Step 1. Free download and launch Aiarty Image Matting on your computer. Drag and drop to import the photos that you want to remove background.

Step 2. Choose an AI model based on the source images. Click the yellow "Start" button on the right. Wait for the processing to complete.

Step 3. Click the blue "Single Export" or "Batch Export" button on the right to save your final outputs, which include the mask, the effect-applied image, and the image with an Alpha channel, as shown below.

Recommended Workflow

For professionals seeking both precision and efficiency, the ideal workflow in 2026 combines Affinity Photo with Aiarty Image Matting.

1. Start by using Aiarty Image Matting to automatically remove or replace backgrounds.
2. Export clean cutouts with accurate edges.
3. Complete color grading, retouching, and final adjustments in Affinity Photo.

This approach leverages AI speed while retaining full manual control, saving time without compromising quality.

Final Verdict

Affinity Photo remains a strong choice for professionals who value control, precision, and a subscription-free model. It excels at detailed editing and color work, but its AI capabilities lag behind dedicated AI tools.

If your workflow relies heavily on background removal or high-volume image processing, Affinity Photo alone may feel slow. In those cases, pairing it with Aiarty Image Matting creates a far more efficient and modern editing setup.

Affinity Photo is worth buying, but it works best when combined with the right AI tools.