{"slug": "affinity-photo", "name": "Affinity Photo", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 9, "warners": 2, "score": 1.75, "rising": -0.98, "first": "2025-11-18", "latest": "2026-10-06", "why": "Works flawlessly and they recently upgraded the script to install Affinity 3.0.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 3, "compare": 1, "warn": 2}, "spark": [1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "Works flawlessly and they recently upgraded the script to install Affinity 3.0.", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.affinity.studio", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Affinity Photo"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 760672768, "item_id": 47542048, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47542048", "by": "tezza", "date": "2026-03-27", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Affinity Photo has recolor and hue filters that will do just that.", "excerpt": "> take part of the color space and map it uniformly to a different part of the color space fyi Affinity Photo has recolor and hue filters that will do just that. I used it for my video game art.", "context": "", "use_case": "Video game art", "switched_from": "", "story": "John Bradley, author of xv, has passed away"}, {"id": 745725440, "item_id": 46607840, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46607840", "by": "ToucanLoucan", "date": "2026-01-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've not yet had a day where Affinity Photo just doesn't have the juice", "excerpt": "> That's normal for any kind of creative work. Some days it just happens quickly, other days you keep trying and trying and nothing works. For me, the artist, sure. I've not yet had a day where Affinity Photo just doesn't have the juice, and I don't see the appeal. Photoshop, for all it's faults, doesn't have bad days. That's the difference between the artist and the artists' tool. A difference so obvious I feel some", "context": "was a digital artist in the 1990s and 2000s", "use_case": "Digital art / image editing", "switched_from": "", "story": "AI Generated Music Barred from Bandcamp"}, {"id": 735409504, "item_id": 45963094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45963094", "by": "ClaraForm", "date": "2025-11-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Works flawlessly and they recently upgraded the script to install Affinity 3.0.", "excerpt": "I've been running Affinity Photo on Fedora for a while by running this installation script[1]. Works flawlessly and they recently upgraded the script to install Affinity 3.0. I haven't encountered/solved your second use-case, but I'm /sure/ someone has. [1] https://github.com/ryzendew/AffinityOnLinux", "context": "", "use_case": "photo editing on Linux", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 771116097, "item_id": 48194756, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48194756", "by": "lynndotpy", "date": "2026-05-19", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "its UX was just too janky and slow for me compared to GIMP", "excerpt": "You might be happy to learn that GIMP is a lot better on Mac with the 3.0 release than it was before. When I started using a Mac in 2022 I was a bit heartbroken at broken bits of the UI. I started using Affinity as a compromise, but its UX was just too janky and slow for me compared to GIMP. Some things are wonky though (ctrl+ keybindings instead of cmd+ keybindings) but it's much better. I use it every day now.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Photo GIMP \u2013 A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users"}, {"id": 764279408, "item_id": 47767463, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47767463", "by": "amatecha", "date": "2026-04-14", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "I'm guessing they will soon force everyone into their subscriptions anyways", "excerpt": "I haven't, but based on the history summarized in this post[0] I'm guessing they will soon force everyone into their subscriptions anyways [0] https://mg0x7be.github.io/affinity-enshittification-how-canvas-four-pledges-aged-like-milk.html", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "DaVinci Resolve releases Photo Editor"}]}], "who": [{"by": "ToucanLoucan", "context": "was a digital artist in the 1990s and 2000s", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46607840", "date": "2026-01-13"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["photo editing", "making cards", "video game art", "digital art / image editing", "photo editing on linux"], "compared": [{"slug": "adobe-photoshop", "name": "Adobe Photoshop", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "gimp", "name": "GIMP", "co": 1, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49958850", "title": "ArtCraft Apps \u2013 open-source Adobe compatible suite written in Rust", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49429688", "title": "'Don't ask me to print your ChatGPT birthday card': Hitting back at AI 'slop'", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48749020", "title": "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (July 2026)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48167890", "title": "Photo GIMP \u2013 A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47760529", "title": "DaVinci Resolve releases Photo Editor", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47653990", "title": "Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {"neutral": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-05": {"warn": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"compare": 1}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 799675393, "item_id": 49979712, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49979712", "by": "dofm", "date": "2026-10-06", "version": null, "stance": "compare", "quote": "they could do what Affinity Photo does with live filter layers", "excerpt": "FWIW I do hear these complaints from people who live in Adobe apps but they are very pragmatic about how they approach it. For example, Lightroom is not without its faults but photographers will switch to Capture One and delay leaving the suite so they don't have to relearn everything at once. Some of those photographers then use their new baseline familiarity with Capture One to test out Affinity for further edits. ", "context": "", "use_case": "photo editing", "switched_from": "", "story": "ArtCraft Apps \u2013 open-source Adobe compatible suite written in Rust"}, {"id": 790881267, "item_id": 49430079, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49430079", "by": "al_borland", "date": "2026-08-25", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I made a card myself just using Affinity Photo", "excerpt": "For non-commercial use, I\u2019m betting the alternative to AI isn\u2019t hiring a graphic designer, it\u2019s simply nothing. I was giving someone some concert tickets for their birthday. Concert tickets these days are pretty ugly, or are completely virtual. I wanted to have something in the card, so I had ChatGPT make up some concert tickets based on the promo image, and had them printed on card stock. I\u2019d never hire someone for ", "context": "", "use_case": "making cards", "switched_from": "", "story": "'Don't ask me to print your ChatGPT birthday card': Hitting back at AI 'slop'"}, {"id": 780591942, "item_id": 48786996, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48786996", "by": "webpraktikos", "date": "2026-07-04", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Figma, Affinity Photo", "excerpt": "SEEKING WORK | Europe (and available in USA time zones) | Remote Product/UI Designer and Full-Stack Developer seeking work; I can work as a designer, developer, or both. Stack: Elixir, Phoenix, Ash, LiveView, Tailwind CSS, Rails, web servers, AI agents, research Design: typography, color, branding, UX, minimalism, photo editing, Figma, Affinity Photo My r\u00e9sum\u00e9, portfolio, and contact email: https://resume.webpraktiko", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (July 2026)"}, {"id": 771116097, "item_id": 48194756, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48194756", "by": "lynndotpy", "date": "2026-05-19", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "its UX was just too janky and slow for me compared to GIMP", "excerpt": "You might be happy to learn that GIMP is a lot better on Mac with the 3.0 release than it was before. When I started using a Mac in 2022 I was a bit heartbroken at broken bits of the UI. I started using Affinity as a compromise, but its UX was just too janky and slow for me compared to GIMP. Some things are wonky though (ctrl+ keybindings instead of cmd+ keybindings) but it's much better. I use it every day now.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Photo GIMP \u2013 A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users"}, {"id": 764279408, "item_id": 47767463, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47767463", "by": "amatecha", "date": "2026-04-14", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "I'm guessing they will soon force everyone into their subscriptions anyways", "excerpt": "I haven't, but based on the history summarized in this post[0] I'm guessing they will soon force everyone into their subscriptions anyways [0] https://mg0x7be.github.io/affinity-enshittification-how-canvas-four-pledges-aged-like-milk.html", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "DaVinci Resolve releases Photo Editor"}, {"id": 763163826, "item_id": 47697739, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47697739", "by": "misswaterfairy", "date": "2026-04-08", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Photo, Designer and Publisher have been solid.", "excerpt": "Canva have promised that Affinity will be 'free forever' so make of that what you will, unless you want cloud AI functionality which requires a subscription. The Affinity software itself is free. I have been very happy with Affinity Designer (equivalent to Adobe Illustrator) which I purchased some time ago before the acquisition. I haven't used Affinity Publisher much, and found a few minor things frustrating (paragr", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026"}, {"id": 760672768, "item_id": 47542048, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47542048", "by": "tezza", "date": "2026-03-27", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Affinity Photo has recolor and hue filters that will do just that.", "excerpt": "> take part of the color space and map it uniformly to a different part of the color space fyi Affinity Photo has recolor and hue filters that will do just that. I used it for my video game art.", "context": "", "use_case": "Video game art", "switched_from": "", "story": "John Bradley, author of xv, has passed away"}, {"id": 745725440, "item_id": 46607840, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46607840", "by": "ToucanLoucan", "date": "2026-01-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've not yet had a day where Affinity Photo just doesn't have the juice", "excerpt": "> That's normal for any kind of creative work. Some days it just happens quickly, other days you keep trying and trying and nothing works. For me, the artist, sure. I've not yet had a day where Affinity Photo just doesn't have the juice, and I don't see the appeal. Photoshop, for all it's faults, doesn't have bad days. That's the difference between the artist and the artists' tool. A difference so obvious I feel some", "context": "was a digital artist in the 1990s and 2000s", "use_case": "Digital art / image editing", "switched_from": "", "story": "AI Generated Music Barred from Bandcamp"}, {"id": 735409504, "item_id": 45963094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45963094", "by": "ClaraForm", "date": "2025-11-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Works flawlessly and they recently upgraded the script to install Affinity 3.0.", "excerpt": "I've been running Affinity Photo on Fedora for a while by running this installation script[1]. Works flawlessly and they recently upgraded the script to install Affinity 3.0. I haven't encountered/solved your second use-case, but I'm /sure/ someone has. [1] https://github.com/ryzendew/AffinityOnLinux", "context": "", "use_case": "photo editing on Linux", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders"}]}