13 ms·

Does anyone have insight on how this compares these days to Adobe's suite? Seems pretty competitive, but I'm not sure if you're getting 80% of the features for

Does anyone have insight on how this compares these days to Adobe's suite? Seems pretty competitive, but I'm not sure if you're getting 80% of the features for 30% of the cost or 50% of features for 50% of the cost.

ntlk 2y ago
Some features are “missing” or don’t work in a similar way. For example, Affinity Designer doesn’t have shape replication tools like Illustrator, manual copy paste is required. You also can’t trace an image to turn it into vector outlines. Just two things off the top of my head that I noticed because I used them extensively in Adobe Illustrator. So if you’re only using a subset of features you’re probably fine, but without testing Affinity’s products for yourself it might be hard to tell if they’re a like for like replacement for you.
- herpdyderp 2y ago
  It's been a while now but I got Inkscape (free but clunky Illustrator alternative) to do shape replication across a path for me once, and then I copied the result into Affinity Designer. Obviously if you need to do that frequently, it's not gonna work well but I've only had to do that a few times since ditching Adobe.
  - Tagbert 2y ago
    I've also used Inkscape to do the image tracing and export to SVG. I don't like Inkscape for other purposes but it is useful for that.
- stevenicr 2y ago
  I am thinking I have seen tutorials on tracing to vector, like maybe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=480dGcU6ce4&pp=ygUVYWZmaW5pdHkgdHJhY2UgdmVjdG9y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=480dGcU6ce4&pp=ygUVYWZmaW5pd... Or perhaps you are describing something else I am unfamiliar with the terminology. I've been going back to several tutorials on youtube for doing things affinity - as it seems to have the capabilities I am used to with the old photoimpact, it's just finding where / how is not the same.
  - jwagenet 2y ago
    I think they are talking about the Image Trace feature, which mostly traces automatically (but requires some hand holding).
dagmx 2y ago
It truly depends what you do and need. IMHO, as someone who professionally uses the Adobe products and has licenses to all the Affinity suite, none of the apps compare favorably to the Adobe equivalents other than price and a superior iPad version. They’re all great apps though but they definitely exist in the tier below adobe’s offerings. Which may be fine for most folks but hasn’t been for me, because I literally cannot complete projects in them and I certainly have tried. Affinity Designer lacks many utilities from illustrator like advanced gradient handling, perspective alignment and repetition automation. Inkscape isn’t that far off from Designer imho. Affinity Photo is fine as a photo editing tool but it falls apart for more advanced edits where you need to use brushes and advanced masking tools. Again, perspective tools and more granular referencing tools are just missing or broken. It is a significant step up from Gimp though but I would personally push people to Krita instead. Affinity Publisher is the weakest of the trio. But then again, so is InDesign. These two aren’t too far off but InDesign has better tools around multi page layout and quickly updating templates references. I don’t know of a good OSS equivalent. Again, I think these tools are great for people who value the price over the feature set. Most people don’t need more than they offer. But if you’re a professional, the Adobe products are yet unmatched.
- ToucanLoucan 2y ago
  > Affinity Photo is fine as a photo editing tool but it falls apart for more advanced edits where you need to use brushes and advanced masking tools. Again, perspective tools and more granular referencing tools are just missing or broken. It is a significant step up from Gimp though but I would personally push people to Krita instead. I want to switch but the total lack of any automated export functionality is a complete deal-breaker. That's like 15 minutes of work per piece foisted back onto me, and like, I just cannot fathom a reason to even have the Layer States feature if you aren't going to use it for this.
  - dagmx 2y ago
    Yeah there are so many walls like that which I hit. I always go to their forum, find that it's been asked a lot and with no resolution. Which is fine, I get it that they are newer and don't have the resources. But in the amount of time I've now wasted trying to do the thing, I just paid for my Adobe license for the month for the relevant app.
S0und 2y ago
I'm a hobbyist who has used PS for 20 something years now. My issue with Affinity Photo is that you can use 85% of your PS knowledge and workflow, everything is the same but that last 15% is awfully, unlogically different and will drive you mad. That last 15% feels like it was made by people who do not understand why PS does things the way it does. Meanwhile my statement cannot be true, because Affinity nailed the firat 85%, but just cannot comprehend why they couldn't copy the last 15%.
- bonestamp2 2y ago
  This is my experience too. After buying Affinity licenses, I don't want to pay Adobe their monthly rake too, but I do.
- jay_kyburz 2y ago
  That's the true cost of Photoshop. It's not the subscription. It's the time you spent learning how to do everything. That's why I support Krita, If I'm going to pay that cost, I want to invest it in software that is by the people, for the people.
- robertoandred 2y ago
  The keyboard actions alone are maddening. Trying to switch tools, exit a text editing mode, change tool properties, all can be very frustrating to do with the keyboard.
sumnole 2y ago
I've replaced Adobe with Affinity and am mostly satisfied, although in the latest versions I've been experiencing bugs with the renderer (eg artifact lines or the canvas being cut off by one pixel) which introduces some difficulties.
j45 2y ago
The best way is to install it and try using it side by side for your use case. For general stuff, it's very serviceable and comparable to Adobe. If there's something very specific it might require confirming if the equivalent features exist in both, and if the procedure is different, what that is. New muscle memory like learning vim, but I know several people who are very happy with it and stick with it. They can always hop on Adobe if they need it here or there.

ntlk 2y ago

Some features are “missing” or don’t work in a similar way. For example, Affinity Designer doesn’t have shape replication tools like Illustrator, manual copy paste is required. You also can’t trace an image to turn it into vector outlines. Just two things off the top of my head that I noticed because I used them extensively in Adobe Illustrator. So if you’re only using a subset of features you’re probably fine, but without testing Affinity’s products for yourself it might be hard to tell if they’re a like for like replacement for you.

herpdyderp 2y ago
It's been a while now but I got Inkscape (free but clunky Illustrator alternative) to do shape replication across a path for me once, and then I copied the result into Affinity Designer. Obviously if you need to do that frequently, it's not gonna work well but I've only had to do that a few times since ditching Adobe.
- Tagbert 2y ago
  I've also used Inkscape to do the image tracing and export to SVG. I don't like Inkscape for other purposes but it is useful for that.
stevenicr 2y ago
I am thinking I have seen tutorials on tracing to vector, like maybe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=480dGcU6ce4&pp=ygUVYWZmaW5pdHkgdHJhY2UgdmVjdG9y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=480dGcU6ce4&pp=ygUVYWZmaW5pd... Or perhaps you are describing something else I am unfamiliar with the terminology. I've been going back to several tutorials on youtube for doing things affinity - as it seems to have the capabilities I am used to with the old photoimpact, it's just finding where / how is not the same.
- jwagenet 2y ago
  I think they are talking about the Image Trace feature, which mostly traces automatically (but requires some hand holding).

dagmx 2y ago

It truly depends what you do and need. IMHO, as someone who professionally uses the Adobe products and has licenses to all the Affinity suite, none of the apps compare favorably to the Adobe equivalents other than price and a superior iPad version. They’re all great apps though but they definitely exist in the tier below adobe’s offerings. Which may be fine for most folks but hasn’t been for me, because I literally cannot complete projects in them and I certainly have tried. Affinity Designer lacks many utilities from illustrator like advanced gradient handling, perspective alignment and repetition automation. Inkscape isn’t that far off from Designer imho. Affinity Photo is fine as a photo editing tool but it falls apart for more advanced edits where you need to use brushes and advanced masking tools. Again, perspective tools and more granular referencing tools are just missing or broken. It is a significant step up from Gimp though but I would personally push people to Krita instead. Affinity Publisher is the weakest of the trio. But then again, so is InDesign. These two aren’t too far off but InDesign has better tools around multi page layout and quickly updating templates references. I don’t know of a good OSS equivalent. Again, I think these tools are great for people who value the price over the feature set. Most people don’t need more than they offer. But if you’re a professional, the Adobe products are yet unmatched.

ToucanLoucan 2y ago
> Affinity Photo is fine as a photo editing tool but it falls apart for more advanced edits where you need to use brushes and advanced masking tools. Again, perspective tools and more granular referencing tools are just missing or broken. It is a significant step up from Gimp though but I would personally push people to Krita instead. I want to switch but the total lack of any automated export functionality is a complete deal-breaker. That's like 15 minutes of work per piece foisted back onto me, and like, I just cannot fathom a reason to even have the Layer States feature if you aren't going to use it for this.
- dagmx 2y ago
  Yeah there are so many walls like that which I hit. I always go to their forum, find that it's been asked a lot and with no resolution. Which is fine, I get it that they are newer and don't have the resources. But in the amount of time I've now wasted trying to do the thing, I just paid for my Adobe license for the month for the relevant app.

S0und 2y ago

I'm a hobbyist who has used PS for 20 something years now. My issue with Affinity Photo is that you can use 85% of your PS knowledge and workflow, everything is the same but that last 15% is awfully, unlogically different and will drive you mad. That last 15% feels like it was made by people who do not understand why PS does things the way it does. Meanwhile my statement cannot be true, because Affinity nailed the firat 85%, but just cannot comprehend why they couldn't copy the last 15%.

bonestamp2 2y ago
This is my experience too. After buying Affinity licenses, I don't want to pay Adobe their monthly rake too, but I do.
jay_kyburz 2y ago
That's the true cost of Photoshop. It's not the subscription. It's the time you spent learning how to do everything. That's why I support Krita, If I'm going to pay that cost, I want to invest it in software that is by the people, for the people.
robertoandred 2y ago
The keyboard actions alone are maddening. Trying to switch tools, exit a text editing mode, change tool properties, all can be very frustrating to do with the keyboard.

sumnole 2y ago

I've replaced Adobe with Affinity and am mostly satisfied, although in the latest versions I've been experiencing bugs with the renderer (eg artifact lines or the canvas being cut off by one pixel) which introduces some difficulties.

j45 2y ago

The best way is to install it and try using it side by side for your use case. For general stuff, it's very serviceable and comparable to Adobe. If there's something very specific it might require confirming if the equivalent features exist in both, and if the procedure is different, what that is. New muscle memory like learning vim, but I know several people who are very happy with it and stick with it. They can always hop on Adobe if they need it here or there.