Affinity Photo 2 Review 2026

At a glance

If you already pay Adobe $14.99/mo, this review will not pitch Affinity Photo as a replacement. Switching means weeks of re-importing catalogues, re-learning shortcuts, and re-validating every plugin to save $180/yr — not worth it for most working photographers with an established Lightroom workflow.

If you don’t pay anyone yet — or you’re a new user making a first purchase decision in 2026 — the calculus is entirely different. Affinity Photo 2 went free for personal use in 2026. The gap to Photoshop on core editing features has narrowed enough that most hobbyists can stay off the subscription treadmill entirely.

This is the rare case where the correct answer genuinely changed in 2026.

What Affinity Photo 2 does well

Full non-destructive editing stack. Layers, adjustment layers, smart objects, blend modes, live filters — all the components of a professional compositing workflow. Compared to GIMP (which only added non-destructive editing in GIMP 3.0, released 2025), Affinity Photo has had this for a decade. At $0 for personal use, it’s the best non-destructive editor available for free.

RAW processing. Affinity Photo 2’s Develop persona handles RAW files from all major camera manufacturers, with lens correction, noise reduction, and tone mapping. The noise reduction is not DxO-level, but it’s better than GIMP’s, and adequate for ISO 800–3200 from modern sensors. At ISO 6400+, DxO or Topaz will outperform it.

Universal licence. One purchase covers Mac, Windows, and iPad — all with native apps, not web views. The iPad version is a full editor, not a companion app. This is unusual in the market; most competitors charge separately per platform.

PSD compatibility. Opens and saves Photoshop files with high fidelity. If you work in teams that share PSD files, Affinity Photo is a usable alternative at no extra licence cost.

Frequency separation. The skin-retouching workflow that portrait photographers use — separating texture from tone — is built into Affinity’s macro system. Lightroom’s masking tools don’t offer this at any price.

One-time pricing (for commercial use). $69.99 one-time, no subscription, covers Mac + Windows + iPad. For photographers who want to own their tools, not rent them, this pricing model is the correct one.

What Affinity Photo 2 does less well

No library or catalogue system. Affinity Photo is an image editor, not a DAM (digital asset manager). It has no equivalent to Lightroom’s library, star ratings, colour labels, or cloud sync. You manage files in Finder / Explorer alongside it. For photographers with large, long-term archives, this is a hard limitation.

No cloud sync or mobile editing. Lightroom’s ability to edit on iPad, sync via cloud, and continue on a desktop is a genuine workflow advantage. Affinity has the iPad app (good), but no cross-device sync of edits. Each edit lives locally on one device.

Plugin ecosystem. Topaz Photo AI, Nik Collection, and Luminar Neo can be invoked from Affinity Photo as external editors (via the Edit in Affinity system), but the integration is less fluid than Lightroom’s. Some Lightroom-specific plugins don’t work at all.

AI features. Photoshop’s Generative Fill, Sky Replace, and Object Selection are ahead of Affinity’s equivalent features. Affinity has inpainting and selection tools, but the AI integration is not at Photoshop’s level.

Pricing — what you actually pay in 2026

Realism note: The free personal tier is real — Serif confirmed it in their 2026 announcement. Verify this is still current before publishing; software companies reverse pricing decisions. The $69.99 commercial licence is the hedge: if the free tier ends, you’ve paid for a perpetual licence at a price most photographers won’t object to.

Multi-year cost comparison: Affinity vs Adobe Photography Plan

The math is unambiguous for hobbyists. The qualitative difference — cloud sync, mobile app, Generative Fill, larger plugin ecosystem — is real but worth naming alongside the cost.

Pros / Cons