Affinity Is Free Now: What It Means for DTF Designers

Affinity, the design suite that used to be sold as three separate paid apps (Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Publisher), has been free since October 29, 2025. Canva, which owns Affinity, relaunched it that day as one combined app with photo editing, vector drawing, and page layout in a single window, and it now costs $0 to download and use on Windows and macOS. The only part that costs money is a set of Canva AI tools, which unlock inside Affinity for people on a paid Canva plan.

For a DTF shop, the change matters because Affinity handles both kinds of artwork a transfer job involves: vector logos and text, and raster photos and textures. Before, the free choices were GIMP for pixels and Inkscape for vectors, two separate programs. Many small shops still have older posts and videos telling them Affinity is a "one-time purchase," and that is no longer the case.

What Canva announced

Canva's newsroom post from October 29, 2025, describes the new Affinity as a single professional app that combines "photo editing, vector design, and page layout tools" and calls it "completely free for everyone." Canva bought Affinity in 2024. The relaunch replaced the three separate V2 apps with one program that has three toolsets, which Canva calls the Pixel, Vector, and Layout studios. Users can mix tools from all three into custom workspaces.

According to the Affinity download page as of September 29, 2026:

People who bought Affinity V2 can keep using it. Canva's FAQ says V2 licenses stay valid and the activation servers stay online, but the V2 apps will not get future updates.

Why a DTF designer should care

A DTF transfer file is almost always a PNG with a transparent background at 300 DPI at the final print size. The DTF file prep guide covers the full spec. The hard part is usually getting there. Many jobs mix a vector logo or lettering with a photo, a distressed texture, or a painted illustration.

In Affinity, both live in the same document. Canva's feature list says users can "combine vector and pixel work on the same .af document." That means a designer can:

• Set lettering and shapes as vectors so edges stay sharp at any size.
• Drop in a photo, mask it, and knock out the background with the pixel tools.
• Export the finished layout as one transparent PNG at print size.

The same job in the free open-source tools takes two programs. The designer draws the vector parts in Inkscape, exports a PNG, and finishes the raster work in GIMP. That works fine, but it adds a round trip every time the customer asks for a change.

Affinity's vector tools also list "trace pixel images," which turns a raster logo into editable paths. Shops that get blurry customer logos can use it the same way Inkscape users use Trace Bitmap. The free logo vectorizing walkthrough explains when auto-tracing works and when a logo needs redrawing.

What still costs money

Affinity itself is free. The Canva AI features are not. On the free tier, the one-click AI tools are locked, including Remove Background, Subject Selection, Super Resolution (AI upscaling), and Generative Fill. Background removal still works with Affinity's manual selection and masking tools. It just is not one click.

For DTF work, the AI upscaler is the feature people ask about most, because customers often send small images. A paid Canva plan is not the only option. The free design tools roundup lists free background removers, and GIMP's interpolation modes handle modest enlargements. Nothing, free or paid, can add real detail to a 400-pixel image stretched onto a 12-inch chest print.

Setting up an Affinity document for DTF

These settings match the specs most DTF suppliers and RIP workflows expect:

1. New document at print size. Set the units to inches and enter the real transfer size, for example 11 to 12 inches wide for a standard adult front print. The placement guide lists common sizes by garment.
2. 300 DPI. Set the document resolution to 300 when creating it.
3. RGB color. DTF RIP software converts RGB to the printer's ink set with its own ICC profile, so RGB is the normal working mode unless a supplier asks for something else.
4. Transparent background. Keep the background transparent and delete any white fill behind the art. White pixels print as white ink.
5. Fully opaque edges. Semi-transparent pixels such as soft shadows and feathered edges can print unevenly over the white underbase. Use solid colors or a halftone pattern instead of low-opacity fades.
6. Export as PNG. Export the whole document as PNG with transparency. For gang sheets, export each design separately and let the supplier's builder or the gang sheet layout tips handle the arrangement.

How it compares with the other free options

The trade-off with Affinity is the account requirement and the fact that Linux is not supported. Inkscape and GIMP are community projects with no account and no upsell. Shops that want one polished program for everything will likely find Affinity the easiest switch from Adobe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Affinity really free for DTF and t-shirt design?

Yes. Canva states that every tool in the Pixel, Vector, and Layout studios, plus all export features, can be used with no restrictions or payment. A free Canva account is required to download and activate it. Only the optional Canva AI tools need a paid Canva plan.

Can Affinity export a transparent PNG for DTF printing?

Yes. Affinity exports PNG files with transparency on the free version. Set the document to the final print size at 300 DPI, keep the background transparent, and export as PNG. That file is the standard format DTF suppliers ask for.

Does Affinity have a free background remover?

The one-click Remove Background tool is a Canva AI feature and needs a paid Canva plan. On the free version, backgrounds are removed with Affinity's manual selection and masking tools, or with a separate free remover before importing the image.

Can Affinity open Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop files?

Canva says Affinity imports PSD, AI, PDF, SVG, and IDML files with layers and structure preserved. Complex effects or plugins from Adobe files may not carry over exactly, so check the imported file against a PDF proof from the original designer before printing.

Is there an Affinity app for iPad or Linux?

Not yet for iPad. As of September 29, 2026, Canva lists the new Affinity for Windows and macOS only, with iPad "coming soon." The older Affinity V2 iPad apps still work but will not get updates. Canva has not announced a Linux version.

Where it fits in the DTF Database

Affinity is design software. It does not replace the RIP software that runs a DTF printer, and it does not generate the white underbase. Shops printing in-house still need a RIP (see the beginner DTF printer guide for what ships with each machine). Shops ordering transfers only need the PNG. Anyone new to the file side should read vector vs. raster graphics for DTF first, then pick a DTF transfer supplier from the supplier directory.