Photography · alternatives
Alternatives to Affinity Photo
23 photography tools sit alongside Affinity Photo in this directory. Below is what separates each from Affinity Photo on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 23
- With a free tier
- 12
- Cheaper to start
- 2
- Affinity Photo starts at
- $69.99/one-time
Why people look past Affinity Photo
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Affinity Photo entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Affinity Photo starts at $69.99/one-time. Across the 3 photography tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $49.99/month.
There is no free tier
The record for Affinity Photo carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 12 of the 23 alternatives below can be used without paying.
There is only one tier
Affinity Photo publishes a single plan, Standard at $69.99/one-time. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The world's best imaging and graphic design software
- Starts $50 a month cheaper, at $19.99/month.
- 3 tiers to Affinity Photo's 1.
Free and open-source image editor
- Can be used without paying; Affinity Photo cannot.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than one-time.
Professional image editing for Mac
- Starts $19.999999999999993 a one-time cheaper, at $49.99/one-time.
Selfie and portrait retouching app from Lightricks, sold on a subscription with a short free trial
- Can be used without paying; Affinity Photo cannot.
- Sold on a Free download with a short free trial, most tools require a Facetune Pro subscription that auto-renews annually model rather than one-time.
- 2 tiers to Affinity Photo's 1.
AI photo and design editing app combining Photoshop-style tools, templates and a paid Gold subscription
- Can be used without paying; Affinity Photo cannot.
- Sold on a Free with a watermark on export and limited AI credits; paid Gold subscription removes both model rather than one-time.
- 2 tiers to Affinity Photo's 1.
Google's photo backup and organisation app, now billed against shared Google account storage
- Can be used without paying; Affinity Photo cannot.
- Sold on a Free tier plus paid storage add-on model rather than one-time.
- 3 tiers to Affinity Photo's 1.
Every Affinity Photo alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affinity Photo (this page) | $69.99/one-time | One-time | 1 | |
| Adobe PhotoshopIndustry standard photo editing with subscription model, cloud storage, and generative AI features | $19.99/month | - | 3 | vs Affinity Photo |
| GIMPFree and open-source photo editor with comprehensive professional features but steeper learning curve | Free | Open-source | - | vs Affinity Photo |
| Pixelmator ProOne-time purchase photo editor for macOS with powerful editing tools and modern interface | $49.99/one-time | - | - | vs Affinity Photo |
| Facetune | Free | Free download with a short free trial, most tools require a Facetune Pro subscription that auto-renews annually | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Picsart | Free | Free with a watermark on export and limited AI credits; paid Gold subscription removes both | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Google Photos | Free | Free tier plus paid storage add-on | 3 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Adobe Lightroom Mobile | Free | Free for local, single-device editing; cloud sync and some tools require a Creative Cloud Photography plan | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| VSCO | Free | Free with a limited preset and tool set; paid annual membership unlocks the full library | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Remini | Free | Free download with a short free trial, most features require a recurring subscription | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Lensa | Free | Free download with a short free trial, Magic Avatars and most tools require payment | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Snapseed | Free | Fully free with no ads, subscription or in-app purchases | 1 | vs Affinity Photo |
| PhotoDirector | Free | Free tier, one-time purchase or annual subscription | 3 | vs Affinity Photo |
| RawTherapee | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Aftershoot | On request | Per module per month, unlimited images | 4 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Exposure X | On request | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Corel PaintShop Pro | On request | One-time purchase, paid upgrades | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| NightCap | On request | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Nik Collection | On request | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Affinity Photo |
| ACDSee | On request | One-time purchase or per-user subscription | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Narrative Select | On request | Per user per month, tiered by editing depth | 4 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Imagen AI | On request | Per image, with annual volume tiers | 3 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Photo Mechanic | $139/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Affinity Photo |
| Adobe Bridge | Free | Free with an Adobe account | 1 | vs Affinity Photo |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Affinity Photo badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (12)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- GIMP , Free
- Facetune , Free
- Picsart , Free
- Google Photos , Free
- Adobe Lightroom Mobile , Free
- VSCO , Free
- Remini , Free
- Lensa , Free
Cheaper than Affinity Photo (2)
Entry price under Affinity Photo's $69.99/one-time. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Adobe Photoshop , $19.99/month
- Pixelmator Pro , $49.99/one-time
What you would be giving up
Affinity Photo is most often brought in for photo editing, raw processing, retouching, digital photography. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Affinity Photo is broadly right and the question is cost, the Affinity Photo pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Photography category lists everything the directory holds, and best photography tools ranks them.
Affinity Photo runs on macos, windows, ipad. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Affinity Photo alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Affinity Photo?
- 23 other photography tools are listed in this directory, led by Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Pixelmator Pro, Facetune. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Affinity Photo?
- 12 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: GIMP, Facetune, Picsart, Google Photos, Adobe Lightroom Mobile.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Affinity Photo?
- Yes. 2 of the alternatives below start under Affinity Photo's $69.99/one-time: Adobe Photoshop at $19.99/month, Pixelmator Pro at $49.99/one-time.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Affinity Photo?
- On the figures on record, 3 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; there is no free tier; there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Affinity Photo?
- Affinity Photo is most often brought in for photo editing, raw processing, retouching, digital photography. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Affinity Photo?
- GIMP is recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these Affinity Photo alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Photography, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Affinity Photo against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Affinity Photo covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every photography tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Photography category, 23 tools beside Affinity Photo. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.