Softwr

Design Tools · head to head

Affinity Designer vs Tana

Affinity Designer logo

Affinity Designer

Design Tools

Professional graphic design software for everyone

From
$69.99/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tana logo

Tana

Productivity

The everything app for your personal workspace

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tana has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Affinity Designer sold as a one-time purchase rather than a subscription: the Windows or macOS edition was priced at CA$94.99, the cross-platform Universal License at CA$224.99, and the standalone iPad edition at CA$24.99 (Internet Archive capture, 1 January 2024); Tana the free plan hosts only 5 meetings a month with AI transcripts and summaries
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity Designer covers Vector drawing, Tana covers Outliner interface.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity Designer and Tana actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity Designer and Tana differ
AttributeAffinity DesignerTana
Starting price$69.99/one-timeFree
Pricing modelone-timefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, Macos, IosWeb, Desktop
CategoryDesign ToolsProductivity
Founded19942020

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Affinity Designer

  • Vector drawing
  • Bezier tools
  • Gradient tools
  • Typography
  • Pixel-perfect editing
  • Artboards
  • Symbols
  • Non-destructive effects

Only in Tana

  • Outliner interface
  • Supertags
  • Live queries
  • AI integration
  • Graph views
  • Email capture
  • API
  • Zapier

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Affinity Designer

  • Logo designnot Tana
  • Vector illustrationnot Tana
  • Icon designnot Tana
  • Brandingnot Tana

Tana

  • Structured note taking with a graph based supertag data modelnot Affinity Designer
  • Automatic meeting capture with AI transcripts and summariesnot Affinity Designer
  • Turning notes into queryable structured databasesnot Affinity Designer

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Affinity Designer

  • Sold as a one-time purchase rather than a subscription: the Windows or macOS edition was priced at CA$94.99, the cross-platform Universal License at CA$224.99, and the standalone iPad edition at CA$24.99 (Internet Archive capture, 1 January 2024)

Tana

  • The free plan hosts only 5 meetings a month with AI transcripts and summaries
  • The free plan connects only 1 calendar and allows 50 AI queries
  • Pro is $30 per user per month at standard price, with $20 shown as an early bird rate
  • Max is $120 per user per month at standard price, with $80 shown as an early bird rate
  • Integrations and full MCP require the Pro plan
  • Dedicated support and onboarding, and unlimited agents, skills and types, require the Max plan
  • The Business plan is custom priced, billed yearly and has no published rate
  • The free trial runs 30 days

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity Designer

$69.99/one-time
  • Standard$69.99/one-time
    • Full version
    • All features
    • Lifetime updates

Tana

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Core features
    • Supertags
    • Searches
  • Pro$10/month
    • Advanced AI
    • Priority support
    • Extended history

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity Designer if

  • You need vector drawing.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Ios.
  • You also want bezier tools.
Affinity Designer review

Choose Tana if

  • You need outliner interface.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Desktop.
  • You also want supertags.
Tana review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity Designer or Tana better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity Designer starts at $69.99/one-time and Tana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity Designer or Tana?
Tana has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $69.99/one-time for Affinity Designer and Free for Tana.
Does Affinity Designer or Tana run on more platforms?
Affinity Designer runs on Windows, Macos, Ios. Tana runs on Web, Desktop.
Can I use Tana for free?
Yes. Tana has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Affinity Designer starts at $69.99/one-time.
What is Affinity Designer best used for?
Affinity Designer is most often used for logo design, vector illustration, icon design, branding. Of those, logo design and vector illustration are not what Tana is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity Designer do that Tana cannot?
Affinity Designer covers Vector drawing, Bezier tools, Gradient tools, Typography. Tana covers Outliner interface, Supertags, Live queries, AI integration.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Affinity Designer

More on Tana

Keep looking

Other head to heads