Softwr

Photography · head to head

Affinity Photo vs Lensa

Affinity Photo logo

Affinity Photo

Photography

Professional photo editing software

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

Lensa

Photography

AI photo editing and avatar generation app from Prisma Labs, known for its viral Magic Avatars feature

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Lensa has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Affinity Photo version 2.0 required a full repurchase after seven years, breaking the perpetual license promise made to earlier users; Lensa the underlying Stable Diffusion model was trained on images scraped from the internet, including copyrighted artwork, without direct consent from the original artists, and Lensa avatar outputs have been criticised for replicating identifiable artist styles without attribution or compensation.
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity Photo covers Photo editing, Lensa covers Magic Avatars.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity Photo and Lensa actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity Photo and Lensa differ
AttributeAffinity PhotoLensa
Starting price$69.99/one-timeFree
Pricing modelone-timeFree download with a short free trial, Magic Avatars and most tools require payment
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, iPadiOS, Android
Founded1987Unknown

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

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 Photo

  • Photo editing
  • RAW processing
  • Non-destructive editing
  • AI enhancement
  • Retouching tools
  • Batch processing
  • Vector support
  • HDR tools

Only in Lensa

  • Magic Avatars
  • Photo retouching
  • Sky and background replacement
  • Portrait enhancement
  • Multiple avatar style packs
  • Selfie upload and processing

What people use each for

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

Affinity Photo

  • Photo editingnot Lensa
  • RAW processingnot Lensa
  • Retouchingnot Lensa
  • Digital photographynot Lensa

Lensa

  • Someone wanting to generate stylised AI avatars from their own selfies, understanding those selfies are uploaded for AI processingnot Affinity Photo
  • A user comfortable with the documented training-data provenance concerns around the underlying Stable Diffusion model choosing to proceed anywaynot Affinity Photo
  • Someone wanting general photo retouching tools separate from the avatar featurenot Affinity Photo
  • A user comfortable cancelling a free trial through phone app store settings before it converts to a paid chargenot Affinity Photo

Where each one falls short

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

Affinity Photo

  • Version 2.0 required a full repurchase after seven years, breaking the perpetual license promise made to earlier users
  • Affinity Photo was discontinued in October 2025 and replaced by freemium Affinity application
  • No subscription model means no cloud storage or automatic backups like Photoshop Creative Cloud

Lensa

  • The underlying Stable Diffusion model was trained on images scraped from the internet, including copyrighted artwork, without direct consent from the original artists, and Lensa avatar outputs have been criticised for replicating identifiable artist styles without attribution or compensation.
  • Users and journalists reported the Magic Avatars feature generating sexualised images from ordinary selfies, including reported cases involving photos of minors, without the user requesting that style, raising documented concerns about model behaviour and safeguards.
  • Magic Avatars typically requires a separate one-time purchase on top of any Pro subscription, so the total cost of trying the feature is not covered by a single subscription fee alone.
  • The free trial converts automatically into a paid recurring subscription unless cancelled beforehand, following the same pattern of complaints about unexpected charges seen across comparable apps in this category.
  • Generating avatars requires uploading a set of personal selfies for AI processing; Prisma Labs states these are deleted after processing and not used for further model training, but this relies on the company's own stated policy rather than independently verifiable proof.

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity Photo

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

Lensa

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Very limited basic editing tools
    • Trial access to Pro features for a short period
    • Magic Avatars sold separately per pack in most cases
  • Lensa Pro$35.99/year
    • Access to enhancement and retouching tools
    • Auto-renews annually unless cancelled before the trial or renewal date
    • Magic Avatars typically purchased as a separate one-time pack fee on top

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity Photo if

  • You need photo editing.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, iPad.
  • You also want raw processing.
Affinity Photo review

Choose Lensa if

  • You need magic avatars.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want photo retouching.
Lensa review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity Photo or Lensa better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity Photo starts at $69.99/one-time and Lensa at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity Photo or Lensa?
Lensa has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $69.99/one-time for Affinity Photo and Free for Lensa.
Does Affinity Photo or Lensa run on more platforms?
Affinity Photo runs on macOS, Windows, iPad. Lensa runs on iOS, Android.
Can I use Lensa for free?
Yes. Lensa has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Affinity Photo starts at $69.99/one-time.
What is Affinity Photo best used for?
Affinity Photo is most often used for photo editing, raw processing, retouching, digital photography. Of those, photo editing and raw processing are not what Lensa is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity Photo do that Lensa cannot?
Affinity Photo covers Photo editing, RAW processing, Non-destructive editing, AI enhancement. Lensa covers Magic Avatars, Photo retouching, Sky and background replacement, Portrait enhancement.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Affinity Photo: Does Affinity Photo include RAW editing?

Yes, Affinity Photo includes non-destructive RAW photo editing and development capabilities for photographers working with RAW image formats.

Source
Lensa: Is Lensa Magic Avatars feature the same as photo editing?

No, Magic Avatars is a separate AI portrait generation feature using the Stable Diffusion model, distinct from the app's standard photo retouching tools.

Lensa: Did Lensa face criticism over its AI avatars?

Yes, documented criticism covered the underlying model training data being scraped without artist consent, and reports of the feature generating sexualised images from ordinary selfies without the user requesting that style.

Lensa: What happens to my selfies after generating an avatar?

Prisma Labs states uploaded selfies are deleted after processing and not used to further train the underlying model, though this relies on the company's own disclosed policy.

Share

Related pages

More on Affinity Photo

More on Lensa

Keep looking

Other head to heads