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Publishing · head to head

Affinity Publisher vs Microsoft OneNote

Affinity Publisher logo

Affinity Publisher

Publishing

Desktop page layout application, free since the Affinity range was relaunched by Canva

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft OneNote logo

Microsoft OneNote

Productivity

Microsoft's free-form notebook, free with a Microsoft account and synced through OneDrive

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Affinity Publisher it cannot open native InDesign documents, only IDML exports, so inherited client archives either come across imperfectly or have to be rebuilt from scratch.; Microsoft OneNote notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity Publisher covers Master pages and text flow, Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity Publisher and Microsoft OneNote actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity Publisher and Microsoft OneNote differ
AttributeAffinity PublisherMicrosoft OneNote
Pricing modelFree, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, iPadOSWeb, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows
CategoryPublishingProductivity
FoundedUnknown1975

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Publisher

  • Master pages and text flow
  • Prepress output
  • Unified application
  • IDML import
  • Data merge
  • Cross platform files

Only in Microsoft OneNote

  • Free-form page canvas
  • Notebook hierarchy
  • Indexed handwriting
  • Audio recording
  • Web clipper and Outlook capture
  • Shared notebooks
  • Cross-platform clients
  • Tags and cross-notebook search

What people use each for

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

Affinity Publisher

  • Freelance designers and small studios that cannot justify a monthly page layout subscriptionnot Microsoft OneNote
  • In-house marketing teams producing brochures, reports and price lists for commercial printnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Print buyers who need to check and correct supplied artwork without a design suite licencenot Microsoft OneNote
  • Schools, charities and community publishers where a zero licence cost decides the toolnot Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote

  • Handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote.not Affinity Publisher
  • Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not Affinity Publisher
  • A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not Affinity Publisher
  • Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not Affinity Publisher

Where each one falls short

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

Affinity Publisher

  • It cannot open native InDesign documents, only IDML exports, so inherited client archives either come across imperfectly or have to be rebuilt from scratch.
  • There is no scripting or plugin interface, so studios that automate catalogue or variable data production still need InDesign alongside it.
  • Signing in through a Canva account is now part of using the free application, which is a problem for regulated or offline environments that forbid cloud accounts.
  • The roadmap belongs to Canva, and the 2025 relaunch already reset the licence model that earlier perpetual buyers paid for, so long-term direction is outside your control.
  • Commercial printers and freelance collaborators still expect InDesign packages, so handoff usually means delivering flattened PDFs rather than editable files.

Microsoft OneNote

  • Notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • Personal notebooks consume OneDrive quota, which is 5 GB on a free Microsoft account, so a notebook full of scans, images and recordings quietly exhausts the whole account including the space Outlook needs for mail.
  • Sync happens at section level and conflicts are resolved by placing both versions on the page, so simultaneous edits to a large or media-heavy section produce duplicated content that somebody has to merge by hand.
  • Search behaves differently across clients, so what the Windows desktop app finds inside handwriting, images and attachments is not necessarily what the browser or mobile version finds, and the same query gives different answers on different devices.
  • There is no relational structure, no database and no properties, so anything that needs a table of records with fields has to be maintained by hand or moved elsewhere, and OneNote's own tables cannot be queried or filtered.

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity Publisher

Free
  • AffinityFree
    • Free for everyone since the 2025 relaunch
    • Layout, vector and photo tools in one application
    • Requires a Canva account to sign in

Microsoft OneNote

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity Publisher if

  • You need master pages and text flow.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, iPadOS.
  • You also want prepress output.
Affinity Publisher review

Choose Microsoft OneNote if

  • You need free-form page canvas.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
  • You also want notebook hierarchy.
Microsoft OneNote review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity Publisher or Microsoft OneNote better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity Publisher starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity Publisher or Microsoft OneNote?
Affinity Publisher starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free.
Does Affinity Publisher or Microsoft OneNote run on more platforms?
Affinity Publisher runs on macOS, Windows, iPadOS. Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
Can I use Affinity Publisher for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Affinity Publisher best used for?
Affinity Publisher is most often used for freelance designers and small studios that cannot justify a monthly page layout subscription, in-house marketing teams producing brochures, reports and price lists for commercial print, print buyers who need to check and correct supplied artwork without a design suite licence, schools, charities and community publishers where a zero licence cost decides the tool. Of those, freelance designers and small studios that cannot justify a monthly page layout subscription and in-house marketing teams producing brochures, reports and price lists for commercial print are not what Microsoft OneNote is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity Publisher do that Microsoft OneNote cannot?
Affinity Publisher covers Master pages and text flow, Prepress output, Unified application, IDML import. Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Affinity Publisher: Is Affinity Publisher really free now?

Yes. Since the 2025 relaunch the unified Affinity application is free. Artificial intelligence features need a paid Canva plan.

Microsoft OneNote: Is OneNote really free?

Yes. The application is free with a Microsoft account, with no time limit and no feature gate. What you may end up paying for is the OneDrive storage the notebooks consume.

Affinity Publisher: Can it open InDesign files?

Only IDML interchange files, and complex layouts lose fidelity. Native INDD files cannot be opened at all.

Microsoft OneNote: Can I keep notebooks off Microsoft's cloud?

The Windows desktop app can keep local notebooks, but they will not sync to other devices and any shared access requires OneDrive or SharePoint.

Affinity Publisher: What happened to the perpetual licences people bought?

Canva made the relaunched application free to everyone, which superseded the paid version 2 licence model.

Microsoft OneNote: How do I get my notes out?

Section by section as a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document. A OneNote package preserves a whole notebook but only for another copy of OneNote. Third-party converters exist and the page layout usually does not survive them.

Microsoft OneNote: Which version should I install?

Microsoft consolidated onto a single OneNote application on Windows after retiring the Store version, so install the one distributed with Microsoft 365 rather than looking for an alternative.

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