The Affinity Uprising: Free Software, Dead Subscriptions, and Designer Chaos

Affinity dropped their entire suite for free and the design world reacted like someone had sprinkled cocaine on a communal donut.

Full-body tremors, pupils dilated, TikTokers whispering is this real? like we’d just discovered fire again.

Meanwhile Adobe is sitting in a skyscraper, clutching its subscription tiers the way a dragon clutches gold, muttering, you will pry my recurring revenue from my cold, arthritic hands.

The whole thing feels like watching Coca-Cola and Pepsi back in the 80s, except now the drink is software, the sugar is AI, and we’re the kids with the rotting teeth.

Adobe is basically Big Soda at this point: everywhere, unavoidable, mildly addictive, and quietly judging you for trying alternatives the way a dietician judges Mountain Dew.

But then Affinity shows up, hands you a cold bottle of completely free professional tools, and says, Hey bestie, want out of the subscription rat maze?

That’s not generosity.

That’s war.

And Canva (Affinity’s new overlord) didn’t just load the cannons. They gift-wrapped them, slapped a pastel sticker on the side, and then fired them directly into Adobe’s living room.

Let’s not pretend this is innocence.

This is capitalism.

This is chess.

This is the design industry’s version of your move, boomer.

The AI economy is booming, and smart entrepreneurs are already profiting. Subscribe to Mindstream and get instant access to 200+ proven strategies to monetize AI tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and more. From content creation to automation services, discover actionable ways to build your AI-powered income. No coding required, just practical strategies that work.

Subscribe to Get Your Free Guide

You know what’s hilarious?

Every time a beginner designer uploads an RGB design for print, a printer somewhere spontaneously sheds a single ink tear.

Because RGB to CMYK conversion is where dreams (and colors) go to die.

BUT, there’s a fast way. A painless way. A less frustrating than assembling IKEA furniture way.

And yes, it’s in Affinity.

Here’s the hack:

And if you want the step-by-step with zero suffering and maximum smugness, watch the tutorial I referenced:

👉 How to Change RGB to CMYK in Affinity | Fix Color for Print Fast

Seriously, this trick saves more designs than therapy saves relationships.

Let’s break it down like a battlefield memo from the graphic design trenches:

Designers just got a professional suite for free. This isn’t cute. This is a market earthquake wrapped in Canva-blue packaging.

Here’s what changes for sellers:

Every student, every hobbyist, every aunt who once made a Facebook birthday banner is now armed with Photoshop-level tools.

This means:

Prepare accordingly.

Creators used to ignore these formats like they were Brussel sprouts. Not anymore.

If Affinity stays free, selling:

You’re no longer selling to a small club of Affinity rebels — you’re selling to the masses.

Adobe isn’t dying. Adobe is too ingrained, too messy, too everywhere — like glitter. Even when you think you got rid of it, it comes back through a vent.

But Adobe now has a very real problem: a cheaper, easier, nicer product right next door.

Everyone can download a violin. Not everyone can play the damn thing.

Keep focusing on:

The tools are democratized. Taste is not.

As with any digital ad campaign, the important thing is to reach streaming audiences who will convert. Roku’s self-service Ads Manager stands ready with powerful segmentation and targeting — plus creative upscaling tools that transform existing assets into CTV-ready video ads. Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.

Use code GET5K now

If you think this is about software, you’re adorably mistaken. This is about cultural dominance.

Back in the day (as your uploaded files so gloriously reminded me), Coca-Cola and Pepsi didn’t just sell soda.

They sold:

They plastered their logos on stadiums, celebrities, and your childhood until you could recognize the Coca-Cola bottle silhouette faster than your own father.

Now fast-forward.

The new soda is design software.

The new battlefield is attention and adoption.

And the new free sample to soldiers strategy?

Affinity being dropped into the world at zero dollars.

Coca-Cola once gave soldiers Coke for a nickel to create lifelong customers. Canva just gave designers Affinity for $0 for the same reason.

This is soft-drink psychology with high-resolution output.

And Adobe? Adobe is the Coke of the design world, giant, omnipresent, a little defensive, and still selling the same formula with slightly more caffeine every year.

Affinity is Pepsi, scrappier, fresher, trying to convert a new generation with “we’re not the other guys” energy.

Except Pepsi never had AI strapped to its chest like a jetpack.

This isn’t a software update.

This is a cultural shift.

Here’s a spicy little fact to haunt you:

Affinity is now the only fully free professional design suite in existence.

Adobe has never done it. CorelDRAW pretends to be premium. Even Figma charges you if you blink too aggressively.

Which means (for the first time in design history) a zero-dollar tool has enough firepower to threaten a trillion-dollar ecosystem.

Also: people still print things wrong because they forget CMYK exists.

So the war is long, the battlefield is messy, and half the soldiers still don’t know what DPI means.

Affinity going free is the design world’s plot twist of the decade. It’s generous. It’s chaotic. It’s strategic. It’s suspicious. It’s everything good drama should be.

And it signals one enormous truth:

The tools are no longer the gatekeepers.

Taste is.

Creativity is.

Courage is.

Have a nice day,

Miroslav from The Design Nexus

Even if you sell products other than mugs or t-shirts, it doesn't mean it will cost you more.

There are tools that can help you with the tasks, and most of them have free versions.

Disclaimer: Within the article, you will find affiliate links. If you decide to purchase through these links, I want to sincerely assure you that I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you.