Both Affinity Designer and Figma are crucial for businesses and designers, offering unique features that enhance productivity and creativity. We'll compare these tools to determine which one best meets the needs of professionals in the graphic design industry.

A Quick Overview of Affinity Designer and Figma

What is Affinity Designer?

clickup screenshot

Affinity Designer, developed by Serif (Europe) Ltd, is a graphic design and illustration software. It offers professional-grade tools for vector and raster design without subscription fees.

Affinity Designer features live, responsive performance and a combination of vector and raster workspaces. It also includes unlimited artboards, which allows for versatile project layouts.

What is Figma?

clickup screenshot

Figma is a collaborative interface design tool that helps design and development teams build products together. It offers a platform where users can design, prototype, and collaborate in real-time within a single shared file.

Figma's real-time collaboration capabilities allow multiple team members to work on the same design file simultaneously. Integrated communication tools like audio, chat, and comments facilitate seamless teamwork and feedback collection within the design environment.

Features of Affinity Designer and Figma

Similarities

Affinity Designer and Figma share several key features that make them both powerful tools for designers. These similarities enhance their usability and appeal to a wide range of users.

  • Vector and Raster Workspaces: Both platforms offer the flexibility of working with vector and raster graphics, catering to diverse design needs.
  • Collaboration: They support collaborative workflows, allowing multiple users to work on the same project, although Figma emphasizes real-time collaboration more heavily.
  • Artboards: Both tools provide unlimited artboards, enabling versatile project layouts and organization.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility: Affinity Designer and Figma are accessible across various devices, ensuring seamless work continuity.
  • Professional Output: Each tool supports high-quality output for digital and print media, making them suitable for professional use.

Differences

While Affinity Designer and Figma both serve the design community, they cater to different needs with distinct features. Here are the key differences between the two:

  • Payment Model: Affinity Designer requires a one-off payment, whereas Figma typically operates on a subscription basis.
  • Platform Availability: Affinity Designer is available on Windows, macOS, and iPad, while Figma is primarily web-based with desktop apps.
  • Collaboration: Figma excels in real-time collaboration and version history, features not present in Affinity Designer.
  • Plugins: Figma boasts an extensive library of plugins and third-party integrations, unlike Affinity Designer.
  • Unique Tools: Affinity Designer offers specialized tools like the Stroke Width Tool and Vector Warp, which Figma does not have.

User Interface and Usability

Affinity Designer's user interface is live and responsive, supporting both vector and raster workspaces. It includes features like layer groups, color tagging, and a zoom capability of over one million percent. The user experience is smooth, offering tools for precise selections and pixel-perfect designs. The software is intuitive, with customizable keyboard shortcuts and non-destructive adjustments enhancing overall usability.

Figma's interface is designed for collaboration, featuring shared design files, auto layout, and batch editing. The user experience integrates design and development workflows, supporting real-time collaboration with tools for prototyping and developer handoff. Its cloud-based nature and extensive resources make it highly usable, simplifying the workflow for teams.

Figma has a better user interface and usability over Affinity Designer.

Collaboration

Affinity Designer allows for collaboration across different devices by using the same file format, ensuring team members can work on the same project regardless of their device. However, it lacks real-time collaborative features such as live editing by multiple users simultaneously and integrated communication tools, which are essential for seamless teamwork.

Figma, on the other hand, excels in real-time collaboration, allowing multiple team members to work on the same design file simultaneously. It includes integrated communication tools like audio, chat, and comments, facilitating efficient feedback and teamwork. Figma's cloud-based nature ensures that everyone stays updated in real-time.

Figma is better for collaboration than Affinity Designer.

Affinity Designer and Figma Pricing

Affinity Designer offers a straightforward pricing model with one-time fees. The Affinity V2 Universal Licence costs $164.99, covering macOS, Windows, and iPadOS. Individual apps like Affinity Designer 2 for macOS or Windows are priced at $69.99, while the iPad version is $18.49. This model eliminates recurring costs, making it a budget-friendly option.

Figma operates on a subscription basis, with plans ranging from free to $75 per full seat per month. The Professional Team plan costs $15 per seat monthly, with discounts for annual billing. Higher tiers like Organization and Enterprise offer advanced features at $45 and $75 per seat, respectively. Figma's pricing can be more expensive over time due to its subscription model.

Affinity Designer has better pricing for those seeking a one-time payment option.

Comparing Affinity Designer and Figma to Piktochart

clickup screenshot

Piktochart transforms complex ideas into captivating visuals that inform and engage your audience. With Piktochart AI, you can create stunning infographics, reports, and presentations in seconds, perfectly aligned with your brand. No design experience required.

Pros of Piktochart

  • AI-Powered Design Generator: Create stunning visuals from simple prompts, saving time and effort while ensuring professional quality.
  • Customizable Text and View Properties: Tailor your videos with adjustable text properties and view settings, including background color and aspect ratios, for a personalized touch.
  • Wide Range of Visual and Video Tools: From infographics to social media videos, Piktochart provides a comprehensive suite of tools to meet diverse design needs.
  • Extensive Template Library: Access a variety of templates tailored for different industries and use cases, making it easy to create engaging content quickly.
  • Support for Multiple Sectors: Whether you're in education, healthcare, marketing, or nonprofits, Piktochart offers specialized features and discounted plans to cater to your specific needs.

Piktochart's Pricing

  • Free: $0 (Free forever)
  • Pro: $29 per member/month (billed monthly) or $14 per member/month (billed annually)
  • Business: $49 per member/month (billed monthly) or $24 per member/month (billed annually)
  • Enterprise: Custom Pricing (Contact for details)

What Are Others Saying?

Affinity Designer Reviews

Overall, users have given Affinity Designer a rating of 4.6 out of 5. While many appreciate its affordability and intuitive interface, some find the tool limitations and learning curve frustrating.

  • "The software is good but has a steep learning curve." - Manoranjan R., 3.5 out of 5
  • "Importing files can be a hassle, and some features are limited." - Lindsey P., 3.0 out of 5
  • "Complexity makes it hard to use for beginners." - Nidhi B., 3.5 out of 5

Find more of Affinity Designer reviews on G2!

Figma Reviews

Figma has an overall rating of 4.7 out of 5. Users appreciate its features and team collaboration capabilities but find the learning curve and performance issues frustrating.

  • "I don't like the unclear subscription information. I have used it for over 6 years but still don't get all the features of getting subscriptions - I mean what exactly price for each feature? Sometimes I am confused with the limits of creating pages - the conditions are not clear to me." - Kyrylo T., 3.5 out of 5
  • "Figma has really good capability in terms of features, but while loading a Figma file in the browser it takes too much time, they need to improve it. Not really easy to learn for beginners, they should give some screen guide and AI assistance for new users." - Chetan P., 3.0 out of 5
  • "The only issue that I have with Figma is that it has some problems with large files. If you have a project with many artboards, images, and components, the performance can take a hit. This can make the app feel laggy and sometimes it even crashes." - Levan B., 3.5 out of 5

Find more of Figma reviews on G2!

Piktochart Reviews

Our users have given Piktochart an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5. They find it incredibly useful for creating professional presentations and graphics with ease. Here are some of the sentiments from our customers:

  • "My Go-To for ALL Professional Presentations!" - Jennifer K.
  • "Easy to create content even if you're not a designer" - Jessica D.
  • "Piktochart is simple online tool to create a variety of banners" - SUNITA S.

Find more of our reviews on G2!

Why choose one over the other?

Why a consumer might want to use Affinity Designer over Figma:

  • Consumers who prefer a one-time payment model and need advanced vector and raster tools for high-quality illustrations, such as professional illustrators and graphic designers, might choose Affinity Designer over Figma.

Why a consumer might want to use Figma over Affinity Designer:

  • Consumers who require real-time collaboration and cloud-based access, such as design teams and product managers, might prefer Figma over Affinity Designer.

Why a consumer might want to use Piktochart over Figma and Affinity Designer:

  • Consumers looking for an easy-to-use tool for creating infographics, videos, and other visual content, such as communications professionals and educators, might choose Piktochart over Figma and Affinity Designer.

Affinity Designer, Figma, or Piktochart: Which is the best platform for you?

Whether you're a professional designer, a collaborative team, or someone looking to create stunning visuals with ease, Affinity Designer, Figma, and Piktochart each offer unique strengths. While all three tools are excellent choices, we believe Piktochart stands out for its user-friendly interface and versatile features, making it perfect for anyone, regardless of design experience. Give Piktochart a try and transform your ideas into captivating visuals effortlessly!