Affinity Designer vs Pixelmator: Which One Is Better in 2024?

Both Affinity Designer and Pixelmator Pro are essential tools for businesses and designers, offering cost-effective, feature-rich solutions for creating high-quality visuals. We'll compare their performance, feature sets, cost, and user experience to determine which is the best fit for your needs.

A Quick Overview of Affinity Designer and Pixelmator

What is Affinity Designer?

Affinity Designer is developed by Serif (Europe) Ltd, which creates professional-grade graphic design and illustration software. The company offers a suite of applications including Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher, aimed at providing high-quality tools for creatives without subscription fees.

Affinity Designer features live, responsive performance, handling complex documents with no lag. A unique feature is the Vector Warp tool, which allows users to apply non-destructive vector warps over any vector artwork or text, providing flexibility and precision for professional designers.

What is Pixelmator?

Pixelmator develops professional image editing software designed exclusively for Mac. Their flagship product, Pixelmator Pro, offers tools for photo editing, graphic design, painting, and vector graphics, emphasizing accessibility and advanced features.

Pixelmator Pro includes AI-powered tools like background masks and machine learning enhancements. The software also supports nondestructive editing, allowing users to make changes without permanently altering the original image, a feature that sets it apart from many competitors.

Features of Affinity Designer and Pixelmator

Similarities

Affinity Designer and Pixelmator Pro share several key features that make them both powerful tools for designers. Both applications are designed to handle complex design tasks efficiently and offer a range of advanced tools for creating high-quality visuals.

• Both offer robust vector and raster editing capabilities, allowing for versatile design work.
• They provide advanced color adjustment tools and layer-based editing, ensuring precise control over design elements.
• Both support nondestructive editing, enabling users to make changes without permanently altering the original image.
• They are known for their performance and speed, handling complex documents with ease.
• Both support a wide range of file formats, ensuring compatibility with other design tools.

Differences

When comparing Affinity Designer and Pixelmator Pro, it's clear that each software has unique features tailored to different aspects of design and editing. Here are the most significant differences:

• Vector Warp Tool: Affinity Designer offers a Vector Warp tool for non-destructive vector warps, which Pixelmator Pro lacks.
• AI Background Masks: Pixelmator Pro includes AI-powered background masks for precise subject isolation, a feature not available in Affinity Designer.
• Advanced Typography: Affinity Designer provides extensive typography options for custom text designs, which are more limited in Pixelmator Pro.
• Machine Learning Enhancements: Pixelmator Pro leverages machine learning for features like ML Enhance and Super Resolution, which Affinity Designer does not offer.
• Cross-Device Compatibility: Affinity Designer supports consistent file formats across Windows, macOS, and iPad, whereas Pixelmator Pro is exclusive to macOS.

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 live outline view. The user experience is enhanced by its performance, allowing users to handle thousands of objects without lag. The software's compatibility with various file types and consistent file format across devices contribute to a seamless experience.

Pixelmator Pro's interface is intuitive and user-friendly, with customizable workspaces and easily accessible tools. The user experience benefits from powerful, nondestructive editing tools and seamless macOS integration. Tutorials, user guides, and a supportive community further enrich the experience. Affinity Designer offers a more versatile interface and usability.

Collaboration

Affinity Designer allows for seamless collaboration by maintaining the same file format across Windows, Mac, and iPad. This ensures that team members can work on the same project across different devices without compatibility issues. The software supports various output formats for digital, print, or collaboration purposes, making it easier to share and distribute work. Additionally, Affinity Designer works with major file types like JPEG, PDF, SVG, PSD, PNG, TIFF, GIF, and DWG/DXF, facilitating easy sharing and collaboration with other tools and platforms.

Pixelmator Pro, on the other hand, integrates with macOS technologies like iCloud, enabling file sharing and access across multiple devices. The software supports various file formats, including PDF, PSD, SVG, AI, and Illustrator EPS, which allows for easy sharing and collaboration with other design tools. Pixelmator Pro also offers features like nondestructive edits within the Photos app and the ability to save and share presets and templates, ensuring consistency in collaborative projects.

Overall, neither Affinity Designer nor Pixelmator Pro stands out as significantly better for collaboration; both offer different strengths that cater to various collaborative needs.

Affinity Designer and Pixelmator Pricing

Affinity Designer offers a range of pricing options, including a one-time fee of $69.99 for macOS or Windows, $18.49 for iPad, and a Universal Licence for $164.99 covering all platforms. Volume discounts are available for businesses and educational institutions, making it a flexible choice for various needs.

Pixelmator Pro is priced at a one-time fee of $49.99, available exclusively on the Mac App Store. There are no additional pricing tiers or discounts mentioned, making it a straightforward option for Mac users. Affinity Designer provides more versatile pricing options, potentially offering better value depending on your requirements.

Comparing Affinity Designer and Pixelmator to Piktochart

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

• Ease of Use: Piktochart is designed to be intuitive, allowing users to create stunning visuals without any prior design experience.
• Variety of Templates: The platform offers a wide range of pre-existing templates for infographics, presentations, flyers, posters, and reports, saving users time and effort.
• Content Creation Tools: Piktochart provides effective tools for creating various types of visual content, including infographics, presentations, and social media posts.
• Advanced Features: The platform includes functionalities like drag-and-drop editing, automatic subtitle addition, and customization for social media, making it versatile for different needs.
• Positive User Feedback: Many users appreciate the professional quality of the outputs and the time-saving aspects of the tool, highlighting its efficiency and effectiveness.

Piktochart's Pricing

• Free: $0 (Free forever)
• Pro:
  • $29 per member/month (billed monthly)
  • $14 per member/month (billed annually, save 52%)
• Business:
  • $49 per member/month (billed monthly)
  • $24 per member/month (billed annually, save 52%)
• 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 and some tool limitations." - John D., 3.5 out of 5

"Importing files can be problematic, and it lacks some advanced features." - Sarah K., 3.8 out of 5

"Complexity in use and limited features make it less appealing for advanced users." - Mike L., 3.9 out of 5

Find more of Affinity Designer reviews on G2!

Pixelmator Reviews

Pixelmator has received an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5. Users appreciate its ease of use and cost-effectiveness but find its design limitations and inadequate AI capabilities frustrating.

"Good, with limitations." - Brian B., 3.0 out of 5

"A simplified Photoshop app for those that do not like getting anxiety from Adobe's convoluted UX, UI." - Law S., 3.0 out of 5

"Very good value for the money." - Martin O., 3.0 out of 5

Find more of Pixelmator 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-quality visuals with ease. Here are some of the sentiments from our customers:

• "Easy to create content even if you're not a designer." - Jessica D.
• "My Go-To for ALL Professional Presentations!" - Jennifer K.
• "Incredibly intuitive design app." - Katie S.

Find more of our reviews on G2!

Why choose one over the other?

Why Choose Affinity Designer:

• Consumers who need advanced tools for creating high-quality illustrations and concept art, such as professional illustrators and web designers, might prefer Affinity Designer for its comprehensive toolset and cross-platform compatibility.

Why Choose Pixelmator:

• Consumers who are new to image editing or do it as a hobby, as well as those deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem, might prefer Pixelmator for its user-friendly interface and seamless macOS integration.

Why Choose Piktochart:

• Consumers who need to create professional-looking visuals without advanced design skills, such as educators, marketing professionals, and small business owners, might prefer Piktochart for its ease of use and specialized tools for infographics, presentations, and social media graphics.

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

Whether you're a professional designer, a hobbyist, or someone who needs to create stunning visuals without any design experience, Affinity Designer, Pixelmator Pro, and Piktochart each offer unique strengths. While all three tools are excellent choices, we believe Piktochart stands out for its ease of use and specialized tools that make creating professional-quality visuals a breeze. Give Piktochart a try and see how it can transform your ideas into captivating visuals effortlessly.