Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity

[sirhawkeye64]

Ashley Hewson CEO of Serif announced today that Affinity is becoming part of the Canva family:



Text From Message:

"To our amazing Affinity community,

Today marks a momentous new chapter in our journey together.

I am thrilled to announce that Affinity is joining the Canva family.

This is a moment of great excitement, anticipation, and profound gratitude for all of you who have been part of our story so far.

We know that those of you who've put your faith in Affinity, some since we launched our very first Mac app, will have questions about what this means for the future of our products. Since the inception of Affinity, our mission has been to empower creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and artistry flourish. We've worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable.

None of that changes today.

In Canva, we've found a kindred spirit who can help us take Affinity to new levels. Their extra resources will mean we can deliver much more, much faster. Beyond that, we can forge new horizons for Affinity products, opening up a world of possibilities that would never previously have been achievable.

Canva's revolutionary approach to design democratisation and commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with our core values and vision. This union is a testament to what can be achieved when two companies that share a common goal of making design accessible and enjoyable for everyone come together.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to our incredible Affinity team. Your passion, dedication, and relentless pursuit of excellence have been the driving force behind our success so far, and I can't wait to continue this journey with you all.

To our loyal users and the creative community, your support and feedback have been invaluable, we hope this this FAQ will answer many of your questions.

You've inspired us to push boundaries and continuously improve, and we're excited to embark on this new chapter together.

You helped us start a movement.

Today, that movement becomes a revolution.

With heartfelt thanks,"

ADDITIONAL INFO

All 90 Serif employees remain. No layoffs.

All apps continue to be one-time purchase no subscriptions.

Free updates on V2 will continue...

PRESS RELELASE:

Businesswire

Serif

User Discussion

Affinity User Discussion

If they're smart (Canva that is) they'll keep it free and just use some of the code and integrated it into existing Canva products (whehter perpetual or subscription) but keep Affinity subscription-free (ie. perpetual as that's one of the biggest selling points of the program....)

The sad reality is that many software companies are going subscription because it is easier to predict revenues (with perpetual licenses its harder, thus making it harder to make financial plans). Even companies like CaptureOne and Luminar seem to be moving that way (or have already) along with Topaz Labs and a few others, some of which whom said they would never go subscription. At least some companies like topaz who had customers who bought into life-time licenses or free updates for life, still keep those, but newcomers are subject to subscription based model.

Personally the subscription model never bothered me, and once you sort of sift through the myths and truths behind subscriptions (which some can vary depending on the developer/software company) it may not be that bad (for example, people touted you would lose your LR edits if you stopped paying... that's not exactly the truth -- you don't lose your edits, you just lose your ability to edit, but your edits stay intact).

--
NOTE: If I don't reply to a direct comment in the forums, it's likely I unsubscribed from the thread/article..

 

[IanYorke]

If they're smart (Canva that is) they'll keep it free and just use some of the code and integrated it into existing Canva products (whehter perpetual or subscription) but keep Affinity subscription-free (ie. perpetual as that's one of the biggest selling points of the program....)

The sad reality is that many software companies are going subscription because it is easier to predict revenues (with perpetual licenses its harder, thus making it harder to make financial plans). Even companies like CaptureOne and Luminar seem to be moving that way (or have already) along with Topaz Labs and a few others, some of which whom said they would never go subscription. At least some companies like topaz who had customers who bought into life-time licenses or free updates for life, still keep those, but newcomers are subject to subscription based model.

Personally the subscription model never bothered me, and once you sort of sift through the myths and truths behind subscriptions (which some can vary depending on the developer/software company) it may not be that bad (for example, people touted you would lose your LR edits if you stopped paying... that's not exactly the truth -- you don't lose your edits, you just lose your ability to edit, but your edits stay intact).

Topaz don't have a subscription they have an improved version of the perpetual model where you receive program updates for 1 year after buying the software. This is an improvement over the traditional perpetual license where if you bought the software 6 months before a new version was released then you had to pay for the new version. With Topaz you receive even major version updates within the first year. After the 1 year the software continues to be fully functional.

Ian

 

[sirhawkeye64]

If they're smart (Canva that is) they'll keep it free and just use some of the code and integrated it into existing Canva products (whehter perpetual or subscription) but keep Affinity subscription-free (ie. perpetual as that's one of the biggest selling points of the program....)

The sad reality is that many software companies are going subscription because it is easier to predict revenues (with perpetual licenses its harder, thus making it harder to make financial plans). Even companies like CaptureOne and Luminar seem to be moving that way (or have already) along with Topaz Labs and a few others, some of which whom said they would never go subscription. At least some companies like topaz who had customers who bought into life-time licenses or free updates for life, still keep those, but newcomers are subject to subscription based model.

Personally the subscription model never bothered me, and once you sort of sift through the myths and truths behind subscriptions (which some can vary depending on the developer/software company) it may not be that bad (for example, people touted you would lose your LR edits if you stopped paying... that's not exactly the truth -- you don't lose your edits, you just lose your ability to edit, but your edits stay intact).

Topaz don't have a subscription they have an improved version of the perpetual model where you receive program updates for 1 year after buying the software. This is an improvement over the traditional perpetual license where if you bought the software 6 months before a new version was released then you had to pay for the new version. With Topaz you receive even major version updates within the first year. After the 1 year the software continues to be fully functional.

Ian

But they discontinued the "free updates for life" part, which is what really ticked off a lot of people. I understand why they did it (I mean you can't make money if people never pay you another dime and get free updates for life). But in a way, it's also still a subscription. You just have to choose if you want to always have the latest updates or not (and frankly, it seems to be cheaper to just buying the program again on sale perhaps around BF than doing the actual subscription each year).

 

[IanYorke]

If they're smart (Canva that is) they'll keep it free and just use some of the code and integrated it into existing Canva products (whehter perpetual or subscription) but keep Affinity subscription-free (ie. perpetual as that's one of the biggest selling points of the program....)

The sad reality is that many software companies are going subscription because it is easier to predict revenues (with perpetual licenses its harder, thus making it harder to make financial plans). Even companies like CaptureOne and Luminar seem to be moving that way (or have already) along with Topaz Labs and a few others, some of which whom said they would never go subscription. At least some companies like topaz who had customers who bought into life-time licenses or free updates for life, still keep those, but newcomers are subject to subscription based model.

Personally the subscription model never bothered me, and once you sort of sift through the myths and truths behind subscriptions (which some can vary depending on the developer/software company) it may not be that bad (for example, people touted you would lose your LR edits if you stopped paying... that's not exactly the truth -- you don't lose your edits, you just lose your ability to edit, but your edits stay intact).

Topaz don't have a subscription they have an improved version of the perpetual model where you receive program updates for 1 year after buying the software. This is an improvement over the traditional perpetual license where if you bought the software 6 months before a new version was released then you had to pay for the new version. With Topaz you receive even major version updates within the first year. After the 1 year the software continues to be fully functional.

Ian

But they discontinued the "free updates for life" part, which is what really ticked off a lot of people. I understand why they did it (I mean you can't make money if people never pay you another dime and get free updates for life). But in a way, it's also still a subscription. You just have to choose if you want to always have the latest updates or not (and frankly, it seems to be cheaper to just buying the program again on sale perhaps around BF than doing the actual subscription each year).

The difference between a subscription and perpetual software is that subscription software stops working or loses major functionality if you stop paying.

Ian

 

[sirhawkeye64]

If they're smart (Canva that is) they'll keep it free and just use some of the code and integrated it into existing Canva products (whehter perpetual or subscription) but keep Affinity subscription-free (ie. perpetual as that's one of the biggest selling points of the program....)

The sad reality is that many software companies are going subscription because it is easier to predict revenues (with perpetual licenses its harder, thus making it harder to make financial plans). Even companies like CaptureOne and Luminar seem to be moving that way (or have already) along with Topaz Labs and a few others, some of which whom said they would never go subscription. At least some companies like topaz who had customers who bought into life-time licenses or free updates for life, still keep those, but newcomers are subject to subscription based model.

Personally the subscription model never bothered me, and once you sort of sift through the myths and truths behind subscriptions (which some can vary depending on the developer/software company) it may not be that bad (for example, people touted you would lose your LR edits if you stopped paying... that's not exactly the truth -- you don't lose your edits, you just lose your ability to edit, but your edits stay intact).

Topaz don't have a subscription they have an improved version of the perpetual model where you receive program updates for 1 year after buying the software. This is an improvement over the traditional perpetual license where if you bought the software 6 months before a new version was released then you had to pay for the new version. With Topaz you receive even major version updates within the first year. After the 1 year the software continues to be fully functional.

Ian

But they discontinued the "free updates for life" part, which is what really ticked off a lot of people. I understand why they did it (I mean you can't make money if people never pay you another dime and get free updates for life). But in a way, it's also still a subscription. You just have to choose if you want to always have the latest updates or not (and frankly, it seems to be cheaper to just buying the program again on sale perhaps around BF than doing the actual subscription each year).

The difference between a subscription and perpetual software is that subscription software stops working or loses major functionality if you stop paying.

Ian

Yes I'm aware of the differences. I did software development and IT for about 10 years and had to deal with this type of stuff. But just because it's perpetual also doesn't give it a unlimited life. While nobody really does this, technically according to most EULAs the developer can terminate the license agreement for any reason at any time, but again, nobody really exercises this. The only one time I can see this was done (and not so much termination but a warning) was when Adobe stopped supporting Lightroom 6 and CS6. They sent letters to everyone informing them that certain third party code/modules were no longer being licensed to Adobe and that by continued use you were violating the EULA and that you (the user) would be responsible for any legal actions taken by the companies that still owned the licensed modules that Adobe was using under license.

--
NOTE: If I don't reply to a direct comment in the forums, it's likely I unsubscribed from the thread/article..

 

[Digital Nigel]

The sad reality is that many software companies are going subscription because it is easier to predict revenues (with perpetual licenses its harder, thus making it harder to make financial plans). Even companies like CaptureOne and Luminar seem to be moving that way (or have already) along with Topaz Labs and a few others, some of which whom said they would never go subscription. At least some companies like topaz who had customers who bought into life-time licenses or free updates for life, still keep those, but newcomers are subject to subscription based model.

Topaz has always only offered perpetual licences. It has never had a subscription option, whether for old or new customers. Any Topaz product you buy today will have a perpetual licence.

Affinity will continue to have perpetual licences, but some version(s) of its products will in future be offered to Canva customers on subscription.

 

[Digital Nigel]

If they're smart (Canva that is) they'll keep it free and just use some of the code and integrated it into existing Canva products (whehter perpetual or subscription) but keep Affinity subscription-free (ie. perpetual as that's one of the biggest selling points of the program....)

The sad reality is that many software companies are going subscription because it is easier to predict revenues (with perpetual licenses its harder, thus making it harder to make financial plans). Even companies like CaptureOne and Luminar seem to be moving that way (or have already) along with Topaz Labs and a few others, some of which whom said they would never go subscription. At least some companies like topaz who had customers who bought into life-time licenses or free updates for life, still keep those, but newcomers are subject to subscription based model.

Personally the subscription model never bothered me, and once you sort of sift through the myths and truths behind subscriptions (which some can vary depending on the developer/software company) it may not be that bad (for example, people touted you would lose your LR edits if you stopped paying... that's not exactly the truth -- you don't lose your edits, you just lose your ability to edit, but your edits stay intact).

Topaz don't have a subscription they have an improved version of the perpetual model where you receive program updates for 1 year after buying the software. This is an improvement over the traditional perpetual license where if you bought the software 6 months before a new version was released then you had to pay for the new version. With Topaz you receive even major version updates within the first year. After the 1 year the software continues to be fully functional.

Ian

But they discontinued the "free updates for life" part, which is what really ticked off a lot of people. I understand why they did it (I mean you can't make money if people never pay you another dime and get free updates for life). But in a way, it's also still a subscription. You just have to choose if you want to always have the latest updates or not (and frankly, it seems to be cheaper to just buying the program again on sale perhaps around BF than doing the actual subscription each year).

The difference between a subscription and perpetual software is that subscription software stops working or loses major functionality if you stop paying.

Ian

Yes I'm aware of the differences. I did software development and IT for about 10 years and had to deal with this type of stuff. But just because it's perpetual also doesn't give it a unlimited life.

That's true of all products with perpetual licences. Sooner or later they will cease to be compatible with current hardware and operating systems. This happens quite quickly with Mac versions, and much later with Windows. But it's inevitable in both cases.

Topaz has better perpetual licences than most vendors, because of the further 12 months of updates you get after purchasing an update.

 

[Digital Nigel]

If they're smart (Canva that is) they'll keep it free and just use some of the code and integrated it into existing Canva products (whehter perpetual or subscription) but keep Affinity subscription-free (ie. perpetual as that's one of the biggest selling points of the program....)

The sad reality is that many software companies are going subscription because it is easier to predict revenues (with perpetual licenses its harder, thus making it harder to make financial plans). Even companies like CaptureOne and Luminar seem to be moving that way (or have already) along with Topaz Labs and a few others, some of which whom said they would never go subscription. At least some companies like topaz who had customers who bought into life-time licenses or free updates for life, still keep those, but newcomers are subject to subscription based model.

Personally the subscription model never bothered me, and once you sort of sift through the myths and truths behind subscriptions (which some can vary depending on the developer/software company) it may not be that bad (for example, people touted you would lose your LR edits if you stopped paying... that's not exactly the truth -- you don't lose your edits, you just lose your ability to edit, but your edits stay intact).

Topaz don't have a subscription they have an improved version of the perpetual model where you receive program updates for 1 year after buying the software. This is an improvement over the traditional perpetual license where if you bought the software 6 months before a new version was released then you had to pay for the new version. With Topaz you receive even major version updates within the first year. After the 1 year the software continues to be fully functional.

Ian

But they discontinued the "free updates for life" part, which is what really ticked off a lot of people.

Yes, but that has nothing to do with perpetual vs subscription licences.

I understand why they did it (I mean you can't make money if people never pay you another dime and get free updates for life). But in a way, it's also still a subscription.

No, it's not a subscription. If it was, the product(s) would stop working when update subscriptions ran out. They don't. So I don't know why you think it's a subscription.

You just have to choose if you want to always have the latest updates or not

Just like every perpetual licence.

(and frankly, it seems to be cheaper to just buying the program again on sale perhaps around BF than doing the actual subscription each year).

No, the cheapest option is to buy discounted update subscriptions with gaps between them. So, for example, buy discounted BF updates every other November. Topaz also does occasional deep discounts, which are worth taking advantage of. But it's still always a perpetual licence.

 

[Breakfastographer]

If they're smart (Canva that is) they'll keep it free and just use some of the code and integrated it into existing Canva products (whehter perpetual or subscription) but keep Affinity subscription-free (ie. perpetual as that's one of the biggest selling points of the program....)

The sad reality is that many software companies are going subscription because it is easier to predict revenues (with perpetual licenses its harder, thus making it harder to make financial plans). Even companies like CaptureOne and Luminar seem to be moving that way (or have already) along with Topaz Labs and a few others, some of which whom said they would never go subscription. At least some companies like topaz who had customers who bought into life-time licenses or free updates for life, still keep those, but newcomers are subject to subscription based model.

Personally the subscription model never bothered me, and once you sort of sift through the myths and truths behind subscriptions (which some can vary depending on the developer/software company) it may not be that bad (for example, people touted you would lose your LR edits if you stopped paying... that's not exactly the truth -- you don't lose your edits, you just lose your ability to edit, but your edits stay intact).

Topaz don't have a subscription they have an improved version of the perpetual model where you receive program updates for 1 year after buying the software. This is an improvement over the traditional perpetual license where if you bought the software 6 months before a new version was released then you had to pay for the new version. With Topaz you receive even major version updates within the first year. After the 1 year the software continues to be fully functional.

Ian

But they discontinued the "free updates for life" part, which is what really ticked off a lot of people. I understand why they did it (I mean you can't make money if people never pay you another dime and get free updates for life). But in a way, it's also still a subscription. You just have to choose if you want to always have the latest updates or not (and frankly, it seems to be cheaper to just buying the program again on sale perhaps around BF than doing the actual subscription each year).

The difference between a subscription and perpetual software is that subscription software stops working or loses major functionality if you stop paying.

Ian

Yes I'm aware of the differences. I did software development and IT for about 10 years and had to deal with this type of stuff. But just because it's perpetual also doesn't give it a unlimited life.

That's true of all products with perpetual licences. Sooner or later they will cease to be compatible with current hardware and operating systems. This happens quite quickly with Mac versions, and much later with Windows. But it's inevitable in both cases.

Topaz has better perpetual licences than most vendors, because of the further 12 months of updates you get after purchasing an update.

That is oversimplifying the situation. Some software gets activated on a particular machine and then runs forever. Other companies (Adobe) make it so the software checks at regular intervals whether the activation is valid. This requires a server on the other end, and some companies design it so that if the server can't be reached, the activation lapses on your machine and the software becomes non-functional until you connect to the internet again.

This has two consequences:

1. If the developer decides to turn off the server, your software gets "bricked".
2. Your machine can never be airgapped. I cannot put in words how mindbogglingly stupid and unnecessarily preventive this is for certain environments where security has a very high priority.

And did I say that if the developers turns off their server, the software gets bricked?

 

[Len Philpot]

Personally the subscription model never bothered me, and once you sort of sift through the myths and truths behind subscriptions (which some can vary depending on the developer/software company) it may not be that bad (for example, people touted you would lose your LR edits if you stopped paying... that's not exactly the truth -- you don't lose your edits, you just lose your ability to edit, but your edits stay intact).

I think a renewable maintenance contract can be the best combination. For example:

Buy the product new then optionally, some incrementally better level of support (or not):

• (no support)
• $ Bug fixes, security updates, etc.
• $$ Feature additions
• $$$ Upgrade discount / entitlement
• $$$$ Custom features

Of course the number, granularity, order, cost, etc., of support levels will vary hugely by vendor, product and market. But the same basic idea applies, just with a variance of degree.

The big difference is, if you stop paying you only stop getting new stuff. How new and how much you forfeit is dependent on the level of your contract. But what you have continues to work as well and as fully as it ever did, dependent of course on conditions outside the vendor scope (OS, hardware, etc.).

The contracts will provide vendors with revenue more predictable than a more simplistic "everything under one roof" perpetual license (albeit not as predictable as an enforced one-size-fits-all subscription). But the customer gets to choose their level of commitment (none to full) and the scope of their expenditure (free to megabucks), with a commensurate ROI.