Affinity vs Adobe Fresco
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Affinity is the better app overall, scoring 8.9 to 8.6. Affinity wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Adobe Fresco on 0, with 1 tied.
Designers and photographers who want a free alternative to Adobe's desktop apps
Beginners and hobby painters who want a capable drawing app that costs nothing
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Affinity | Adobe Fresco |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Design & Creativity | Design & Creativity |
| Category rank | #4 of 10 | #6 of 10 |
| Developer | Canva | Adobe |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | — | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | — |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Affinity better than Adobe Fresco?
Affinity is the better app overall, scoring 8.9 to 8.6. Affinity wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Adobe Fresco on 0, with 1 tied.
Which is cheaper, Affinity or Adobe Fresco?
Affinity: Free for individuals; Canva AI tools inside Affinity need a Canva premium plan. Adobe Fresco: Free on iPad, iPhone and Windows; optional Adobe plans add Photoshop on iPad. On value for money, Affinity scores higher.
Do Affinity and Adobe Fresco work on the same devices?
Only Affinity runs on Mac. Only Adobe Fresco runs on iPhone & iPad.
Which is more private, Affinity or Adobe Fresco?
Affinity scores higher on privacy (8.0/10). Covered by Canva's privacy policy, and a Canva account is required. Canva says work made in Affinity is not used to train AI, and your files are stored locally on your device.
Strengths and weaknesses
Affinity
- Pro-level design, photo and layout tools for free
- Files stay on your device and work offline
- One app instead of three separate programs
- Requires a Canva account to activate
- Canva AI features need a paid Canva plan
- No iPad version yet
Affinity used to be three separate apps you bought. Now it's one free app with Vector, Pixel and Layout studios, so you can draw a logo, retouch a photo and set a magazine page without switching programs. The September 2026 update added a Blend Tool, scripting and native InDesign file import. You need a Canva account to activate it, the AI tools cost extra, and there's still no iPad version.
Full Affinity review
Adobe Fresco
- Free, with thousands of brushes and no ads
- Live, vector and pixel brushes on one canvas
- Animation built in, plus easy hand-off to Photoshop
- Privacy label links a lot of data to your identity
- Cloud saving and all brush packs need an Adobe sign-in
- No Android or Mac version
Adobe Fresco gives you a real painting studio on iPad, iPhone or a Windows PC for free. Live brushes that blend like real paint, crisp vector brushes and pixel brushes share one canvas, and frame-by-frame animation, motion paths and Photoshop brush import round it out. There are no ads, and you can start drawing before you sign in. A free Adobe account unlocks cloud saving and every brush pack, and the privacy label links plenty of data to you.
Full Adobe Fresco review
