An Affinity Designer alternative that runs in your browser
Affinity Designer, made by Serif, was long the one-off-price alternative to Illustrator. Canva, which owns Affinity, announced on 29 October 2025 that Designer, Photo and Publisher were becoming a single Affinity app, free, with a free Canva account. OBSCURA Vector is a vector editor in a browser tab. Affinity’s site could not be reached from here on 7 October 2026, so its current terms are not restated beyond that announcement.
Written
For most people the answer is Affinity: it is free, it has far more than Vector, and it runs on Windows and macOS. Use Vector if you would rather have nothing installed and no account with anybody, if you work on Linux or a Chromebook, where Affinity does not run, or if you already pay for OBSCURA Pro for another of its applications and want your drawings kept on your own computer beside them.
What Affinity is
Affinity began as three desktop programs from Serif: Designer for vector work, Photo and Publisher, each sold for a single payment. Canva bought Affinity in 2024 and, as reported at the time of its 29 October 2025 announcement, combined the three into one app that is free with a Canva account, with some AI features kept for Canva’s paid plans. It opens PSD, AI, PDF, SVG and IDML files, and it is a complete professional design program.
Side by side
| Affinity | OBSCURA Vector | |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Free, with a Canva account, as announced in October 2025 | US$2 a month or US$19 a year on its own, or US$5 a month or US$48 a year in OBSCURA Pro, with every other OBSCURA application |
| Runs on | Windows and macOS, installed | A current browser on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, with nothing to install |
| Account | A Canva account | None; a Pro key kept in the browser |
| Files | Its own format, with PSD, AI, PDF, SVG and IDML opened | SVG in and out, PDF and PNG out, its own .ovector |
| Brushes, symbols and effects | Yes | No |
| Photo and layout work in the same program | Yes | No; photos are in the Photo Editor |
| Where the drawing is kept | Where you save it | In the browser on your computer, and nowhere else |
What Affinity has that Vector does not
- It is free.
- Far more of everything. Brushes, symbols, effects, clipping masks, type in depth, print colour with profiles, and pixel and layout work in the same document.
- .ai and PSD files. Vector opens SVG and its own files only.
What Vector adds
- No account with anybody. Vector needs no sign-up; Pro is a key kept in your browser.
- Linux and ChromeOS. Anywhere a current browser runs, with nothing installed, and offline once opened.
- Nothing leaves the computer, and no AI.
- Beside the other OBSCURA applications. If you already use Pro for Books, Write or Sound, Vector is in the same plan.
What it costs
Vector on its own is US$2 a month or US$19 a year; all of OBSCURA Pro is US$5 a month or US$48 a year. Each comes with 7 days free first. Paying for it only to replace a free program would be a poor trade; it makes sense when another OBSCURA application is the reason for Pro, or when installing software or holding an account is the thing you want to avoid.
See it before you pay. Vector’s page shows it at work, lists the files it opens and saves, and says what it cannot do yet.
Questions people ask about An Affinity Designer alternative that runs in your browser
Is there an Affinity Designer alternative that runs in a browser?
OBSCURA Vector is a vector editor in a browser tab, with the pen, shapes, type, gradients, pathfinder, layers and artboards, and SVG, PDF and PNG out. It needs no install and no account.
Is Affinity free now?
Canva announced on 29 October 2025 that Affinity Designer, Photo and Publisher would become one Affinity app, free with a Canva account. Check Affinity's own site for the current terms.
Should I pay for Vector instead of using Affinity?
Usually not for vector work alone: Affinity is free and does more. Vector fits if you want nothing installed and no account, work on Linux or ChromeOS, or already use OBSCURA Pro for another application.
Does Vector run on Linux or a Chromebook?
Yes. Vector runs in a current browser on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, with nothing to install, and works offline once opened.
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