Affinity 2: Frequently Asked Questions

Upgrading is completely optional and, if you wish, you can continue to use the original apps for as long as you like. While V1 will no longer receive any feature updates, we will endeavour to fix any critical issues which may be caused by operating system updates for as long as is reasonable to do so.

Yes and yes. If you wish to upgrade to V2 you will need to pay, but as with V1, you only need to make a one-off payment—no subscription required.

Equipped with a completely redesigned UI, hundreds of timesaving tools and a ton of brilliant new features, Version 2 is a next-level creative experience. Read more on our What’s New in V2 page.

Yes! Publisher for iPad has been released as part of the V2 suite. You can buy Publisher for iPad right now for CA$22.99, or purchase it as part of the Universal License for only CA$204.99.

Yes! We offer 6-month free trials of all the apps, as well as the Universal License so you can try them all together to experience the full power of Affinity.

Yes! If you purchase V2, you’ll not only get access to the tons of new features and enhancements available now, but you’ll continue to receive free updates until such a time that V3 is launched.

Yes! You can easily transfer your existing content (including any content you may have purchased from the Affinity Store) and open all your V1 docs in V2. As you would expect, V1 will not be able to open V2 documents, so this is something to consider if you collaborate on files with other people/your team (i.e. just get everyone to upgrade to V2!).

You can have different versions of the apps, but please bear in mind you will be unable to open V2 files from one app in V1 of another app.

StudioLink will only be activated if you have Version 2 of Affinity Designer/Affinity Photo. Furthermore, please note that Publisher 2 for iPad is a V2 app, so if you’d like to work across desktop and iPad, you’ll need to also purchase Affinity Publisher 2 for Mac or Windows.

No, Version 1 is no longer available to purchase.

Yes! Anyone who owns V1 can upgrade to a V2 Universal License for 25% off. Plus, you’ll also receive a premium add-on bundle with your purchase, for free! Learn more about these upgrade offers.

For just one payment, you can get the entire Affinity suite. And when we say the entire suite, we mean it—all three apps, on all three OS (Mac, Windows and iPad).

When purchasing individual desktop apps, you will have to choose whether you want it for macOS or Windows. If you want to access multiple apps across various platforms, the most cost-effective way to do this is by purchasing a Universal License.

As a private individual you can install Affinity apps on as many devices as you own which run the operating system you have purchased a license for (of course in the case of a Universal License that means you can install on any iPads, Macs or Windows PCs you own). Other people (for example, members of your household) are also allowed to use the apps on those devices. However, only you are allowed to use the apps for commercial use—if any members of your household need to make commercial use of the apps as well they will need to purchase their own license.

For commercial enterprises, education and other multi-user situations, each license can either be assigned to an individual or a device. For example, one Windows license could be used by a single employee on both their Windows desktop and laptop computer. Alternatively, that license could be assigned to a single Windows computer which is used serially by multiple employees.

Please note, assigning of licenses is a manual process. You will need to keep track of which users or machines are using your license details to make sure you don’t exceed the number of licenses specified in your license agreement.

You can give out the license details to the required users or you can contact your account manager and ask for an affinity2.defaults file.

For more information please see our Windows, macOS or iPad license agreements.