Adobe Photoshop dominates professional workflows with superior AI tools, extensive plugin ecosystems, and cloud integration, while Affinity Photo offers a one-time $70 purchase model with non-destructive editing and lower total cost of ownership for users who don't need subscription commitments.
Adobe Photoshop vs Affinity Photo — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Professional image editing software with advanced retouching, compositing, and design capabilities.
One-time purchase photo editor emphasizing non-destructive editing and fast performance on large files.
Pricing Model. Annual Cost (5-year commitment). AI Features (Generative Fill, Object Selection). Plugin Ecosystem. Cloud Integration & Collaboration. Non-Destructive Editing. Desktop File Size Performance
Choose Adobe Photoshop if you're a professional photographer, designer, or creative agency that benefits from advanced AI tools, extensive plugin options, cloud collaboration, and ongoing feature updates. Choose Affinity Photo if you prefer a one-time purchase model, need fast non-destructive editing on large files, want to avoid subscription commitments, and don't heavily rely on AI-powered features or third-party integrations.
Adobe Photoshop: 12+ AI tools | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 100% (adjustment layers, smart objects, masks) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 90% of design professionals | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 25 million active users | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 4000+ MB optimized | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $281.88/year | Affinity Photo: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Standard Plan)
Adobe Photoshop: $19.99/month | Affinity Photo: N/A
Annual Subscription Cost (Standard Plan)
Adobe Photoshop: $239.88/year | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 500+ advanced tools | Affinity Photo: N/A
Typical Learning Time (Beginner to Productive)
Adobe Photoshop: 40+ hours | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 90%+ of design agencies, studios, freelancers | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 7 (Generative Fill, Super Resolution, Generative Expand, etc.) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 100-200 hours | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $22.49 | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 50-100 (with scripts) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 500-2000 (PSD) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 70% (requires workarounds) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 300,000 x 300,000 | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: ~500 templates | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 60+ hours | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Via third-party plugins/subscriptions | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (300+ camera profiles) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $239.88 | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes, desktop app | Affinity Photo: N/A
File Size Handling (optimal performance)
Adobe Photoshop: Handles 2000+ MB efficiently | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 100 Firefly credits | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes, full 3D and video timeline | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $20.99/month | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $251.88/year | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 4+ (Generative Fill, Firefly, Content-Aware, Super Resolution) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (full support) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full (adjustment layers, smart objects) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 75,000+ | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full (NVIDIA, AMD, Apple Metal) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8/10 | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $251.88 | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 10,000+ | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8 seconds | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 200+ | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 100GB | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Windows, macOS, iPad, Web | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Firefly (Generative Fill, Super Resolution, removal tools) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $378/year | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Minimal (third-party required) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 50-100+ hours | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (extensive RAW editing) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Limited (cloud sync only) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Unlimited (print-ready) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (Windows/Mac only) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Extensive (unlimited layers, advanced masks) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 40-60 hours | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Unlimited | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 20+ formats (PSD, TIFF, RAW, HEIF, WebP, PNG, JPG, PDF, SVG) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 7 days | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8+ tools (Generative Fill, Super Resolution, Remove, Generative Expand, etc.) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (CUDA, OpenCL, Metal) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Processing Speed (1GB file, typical operation)
Adobe Photoshop: 2-4 seconds | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 40+ formats (PSD, JPEG, PNG, HEIF, WebP, AVIF, PDF, SVG) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8 GB | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Stock integration (millions via Adobe Stock) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Desktop application (offline capable) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $31.49/month | Affinity Photo: $0 (one-time $69.99)
Adobe Photoshop: ~500 built-in templates | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 2GB (requires Creative Cloud) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Stock via Adobe Stock (requires separate subscription) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Adobe Fonts library (240,000+ via subscription) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Advanced: layers, masks, curves, healing brush, content-aware fill | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Used by 90% of professional designers/photographers | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Minimal (0-100) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8-12 weeks | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8+ (Generative Fill, Super Resolution, AI Upscaler, Neural Filters) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full 1px-level control across 1000+ tools | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full (100% functionality) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Estimated 15+ million | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8 GB recommended | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $9.99 (single app) / $55 (full Creative Cloud) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Unlimited with plugins; native support requires 3rd-party tools | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 12-15 seconds on standard hardware | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full offline editing with all tools available | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: No (native); requires external plugins or manual versioning | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 9.5/10 - industry-leading Content-Aware Fill, Generative Fill, Neural Filters | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 6.5/10 - possible but requires workarounds for design systems | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 80-120 hours | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 500-2000+ MB per complex project | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 120-180 minutes (manual or scripting) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Via Smart Objects/plugins (requires extra steps) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 20+ (Magic Wand, Select Subject, Refine Edge, Content-Aware) | Affinity Photo: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Not available | Affinity Photo: $69.99
Adobe Photoshop: $900 (single app) / $1,800 (Creative Cloud) | Affinity Photo: $69.99
Adobe Photoshop: Generative Fill, Object Selection, Super Resolution, Neural Filters (8+ AI tools) | Affinity Photo: Basic Liquify, Content-Aware Fill (2 AI tools)
Adobe Photoshop: 15,000+ plugins available | Affinity Photo: 500+ plugins available
Large File Processing Speed (800MB file)
Adobe Photoshop: 45-60 seconds | Affinity Photo: 28-35 seconds
Adobe Photoshop: Limited (Smart Objects, adjustment layers require workarounds) | Affinity Photo: Full (native non-destructive by default with live adjustment stacks)
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (Adobe Cloud + shared projects) | Affinity Photo: No (file-based sharing only)
How to choose between Adobe Photoshop and Affinity Photo
Compare Adobe Photoshop vs Affinity Photo
Adobe Photoshop vs Affinity Photo — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Adobe Photoshop vs Affinity Photo. Contains 95 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Adobe Photoshop vs Affinity Photo — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Adobe Photoshop vs Affinity Photo.
Can I use Affinity Photo to replace Photoshop professionally?
Yes, for photography retouching, digital art, and graphic design Affinity Photo is fully capable. However, if your workflow depends on AI tools like Generative Fill, extensive third-party plugins, or real-time team collaboration, Photoshop remains superior. Affinity Photo is professional-grade but best suited for independent practitioners, not agencies requiring heavy plugin ecosystems.
Is Photoshop worth $120+/year when Affinity Photo costs $70 once?
It depends on usage. For professional photographers using AI tools and plugins, Photoshop's features justify the cost ($3-5 per day). For hobbyists or retouchers who use non-destructive editing, Affinity Photo's one-time payment saves approximately $600+ over 5 years. Calculate your actual plugin/AI tool needs before deciding.
Does Affinity Photo support PSD files and Photoshop plugins?
Affinity Photo fully opens and edits PSD files (Photoshop's native format) and is backward compatible. However, it does not support Photoshop plugins—you cannot use the 15,000+ third-party plugins designed for Photoshop. This is a significant limitation for workflows requiring specialized filters or tools.
Which software is faster for editing large files?
Affinity Photo is 35-40% faster on large files (200-800MB+) due to optimized memory management and non-destructive architecture. Photoshop can struggle with files exceeding 500MB on standard hardware, making Affinity Photo the better choice for high-resolution photography (100MP+ cameras) or extensive layer stacks.
Can I collaborate with team members on projects in both apps?
Adobe Photoshop offers robust real-time collaboration through Creative Cloud, allowing multiple users to edit simultaneously. Affinity Photo lacks native collaboration features and requires manual file sharing, making it unsuitable for team environments. This is one of Photoshop's biggest advantages for agencies.
How to Choose Between Adobe Photoshop and Affinity Photo
Pricing Model: Adobe Photoshop has $9.99/month or $19.99/month (Creative Cloud), while Affinity Photo has $69.99 one-time purchase (perpetual license).
Consider: Annual Cost (5-year commitment)
Annual Cost (5-year commitment): Adobe Photoshop has $600-1,200 over 5 years, while Affinity Photo has $69.99 total (one payment).
Consider: AI Features (Generative Fill, Object Selection)
AI Features (Generative Fill, Object Selection): Adobe Photoshop has Advanced proprietary AI tools included with subscription, while Affinity Photo has Basic AI tools; limited generative capabilities.
Plugin Ecosystem: Adobe Photoshop has 15,000+ third-party plugins available, while Affinity Photo has 500+ plugins available.
Consider: Cloud Integration & Collaboration
Cloud Integration & Collaboration: Adobe Photoshop has Full cloud sync, shared projects, team collaboration, while Affinity Photo has Limited cloud features; minimal team collaboration.
Non-Destructive Editing: Adobe Photoshop has Limited non-destructive features; destructive by default, while Affinity Photo has Non-destructive editing as core workflow.
Desktop File Size Performance: Adobe Photoshop has 100MB+ file sizes may slow on standard hardware, while Affinity Photo has Optimized for large files; faster processing on mid-range PCs.