Serif Reviews 54

I worked with InDesign for years. I got used to the bugs, the freezes, the dialogs that look like they were designed in 2003… and of course, the never-ending subscription just to keep using what I already knew. Then I discovered Affinity Publisher — and everything changed.

It’s hard to describe what Publisher represents without sounding exaggerated. But I’ll try: it feels as light and intuitive as Canva, yet as powerful and professional as any serious design software should be. The interface is smooth, modern, and distraction-free. Smart guides work better than anything I’ve seen in InDesign. And the StudioLink integration with Designer and Photo? Pure magic. I can edit vectors and images inside the document, no exporting, no switching apps. Clean, direct, elegant.

The most amazing part? It costs a fraction. If it cost ten times more, I’d still gladly pay — and I’d still be saving compared to a single year of Adobe. No subscription. No nonsense. No updates that break my workflow. Affinity Publisher gave me back something I didn’t realize I’d lost: the joy of designing.

Serif didn’t just create an alternative. They set a new standard. A piece of software that respects my time, my budget, and my freedom — and does so with excellence.

If you’re still clinging to the idea that “Adobe is irreplaceable,” try Affinity for a week. Chances are, you’ll wonder — like I did — why you waited so long.

Looking for an alternative to Adobe and their super prohibitive price/subscription model, I started using the Affinity suite about 4 years ago.

Being stuck with v1, I didn't feel the need to upgrade.

But with the BLK week offer (-50%) I was very tempted to do so.

However, the payment attempts never went through.

I made more than 20 attempts with different cards from different banks.

All of them had sufficient funds and had been used for all sorts of transactions before without any problem.

But the system kept blocking the attempts every time.

Tried to contact support, forced to do it on FB first (seriously?!) and then via an email provided in the FB reply.

Took them more than 2 working days to come up with a lousy "problem is on your end, contact your bank".

The 3rd party provider Serif is using to distribute their software, Digital River, seems to have some bad press.

A quick search on Trust Pilot indicates that they boast an impressive 88% of 1* reviews.

So we can safely assume that they have a high dispute rate and that's why the attempted payment is automatically flagged as fraudulent, right?

So maybe this is something that the decision makers at Serif should look into.

Because ultimately it is hurting their business.

Thus I will not be upgrading to v2 and will probably end up going back to the Adobe suite with their super annoying subscription model and prohibitive pricing.

But it seems they can handle a payment attempt at least...

Was in search of Adobe alternative and went for Affinity Photo 2 as a replacement of PS, it does everything I need. Only downside is obviously lack of tutorials compared to PS, but it will only improve over time I guess.

Moving from Adobe to Affinity has been very good for me. For less money than the new keyboard I ordered I get lifetime access to something with the same capabilities as Photoshop. I paid only $32 with their flash deal and an added discount code someone gave me. Payment went through and I activated my license without a hitch. Takes a bit of getting used to from Photoshop and a few things might need a slight workaround, but I actually have a receipt to show that I *own* something. Feels much better than buying a rental period for some bloated software from a company being sued for anti-consumer practices.

STEVEN RESPONDED QUICKLY TO MY CONCERN AND HIS ADVICE WORKED! I WAS WORRIED THAT I WOULD MISS MY DEADLINE BUT STEVEN'S ADVICE GOT ME MOVING AGAIN, PHEW!!
THANKS STEVEN AND THANKS TO SERIF AFFINITY FOR HAVING A SYSTEM IN PLACE THAT RESOLVES PROBLEMS.

Quick response providing me with a registering code number so I could continue using my old
DrawPlus program. Will consider using new Affinity products in the future.

Needed to get the access code for my package as old laptop had terminally failed. Got a reply very quickly so I could re-open the software. Very happy with service!

I've been happily using Affinity Designer 2 for some time so I had to take advantage of the Black Friday Offer and go for the Universal Licence. The trouble was, my payment wouldn't go through. I kept getting an error message so after a few attempts I contacted Serif's Customer Support. Steven S. - yes, I will name him because I believe in giving credit where credit is due - was so incredibly patient and persistent that after a few messages back and forth I was confident that a solution would be found and that Steven would not give up on me. And sure enough, he resolved the issue for me and I'm downloading the full product range for Mac and iPad, as I type.

There are always going to be technical issues, I understand that. Any company can look great when everything goes right, but the true test comes when things go wrong. If all of Serif's team are as proactive and keen to help as Steven S. is, then they have nothing but more success and more happy customers to look forward to.

And one more thing, now that I'm here... I see comments and reviews from people complaining that Affinity's products aren't just cheaper carbon copies of the Adobe classics. Well, come on people, what do you seriously expect? I've been using Adobe products for many years and feel that for me, the cost is now too high, especially when there are great alternatives on the market.

But what some people forget is that no-one is born with the native knowledge of how to use PS and Illustrator, so yes, you have to take the time and effort to learn new products - just like you had to learn how to use Adobe’s products. But it's never been easier to do, with so many online resources and tutorials. The Affinity products are awesome value and will surely only get better with time and development. So quit complaining and get some skills!

Was offered as a customer a discounted Black Friday offer. Tried to purchase using serif on line and it failed despite several attempts with a message stating in red system not available. Tried again next day same error. Wrote a complaint despite stating that I would receive a response in 24 hours nothing back at all. Dreadful service. Filled in online request re the issue no response I think it was to the complaints email address. Serifs reply can’t find it. Wow wonderful system. Can’t reply to email fantastic. Sent email to address provided under contact details.

. I followed your website instructions ticket number Services
[Ticket #929763] after second email

I wish Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo worked without bugs. But that is not the case. I went for Gimp for now. It has always been rock solid. I'll try the Affinity apps again maybe after few months if they work then.

There 's a big learning-curve with the user interface, because it's very different from its competitors Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. It's way less intuitive on many levels. But this isn't Adobe. Once you do get the hang of it, it's pretty good!
The ecosystem between all three apps is at Apple class level. I love switching back and forth between Photo and Designer when working with vector and pixel graphics on the same project.
The value you get for the money is generous. Unlike Adobe, there's no subscription with astronomical prices. HOWEVER, if you're buying an universal license trough the App Store, be prepared that you might need to contact their email support to get help accessing your license. I luckily got help in less than 12 hours on the weekend, but the proccess of activating my license was anything but intuitive.

I used PS for many years but I did want to pay the subscription fee which is very expensive. I was advised Affinity Photo by a friend which had one time fee and war reasonnably cheap.

I found the software clumbersome, not user friendly at all. After 3 years I am still confused on how to use it.

Was a cheap option years ago. Today it's just expensive with a ton of bugs and clunky usability. Even using it semi professionally is just a pain. I am sorry for the money I invested in the company and the products.
I'll stick to the Adobe Cloud in the future.

I have used Affinity (Serif) software for a number of years now and have found its scope beyond my capabilities at times, however I have thoroughly enjoyed wrestling with it and have ultimately found it to be so rewarding. In short, it's a great suite of software!

Consequently, I was disappointed and worried when my purchase of the Affinity V2 Universal Licence didn't result in my being able to install the new application. That was three days ago.

I have read some rather upsetting reviews regarding this matter. However, I for one am going to stick with Affinity ( I can still use V1), and will wait until the matter is resolved. I have no idea what the problem is, but would rather Serif/Affinity devoted all their efforts to resolving the matter than replying to me.

I hope and trust from past experience my faith in the company will be rewrded with a resolution of the problem.

Sincerely,

Peter Sharp

So, on the 10th of Nov. 2022 we bought the Affinity bundle, and it delivered nothing to us. We wrote several emails to support, asked questions on their YouTube channel, and they greeted us with stupid, braindead answers. They did not even answer some mails. How can they make an offer for the new bundle but cannot deliver? Those people are morons in actions. So we bought the Adobe bundle instead. It was available IMMEDIATELY. Yes, Adobe is more expensive, but it remains the cherry on the top. Adobe never disappoint and offer so much more. Bye-bye Affinity!

I just purchased Photo and Designer in September, and without warning, in early November they released a version 2. I came from Adobe Cloud on their promise of pay only once, but in less than 2 months of barely using it, the software I bough will never be updated again. Meaning if Apple breaks it with an OS update I'm left with nothing.

I paid a total of SGD147.42, not even managing to use both of the coupons they sent me after my trial finished. Now they want $119.96 to upgrade after what they call a "big" discount. This big discount only rewards newcomers, somehow I'm punished for being early 2 months.

On social media people were saying that people who bought within 90 days were getting a free upgrade. I wrote them and was given instead a 20% off coupon. This is off the discounted price, not the original price, so it's just a further reduction of $24. So I'm still looking at $95.96 for continued support.

Serif fails to grasp that there is a huge shortcoming with their software: it’s not the industry standard. Already I have to grapple with still needing to work with and share files in Adobe formats. Given this experience, I’m not giving a cent more to them and returning to Adobe.

My response to Serif's response: Still missing my point. I purchased your software precisely to avoid repaying. Your "generous" discounts do nothing for me, since you raised the prices anyway, and I'm asked to pay 65% more after less than 2 months. Of course you have to make money, don't insult my intelligence. I happily gave you money, duh! But is your upgrade policy fair? It should be free updates for all customers who purchased v1 in the last 3 months. You were collecting money for v1 while secretly plotting the release of v2. My problem is now my software is no longer supported and can stop working at any time. You're penalising customers who forked out money just a short few months earlier.

Poor customer service from Head Office, contact by email and social media ignored, workbook for Affinity Photo does not correspond with the software, so is useless. Issues with signing in to account on more than one occassion in the past. I thought Affinity would be a less expensive alternative to Lightroom and Photoshop but for beginners, even they are easier to learn than Affinity. I contacted Serif HQ by email and didn't even receive an apology for the lousy service received since I signed up with them. Only received a very dismissive and unhelpful response from them, they clearly don't care about their customers or sadly, their own reputation. They're only interested in taking your money.

The company refuses to give me a refund even though I barely used the software and have no need of it. Not even a partial refund. Very unfortunate. Poor customer service.

I've been using Serif software for almost as long as I've had the Internet. I was a bit upset when they discontinued their website design program, and wasn't sure how I would take to the new graphic design and publishing programmes, but I love them!

Compared to other companies, their software is more affordable and very powerful. I'm still learning, but have no complaints so far.

I love the look of the Affinity products, they look more professional than their Page Plus, Photo Plus, etc predecessors. Other than the odd photo enhancement I haven't really done anything useful with any of them in almost a year of owning the products. The reason is that I'm a long term (10+ years) user of Page Plus, and everything familiar in this has been thrown out. I tried putting my monthly magazine together using Designer but in the end I gave up as I was looking up how to do quite literally everything, even the simplest task such as adding columns to a page. If you have no experience with anything else and have the time to teach yourself how to use it then you will probably love Designer, Photo etc. In this case, previous experience is a distinct disadvantage, hence why the products have hardly been used.