Serif Reviews 54

Designer, Photo and Publisher, got them all and i'm very happy with all of them. There are some functions that i miss compared to Adobe Products but on the other hand, after using affinity products, its clear how much photoshop lacks an intuitive interface. affinity's UI is just so much better. and after considering that you can PAY for affinity (no stupid renting / cloud models here) i think its the far more better solution (if you can live with some restrictions (just DYOR before buying))

When i bought affinity i really thought i found an alternative to Adobe. I later found out that Affinity Designer does not have DWG nor DXF import function which is vital for my workflow. This was quite a disappointment. However, I give Serif a 2 star rating not for the lack of the functionality but for the inability to implement a function that users have been asking for, begging for, since 2015!

Life-savers: I'm struggling to understand why there are any negative reviews on here at all, bit shocked really! These guys are great; the software is amazing, what's going on? I can only conclude Adobe have been busy writing negative reviews.
If you really want awful service, useless customer service and over priced products - stick with Adobe. I have all 3 Affinity applications and used them every day. Over the last 2 years Serif have really upped the game with this triad and really tried to really raise the quality bar. There are a ton of training videos on-line (all free) so again, I’m not sure people are moaning. Keep up the great work, Affinity products rock!

I have just switched to using the Affinity suite of products after over 20 years of using only Adobe products, as I got sick of all the pointless additions to the Adobe applications, useless apps they bundle there main applications with, bugs that never get fixed and most of all the total greed of these out of touch Silicon Valley Pirates!

in the Middle of a Pandemic Adobe stick their prices up almost 50%, and Serif drop theirs by 50%.

That was the end for me, and although I have heard the Serif customer support is a bit useless ( I haven't experienced it yet so it's only what friends have told me) Compared to Adobe they seem like my kind of company.

For me I was happy with photoshop from 20 years ago, all the additions in the past 20 years, haven't made a difference to the way I work!

Well done Serif, one thing though.... PLEASE DO NOT SELL THE COMPANY TO ADOBE!!! OR ANY OTHER AMERICAN TAX DODGERS!

Purchased their software for Windows 10 but wanted to use it on a Windows 10S machine which requires downloading from the Microsoft Store. Serif were uninterested and responded with a one line email saying there's nothing they are prepared to do

Terrible technical support.
Have used Serif software for years, fortunately I've never had to deal with technical support until now.
Asked if I could change the email address my account is registered to and received a blunt answer (basically no using a few more words) from an apparent tech support named.
I then explained that I do not have access to the email address anymore as the account has been removed, domain changed and that I have just taken over this department, to which I got a response of 'as suggested before, afraid not.'

Absolute joke of a technical support and I will be finding an reputable and friendlier company to spend my money with.

The experience with Serif Support was potentially one of the worst experiences I've ever had with customer service. My problem wasn't solved and they send me to deal with Apple Support. As far as I'm concerned, Apple Support is on top of their software, while apparently Serif is not. One other thing really got me thinking is that their representative didn't bother to say 'hello' or 'thank you for the message' or 'I'm sorry to hear this'. I know this is all secondary but, if you don't know how to solve the problem, it really pays off to be polite.

The credit where the credit is due – I was a happy user of Designer since 2014 and Publish since its early days. The development of all tools was really promising, sure it had its flaws but which software doesn't? But because of this experience, I suppose it's time to hang out at Adobe Cloud again.

To begin with as much positivity as possible, AFFINITY programmes are preferable to their major competitor in that they are purchased at very reasonable price rather than paying for periodic lease. In the hands of anyone adept in their use, judging by the fulsome praise on Facebook and other venues, they are clearly powerful creative tools. However, from the viewpoint of a beginner expecting ease of use comarable to similar graphics adesign and editing applications, Photo Designer and Publisher all suffer from the 'One Size Fits All Syndrome'! All three are available in either Windows or Apple Mac version. All come with multiple 'Persona' settings. Each Persona has a vast array of tools, settings and menus. Many menus are hidden 'Dropdown from Dropdown' format. All come with bells and whistles. And with bells and whistles on most such bells and whistles. All three programmes have been repeatedly updated, leading to changes in settings. Thus, anyone installing a programme for the first time, or follwing an update, is assumed to know intuitively how to navigate a virtual 'Hall of Mirrors' labyrinth.
Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer both offer an (optional) accompanying hardcover 'Workbook'. Serif has evidently gone to great expense to produce these elegant publications. Each opens with tens of pages of 'Welcome' (Designer~71pgs, Photo~85pgs). All doubtless factually irreproachable, but totally lacking an iota of explanation. Neither context nor application intelligible to any user lacking intuitive insight is offered. Knowing what CAN be done is of very little use without finding out HOW to do it!
The 'Welcome' pages are redolent with self-congratulory 'Buzzwords'. For example(s); 'amazing''exciting''powerful''unique''copius''ideal''dynamically''comprehensive''inspiration''award-winning''impressive''wealth of''global standard' etc. Who is Serif trying to convince?
True, the 'Help' tab does offer 'Tutorials'. However, these are presented in seemingly random order. There is little or no 'Where to go Next' gradation from 'Entry Level' to 'Grand Master'. The demonstrations are usually Apple Mac expositions, and while the Windows version frequently performs the function in question somewhat differently, no emphasis is placed on this. Again, tutors seem supremely confident of their ability to install their skills in the brain of tutees, regardless of their level of prior experience. They tend to move rapidly from point to point, menu to (frequently subsidiary dropdown) menu as if to say 'Look! I know how to do it, I've shown you I can do it, now you can go and do it too!'. Space does not permit examples of attempting to follow the Workbook instructions for Designer in particular. Suffice it to say I dimly remember my (1990s) introduction to Photoshop. I was in a classroom. The tutor introduced graded exersises demonstrating the scope and capability of that very complex software. But with Affinity it seems that no such 'Entry Level' > 'Improver' > 'Expert' graduated tuition was thought necessary. What a pity. Otherwise I might not have felt the impulse to write this very negative revue! As it is, I feel like a learner glider pilot whose Fairy Godmother, with the all best intentions in the World, has turned a pumpkin into a Jumbo Jet, sat me in the pilot's seat and shouted 'You're CLEAR FOR TAKEOFF!'!

BEWARE DO NOT BUY SERIF THEY HAVE STOPPED MOVIE X6 FROM WORKING...........SCAMMERS.

I purchased Affinity Photo and I am totally satisfied with it.
It's a great product and I can now move away from Adobe!

The company is very helpful and accommodating.
Great work!

I'm new to Serif products. I hear they've changed. I purchased Affinity Photo which is a very good substitute for a certain other company's software. The one people have lost patience with as it is now subscription... I spent many days comparing images from many different programs at 200 and sometimes 400% resolution and then bought Affinity. I'm very satisfied with it. No degradation and accurate. It's also a fraction of the price of other programs.

Affinity Photo's image engine is excellent! I found no degradation of Tiff or JPG files after many changes, unlike many other alternative programs I looked at. Color seems slightly different and it's a bit slow with RAW, but I would not use the other program which-shall-not-be-named for RAW either- it did a worse job of it. I'd use Capture or DXO Raw editing programs first.

The interface isn't as slick looking as some others but after a day or two it is as easy and intuitive. I am much more image orientated than tech orientated and have problems with navigating some other image programs.

Most third party plugins I've used are compatible.

The only problem I have with the program is that Nikon's Capture NX will not recognize Tif images after processing in Affinity. This does interrupt my workflow, and hopefully Serif will fix this.

All in all it is an excellent product for the price- much better than expected and a very good substitute for that other program.

Really nicely made software! Love the workflow when you use all the software packages together. Oh and the software doesn't come with an awful Adobe subscription. Thank you, guys. Keep up the good work.

When you access the site from another country the site automatically decides that you will pay in the currency of that country BUT Stripe the payments processor of Serif cannot guarantee that you will be charged exactly what is on your invoice as they and overseas banks have yet another con which finds a way to amend the price and charge you extra ( it is always EXTRA!).

On questioning them about this practice the Company really does not seem to understand nor care that it happens and naturally blame any other third party. Now some Companies ( for example Apple) are able to guarantee the amounts charged in other currencies are exactly what is charged in other currencies. They make a special effort to ensure it.

Why ruin a perfectly good reputation for excellent software by not ensuring their payment processor ( Stripe) rope in this bad practice notwithstanding the fact that under UK Sales of Good Law it is an offense to claim something costs something but it turns out later it doesn't.

I've used Serif for years. I've used all the Plus range, from WebPlus through to the value for money PhotoPlus. I've always found the staff helpful whenever I've had to call. I now use two Affinity products, Photo and the beta Publisher. I've prepaid for the full Publisher.

Affinity Photo is superb value for money. I write articles, including for an online magazine, and it does everything I want with regards images. And more. Whilst I will continue using PagePlus for my books until I get the hang of Publisher's UI, the new DTP programme is an improvement on an already superb product.

Despite them being being old, I still use DrawPlus, even MoviePlus if I'm in a hurry.

I'm well pleased with their products. I don't recognise the poor service comments. I've always had good response, although I haven't called often. The software is excellent, even ignoring the low(ish) prices.

I take the criticism of WebPlus being withdrawn, but it did not affect me. Nothing lasts forever.

I've no connection with Serif/Affinity other than a well-satisfied customer. I've bought them all except Designer as I've got little use for vectored graphics.

Easily 5-star for me.

I started using Serif products over 10 years ago and, although I enjoyed using them for the mostpart, I found that they often "underperformed" in contradiction to their descriptions.
However, I finally gave up on Serif when, after buying a product with a "30 day Money back" guarantee, the rep I spoke to tried everything possible to refuse me and saying that I could use the money on another product...NO THANK YOU!
But worse still was the fact that about every six weeks or so, a sales rep would telephone me with the excuse of it being a "courtesy call", and then launch into "hard sell" tactics, and when i said NO, he'd start saying things like,"But if you buy this...",etc.and be very difficult to get him off the phone.
Lesson here: Do NOT supply your telephone/mobile number!

I have bought various software from them and had no problems that is till I purchased the VHS TO DVD package after installing it I can get the picture ok but no sound and now on opening up the software it tells me my trial period is up and I must purchase the complete package. I was under the impression that I had the complete package or is this a way of conning folks out of money

I have to give this company 1 star due to the REALLY poor customer experience. I was rushed off the phone by the support staff indicating to me that there is a queue behind me and I didn't even get time for them to reset the download link to my software I had purchased over the years. I had to ring back again and spoke to Steve who was really helpful and sorted my problems out however IM afraid I have to give one star due to the fact that it is an 0845 number so it would have cost me twice as much because the first support person I spoke basically was dismissive, obtuse and unhelpful. This being the case I would be careful purchasing their Affinity product if this is the after sales you can expect.

I have purchased Serif Web plus 6, 7 & 8 and I carried on with what is a pretty shabby very unstable Web design product. Why because they had a decent Tech department that did try and help albeit some very gruff and rude Techies sometime answered they did try and help.

The problem with Serif it drives along with themselves in mind and not the customer and they basically do not give a damn in the Errol Flynn style.
Take it or leave it is the name of the game.

I have just discovered that there is no longer a Tech department and that you speak to instead you log onto some website and eventually you get a garbled email which is impossible to understand.

Avoid this company like the plague I have now wasted several hundred pounds in man hours and software cost for nothing .

I am switching to Wordpress immediately.
How do Serif make money?
I think it is by mistake because they are a horrible Company.

Love their products, staff really helpful and friendly. Often had good deals on software when they call me for a review. Their web space is really cheap for the amount of space I get and have had no issues. Highly recommended.

After purchasing many programs from Serif, they now are discontinuing the products and was told they have stopped upgrading them because too many people call in for support as one of the reasons.
So BEWARE if you purchase any programs from them and they sell too many you too may not ever get any more upgrades after spending lots of time and $$ on something that may disappear once they acquire a certain amount of people and get to many support calls.