Krita vs Affinity by Canva
Both are alternatives to Adobe Photoshop. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Affinity by Canva vs Krita — same comparison, one verdict.
Krita is open source (GPL-3.0-only) and Affinity by Canva is not (Proprietary (free)) — so the real question is whether you want to own the image editing stack or rent it.
Krita
A professional open-source studio for digital painting that doubles as a capable image editor.
Krita is a KDE project stewarded by the Krita Foundation, built first for digital painting and illustration: its brush engines, pen-tablet support, and animation tools are best-in-class among free software. It is also a genuinely capable general raster editor with layers, masks, filters, and PSD import/export, which makes it the strongest pick for people who use Photoshop mainly to draw and paint rather than to retouch photos. The direct download is completely free; identical GPL-licensed builds are sold on Steam and the Microsoft, Epic, and Mac App Stores purely to fund development.
Affinity by Canva
The full pro suite — pixel, vector, and layout — now genuinely free.
Affinity was the classic one-time-purchase Photoshop rival; after Canva's acquisition it was relaunched in late 2025 as a single free desktop app combining what used to be Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher — full pixel, vector, and layout studios with no feature limits or subscription. It's closed-source and needs a Canva account to activate (it works offline afterwards), and Canva's AI extras are the paid upsell. For someone who wants professional-grade Photoshop power without a subscription and without open-source trade-offs, this is now the strongest commercial answer.
Side by side
10 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.
| Krita | Affinity by Canva | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 96 | 42 |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Local-first data | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0-only | Proprietary (free) |
| Pricing | Free download; optional paid store builds fund development | Free (all pixel/vector/layout tools); Canva premium plans unlock the AI features |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 8 GB for large canvases at print resolution | — |
| Realistic running costWhat the box costs each month if you run it yourself. | $0 — it runs on the machine you already own | — |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 20 minutes | — |
| Ongoing maintenanceThe part nobody budgets for. | None beyond updates. | — |
Krita edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Weighing both against staying on Adobe Photoshop? Is Adobe Photoshop free? What it actually costs →
Krita
Strengths
- +Free and open-source (GPL-3.0-only), developed by the Krita Foundation with a steady, funded release cadence
- +Best-in-class brush engines, tablet support, and painting workflow
- +Solid layer, mask, and filter tools for general raster work; opens and exports PSD
- +Cross-platform — Windows, macOS, Linux, and an Android/ChromeOS build
Trade-offs
- −Painting-first by design — photo retouching and selection tools are shallower than Photoshop's or GIMP's
- −PSD round-trips can lose advanced Photoshop-specific features
- −No built-in generative AI features
- −Large canvases with many layers want plenty of RAM
Affinity by Canva
Strengths
- +Professional-grade suite, genuinely free — no feature gates
- +Pixel, vector, and page layout in one app
- +Works offline after activation; native macOS and Windows
Trade-offs
- −Closed-source; requires a Canva account to activate
- −Long-term direction now depends on Canva
- −iPad version still catching up
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Krita
if you want the source and the option to fork it, and you would rather run it on your own hardware, and free and open-source (GPL-3.0-only), developed by the Krita Foundation with a steady, funded release cadence.
Choose Affinity by Canva
if professional-grade suite, genuinely free — no feature gates.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — painting-first by design — photo retouching and selection tools are shallower than Photoshop's or GIMP's, and closed-source; requires a Canva account to activate. If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.
What it takes to run these yourself
Real requirements and honest running costs, not the vendor quickstart.
Krita vs Affinity by Canva — common questions
Is Krita a better fit than Affinity by Canva for image editing?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Krita scores 96 to Affinity by Canva's 42 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Affinity by Canva earns its place on a different axis — professional-grade suite, genuinely free — no feature gates. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Krita keeps its data local or in open formats, so leaving is an export rather than a negotiation. Affinity by Canva keeps your data on its own infrastructure, which is the part to plan for: confirm the export path before you commit, not when you are already trying to leave.
Can I self-host Krita?
Krita can be self-hosted; Affinity by Canva cannot, so it stays on the vendor's infrastructure whatever you do.
Are Krita and Affinity by Canva both alternatives to Adobe Photoshop?
Yes — both appear in our Adobe Photoshop comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Adobe Photoshop and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-07-06. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.