Last updated: October 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson. See our review methodology.
The best Affinity Designer courses in 2026 have to deal with a change most course pages have not caught up with. In late October 2025 Canva, which bought Affinity’s maker Serif, released Affinity as one free app that combines the old Designer, Photo and Publisher tools. Designer is now the Vector studio inside that app. We checked every course below on its live page on 17 October 2026 and note which version of Affinity each one teaches.
Quick verdict
For the new free Affinity, take Affinity 3: The Complete Design Course (4.8★, 28.5 hours, updated October 2026). If you work on an iPad, you still need Affinity Designer 2 for now, so take Ultimate Affinity Designer V2 on the iPad instead.
What changed: Affinity is now one free app
Before you spend money on the wrong online course, read this.
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Affinity used to be three paid apps with a one-time price: Designer for vectors, Photo for image editing and Publisher for layout. Canva now offers a single app, free for individuals, with three studios called Vector, Pixel and Layout that work on the same file. Canva said more than one million people signed up in the first four days. You download it after signing in with a Canva account, and the optional AI tools need a Canva premium plan.
Three details matter when you pick a course:
Platforms: the new Affinity runs on Mac (Apple silicon and Intel) and Windows. Affinity’s site lists the iPad version as “coming soon”, so iPad users still rely on Affinity Designer 2.
Old versions: Serif says existing V2 licenses keep working, but the V2 apps will not get further updates.
Files: the new app opens V1 and V2 files, but V1 and V2 cannot open files saved in the new .af format. If you share files with someone on version 2, agree on a format first.
For courses, this splits the market in two. A few courses are built for the new app. Most of the highly rated ones were recorded for Affinity Designer 2. Their vector lessons still apply, because the Pen tool, shapes, boolean operations and layers work the same way, but the interface in the videos will not match yours exactly.
The picks at a glance
| Course | Teaches | Size | Rating (17 Oct 2026) | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affinity 3: The Complete Design Course | New Affinity (all studios) | 28.5 hours | 4.8 (517) | Oct 2026 |
| Affinity Designer: The Complete Guide | Designer 2 | 23.5 hours | 4.7 (5,284) | Apr 2024 |
| Affinity Designer: Solid Foundations | Designer 2 + design basics | 19 hours | 4.8 (1,901) | Dec 2023 |
| Ultimate Affinity Designer V2 on the iPad | Designer 2 for iPad | 8 hours | 4.8 (216) | Mar 2024 |
All four are on Udemy, where prices change daily and drop sharply during frequent sales.
1. Best for the new Affinity: Affinity 3: The Complete Design Course (Udemy)
Tim Wilson’s course is the most complete course we found for the free Affinity app. It covers all three studios, Vector, Pixel and Layout, across 28.5 hours and 508 lectures, from your first shapes through illustrations, posters, photo edits and multi-page brochures. It had 4.8★ from 517 ratings and 3,267 students on 17 October 2026, and it was updated in October 2026, so the screens in the videos match the app you download today.
Because the studios share one file, a course that teaches all three is more useful than it was when they were separate products. You can draw a logo in Vector, retouch a photo in Pixel and lay out the final page in Layout without exporting anything.
Best for: new users of the free Affinity, and Canva users moving to professional tools. Worth knowing: it has far fewer reviews than the version 2 courses below, simply because it is new.
2. Most complete for vector work: Affinity Designer: The Complete Guide (Udemy)
Jeremy Hazel’s course is still the most-reviewed Affinity course: 4.7★ from 5,284 ratings and 50,105 students, with 221 lectures and 23.5 hours of video covering the Pen and Pencil tools, brushes and the rest of the toolset. It was last updated in April 2024, so it teaches Affinity Designer 2, and some sections are marked V2 only.
That is fine if you already own version 2, and the vector skills transfer to the new Vector studio. If you are starting on the free app, expect to translate some menus as you go.
Best for: Designer 2 owners and anyone who wants deep vector training. Worth knowing: the same instructor released a shorter course for the new app in 2026, From Canva to Creator: Affinity Essentials, which had only 13 ratings when we checked.
3. Best for design fundamentals: Affinity Designer: Solid Foundations (Udemy)
Simon Foster’s course has the highest rating of the established courses: 4.8★ from 1,901 ratings, 9,103 students and 19 hours. Alongside the tools, it teaches what makes a design work and how real design studios handle projects, which suits people coming to design from another field. It was last updated in December 2023 and teaches version 2.
Best for: beginners who want to learn design and the tool together. Worth knowing: check the newest reviews for comments about the interface changes.
4. Best for iPad: Ultimate Affinity Designer V2 on the iPad (Udemy)
Until the new Affinity reaches the iPad, iPad users learn on Affinity Designer 2, and this is the strongest course for it. Tim Wilson, the same instructor as pick 1, covers the iPad tools over 8 hours and 165 lectures, including logos, icons, infographics and mobile app layouts. It had 4.8★ from 216 ratings when we checked and was updated in March 2024. The course lists no drawing ability as a requirement.
Best for: iPad illustrators. Worth knowing: Brad Colbow’s Vector Drawing on the iPad with Affinity Designer is also well rated (4.7, 1,702 ratings, 4.5 hours), but it was last updated in October 2019, before version 2.
What about courses that teach the whole old suite?
Jeremy Hazel’s Learn the Entire Affinity Suite: Photo, Designer & Publisher was a good way to learn all three apps when they were separate products. It has a 4.2 rating from 2,205 reviews and was last updated in September 2022, before version 2 was released, and the new app has since merged the three. For the same coverage, pick 1 is the better buy now.
How to choose an Affinity course
Match the version to your device. On a Mac or Windows PC, learn the new free Affinity, and prefer a course updated after October 2025. On an iPad, learn Designer 2 until the new app arrives there. A course for the wrong version is still usable, but you will spend time hunting for tools that have moved.
Pick by what you want to make. Logos, icons and illustration need the Vector studio. Retouching and compositing need the Pixel studio. Brochures, books and magazines need the Layout studio. A course that covers all three, like pick 1, makes sense if you want to replace a whole Adobe setup; a focused vector course is enough if you only design logos.
Prefer projects over tool tours. Check the outline for finished pieces such as a logo set, a poster or a multi-page layout. You remember tools you used to finish something far better than tools you watched someone demonstrate.
Check the update date and the newest reviews. Udemy shows when a course was last updated. Recent reviews tell you whether learners on the current app are struggling with outdated screens.
Learning the Pixel studio (formerly Affinity Photo)
Many people searching for an Affinity Photo tutorial for beginners now need the Pixel studio, which holds the old Photo tools: selections, adjustment layers, retouching brushes and masks. Pick 1 covers it as part of the full app. If photo editing is your main goal, it is also worth comparing Affinity with Lightroom and Photoshop; our photo editing courses guide covers those.
Moving from Canva to Affinity
A lot of new Affinity users are Canva users who want more control over their designs. The move is easier than it used to be, because the two now connect: you can export finished Affinity work to Canva to collaborate with teammates or build it out into a wider campaign. The learning curve is real, though. Canva hides layers, vector paths and print settings that Affinity puts in front of you, so expect a few weeks before you work faster in Affinity than in Canva.
Two practical tips from people who made the switch: install fonts on your computer rather than looking for an upload button, because Affinity uses whatever fonts your system has; and start with one small project, such as a social graphic you already made in Canva, so you can compare the two tools on something you know.
Free ways to learn Affinity
Because the software is free, it makes sense to try the free material before paying for a course. Inside the app, the Help panel has guided tips, contextual walkthroughs and built-in tutorials. Serif’s V2 learning portal still hosts quickstart guides, video tutorials and keyboard shortcut lists for Designer 2, and Serif also sold official workbooks. If you want a printable reference, the workbooks and quickstart guides are the closest thing to an official Affinity Designer tutorial PDF.
On YouTube, Affinity users often point to Artistwright, who has published long free courses for the Vector and Pixel studios, and to Elaine Giles for the Layout studio. Affinity Revolution and Logos By Nick also publish Affinity tutorials. Free videos cover the tools well; what a paid course adds is a sequence of projects and someone else’s choices about what to learn first.
Who should learn Affinity, and who should learn something else
Affinity is the obvious choice for freelancers, students, small businesses and hobbyists who want professional vector, photo and layout tools without a subscription. It is also a sensible second tool for designers who use Adobe at work and want something free at home.
It is the wrong first tool in a few cases. If you want to design apps and websites, the industry works in Figma, so learn that first. If you want motion graphics, Affinity only covers the artwork, and you will need a motion tool as well. If you are aiming for a job at an agency, check the job ads: many still list Adobe Creative Cloud by name, and a portfolio built in Affinity is fine, but you should be ready to work in Illustrator and InDesign files.
For everyone else, the learning order is simple: the Vector studio first, because it teaches shapes, paths and layers that the other studios build on; then Layout or Pixel, depending on the work you want to do.
Is Affinity a good replacement for Illustrator?
For most solo and small-studio work, yes. Affinity handles logos, icons, illustration, print and social graphics, and it now covers photo editing and page layout in the same file, which Illustrator does not. Affinity opens PSD, AI, IDML and DWG files with their layers and structure preserved, so moving existing work across is realistic.
The reasons to stay with Adobe are mostly about teams and clients: shared Creative Cloud libraries, agency workflows built around Adobe files, and some plugins. If an employer or client requires Illustrator, learn it; our photo editing courses guide covers the Adobe side of image work. If you are freelancing or learning for yourself, the free price makes Affinity hard to argue against.
A common worry since the Canva purchase is that a subscription will follow. Canva’s own statement says it makes money from optional premium features and AI tools rather than from the core app, and that your Affinity files are stored on your device and are not used to train its AI. That is a stated policy, not a guarantee, but it is the clearest answer available.
Can you animate in Affinity?
Affinity is a still-image tool. Its own suggestion is to design in Affinity and animate in Cavalry, a separate motion design app that imports Affinity files. If animation is your goal, learn Affinity for the artwork and plan a separate course for motion design.
How we chose
We loaded each course page on 17 October 2026 and recorded its rating, number of ratings, hours and last update, and we read Affinity’s and Serif’s own pages to confirm what changed in the software. Because the app changed so recently, we weighed recency more heavily than usual: the course built for the new app leads despite having fewer reviews, and every version 2 course is labeled as such. Related reading: our product design courses guide.
Related guides: UX design courses for app and web design, and our best online courses hub.
Frequently asked questions
Is Affinity Designer free now?
Yes. Since late October 2025, Canva has offered Affinity as one free app for individuals that combines the old Designer, Photo and Publisher tools as Vector, Pixel and Layout studios. It runs on Mac and Windows; the iPad version is listed as coming soon. Optional AI tools need a Canva premium plan.
What is the best Affinity Designer course?
For the new free Affinity, Tim Wilson’s Affinity 3: The Complete Design Course on Udemy (4.8 from 517 ratings, 28.5 hours, updated October 2026). For pure vector skills, Jeremy Hazel’s Affinity Designer: The Complete Guide is still the most-reviewed course, but it was recorded for version 2.
Do Affinity Designer 2 courses still work with the new Affinity?
Mostly. The vector tools, the Pen tool and the layer logic carry over to the Vector studio, so the design skills transfer. Panels and menus have moved, and anything about switching between separate apps no longer applies because the studios now live in one file.
Can I still use Affinity Designer 2?
Yes. Serif says existing V2 licenses remain valid and its activation servers stay online, but the V2 apps will not receive future updates. The new Affinity can open V1 and V2 files, while V1 and V2 cannot open files saved in the new .af format.
How do I learn Affinity Designer for free?
Start with the guided tips and tutorials inside the app’s Help panel, then a free long-form YouTube course such as Artistwright’s. Serif’s V2 learning portal still hosts quickstart guides and video tutorials. Paid courses are worth it when you want a structured project path.
How much does Affinity cost?
The app itself is free for individuals; you sign in with a free Canva account to download it. You only pay if you want Canva’s premium AI tools inside Affinity, which come with a Canva premium plan. Enterprise licensing is sold separately.
What is the difference between Affinity Designer 2 and the new Affinity?
Affinity Designer 2 is a separate, paid vector app that no longer receives updates. The new Affinity is one free app that includes the same kind of vector tools as its Vector studio, plus Pixel and Layout studios in the same file, and optional Canva AI tools.
Can you animate in Affinity Designer?
Not in a meaningful way. Affinity’s own suggestion is to design in Affinity and animate in Cavalry, a separate motion design app that imports Affinity files directly.
Is Affinity a real alternative to Adobe Illustrator?
For most freelance and small-studio work, yes: logos, illustration, icons, print layouts and social graphics. Affinity opens PSD, AI and IDML files with layers preserved. The gaps are team workflows built around Creative Cloud and some plugin ecosystems.