If you’re tired of Adobe’s subscription costs, you can now try the Affinity creative suite for free for six months on Mac, Windows and iPad.

Serif, the software developer behind the Affinity creative suite, is increasing the pressure on Adobe. It is offering some of its solutions free of charge for six months. Specifically, it is:

• Affinity Photo (Mac, Windows and iPad)
• Affinity Designer (Mac, Windows and iPad)
• Affinity Publisher (Mac, Windows and iPad)

Unlike Adobe, Serif does not work with a monthly subscription. Each part costs 74.99 euros or you pay a one-off fee of 179.99 euros for the entire suite. These prices include VAT. During this period there is even a promotion where you can get 50 percent off the standard price.

By extending the trial period from several weeks to six months, the manufacturer wants to convince creative professionals to switch from monthly subscription costs to Adobe to a one-time license fee.

“One of the things we hear from potential customers is that they value being able to use Affinity alongside their existing software over a longer period of time, getting used to the differences and adapting their working methods,” says the company behind Affinity.

“That’s why we say ‘Try everything and pay nothing’ because we understand that this can be a big step towards change, especially for busy professionals.”

Serif stresses that there is no commitment after the trial period. If you don’t like it or miss certain features of Adobe CC, you can continue working with the tools you’ve always used.

Affinity has been owned by Canva since the end of March. With the takeover, the latter wants to convince not only knowledge workers without design training, but also professional designers. These one-time licenses will also remain under the new management. Both companies sent out a joint statement promising that Affinity users will not be pressured into a subscription.