Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer is a professional-grade vector graphics software providing a fast, precise, and subscription-free solution for creating complex illustrations, branding, icons, UI designs, and high-quality typography on multiple platforms.
Storyboard That
Storyboard That is an intuitive online storyboard creator that helps you create visual narratives, graphic organizers, and educational resources through a massive library of customizable characters and scenes.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Affinity Designer | Storyboard That |
|---|---|---|
| Website | serif.com | storyboardthat.com |
| Pricing Model | One_time | Freemium |
| Starting Price | $99/month | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 30 days free trial | ✓ 14 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✘ No product demo | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 1987 | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Nottingham, UK | Chicago, USA |
Overview
Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer gives you a powerful, lag-free environment for creating professional vector art and complex illustrations. You can switch instantly between vector and raster workspaces, allowing you to add texture and brushwork to your clean paths without changing applications. Whether you are working on branding, icons, or expansive concept art, the engine handles thousands of objects with zero lag and provides live previews of every adjustment you make.
You can manage your entire creative workflow on Windows, macOS, or iPad with full file compatibility across all devices. The software is built to handle massive documents and offers advanced typography controls, professional color space support, and unlimited artboards. Because it requires no subscription, you own the software outright and can focus on your creative output without worrying about recurring monthly costs.
Storyboard That
Storyboard That is a versatile visual communication tool that helps you transform ideas into engaging storyboards, comics, and graphic organizers. Whether you are a teacher creating lesson plans, a student working on a project, or a business professional mapping out a user journey, the platform provides a drag-and-drop interface that requires no artistic skill. You can choose from thousands of customizable characters, scenes, and props to build your narrative visually.
The platform simplifies the storytelling process by providing pre-made templates and a flexible canvas. You can easily export your creations to PowerPoint, social media, or high-resolution PDFs for presentations and classroom handouts. It serves as a bridge between text-heavy information and visual understanding, making complex concepts easier to grasp for any audience.
Overview
Affinity Designer Features
- Vector-Raster Hybrid Switch between vector and pixel personas instantly to add organic textures and shading to your scalable vector illustrations.
- Live Performance Pan and zoom at 60fps while viewing live previews of transforms, blends, and effects even on massive, complex documents.
- Unlimited Artboards Organize all your screens, pages, and branding elements in a single project with customizable artboards of any size.
- Advanced Typography Control your text with full OpenType support, allowing you to adjust kerning, tracking, and ligatures for professional layouts.
- Precision Grids Set up complex isometric, functional, or fixed-angle grids to ensure your icons and UI elements are pixel-perfect.
- Non-Destructive Editing Apply adjustment layers, effects, and live filters that you can tweak or remove at any time without damaging pixels.
Storyboard That Features
- Extensive Art Library. Access thousands of customizable characters, scenes, and items to build any setting or scenario you can imagine.
- Drag-and-Drop Creator. Build your storyboards quickly by dragging elements onto the canvas—no drawing skills or technical expertise required.
- Custom Character Posing. Change facial expressions, limb positions, and clothing colors to make your characters match your specific narrative needs.
- Graphic Organizer Templates. Use pre-built layouts for Venn diagrams, T-charts, and flowcharts to organize your thoughts and data visually.
- Flexible Export Options. Download your finished work as high-resolution images, multi-page PDFs, or ready-to-use PowerPoint presentations for your team.
- Real-Time Collaboration. Work together with your students or colleagues on the same project to brainstorm and refine visual stories.
Pricing Comparison
Affinity Designer Pricing
- One-time payment only
- Full professional feature set
- No subscription required
- Free version updates
- Choice of macOS or Windows
- Professional color support
- Everything in Single License, plus:
- Access on macOS, Windows, and iPad
- Includes Affinity Photo 2
- Includes Affinity Publisher 2
- Cross-platform file compatibility
- Commercial use license
Storyboard That Pricing
- 2 storyboards per week
- 3 or 6 cell layouts
- Standard art library access
- Watermarked exports
- Personal use only
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited storyboard creation
- Over 100 different layouts
- Upload your own images
- No watermarks on exports
- Privacy controls for your work
Pros & Cons
Affinity Designer
Pros
- One-time purchase eliminates expensive monthly subscription costs
- Incredibly fast performance even with thousands of objects
- Seamless switching between vector and raster editing modes
- Excellent iPad app offers a full desktop-class experience
Cons
- Lacks some specialized AI-driven automation tools
- Missing a dedicated vector tracing/auto-trace feature
- Industry standard file formats occasionally require manual cleanup
Storyboard That
Pros
- Massive library of diverse characters and scenes
- Extremely easy for non-artists to use
- Excellent variety of educational and business templates
- Flexible posing options for characters add realism
Cons
- Free version has strict weekly creation limits
- Interface can feel slightly dated to some
- Watermarks on free exports are quite prominent