136 complaints extracted from 136 reviews of Affinity Photo between 2016-03 and 2026-02, average rating 4.57/5, grouped into the problems users report most. Each problem links to the market it belongs to and to startup ideas built on it.
The problems Affinity Photo users report
Switching from Photoshop to Affinity is hard — 40 complaints about Affinity Photo; 40 complaints across 1 product · market pageThe dominant complaint across these 40 reviews is that people moving from Photoshop to Affinity hit a wall — tools are in different places, shortcuts don't match, and workflows they built over years don't transfer cleanly. A secondary cluster of complaints is about file incompatibility: Affinity can read PSD files but can't write back to them in a way Photoshop fully respects, so text layers lose editability, smart objects break, and anyone collaborating with Adobe users is stuck. These two problems compound each other: the learning curve would be tolerable if you could still share files with clients, but you often can't.
Gap between lightweight editors and full Photoshop — 6 complaints about Affinity Photo; 47 complaints across 4 products · market pageUsers repeatedly hit a wall where their photo editor — whether a mobile app, a streamlined desktop version, or a non-Adobe alternative — is missing specific capabilities they need: masking, layers, blend modes, cloning, raw processing, chroma key, actions/automation, and serious color correction. The complaints aren't about UX friction — they're about hard feature absences. Users end up owning two or three tools just to complete a single workflow, which is inefficient and expensive.
Mobile photo editing crippled vs desktop — 5 complaints about Affinity Photo; 63 complaints across 7 products · market pageUsers across every major photo editing product hit the same wall: the mobile app is a stripped-down version of the desktop, missing layers, AI tools, and core features they depend on. Complaints range from 'the Android version has limited layers' to 'mobile app lacks AI tools compared to latest desktop versions' to 'some features are like a watered down version of the main app.' The frustration isn't that mobile editing exists — it's that it stops working exactly when someone needs it most, forcing them back to a desk.
Photoshop learning curve blocks real work — 4 complaints about Affinity Photo; 56 complaints across 3 products · market pageUsers across every skill level describe spending months on YouTube tutorials before they can do basic tasks. Complaints range from 'you cannot just open the software for the first time and get going' to 'even after 7 years, I am still learning' — suggesting the problem isn't just onboarding but ongoing discovery of capabilities people didn't know existed. The issue isn't lack of documentation; it's that learning is disconnected from the actual task someone is trying to finish right now.
Feature gaps force multi-tool workarounds — 4 complaints about Affinity Photo; 20 complaints across 4 products · market pageUsers across every tier of photo editing software constantly hit missing features that exist in a different product — animations in Photoshop, clone stamping in lighter versions, spell check nowhere, reference layers only in Procreate or Clip Studio. The recurring complaint isn't that any one tool is bad; it's that no single tool covers the full workflow, so professionals end up bouncing between Photoshop, Sketch, Illustrator, and sometimes PowerPoint just to finish a job.
Photo editing software too hard to navigate — 2 complaints about Affinity Photo; 54 complaints across 5 products · market pageUsers across every major photo editing product — from beginners to intermediate photographers — consistently hit the same wall: they can't find what they need, terminology makes no sense to them, and the layout feels built for someone who already knows it. Complaints range from 'the interface could be less confusing and have more intuitive naming conventions' to 'a lot of unknown commands should be more easily accessible via the interface' to 'streamlined options for elements in a more logical format out-of-the-box would be beneficial to first time users.' The frustration isn't with the capabilities of these tools — it's with the gap between what users want to do and how the interface lets them get there.
Photo editing software too hard to start — 2 complaints about Affinity Photo; 40 complaints across 4 products · market pageUsers across every major photo editing product describe the same experience: opening the software for the first time feels overwhelming, and figuring out how to use it 'well' versus just 'use it' is a separate, much harder problem. Complaints range from 'the learning curve is so steep it seems very daunting at first' to 'without prior experience, it can be arduous to learn' — and this pattern repeats regardless of whether the tool is an AI-first product or a professional desktop app. The gap isn't missing tutorials; it's that no guidance exists that meets users where they are based on what they're actually trying to do.
Adobe update churn breaks professional workflows — 2 complaints about Affinity Photo; 38 complaints across 3 products · market pageUsers across Photoshop and Lightroom Classic repeatedly describe the same pattern: Adobe silently moves tools, renames menu items, and changes shortcuts between versions, forcing professionals to re-learn muscle memory they spent years building. Complaints range from 'Adobe changes tool locations every year, requiring users to search for their new locations after upgrades' to 'shortcuts change and tools move, which can seriously mess with workflow.' The problem compounds on teams: someone on an older version collaborates with someone on a newer one, and files, plugins, or keyboard habits stop matching.
Learning curve blocks basic photo editing — 2 complaints about Affinity Photo; 38 complaints across 4 products · market pageUsers across every major professional photo editor — from complete beginners to people switching from simpler tools — consistently hit the same wall: too many tools, no guidance on which one to reach for, and no in-context explanation of why something works the way it does. Complaints are specific: 'the layers function has inadequate explanations,' 'it requires YouTube and a stable internet connection just to learn,' and 'it's difficult to quickly learn which tools to use for specific tasks.' The frustration isn't that these editors lack features — it's that nothing in the interface tells you which feature applies to your actual problem right now.
Photo editing menus too complex to navigate — 2 complaints about Affinity Photo; 28 complaints across 5 products · market pageUsers across every major photo editing product consistently describe menus as clunky, buried, and counterintuitive — not just for beginners but for experienced users too. Complaints range from 'features buried in submenus that were still hard to reach' to 'filter names that are counterintuitive' and 'too many functions under a pull-down menu with no efficient grouping.' The core frustration is that finding a specific tool requires either memorization or exhausting exploration, and neither scales when someone is in the middle of a creative task.
In their words
“Customer support was disappointing and never responded to our queries.”0.5/5 · 2023-11-30 · Unreachable support when software breaks
“Affinity is not at all optimized for Windows systems, as bugs and lags are commonly seen in it.”1.5/5 · 2023-11-28 · Switching from Photoshop to Affinity is hard
“The files exported from Affinity were not supported by Adobe Photoshop, making it really difficult to share our projects with other platforms.”1.5/5 · 2023-11-28 · Switching from Photoshop to Affinity is hard
“Immediate paywall. I downloaded the app and couldn't use the tool before I had to pay.”2/5 · 2021-04-29 · Paywalled features with no clear boundary
“Affinity Photo's customer support is rude at times.”2.5/5 · 2023-11-30 · Switching from Photoshop to Affinity is hard
“Some features still aren't there to make it a full replacement.”3/5 · 2018-01-02 · Mobile photo editing crippled vs desktop