Software Alternatives & Startups

Affinity Designer VS PRO Elements

Compare Affinity Designer VS PRO Elements and see what are their differences

Affinity Designer

Professional creative software, exclusively for Mac.

Affinity Designer Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
PRO Elements

Free WordPress plugin that enables PRO features in Elementor

PRO Elements Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Affinity Designer should be more popular than PRO Elements. It has been mentioned 47 times since March 2021.

social mentions
47 vs 8
Graphic Design Software popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 2

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Affinity Designer
PRO
PRO Elements
Website affinity.serif.com proelements.org
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Affinity Designer 7 features
PRO
PRO Elements 4 features
  • Cost
    Affinity Designer is a one-time purchase, which is significantly cheaper in the long run compared to popular subscription-based alternatives like Adobe Illustrator.
  • Performance
    Affinity Designer is known for its smooth performance and stability, even when working with large files or complex designs.
  • Cross-platform compatibility
    The software is available on both macOS, Windows, and iPad, allowing for a seamless experience across different devices.
  • User Interface
    Affinity Designer features a modern, intuitive, and highly customizable user interface, making it easier for both new and experienced users to adapt.
  • Advanced Vector Tools
    Offers a wide range of vector editing tools, which are on par with industry standards, making it a powerful tool for professional designers.
  • Regular Updates
    Serif, the company behind Affinity Designer, frequently releases updates that add new features and improve performance.
  • Seamless Integration
    Affinity Designer offers seamless integration with other Affinity products such as Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher, enhancing overall workflow.

Possible disadvantages

  • Learning Curve
    New users, especially those transitioning from Adobe products, might find the interface and tools slightly unfamiliar, leading to a learning curve.
  • Limited Third-party Plugin Support
    Affinity Designer has limited support for third-party plugins compared to Adobe Illustrator, which can restrict additional functionalities.
  • Community and Resources
    While growing, the community and available resources for Affinity Designer are not as extensive as those for more established software like Adobe Illustrator.
  • Lack of Cloud-based Features
    Affinity Designer does not offer built-in cloud storage or cloud-based collaboration features, unlike some other industry-leading design software.
  • Interoperability with Adobe Files
    Although it offers some compatibility, Affinity Designer may struggle with fully maintaining formatting and layers when importing/exporting Adobe Illustrator (AI) files.
  • Extensive Features
    PRO Elements offers a wide range of features including advanced design capabilities, allowing for detailed customization of web design projects.
  • Seamless Integration
    The platform integrates smoothly with Elementor, enhancing the capabilities of one of the most popular WordPress page builders.
  • Regular Updates
    PRO Elements is regularly updated with new features, bug fixes, and security improvements, ensuring that users have access to the latest tools.
  • High-Quality Support
    Users have access to responsive and knowledgeable customer support, helping to resolve any issues quickly.

Possible disadvantages

  • Cost
    PRO Elements may have a higher price point than some competitors, which could be a barrier for small businesses or freelancers with limited budgets.
  • Learning Curve
    Because of its extensive features, new users might find it challenging to learn and may require time to get accustomed to all functionalities.
  • Dependency on Elementor
    Since it integrates with Elementor, users are dependent on having Elementor installed and updated, which could be a limitation for those using other page builders.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Affinity Designer
PRO
PRO Elements

No analysis of Affinity Designer yet.

Overall verdict

  • PRO Elements is a GPL-based repackaging of Elementor Pro that provides premium page-builder features for free, making it a budget-friendly option, though it comes with caveats around official support, updates, and security that make it less suitable for mission-critical or professional client projects.

Why this product is good

  • Offers Elementor Pro widgets and features (theme builder, forms, popups, WooCommerce elements) without the recurring subscription cost
  • Distributed under the GPL license, which legally permits redistribution of the code
  • Can be a low-cost way to learn and experiment with advanced page-building capabilities
  • No usage or site limits since it is not tied to a paid license key

Recommended for

  • Hobbyists and beginners experimenting with WordPress page building on a tight budget
  • Developers testing features before committing to an official Elementor Pro license
  • Personal or non-critical projects where lack of official support and updates is acceptable
  • Users comfortable manually managing plugin updates and accepting potential security risks

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Affinity Designer 3 videos + Add
PRO
PRO Elements 0 videos + Add

Illustrator vs Affinity Designer - Review and Comparison

More videos

  • Review - Affinity Designer Review
  • Review - A DESIGNERS Review : Affinity Designer on iPad Pro 2018

No PRO Elements videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Affinity Designer
PRO
PRO Elements
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
CMS
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Affinity Designer and PRO Elements. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Affinity Designer no reviews yet
PRO
PRO Elements no reviews yet

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We have no reviews of PRO Elements yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Affinity Designer 47 mentions
PRO
PRO Elements 8 mentions

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  • The WordPress Plugins licensing structure, is highly broken
    The people in this subreddit generally glorify the license because they’re the developers and defend it. I do agree with you, I always get downvoted for posting the https://proelements.org/ link lol. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Booting up new Elementor Website from scratch. Site is for a nonprofit - will mainly be used for general information, distribute forms, landing pages for events, and collecting emails, potentially a blog. For 2023, are there any need-to-have plugins for a basic site?
    Proelements is a must have if you don't need premium support and paid templates you get from Elementor Pro subscription. Source: over 3 years ago
  • ELementor Pro scam?
    Just search for "are gpl plugins legal wordpress" and read. All plugins for wordpress have to be licensed under GPL, even pro. But you pay for the service like kits and so on. There are plenty of pages selling "gpl plugins" for... Source: over 3 years ago

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Alternatives to Affinity Designer and PRO Elements

When comparing Affinity Designer and PRO Elements, you can also consider the following products.