Affinity Designer 2 for iPad vs Mirage Composer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad
Create stunning illustrations, branding, logos, UI/UX designs, and more with a powerful touch-focused vector graphics app. Optimized for iPad and Apple Pencil, it offers real-time performance and precise tools for both vector and raster workflows.
- Vector Warp
- Shape Builder Tool
- Knife Tool
- Drawing scale
- Vector Flood Fill
- Switch between vector and raster workspaces
- Sophisticated typography
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Affinity Designer 2 for iPad takes the power and precision of the Apple Design Award-winning desktop app and converts it into an incredible touch-focused creative experience. Packed with tons of new features and hundreds of enhancements to optimize your workflow, the graphic design app has everything you need to seamlessly create stunning illustrations, branding, logos, icons, UI/UX designs, print projects, typography, posters, labels, flyers, stickers, concept art, digital art, and much more – all completely free from the confines of your desk. OPTIMIZED FOR IPAD • Fully integrated and optimized iPad gesture controls to speed up your workflow • iOS16 ready, including optimization for virtual memory swap, dramatically increasing performance on large documents. • Sensitive to pressure, tilt, and angle, the app harnesses the full power and precision of Apple Pencil • Command controller hosting on-screen modifiers • Quick Menu for context-sensitive access to commands • Use as your very own digital sketchbook, canvas, logo maker, sticker maker, flyer maker, and more POWERFUL TOOLS & FUNCTIONALITY • Vector Warp • Shape Builder Tool • Knife Tool • DXF/DWF import • Measure & Area tools • Drawing scale – including ability for different scales set per artboard • X-ray, hide effects, and greyscale view modes • Multiple shadow, outline, and overlay layer effects per object • Powerful grids and guides • Transform Tool • Vector Flood Fill • Spiral Tool REAL-TIME PERFORMANCE • Pan and zoom at 120fps • Live gradients, transforms, effects, and adjustments • Optimized for documents of any complexity, zoom to over 1,000,000% for absolute precision • Live pixel, retina, wireframe, and x-ray views of vector artwork in and out of split screen mode • Live Pattern Preview • Seamless switching between tools and editing modes for frustration-free design • Incredibly accurate results with minimal nodes PRECISE VECTOR TOOLS • Rock solid vector tools that work just the way you want them to • The best Pen Tool, Node Tool, curve editing, and smart shape tools available • Powerful Contour Tool to create abstract objects or increase the width of single open curves • Pencil and brush stabilization for drawing super-smooth curves freehand • Non-destructive Boolean operations • Live effects, blend modes, and image adjustments • Incredibly smooth gradient and transparency controls RASTER OR VECTOR, YOU DECIDE • Switch between fully-featured vector and raster workspaces with a single tap – paint, draw, or sketch in raster and then create cool, custom vector art • High quality raster tools for painting, texturing, masking, finishing artwork, or even creating tattoo designs • Use raster brushes, edit single pixels on icons, mask and add grain to your crisp vectors, enclose and clip pixel layers – it’s true creative freedom not found in other software or drawing apps SOPHISTICATED TYPOGRAPHY • Flexible text handling including comprehensive support for OpenType • Artistic text and text frames • Full control over character and paragraph styles • Flow text and type along any drawn path • Extensive library of free fonts BUILT FOR YOUR WORKFLOW • Unlimited artboards • Savable history with alternate futures • Customizable shortcuts with attached keyboard or new quick menu • Adobe Illustrator ® (Ai files), PSD, PDF, EPS, SVG, JPG, JPEG XL, TIFF, EXR, DXF, and DWG file support • Linked symbols and constraints • Save documents as template files to re-use time and time again • Quickly access royalty free images through the Stock Panel or import files from Affinity Photo or other photo editor • Select Same and Select Object functions PERFECT COLOR & OUTPUT • Professional CMYK, LAB, RGB, PANTONE© and Greyscale color models • Full 16-bit per channel editing • End-to-end ICC color management • Slice export for exporting multiple elements in a single tap • Live pixel preview to see exactly how your design will export
Mirage Composer
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Mirage Composer is a node-based editor and player for real-time visuals. Connect patches in a graph — generators, filters, 2D shapes, 3D objects, particles, text and more — and the result plays live as you build it. BUILD WITH PATCHES • Drag patches into the graph and wire their outputs to inputs • 2D shapes, gradients, noise, images and text • 3D objects with cameras and lights • Particles, feedback, blur, color and blend filters • Write your own Metal shader for anything else • Audio patches that make visuals react to sound from the microphone SEE EVERY CHANGE • The viewer renders at your display's full frame rate, up to 120 fps on ProMotion displays • Tune values in the inspector and watch them change instantly • Publish parameters and adjust them while the composition plays ON IPHONE AND IPAD • The full editor, designed for touch: long-press for menus, pinch to zoom the graph • On iPhone, keep a small floating preview in view while you edit • Play compositions full screen, or send them to an external display or projector • Compositions are files you keep: open them from the Files app, iCloud Drive or AirDrop ON MAC • Pop out the viewer onto a projector or a second display • Export movies in H.264, HEVC or ProRes, rendered frame by frame with no dropped frames The same composition files open on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Demo compositions are included to get you started. No ads, no accounts, no tracking. Your work stays on your devices.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mirage Composer at none against Affinity Designer 2 for iPad's 1. Mirage Composer also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). Affinity Designer 2 for iPad's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Affinity Designer 2 for iPad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Mirage Composer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad ships an update every 6 weeks, Mirage Composer weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Affinity Designer 2 for iPad | Mirage Composer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4.8K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 51.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4.8K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.7 GB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Serif (Europe) Ltd. | Takao Onomura |
Bugs and requests
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes when switching between vector and pixel layers
- Exported files not retaining expected quality or format
- Grid spacing and snapping issues
- Disappearing or unresponsive UI elements
Requested features
5 requests- Vector trace tool
- Better layer management and organization
- Improved Apple Pencil support and pressure sensitivity
- Ability to rename documents on creation
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts and UI
Mirage Composer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad
- Designer 2 for iPad LicenseFree
Mirage Composer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Affinity Designer 2 for iPad free?
Is Mirage Composer free?
Do Affinity Designer 2 for iPad or Mirage Composer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Affinity Designer 2 for iPad or Mirage Composer?
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