Sketch, Adobe XD and Figma are three of the most common and most widely user UI/UX tools on the market. All three of them share a lot in common, but of course, there are some differences. In this post, we will try to cover some of the differences and try to provide you with enough information so that you’re able to choose what suits you best. Let’s jump straight in.
Sketch
For quite some time now, Sketch has been many designers’ go-to tool. Sketch is a vector graphics editor that was released back in 2010 for MacOS and has, to this day, remained exclusive for MacOS. This may be the most limiting factor. It’s just a fact of life that not everybody is using MacOS for designing.
Just like other professional tools, you shouldn’t expect to be able to use it for free, but they are all still well worth their price. Sketch operates on the yearly subscription model. When you’re buying the software for the first time, you’ll have to spend $99, and each subsequent year you’ll have to pay an additional $69 per year. This might sound like a lot, but considering the value it brings, most designers don’t find it too expensive.
Sketch is an intuitive and fast tool that most designers simply don’t have much trouble with. Also, the developers keep the app up-to-date, quite often pushing significant updates to the software. Sketch’s most popular feature is its plugin support. These plugins really help the designers to their job better and more efficiently. For instance, one of the plugins allows designers to export an entire design with a fully functional spec. Upon receiving such a spec sheet, developers know exactly what to do, where, and how. It’s genuinely a useful tool that allows every link in the chain to perform at the best level possible.
Sketch users can build and maintain their own virtual design systems, which they can later reuse. This once again reduces the amount of time necessary to produce a design. Another great feature surrounding Sketch is that because it’s such a well-established software, there is a strong community around it. The community offers sustained support, and pretty much anything you need, it is immediately at your disposal; you only need ask.
Adobe XD
Adobe is famous for its tools such as Photoshop or Illustrator, however, they have never produced software specifically aimed towards UI/UX designers. Never before Adobe XD that is. Even though it needed some time to catch up to Sketch, which had a clear head start, Adobe XD is now of par with its main competitor in terms of features, and the company took it very seriously to produce the best possible software.
Opposite to Sketch that comes exclusively to MacOS, Adobe XD is available on Mac as well as on Windows. Another distinguishing feature is that Adobe XD is free to use. It does not require and payments whatsoever if you want to use the software, which is something Adobe isn’t famous for – offering free software.
Adobe’s software offers full web, desktop, and mobile support. You can hassle-free create outstanding designs for any platform you choose. Also, the software allows editing and reusability of elements, much like Sketch. You can, therefore, create presets that you can easily use throughout multiple projects. If you’ve previously used any other Adobe’s software, you won’t have any issues jumping into the XD. All in all, it seems that Adobe has managed to produce a great program aimed towards UI/UX designers.
Figma
Last but not least, in this comparison, there is an app that came to the market in 2016. Figma team has embraced the fact that the world out there is not bi-polar and that Apple and Microsoft simply do not hold a classic duopoly. There are more operating systems out there, and instead of building their app to suit all of them individually, Figma devs have chosen for their app to be browser-based. This is an amazing feature as no matter what OS you’re using while designing, you’ll be able to use Figma.
Figma is an all-encompassing designing, prototyping, and collaborating tool. If you’re an independent designer, you can use Figma for free, but in order to use all the collaborating features of the software, you’ll, as a team, have to pay about $12 per month, which is not particularly expensive.
Because it’s a web-based application, Figma is best-suited precisely for collaborative designs. Whole teams can transparently work on the same design in real-time, and can easily and quickly share files between them. Much like Sketch, Figma also allows support for a large number of plugins, but it is not as heavily reliant on them as Sketch.
A downside to Figma is that it requires an internet connection. Since it’s a web-app, if you, for whatever reason, lose your connection, you won’t be able to use Figma. In 2020, this shouldn’t pose too much of an issue, however, you never know. In any case, Figma is a worthy competitor in the race for the best UI/UX design tool.
The verdict
It’s hard to say which of the three tools is the best because they are quite similar, and with some specificities. For instance, if you’re using a Mac, then for you, Adobe XD is out of the question. If, on the other hand, you don’t have much money to spend or don’t want to spend any money, then Sketch is not for you. Figma is probably in the best position here, as it’s free for individuals and quite affordable for teams. If you’re working collaboratively with your team, that Figma is probably the software to use.
All three of the apps will allow you to create excellent designs, and it’s simply a matter of personal preference. We highly suggest each designer try each of the platforms and find the one that suits them best. Designing is creative work, and as such, it shouldn’t be confined to “best software.” Simply use the software you’re most comfortable with and let your inner creative loose.
The post Sketch vs. Adobe XD vs. Figma: A Detailed Comparison first appeared on CSForm.
The post Sketch vs. Adobe XD vs. Figma: A Detailed Comparison appeared first on CSForm.