Sketch Vs. Figma — The Reasons Why Sketch Is Better

New in Sketch: A major redesign, an all-new Inspector, and more Learn more

New in Sketch: A major redesign, an all-new Inspector, and more Learn more

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Thinking about moving from Figma? You’re not alone.

Here are a few reasons why designers and their teams decide to switch to Sketch (and why you might, too).

Let’s dive into the details…

Billing without shocks or surprises

If your collaborators already pay, why should we charge twice? If you invite an editor to your document who already pays for Sketch elsewhere, we don’t charge you extra for them. There are no limits on how many documents or projects you can share. You don’t even have to hide documents in your drafts.

We also make it crystal clear when changes to the number of editors (or editor seats) in your Workspace affect your bill — it’s just the right thing to do.

And if you invite a viewer to your document, we won’t charge you for them either. They’re free and always will be.

Real-time collaboration, right in the Mac app

Figma says it’s not possible on their comparison page, but we’ve had real-time collaboration since 2021. Maybe they’ll update that soon?

You can work together (or on your own) and see everyone’s cursors (or hide them), but most importantly, you can collaborate without conflicts.

Sketch subscriptions come with a shared Workspace, so you can do everything from designing with other editors in the same document, to accessing your work anywhere you sign in.

Video: Does Sketch let you collaborate in real-time with other designers?

A free web app for clients and collaborators

With Sketch, you design and co-edit in the Mac app, then share your work with others in the browser. Give clients, managers and developers a link and they’ll see the same document you do — in any browser, on any operating system.

In our web app, you can view documents, test prototypes, share feedback via comments on the Canvas, inspect designs, download assets and even export design tokens.

You get full control over what you share and, better still, you can invite unlimited collaborators to do all of this for free.

Video: If I share my Sketch document with a client, will they see every edit that I make to it?

Full support for local, offline workflows

It’s your choice to work offline whenever you want. And we’re set up to support the best of both worlds.

Maybe you need to temporarily disconnect while you travel. No problem. You can create new documents, keep existing projects moving and even access Libraries. As soon as you’re ready to reconnect we’ll sync things up again.

Or maybe you don’t like the idea of having your files on anyone else’s server? That’s fine too. You can keep things offline permanently and work in local files, if that’s your thing.

Free developer handoff

Invite unlimited developers to use our browser-based handoff tools, all for free. They don’t need the Mac app, or even a Mac. Just their favorite web browser.

They can inspect designs, measure between layers, add comments, copy values and CSS, download assets, and even export design tokens.

Our handoff tools give developers everything they need, and the exact same design file, without the noise that comes with being in the same tool as designers.

Video: Is Sketch useful for developers who use Windows?

Developer Handoff in Sketch: Everything you need to know

Prototyping without plugins

Wait, don’t you need plugins to prototype with Sketch? Nope. Maybe in the past, but not now.

You can create immersive prototypes in the Mac app, share a link for playback and testing, or even try them on real devices in our iOS app. And the best part? Not a plugin in sight.

We’ve given prototyping in Sketch some major upgrades lately — from multi-directional scrolling and feature-rich Overlays, to hover and press interactions — and there’s plenty more to come.

Prototyping in Sketch: Test your ideas in seconds

Thoughtful, considered features

Every tool is different, and choice is only a good thing. We don’t offer every feature that Figma does, but we do offer a few that they don’t. What sets us apart is how we build them.

Our goal is build thoughtful, considered features — from Overlays with more flexibility, to a Minimap that makes life easier, and Smart Layout that doesn’t restrict you to stack-like Layouts.

Here’s a list every feature in Sketch, so you can decide for yourself if we’re the tool for you. And of course, the best way to see what we mean is to try them out (for free).

All the features: Everything Sketch has to offer

Subscriptions and licenses that make sense

Complex pricing plans? Not around here.

Want a Workspace to store and share your documents, collaborate with others and more? We’ve got two subscription plans that offer just that.

Prefer to keep things simple and use the Mac app only with local documents? Our one-time license model is often cited as one of the fairest in the industry.

Our pricing page has all the details — and we’re here to help you choose. We don’t have a free plan (they’re unsustainable), but we do offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.

Our pricing: Plans for everyone, from freelancers to teams

An easy switch from Figma

We think you should be free to take your own work to whatever tool you want to use. That’s why we have an open file format (and have done since day one), so you can switch from Sketch at any time.

Figma doesn’t have an open file format, but being able to switch tools should be your choice. So we built a .fig file importer (and open sourced it for anyone to use). It makes switching to Sketch as easy as dragging a .fig file onto our Dock icon.

Open format: How Sketch’s open file format can supercharge your workflows

Support from a team that cares

Whether you’ve still got questions, need help with making a switch, or even if you’re already with us and thinking of switching away, we’re here to help. We’re not a faceless organization, we’re a deliberately small team making design tools for people who care about the details. And we’re here to help you every step of the way.

Sketch support: Here to help

After trialing figma for a while I have concluded it is a collaboration tool with design built in and sketch is a design tool first, with collaboration built in.

Figma allows admin to “spy” on designers time. 🙅

Sketch conscious chose to omit this “feature” 🧘

So people hate me for saying this but sketch »» Figma. Although they both do v similar things. Yup wire framing, designing and prototyping.

For me I find Sketch more intuitive to use. I also think there are small features that help me build faster.

I like Sketch a lot better for icon design currently.

a few reasons:

• better vector editing
• much better inspector for layer styles
• color management

Sketch is truly an indispensable tool, and one of the best Mac apps ever made.

Looks amazing! I always prefer Sketch over Figma. There’s something magical about native Mac apps.

Wonderful, huge update of Sketch! We proudly use Sketch for @halidecamera, Spectre, Orion and Kino at Lux.

Switched back from @figma to @sketch, and immediately remembered what a good, fast and convenient design app

Sketch 100 brings a couple of really needed upgrades to prototypes and inspect.

And you don’t need to PAY for a dev mode to fully inspect and copy CSS or tokens which well… you know :-)

Good job @sketch 🫡

Had the greatest experience with the @sketch customer support. Went way above and beyond to help me out and I couldn’t be more grateful.

A Wonderful app. A wonderful company.

That’s why I recently tried a @sketch and I found that working offline is so cozy

Quick comparison guide

Feature	Sketch	Figma
Real-time collaboration
Shareable prototype links
Developer handoff
iPhone and iPad viewing app
Powerful native Mac app
Full offline workflow
Open file format
One-time license option
Predictable billing
Documents not limited by browser memory

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