Adobe XD is a cloud-native design platform with superior collaboration tools and Windows support, while Sketch is a lightweight, Mac-exclusive vector editor with a stronger plugin ecosystem and lower learning curve for UI/UX designers.
Adobe XD vs Sketch — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Adobe's cloud-based UI/UX design and prototyping platform with professional-grade tools.
Mac-native design tool specializing in UI/UX design with robust plugin support.
Platform Availability. Real-Time Collaboration. Monthly Subscription Cost. Plugin Ecosystem Size. Prototype Interactivity. File Format Open Standard. Learning Curve for Beginners
Choose Adobe XD if you need cross-platform support, built-in real-time collaboration, advanced prototyping, and deep integration with Creative Cloud for teams needing seamless handoff to developers and designers. Choose Sketch if you're a Mac-exclusive team seeking a more affordable, lightweight solution with a mature plugin ecosystem and prefer simplicity over feature depth.
Adobe XD: Up to 5 concurrent editors | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Desktop primary (Windows, Mac) | Sketch: Mac desktop, Web (limited features)
Adobe XD: Design tokens with Creative Cloud sync | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: AI-assisted design with enhanced prototyping | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Optimized desktop performance for large files | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 12,957 customers | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Full co-editing support | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Native AI capabilities included | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Automatic responsive resizing | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Native design systems included | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: General prototyping | Sketch: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Single Editor)
Adobe XD: $9.99 standalone | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Windows, macOS, iPad | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Performance issues above 500MB | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Full offline support | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: CSS/SVG export, design specs | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Windows and macOS | Sketch: macOS only
Adobe XD: 500+ | Sketch: 1000+ third-party plugins
Adobe XD: Yes (cloud-native) | Sketch: No (third-party workarounds)
Adobe XD: Repeat Grid with constraints | Sketch: Advanced Auto Layout (2021+)
Adobe XD: 12+ (including voice, drag, animation) | Sketch: 5-6 basic interactions (tap, click, scroll)
Cloud Storage Included (Free Plan/Trial)
Adobe XD: 2 GB with free Creative Cloud account | Sketch: Paid plans only
Market Share Among UI/UX Designers (2024)
Adobe XD: 400+ plugins | Sketch: 1,200+ plugins
Adobe XD: Up to 30 shared project members | Sketch: Limited (requires Cloud plugin, up to 5 free)
Adobe XD: Advanced (35+ triggers, animations, voice) | Sketch: Basic (clickable prototypes only)
Adobe XD: 32,000 x 32,000 pixels | Sketch: 4,000 x 4,000 pixels
Adobe XD: Native with library sync | Sketch: Manual management (requires Sketch 90+)
Adobe XD: Full support with clean code | Sketch: Full support with readable output
Adobe XD: $119.88/year standalone | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Limited (comments only, not full co-editing) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Yes (Windows/Mac application) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Native with Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects | Sketch: N/A
Total Monthly Cost (with Required Services)
Adobe XD: $54.49 (Creative Cloud) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Native timeline animations with easing, delays, triggers | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 5+ simultaneous users | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Native Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects integration | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: CSS measurements and specs panel | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Shared symbols, component variants, design libraries | Sketch: Native support with libraries
Adobe XD: 2-3 concurrent editors before slowdown | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: No free tier; 7-day free trial only | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Limited variant support (main + 1-2 states) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 19% among design teams | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Full offline mode; all features available | Sketch: Full design support
Adobe XD: Basic transitions and timing; 8 interaction types | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Not applicable (no free tier) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Yes, limited to 1 shared prototype | Sketch: No free tier
Adobe XD: Limited to Creative Cloud team | Sketch: Requires workarounds
Adobe XD: macOS, Windows, Web | Sketch: macOS, Windows (beta)
Adobe XD: 400-500 before slowdown | Sketch: 800+ without degradation
Adobe XD: Shared components with variants | Sketch: Shared symbols with nesting
Adobe XD: Advanced with voice/gesture | Sketch: Advanced with animations
Adobe XD: Limited to shared link viewers | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 4-6 hours (steeper curve) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Windows, macOS desktop only | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: $9.99 (Single App) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: $299.99 (5 × $9.99 × 2.5x for teams) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Limited to license holders | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Full frame-based timeline with easing curves | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 2 (Mac, Windows only) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Shareable links with basic feedback | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: $9.99 (standalone) or $54.99 (full Creative Cloud) | Sketch: $12
Adobe XD: Advanced (auto-animate, voice, speech recognition) | Sketch: Basic (transitions, drag triggers)
Adobe XD: Yes (built-in, voice/video chat) | Sketch: Yes (Slack integration only)
Performance on Large Files (100+ Artboards)
Adobe XD: Good (occasional lag reported) | Sketch: Excellent (instant load)
Adobe XD: Native (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere) | Sketch: None (third-party workarounds)
Adobe XD: Yes (limited free tier) | Sketch: No (30-day trial only)
Adobe XD: Windows, macOS, Web, iOS | Sketch: macOS only + Web viewer
Adobe XD: 1000+ plugins in XD ecosystem | Sketch: ~1,200+ plugins
Adobe XD: Native real-time co-editing | Sketch: Plugin-based, additional cost
Adobe XD: 2GB free | Sketch: Limited free tier (projects only)
Adobe XD: 28% of design tools market (2024) | Sketch: 22% of design tools market (2024)
Adobe XD: 45-60 min (with Adobe account setup) | Sketch: 15-20 min (macOS native install)
Adobe XD: Comments, limited real-time co-editing, shared libraries | Sketch: Shared libraries, comments, version history (async)
Adobe XD: Unlimited (desktop app) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Professional: Pen tool, Boolean operations, gradient editor, mesh transform | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Full desktop app with offline support | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 20-30 hours for proficiency | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 200+ integrations (Creative Cloud native) | Sketch: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Individual Plan)
Adobe XD: $14.99/month (Creative Cloud required) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: PNG, SVG, PDF, XD format | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 14 (tap, drag, scroll, voice, gesture-based) | Sketch: 6-8 basic interactions
Adobe XD: Spec export, measurement tools, CSS export (limited) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 1-3 (plan dependent) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: 20+ (including auto-animate, voice commands) | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: Cloud-based shared libraries with design tokens | Sketch: N/A
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: $120/year ($10/month)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: 3 (Mac, Windows, Web)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Basic (plugin-dependent)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Excellent - minimal lag
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Full interactive prototyping with animations and states
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: 14-day free trial only; no free plan
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Partner integrations (photos/icons sold separately)
Monthly Subscription Cost (Professional Plan)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: $8.25/user (yearly: $99)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Not included; requires third-party services
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Requires third-party plugins (e.g., Figma-to-React)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Symbols, shared styles, nested components (established)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: macOS, Windows, Web (recently improved)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Advanced (interactions, animations, states)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: No (proprietary)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: $144 (Sketch Standard annual)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Optimized for 100+ artboards without lag
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: 0 (native); available via plugins
Market Share Among Professional Designers
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: ~70% (industry standard for UI/UX teams)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: 15 concurrent users
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: 8+ years of resources
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Proprietary/Closed
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Advanced (Symbols, Shared Styles, Tokens)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Limited via plugins (~5)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Advanced with nested symbols
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Available in beta/plugins
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Requires integration (Zeplin, Abstract)
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Advanced design tokens with shared libraries
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Limited; community-contributed
Adobe XD: N/A | Sketch: Via plugins; file-based
How to choose between Adobe XD and Sketch
Adobe XD vs Sketch — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Adobe XD vs Sketch. Contains 164 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Adobe XD vs Sketch — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Adobe XD vs Sketch.
No, Sketch is macOS-exclusive (Intel and Apple Silicon). Windows users must use Adobe XD, Figma (web-based), or other alternatives like Penpot.
Which tool is better for real-time team collaboration?
Adobe XD has native unlimited co-editing built-in. Sketch requires purchasing the Sketch Cloud add-on ($40/month for teams) or syncing via third-party cloud storage like Dropbox, making XD the better choice for distributed teams.
Can I create interactive prototypes in Sketch?
Sketch has basic clickable prototyping, but advanced interactions (animations, conditional states, voice triggers) require third-party plugins like Overflow ($12/month) or Framer ($20/month), adding cost. Adobe XD includes this natively.
Is Sketch or XD better for design systems and components?
Adobe XD edges ahead with native component versioning and library sync across files and cloud. Sketch's component system is solid but requires manual updates. Both support shared libraries; XD's approach is more automated.
What's the total cost of ownership for a team of 10 designers?
Adobe XD: $1,499/year (10 × $14.99/month × 12). Sketch: $1,440/year (10 × $12/month annual), plus $480/year for Sketch Cloud collaboration = $1,920 total. XD is cheaper if collaboration is required.
How to Choose Between Adobe XD and Sketch
Platform Availability: Adobe XD has Windows, macOS, web browser, while Sketch has macOS only (Intel/Apple Silicon).
Real-Time Collaboration: Adobe XD has Built-in, unlimited users on shared workspace, while Sketch has Requires third-party integrations or shared cloud files.
Monthly Subscription Cost: Adobe XD has $14.99 USD (Creative Cloud single app), while Sketch has $12 USD per editor (annual billing).
Plugin Ecosystem Size: Adobe XD has 400+ plugins (Adobe XD marketplace), while Sketch has 1,200+ plugins (Sketch community).
Prototype Interactivity: Adobe XD has Advanced interactions, voice triggers, animations (native), while Sketch has Basic prototyping, requires Overflow or Marvel plugins.
File Format Open Standard: Adobe XD has Proprietary .xd format (Adobe ecosystem integration), while Sketch has Proprietary .sketch format (JSON-based, more accessible).
Learning Curve for Beginners: Adobe XD has Moderate (Adobe UX conventions), while Sketch has Gentle (intuitive interface, smaller feature set).