Adobe XD is a cloud-native design platform with superior prototyping and developer handoff tools integrated into the Adobe ecosystem, while Sketch is a lightweight, file-based design tool with a stronger plugin community and lower entry cost that dominates macOS-only workflows.
Adobe XD vs Sketch — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Desktop design and prototyping software within the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem.
Professional desktop design application built specifically for UI/UX design with advanced vector tools and design system management.
Platform Availability. Pricing Model. Prototype Interactions. Developer Handoff. Plugin Ecosystem. Collaborative Features. Learning Curve
Choose Adobe XD if you need cross-platform compatibility, advanced prototyping with complex interactions, seamless developer handoff, or integration with Adobe Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop and Illustrator. Choose Sketch if you're Mac-only, prioritize plugin extensibility, prefer a lightweight focused tool, or want a more affordable entry point with strong community support.
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: ~400 | 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: $14.99/month standalone | Sketch: $14
Adobe XD: 400+ plugins | Sketch: 1,200+ plugins
Adobe XD: Unlimited native support | 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: N/A
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: ~500 plugins | Sketch: ~1,200+ plugins
Adobe XD: Native real-time co-editing | Sketch: Cloud sync, file-based handoff
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: 50+ interactions (triggers, actions, transitions) | Sketch: 6-8 basic interactions
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
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: macOS only (with web viewing limitations)
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: $144 (subscription) or $99 (one-time)
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 151 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 exclusively designed for macOS and does not offer a native Windows application. Users on Windows must use Adobe XD, Figma, or other cross-platform alternatives. Sketch does offer a web-based viewer for design inspection, but editing requires macOS.
Adobe XD is significantly better for complex prototyping with 40+ interaction types including conditional logic, voice triggers, and state management. Sketch supports basic interactions (tap, drag, timer) but lacks advanced capabilities; most Sketch teams integrate third-party tools like Framer or Principle for sophisticated prototypes.
How do I hand off designs to developers?
Adobe XD has native developer handoff with automatic CSS/SVG code generation and integrated design specs. Sketch requires manual export or additional plugins like Zeplin, Abstract, or Avocode. XD's integration is faster for teams but Sketch's plugin ecosystem provides more customization options.
Is Sketch cheaper than Adobe XD long-term?
For individual users, Sketch is cheaper at $129/year vs XD's $179.88/year. However, Sketch's team plan ($99/month) is more expensive than XD individual pricing. Additionally, Sketch teams often require additional plugin subscriptions (Zeplin, Framer) that add costs, while XD includes most features natively.
Which has better collaboration features?
Adobe XD offers superior real-time collaboration with simultaneous editing, cursor presence, and cloud-native architecture. Sketch's collaboration is file-based and asynchronous, relying on Sketch Cloud or external version control. Teams with 5+ people typically see faster workflows in XD.
How to Choose Between Adobe XD and Sketch
Platform Availability: Adobe XD has Windows, macOS, Web, iOS, while Sketch has macOS only (+ Web viewer).
Pricing Model: Adobe XD has $14.99/month (individual) or part of Creative Cloud, while Sketch has $129/year single user or $99/month team.
Prototype Interactions: Adobe XD has 40+ interaction types with voice triggers, while Sketch has Basic triggers (tap, drag, timer).
Developer Handoff: Adobe XD has Integrated design specs, CSS extraction, Zeplin integration, while Sketch has Manual export or third-party plugins.
Plugin Ecosystem: Adobe XD has ~500 plugins available, while Sketch has ~1,200+ plugins and integrations.
Collaborative Features: Adobe XD has Real-time co-editing, cloud-based with 2GB free storage, while Sketch has Cloud sync via Sketch Cloud, file-based collaboration.
Learning Curve: Adobe XD has Moderate (integrated with Adobe ecosystem), while Sketch has Shallow (simpler interface, focused tool).