Sketch dominates macOS-exclusive UI/UX design with superior performance and a mature plugin ecosystem, while Adobe XD offers cross-platform support (Windows and macOS), real-time cloud collaboration, and tighter integration with the Creative Cloud suite at a lower price point.
Sketch vs Adobe XD — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Mac-native design tool specializing in UI/UX design with robust plugin support.
Adobe's cloud-based UI/UX design and prototyping platform with professional-grade tools.
Platform Availability. Monthly Subscription Cost. Real-Time Collaboration. Plugin Ecosystem. Auto Layout Feature. Prototyping Capabilities. Learning Curve for Beginners
Choose Sketch if you're a macOS-based professional designer who values a mature, plugin-rich ecosystem and doesn't need cross-platform compatibility or real-time team collaboration. Choose Adobe XD if you need Windows support, native cloud collaboration, advanced prototyping, or prefer integrated Creative Cloud workflows at a competitive price.
Sketch: macOS, Windows (beta) | Adobe XD: macOS, Windows, Web
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: Limited (requires Cloud plugin, up to 5 free) | Adobe XD: Up to 30 shared project members
Sketch: Excellent - minimal lag | Adobe XD: N/A
Sketch: Native support with libraries | Adobe XD: Shared symbols, component variants, design libraries
Sketch: macOS only | Adobe XD: Windows and macOS
Sketch: 1000+ third-party plugins | Adobe XD: 500+
Sketch: No (third-party workarounds) | Adobe XD: Yes (cloud-native)
Sketch: Advanced Auto Layout (2021+) | Adobe XD: Repeat Grid with constraints
Sketch: 5-6 basic interactions (tap, click, scroll) | Adobe XD: 12+ (including voice, drag, animation)
Cloud Storage Included (Free Plan/Trial)
Sketch: Paid plans only | Adobe XD: 2 GB with free Creative Cloud account
Market Share Among UI/UX Designers (2024)
Sketch: Full interactive prototyping with animations and states | Adobe XD: N/A
Sketch: Mac desktop, Web (limited features) | Adobe XD: Desktop primary (Windows, Mac)
Sketch: 14-day free trial only; no free plan | Adobe XD: N/A
Sketch: Partner integrations (photos/icons sold separately) | Adobe XD: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Professional Plan)
Sketch: $8.25/user (yearly: $99) | Adobe XD: N/A
Sketch: Shared libraries, comments, version history (async) | Adobe XD: Comments, limited real-time co-editing, shared libraries
Sketch: 1,200+ plugins | Adobe XD: 400+ plugins
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: Plugin-based, additional cost | Adobe XD: Native real-time co-editing
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 | Adobe XD: N/A
Sketch: ~1,200+ plugins | Adobe XD: 1000+ plugins in XD ecosystem
Market Share Among Professional Designers
Sketch: ~70% (industry standard for UI/UX teams) | Adobe XD: N/A
Sketch: Basic (clickable prototypes only) | Adobe XD: Advanced (35+ triggers, animations, voice)
Sketch: 4,000 x 4,000 pixels | Adobe XD: 32,000 x 32,000 pixels
Sketch: Manual management (requires Sketch 90+) | Adobe XD: Native with library sync
Sketch: Full support with readable output | Adobe XD: Full support with clean code
Sketch: No free tier | Adobe XD: Yes, limited to 1 shared prototype
Sketch: Requires workarounds | Adobe XD: Limited to Creative Cloud team
Sketch: 800+ without degradation | Adobe XD: 400-500 before slowdown
Sketch: Shared symbols with nesting | Adobe XD: Shared components with variants
Sketch: Advanced with animations | Adobe XD: Advanced with voice/gesture
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: $12 | Adobe XD: $9.99 (standalone) or $54.99 (full Creative Cloud)
Sketch: Basic (transitions, drag triggers) | Adobe XD: Advanced (auto-animate, voice, speech recognition)
Sketch: Yes (Slack integration only) | Adobe XD: Yes (built-in, voice/video chat)
Performance on Large Files (100+ Artboards)
Sketch: Excellent (instant load) | Adobe XD: Good (occasional lag reported)
Sketch: None (third-party workarounds) | Adobe XD: Native (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere)
Sketch: No (30-day trial only) | Adobe XD: Yes (limited free tier)
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: macOS only + Web viewer | Adobe XD: Windows, macOS, Web, iOS
Sketch: 6-8 basic interactions | Adobe XD: 14 (tap, drag, scroll, voice, gesture-based)
Sketch: Limited free tier (projects only) | Adobe XD: 2GB free
Sketch: 22% of design tools market (2024) | Adobe XD: 28% of design tools market (2024)
Sketch: 15-20 min (macOS native install) | Adobe XD: 45-60 min (with Adobe account setup)
Sketch: Advanced design tokens with shared libraries | Adobe XD: N/A
Sketch: Limited; community-contributed | Adobe XD: N/A
Sketch: Via plugins; file-based | Adobe XD: N/A
Sketch: Full design support | Adobe XD: Full offline mode; all features available
Sketch: N/A | Adobe XD: Up to 5 concurrent editors
Sketch: N/A | 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
Monthly Subscription Cost (Single Editor)
Sketch: N/A | 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: $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
Total Monthly Cost (with Required Services)
Sketch: N/A | 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: 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: Basic transitions and timing; 8 interaction types
Sketch: N/A | Adobe XD: Not applicable (no free tier)
Sketch: N/A | 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: 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)
Monthly Subscription Cost (Individual Plan)
Sketch: N/A | Adobe XD: $14.99/month (Creative Cloud required)
Sketch: N/A | Adobe XD: PNG, SVG, PDF, XD format
Sketch: N/A | 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
How to choose between Sketch and Adobe XD
Sketch vs Adobe XD — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Sketch vs Adobe XD. Contains 164 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Sketch vs Adobe XD — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Sketch vs Adobe XD.
No. Sketch is exclusively available for macOS. If you need Windows compatibility, Adobe XD is your only option between these two. Some designers use virtual machines or cloud solutions, but native support is not available.
Does Sketch have real-time collaboration like Figma?
Not natively. Sketch offers limited collaboration compared to Figma or Adobe XD. You can share files via cloud storage or use plugins like Teleprompter, but true real-time collaboration with live cursors and commenting is not built-in. Adobe XD has native cloud collaboration.
Adobe XD has significantly more advanced prototyping features, including voice commands, drag interactions, and animation presets. Sketch's prototyping is more basic and often requires exporting to tools like Framer or Principle for complex interactions. For advanced prototyping, XD wins.
How much does Sketch cost compared to Adobe XD?
Sketch costs $12/month (annual plan) or $14/month (monthly). Adobe XD stands alone at $9.99/month but is also included free in Adobe Creative Cloud ($54.99/month with Photoshop and Illustrator). For design-only, XD is cheaper; for full Creative Cloud, bundling may be more economical.
Sketch has a significantly larger ecosystem with 2,500+ plugins available via the Sketch App Store. Adobe XD has around 400 plugins but integrates deeply with Creative Cloud assets. For customization and specialized workflows, Sketch's ecosystem is more mature.
How to Choose Between Sketch and Adobe XD
Platform Availability: Sketch has macOS only, while Adobe XD has macOS and Windows.
Monthly Subscription Cost: Sketch has $12/month (annual) or $14/month (monthly), while Adobe XD has $9.99/month (standalone) or included in Creative Cloud ($54.99/month).
Real-Time Collaboration: Sketch has Limited; requires third-party plugins or manual exports, while Adobe XD has Native cloud-based collaboration with live viewing and commenting.
Plugin Ecosystem: Sketch has 2,500+ plugins via Sketch App Store, while Adobe XD has 400+ plugins via Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem.
Auto Layout Feature: Sketch has Auto Layout with responsive design capabilities (added 2021), while Adobe XD has Repeat Grid with responsive constraints.
Prototyping Capabilities: Sketch has Basic prototyping; limited interaction options, while Adobe XD has Advanced prototyping with voice commands, drag triggers, and animation presets.
Learning Curve for Beginners: Sketch has Steeper; requires plugin knowledge for advanced workflows, while Adobe XD has Gentler; intuitive UI and abundant Adobe tutorials.