Sketch is a professional vector design tool built for UI/UX designers with advanced prototyping capabilities, while Canva is a user-friendly graphic design platform for non-designers to create social media, marketing, and print materials quickly. Sketch costs $120/year for professionals; Canva offers a freemium model starting at $0, scaling to $180/year for premium features.
Sketch vs Canva — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Mac-native design tool specializing in UI/UX design with robust plugin support.
Web-based design platform with drag-and-drop templates for non-designers to create marketing materials.
Primary Use Case. Learning Curve. Annual Cost (Professional). Built-in Templates. Collaboration Features. Target User Base. Export Formats Supported
Choose Sketch if you're a UI/UX designer or product team needing professional-grade vector design, advanced prototyping, and robust team collaboration with lower annual cost. Choose Canva if you're a small business owner, marketer, or content creator who needs to produce polished graphics fast without design expertise, with access to massive template libraries.
Sketch: macOS, Windows (beta) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: $120/year ($10/month) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 3 (Mac, Windows, Web) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Basic (plugin-dependent) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Limited (requires Cloud plugin, up to 5 free) | Canva: Limited; view-only or restricted editing
Sketch: Excellent - minimal lag | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Native support with libraries | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 1000+ third-party plugins | Canva: N/A
Sketch: No (third-party workarounds) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Advanced Auto Layout (2021+) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 5-6 basic interactions (tap, click, scroll) | Canva: Basic transitions and animations only
Cloud Storage Included (Free Plan/Trial)
Market Share Among UI/UX Designers (2024)
Sketch: 8/10 (steep) | Canva: 2/10 (minimal)
Sketch: Full interactive prototyping with animations and states | Canva: None; static presentations only
Sketch: Mac desktop, Web (limited features) | Canva: Web, iOS, Android (full features everywhere)
Sketch: 14-day free trial only; no free plan | Canva: Canva Free with 5,000+ templates and assets
Sketch: Partner integrations (photos/icons sold separately) | Canva: 100M+ photos, 1M+ icons, 500K+ music tracks
Monthly Subscription Cost (Professional Plan)
Sketch: $8.25/user (yearly: $99) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Shared libraries, comments, version history (async) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Not included; requires third-party services | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Requires third-party plugins (e.g., Figma-to-React) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Symbols, shared styles, nested components (established) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: macOS, Windows, Web (recently improved) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Plugin-based, additional cost | Canva: Yes (real-time co-editing)
Sketch: Advanced (interactions, animations, states) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: $144 (Sketch Standard annual) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Optimized for 100+ artboards without lag | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 0 (native); available via plugins | Canva: 6 (Magic Design, Background Remover, Magic Expand, etc.)
Market Share Among Professional Designers
Sketch: ~70% (industry standard for UI/UX teams) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Basic (clickable prototypes only) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 4,000 x 4,000 pixels | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Manual management (requires Sketch 90+) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Full support with readable output | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Requires workarounds | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 800+ without degradation | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Shared symbols with nesting | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Advanced with animations | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 15 concurrent users | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 8+ years of resources | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Advanced (Symbols, Shared Styles, Tokens) | Canva: Basic brand kits and color palettes
Sketch: Basic (transitions, drag triggers) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Yes (Slack integration only) | Canva: N/A
Performance on Large Files (100+ Artboards)
Sketch: Excellent (instant load) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: None (third-party workarounds) | Canva: Native (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
Sketch: No (30-day trial only) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 30 days | Canva: Unlimited (free tier with limitations)
Sketch: Limited via plugins (~5) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Advanced with nested symbols | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Available in beta/plugins | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Requires integration (Zeplin, Abstract) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: macOS only + Web viewer | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 6-8 basic interactions | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Limited free tier (projects only) | Canva: 5GB free (100GB Pro)
Sketch: 22% of design tools market (2024) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: 15-20 min (macOS native install) | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Advanced design tokens with shared libraries | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Limited; community-contributed | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Via plugins; file-based | Canva: N/A
Sketch: Full design support | Canva: Limited (web-based only)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Yes (generous free tier)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: $42 billion (private)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Private (IPO candidate 2026)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: ~25-30% (estimated)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: SMB, Enterprise Content Creation
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Basic team features
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Unlimited access to templates
Sketch: N/A | Canva: $13 (or free plan available)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 7+ (adds Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn Stories)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Basic only in Canva Teams
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 1-month calendar (Canva Teams only)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Yes (limited templates, no Brand Kit)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Yes—Magic Write generates captions & copy
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 8+ platforms via integrations
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 5 team members (Canva Teams)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: No (external tools required)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Limited (no social caption AI)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Full video editing suite included
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Unlimited designs (templates only)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Instant (0-2 seconds)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 71% (Canva AI variations)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Beginner/None (drag-and-drop)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 2-5 (select template, edit)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Advanced (real-time co-editing, permissions)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 4.7/5 (2.8M reviews)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Text-to-image, magic edit, object removal
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Basic transitions/effects
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Basic (colors, fonts, logos)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Limited collaboration on Teams plan
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 1,000,000+ (photos, videos, music)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Yes - full multi-user editing, comments, version history
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 5+ (Magic Design, Eraser, BG Remover, Text-to-Image, Magic Expand)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Yes - Windows and Mac
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 3-5 concurrent (depends on plan)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: $13/month (annual billing)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 20+ (PNG, PDF, MP4, SVG, PPT, DOCX, GIF, WebP)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 150+ million monthly active users
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 100+ million integrated
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 3 (Background removal, Magic Edit, Generative templates)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 0.25-0.5 hours (15-30 minutes)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: No (browser-based + mobile apps)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Basic (limited layer control)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Limited (approx. 50-100 per design)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 15+ formats (PNG, JPG, PDF, SVG, GIF, MP4, PPTX)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 250,000+ ready-made templates
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Web-based (requires internet connection)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 100+ million (integrated in free tier)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Basic: filters, adjustments, magic edit
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Used by 60% of non-designers
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Basic (trim, cut, transitions, filters)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Limited (basic file import)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Unlimited designs, basic templates, Magic Write/Edit, 5GB storage
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Limited to 1 active editor per document
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Magic Write (text), Magic Edit (image), text-to-image, background remover
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Basic (shapes, limited curves)
Sketch: N/A | Canva: None—static designs only
Sketch: N/A | Canva: 1,000,000+ photos + 100k tracks
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Layer-based, simplified
Sketch: N/A | Canva: Limited (5-10% functionality)
Sketch vs Canva — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Sketch vs Canva. Contains 211 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Sketch vs Canva — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Sketch vs Canva.
Sketch is Mac-only for the desktop application. A web version exists but has significantly limited features. Windows users typically switch to Figma or Adobe XD instead.
Is Canva good for professional UI design?
Canva is not designed for professional UI/UX work. It lacks advanced vector tools, prototyping, and design system features that UI designers need. Use Canva for marketing graphics, social media, and presentations; use Sketch for product design.
Which tool has better team collaboration?
Sketch offers superior team collaboration with real-time multiplayer editing, live cursors, and detailed change history. Canva's collaboration is more limited, with share links and restricted editing permissions. For design teams, Sketch is the stronger choice.
How much do Sketch and Canva cost for teams?
Sketch costs $120/year per user (or $10/month billed annually). Canva Pro is $180/year, and Canva for Teams starts at $300/year for up to 5 team members. For larger teams, both offer custom enterprise pricing.
Canva supports basic animations (entrance effects, transitions) for presentations and videos, but these are pre-built animations applied to elements. Interactive prototyping with custom animations is only available in Sketch for UI design.
Primary Use Case: Sketch has UI/UX design and interactive prototyping, while Canva has Social media, marketing, and print graphics.
Learning Curve: Sketch has Steep; requires design experience, while Canva has Minimal; designed for beginners.
Annual Cost (Professional): Sketch has $120 USD, while Canva has $180 USD (Canva Pro).
Built-in Templates: Sketch has 500+ professional design templates, while Canva has 500,000+ templates across all categories.
Collaboration Features: Sketch has Real-time multiplayer editing with version history, while Canva has Share-link collaboration with limited editing controls.
Target User Base: Sketch has Professional designers and product teams, while Canva has Entrepreneurs, small businesses, content creators.
Export Formats Supported: Sketch has SVG, PNG, PDF, WebP (12 formats total), while Canva has PNG, PDF, MP4, GIF, SVG (8 formats total).