Sketch is a mature, industry-standard design tool optimized for UI/UX work with superior performance and plugin ecosystem, while Penpot is a free, open-source alternative with web-based collaboration and lower cost but less mature tooling and smaller community.
Sketch vs Penpot — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Lightweight vector design tool for UI/UX design with collaborative cloud features.
Free, open-source web-based design platform with native real-time collaboration and design-to-code features.
Pricing Model. Platform Type. Open Source. Performance on Large Files (50+ artboards). Plugin Ecosystem. Real-time Collaboration Features. Market Adoption (2024)
Choose Sketch if you're a professional UI/UX designer prioritizing performance, plugin ecosystem maturity, and industry-standard tools that integrate with enterprise workflows. Choose Penpot if you need a cost-free solution with native web-based collaboration, don't mind limitations in large file handling, and prefer supporting open-source infrastructure.
Sketch: macOS, Windows (beta) | Penpot: Web-based (all OS)
Sketch: $120/year ($10/month) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 3 (Mac, Windows, Web) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Basic (plugin-dependent) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Limited (requires Cloud plugin, up to 5 free) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Excellent - minimal lag | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Native support with libraries | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: ~1,000+ community-built plugins | Penpot: 100+
Sketch: No (third-party workarounds) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Advanced Auto Layout (2021+) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 5-6 basic interactions (tap, click, scroll) | Penpot: N/A
Cloud Storage Included (Free Plan/Trial)
Market Share Among UI/UX Designers (2024)
Sketch: Full interactive prototyping with animations and states | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Mac desktop, Web (limited features) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 14-day free trial only; no free plan | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Partner integrations (photos/icons sold separately) | Penpot: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Professional Plan)
Sketch: $8.25/user (yearly: $99) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Shared libraries, comments, version history (async) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 1,200+ plugins | Penpot: Limited ecosystem, community-driven
Sketch: Not included; requires third-party services | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Requires third-party plugins (e.g., Figma-to-React) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Symbols, shared styles, nested components (established) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: macOS, Windows, Web (recently improved) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Plugin-based, additional cost | Penpot: Yes (built-in multiplayer)
Sketch: Advanced (interactions, animations, states) | Penpot: Basic (standard prototyping)
Sketch: No (proprietary) | Penpot: AGPL v3 (fully open)
Sketch: $144 (Sketch Standard annual) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Optimized for 100+ artboards without lag | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 0 (native); available via plugins | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 15,000+ plugins and integrations | Penpot: 200-300 plugins and integrations
Market Share Among Professional Designers
Sketch: ~70% (industry standard for UI/UX teams) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: $14 | Penpot: Free (Premium: $10)
Sketch: Basic (clickable prototypes only) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 4,000 x 4,000 pixels | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Manual management (requires Sketch 90+) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Full support with readable output | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: $299 | Penpot: $0 (free forever)
Sketch: Limited (file sharing only) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Requires workarounds | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 800+ without degradation | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Shared symbols with nesting | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Advanced with animations | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: $12/month (or $129 one-time) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 15 concurrent users | Penpot: Unlimited
Sketch: 8+ years of resources | Penpot: 4+ years of resources
Sketch: Proprietary/Closed | Penpot: 100% Open Source (GitHub)
Sketch: Advanced (Symbols, Shared Styles, Tokens) | Penpot: Good (Components, Shared Libraries)
Sketch: Basic (transitions, drag triggers) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Yes (Slack integration only) | Penpot: N/A
Performance on Large Files (100+ Artboards)
Sketch: Excellent (instant load) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: None (third-party workarounds) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: No (30-day trial only) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Limited via plugins (~5) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Advanced with nested symbols | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Available in beta/plugins | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Requires integration (Zeplin, Abstract) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: macOS only + Web viewer | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 6-8 basic interactions | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Limited free tier (projects only) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 22% of design tools market (2024) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 15-20 min (macOS native install) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Advanced design tokens with shared libraries | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Limited; community-contributed | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Via plugins; file-based | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Full design support | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Third-party plugins only | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Basic: 4-5 transition types (fade, slide, push, pop) | Penpot: 8-10 (basic transitions)
Sketch: 2-5 MB per project | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Shared symbols with cloud sync via subscription | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 2 (macOS, Web beta) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 0 (third-party integration only) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Sketch, SVG, PDF export | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: $14/month (annual billing) or $20/month (monthly) | Penpot: $0-10/month (Free or Cloud Pro)
Sketch: Optimal up to 200+ artboards with <100ms interaction latency | Penpot: Degrades at 50+ artboards with 200-400ms latency
Sketch: Comments only; async collaboration | Penpot: Native multiplayer with simultaneous cursors
Sketch: 62% of design professionals (2024) | Penpot: 8-12% of design professionals (2024)
Sketch: Proprietary closed-source | Penpot: Open-source (GNU Affero v3)
Sketch: macOS and Windows desktop apps | Penpot: Any browser on any OS (web-based)
Sketch: Via third-party plugins (Zeplin, Abstract) | Penpot: Native CSS, HTML, SVG export built-in
Sketch: $99 one-time + $99/year | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Up to 5 efficiently | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: Basic (5-10 interaction types) | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: 10 MB for complex UI | Penpot: N/A
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: No native AI tools (community experiments only)
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: Free (Premium optional €60/year)
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: Full real-time co-editing with 20+ users
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: No (browser-based only)
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: No direct integration
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: $192/month unlimited (or free self-hosted)
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: Yes (Docker, Kubernetes)
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: $0 (Premium: $120)
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: Unlimited projects
Sketch: N/A | Penpot: Community plugins; native support developing
Sketch vs Penpot — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Sketch vs Penpot. Contains 142 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Sketch vs Penpot — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Sketch vs Penpot.
Is Penpot good enough to replace Sketch professionally?
Penpot is viable for small to mid-sized design projects and teams with simpler workflows, but struggles with large files (50+ artboards) and lacks the mature plugin ecosystem that many professional teams rely on. For enterprise-scale work, teams requiring specific integrations (Jira, Asana, Salesforce), or performance-critical projects, Sketch remains superior. However, Penpot excels for collaborative teams and organizations prioritizing cost savings.
Can I use Penpot offline or do I need internet?
The cloud version requires internet connectivity. However, Penpot's open-source nature allows self-hosting on your own servers, which provides offline-capable deployments. Self-hosted Penpot eliminates cloud dependency but requires technical setup and server maintenance.
Does Sketch work on Windows as well as macOS?
Sketch is macOS-primary with Windows support available, but the Windows version frequently lags behind macOS in feature releases by 2-4 months. Critical updates often ship to macOS first. For Windows-primary teams, Penpot's browser-based approach provides better cross-platform parity.
What's the cost difference over 3 years for a team of 5 designers?
Sketch costs approximately $2,520-3,600 per 5-person team over 3 years ($14-20/month × 5 × 36 months). Penpot Free Plan costs $0, while Penpot Cloud Pro costs $1,800 (5 users × $10/month × 36 months). For budget-constrained teams, Penpot saves $1,720-3,600 over 3 years.
Which has better performance on Macs with M1/M2 chips?
Sketch's native macOS app is highly optimized for Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) with excellent performance. Penpot, being web-based, depends on browser optimization and doesn't get the same native chip benefits. Sketch edges out Penpot on Mac performance by 30-50% on large files due to native ARM64 optimization.
Pricing Model: Sketch has $12-14/month (annual) or $20/month (monthly), while Penpot has Free forever plan + $10/month Cloud Pro.
Platform Type: Sketch has Native macOS/Windows desktop application, while Penpot has Web-based, browser-accessible from any device.
Open Source: Sketch has Proprietary closed-source, while Penpot has 100% open-source (GNU Affero v3).
Consider: Performance on Large Files (50+ artboards)
Performance on Large Files (50+ artboards): Sketch has Excellent responsiveness, <100ms interaction latency, while Penpot has Moderate performance, 200-400ms interaction latency.
Plugin Ecosystem: Sketch has 15,000+ plugins and integrations available, while Penpot has 200-300 plugins and integrations.
Consider: Real-time Collaboration Features
Real-time Collaboration Features: Sketch has Basic comments and version history, while Penpot has Native real-time multiplayer editing + comments.
Market Adoption (2024): Sketch has 62% of design professionals use Sketch, while Penpot has 8-12% of design professionals use Penpot.