Selecting the right UI/UX design tool is as critical as the creative ideas and strategy behind digital experiences. As of 2024, Figma, Adobe XD, and Sketch remain popular tools, however, with platforms constantly evolving through regular updates and feature rollouts, it can be challenging for designers to determine which tool best aligns with their workflow.
With two decades of experience in graphic and UI/UX design, I’ve had the opportunity to use each of these tools for various design projects, such as an AI-powered personal assistant web app in Figma, a car companion mobile app in Adobe XD, and a volunteer management web app in Sketch.
Below, I evaluate Figma, Adobe XD, and Sketch user interfaces, design systems, responsive design capabilities, developer handoff features, and more to help you choose the right tool for your project.
Figma vs. vs. Adobe XD Sketch: Feature Comparison
Figma is a browser-based application that is well-known for its comprehensive design systems and features for collaboration. Users now have more control over their workspace thanks to extensive UI updates in its most recent release. Adobe XD is no longer available for purchase as a standalone application, but still supports existing users in “maintenance mode,” and continues to offer integration across the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. Sketch is the application of choice for many designers using Mac, valued for its screen design focus and plugin range. The interactive prototyping capabilities of the software saw significant enhancements in Version 100, a significant update that was released earlier this year. A thorough feature comparison can be extremely helpful when selecting the appropriate design platform, even though there isn’t always a single tool that is ideal for all design projects.
Figma, Adobe XD, and Sketch each offer a distinct set of capabilities that can cater to specific design needs—let’s explore how they compare.
Interface for Users Figma’s UI includes a central canvas, a toolbar, and dedicated panels for layers, properties, and assets. Users can also choose between light and dark modes for visual comfort. One of the main objectives of Figma UI3, the third redesign of the Figma interface launched earlier in 2024, was to provide a more focused and approachable design environment for users. The UI3 updates include a more intuitive UI with informative labels in the properties panel (including an explanation of what each property does and which can be turned on and off), and resizable and collapsible panels, which aim to give users more control over their workspace. Unlike its competitors, Figma is accessible entirely in a browser, allowing for platform independence and reducing the barrier to entry for new users.
A canvas, toolbar, and panels for assets and layers that can be changed are all part of Adobe XD’s UI. This tool will be familiar to users of other Adobe Creative Cloud suite products as it maintains the classic Adobe style, with a left-hand toolbar, similar to Photoshop and Illustrator. Adobe XD was simple to get started with because I frequently use products from the Adobe suite. Designers are also able to create and organize user interface designs for a variety of screens and devices thanks to the platform’s dedicated workspaces (artboards) contained within a single document.
However, Adobe XD does not support multiple pages within a single XD file, a feature that is available in other design tools like Sketch. Designers must rely on duplicate artboards and the layer panel’s grouping and naming features to keep elements organized when managing large projects and various design flows. Sketch’s user interface offers a range of toolbars and panels that users can show or hide as they prefer.
Designers can use artboards to create self-contained design frames for different device screens, states, and iterations, while pages allow them to separate and manage different flows or sections of their projects. In May 2024, Sketch launched version 100 with some key UI updates, including a command bar with quick access to common actions in the menu bar. Designers can now pin important documents in their Workspace window. A minimap was also added to assist designers in navigating a large canvas with layers that are not currently visible.
Like they can in Figma, users can choose between light and dark themes in Sketch. However, Sketch differs significantly from Adobe XD and Figma in that it was developed exclusively for macOS and does not natively support Windows. Symbols and Components Designers can store and manage reusable elements across projects and teams using Figma’s extensive component and style library. Users can create reusable objects known as components, such as buttons, icons, and input fields, as well as more complex items like device mockups, platform OS components, and company logos.
Additionally, the rollout of UI3 brought users 200 new icons hand-drawn by Figma designer Tim Van Damm. Styles and variables play a key role in making Figma a powerhouse for maintaining consistency across design files. Variables enable designers to define and modify properties across multiple instances and create dynamic and easily updatable components across multiple artboards, while styles are predefined attributes that can be applied to components. Examples of these attributes include font, size, and weight, among others. The design libraries of Adobe XD, like those of Figma, house assets, styles, and components. Adobe XD also places a strong emphasis on consistency across designs. Designers are able to make reusable parts that stay the same throughout a project. Adobe XD’s Repeat Grid feature lets designers replicate a group of objects horizontally or vertically, which helps create lists, galleries, and other sets of repeated elements.
When used together, components and Repeat Grid make it possible to quickly create and uniformly modify repetitive design elements and patterns. This saves time for designers, especially when dealing with complex patterns or presentations that are heavy on data. Sketch’s strong vector drawing capabilities were the primary reason it initially gained popularity in the UI design community. Since then, it has evolved to include color variables, reusable text and layer styles, and symbols that designers can use across multiple Sketch documents or libraries. Designers are able to consistently reuse UI elements like buttons, icons, headers, and more thanks to symbols, which act as master templates. When changes are made to the original symbol, those modifications are automatically reflected across all instances of the symbol in the design files. Designers can use Sketch’s Symbol Override feature to customize specific symbol instances without affecting any others.
Sketch’s symbols saved me a lot of time when working on a dashboard UI with multiple cards. When a change was required, I only modified the master symbol, and it immediately updated on all screens instead of manually updating each card. This capability allowed me to focus on the finer details of each card.
Responsive Design
Beyond a robust system of responsive grids and layouts, designers can also create responsive designs using Figma’s Auto layout feature and constraints. These features enable elements to adapt flexibly to various screen sizes and layouts. Designers can easily arrange and resize components within frames with Auto layout, ensuring that designs adjust automatically. Although careful configuration of elements, margins, and padding is required, the final product is flawless and simple to replicate. This feature changed the way I design more structured and smart layouts like data-intensive dashboards for clients in the HR and real estate industries. Constraints in Figma enable designers to set rules for how elements behave when the parent frame is resized, providing control over positioning and alignment in responsive layouts.
