Figma vs Adobe XD vs Sketch (2026)
Figma raised prices to $16/editor/month in March 2025. Adobe XD is in maintenance mode — no new features, not available to new users. Sketch remains strong for Mac teams at $12/month. The market has moved decisively, but the right choice still depends on your stack.
Figma raised prices March 2025: Professional is now $16/editor/mo (not $12). Organization is $55 (not $45). Enterprise is $90 (not $75). New Dev seats ($12/mo) and Collab seats ($5/mo) added. Adobe XD is effectively deprecated — maintenance mode, no new features, not available to new users. Sketch Business pricing is contact-sales (the $20/user figure is outdated). Verified May 2026.
- Figma — The industry standard. Free Starter · Professional $16/editor/mo · Dev seats $12/mo. Best collaboration, largest community, works on any OS. Raised prices March 2025 — many comparisons still show old $12 price.
- Adobe XD — In maintenance mode since 2024. No new features. Not available to new CC users. Existing CC All Apps subscribers can still access it. Not a viable choice for new projects.
- Sketch — Best for Mac-only teams. $12/editor/month · $120/year ($10/mo effective). Offline-first, fast performance, unlimited free viewers. Strong for teams that don't need Windows/Linux support.
| Your Situation | Best Fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New design team picking a tool in 2026 | Figma | Industry standard, largest community, best collaboration, works everywhere |
| Mac-only team wanting best performance + offline | Sketch | $10/mo effective annual, fastest Mac performance, full offline access |
| Existing Adobe CC subscriber, just needs prototyping | Figma or Sketch | XD is in maintenance mode — plan your migration now |
| Hiring UI/UX designers | Figma | Virtually all designer job listings specify Figma as the required tool |
| Team with Windows and Mac designers | Figma | Sketch is Mac-only — Figma runs in any browser on any OS |
| Minimize cost for developers who inspect designs | Figma Dev seat | $12/mo (Professional) vs $16/mo full seat — devs get Dev Mode without edit access |
| Cross-platform collaboration + FigJam whiteboarding | Figma | FigJam now bundled in all paid Figma seats |
| Teams needing SSO (small/mid size) | Sketch Business | Sketch Business includes SSO — Figma SSO requires $55/mo Organization plan |
Team Cost Calculator
Figma's March 2025 seat restructure introduced separate seat types — mix Full, Dev, and Collab seats to reduce costs. Drag to your editor count to see monthly and annual totals across all three tools.
Key Stats (May 2026)
At a Glance
Browser-based collaborative design platform — the standard for product design teams globally
- Industry standard — most design jobs specify Figma
- Best real-time collaboration — simultaneous cursor editing
- Works on any OS — browser-based, no install required
- Dev Mode + FigJam + Slides bundled in all paid seats
- Dev seats ($12/mo) cheaper than full editor for developers
- Raised from $12 to $16/mo in March 2025 — still catching many teams off guard
- SSO requires Organization plan at $55/mo — 267% jump from Professional
- Performance can lag on very complex files vs Sketch on Mac
In maintenance mode — no new features since 2024, not available to new Creative Cloud users
- Free for existing CC All Apps subscribers (no extra cost)
- Good integration with Photoshop, Illustrator assets
- Strong motion prototyping with After Effects
- In maintenance mode — no new features being developed
- Not available to new Creative Cloud subscribers
- Not a viable choice for new projects in 2026
- Adobe's design focus has shifted to Adobe Express and Firefly
Mac-native design tool — fastest performance, offline-first, $10/mo effective annual pricing
- Fastest Mac performance on complex files
- Offline-first — full local file storage and editing
- Unlimited free viewers on all plans
- $10/mo effective annual — $6/mo cheaper than Figma Professional annual
- Actively developed, profitable, and independent
- Mac only — Windows/Linux designers cannot use the app
- Smaller community than Figma — fewer plugins and resources
- No free plan beyond 30-day trial
At-a-Glance Scorecard
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Figma | Adobe XD | Sketch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform / OS | ✓ Any — browser-based (Mac, Win, Linux) | Mac + Windows (via CC, existing users only) | ✗ Mac only — no Windows or Linux |
| Free plan | ✓ Free Starter — 3 team files, unlimited viewers | ✗ Not available to new users | ✗ 30-day trial only |
| Real-time collaboration | ✓ Best — live cursor tracking, simultaneous editing | ⚡ Available (maintenance mode) | ⚡ Available (Mac app only) |
| Active development | ✓ Yes — frequent updates, new features | ✗ Maintenance mode — no new features | ✓ Yes — actively developed |
| Dev Mode / inspect | ✓ Dev seats $12/mo (Pro) — full Dev Mode | ⚡ Available to existing users | ✓ Free viewer inspect in web app |
| Offline access | ✗ Web-based — limited offline (desktop app helps) | ⚡ Desktop app with some offline | ✓ Full offline — files saved locally |
| SSO | ✗ Requires Organization plan ($55/mo) — 267% jump | ⚡ Via Creative Cloud | ✓ Sketch Business (contact sales) |
| FigJam whiteboard | ✓ Bundled in all paid seats | ✗ No equivalent | ✗ No equivalent |
| Mac performance (complex files) | ⚡ Good — can lag on very large files | ⚡ Good | ✓ Best — native app, lightweight |
| Viewer seats | ✓ Free on all plans | ⚡ Limited to CC users | ✓ Free on all plans (unlimited) |
Verified Pricing (May 2026)
Figma raised prices in March 2025. All prices shown are from official pricing pages verified May 2026. The $12/editor/month figure many sites quote for Figma Professional is outdated — the correct price is $16/month annual or $20/month monthly.
| Plan tier | Figma | Adobe XD | Sketch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Starter: 3 team files, unlimited viewers, 500 AI credits | Not available to new users | 30-day trial only — no free tier |
| Individual / small team | Professional: $16/editor/mo annual · $20/mo monthly | Included in CC All Apps: $59.99/mo individual (existing users only) | Standard: $12/editor/mo monthly · $120/editor/yr ($10/mo) |
| Developer seats | Dev seat: $12/mo Professional · $25/mo Organization · $35/mo Enterprise | No separate dev seat | Viewers free — no dev-specific seat |
| Collab / stakeholder seats | Collab seat: $5/mo Professional — FigJam + Slides only | N/A | Viewers free |
| Mid-tier / teams | Organization: $55/editor/mo (annual only) — SSO, shared fonts, unlimited teams | CC Teams: $89.99/mo per seat (existing users) | Business: contact sales — SSO, invoice billing, 25+ editors |
| Enterprise | Enterprise: $90/editor/mo (annual only) — SCIM, custom security | N/A — XD in maintenance mode | Enterprise: contact sales — custom terms, dedicated manager |
| Key gotchas | Professional → Organization jump is $16 → $55/seat (267%) just to get SSO. Many sites still quote $12/mo — that's outdated since March 2025. | Maintenance mode only. Not available to new CC users. Not recommended for new projects. The $59.99/mo is Creative Cloud All Apps — XD is just one of many apps included. | Mac only — any Windows user makes Sketch impossible for the team. Sketch Business price is contact-sales only; old $20/seat figures are unreliable. |
The Full Picture
Figma — The Collaborative Design Standard, Now at $16/Month
Figma is the unambiguous market leader for UI/UX design in 2026. The browser-based architecture means any designer on any operating system can work simultaneously on the same file, with real-time cursor tracking and conflict-free version history. The community is enormous — most design job listings specify Figma, most design system templates and component libraries are built for Figma, and most developer handoff workflows are optimised for it.
In March 2025, Figma restructured its pricing. The headline change: Professional went from $12 to $16/editor/month (annual). The bundled change: FigJam and Figma Slides are now included in every paid seat — previously charged separately at $3-5/user/month each. For teams already using FigJam, the effective price increase is smaller than it appears. Figma also introduced new seat types: Dev seats ($12/mo on Professional) for developers who need inspection and Dev Mode but not edit access, and Collab seats ($5/mo) for stakeholders who only need FigJam and Slides.
The SSO gotcha is the most important consideration for growing teams. Figma Professional ($16/mo) does not include SSO — that requires Organization plan at $55/mo. There is no tier between $16 and $55. For a 10-person design team that needs SSO, Figma costs $550/month vs $160/month on Professional — a $4,680/year difference. Sketch Business includes SSO at a lower total cost for many teams in this size range.
Adobe XD — Effectively Discontinued for New Users
Adobe XD's situation has become clearer since 2024: it is in maintenance mode. Adobe confirmed it will not invest further in XD's development — the product receives only bug fixes and security patches. XD was removed as a standalone purchasable app on June 22, 2023. As of 2026, many new Creative Cloud All Apps subscribers cannot see XD in their launcher at all, despite paying for a subscription that technically includes it.
The sequence of events: Adobe attempted to acquire Figma for $20 billion in 2022. Regulatory scrutiny blocked the deal in 2023 and Adobe paid a $1 billion termination fee. With the acquisition off the table and Figma dominant, Adobe had little incentive to continue investing in XD as a standalone product. The resources that would have gone into XD development have been redirected to Adobe Express, Firefly AI, and other Adobe-first initiatives.
For designers currently using XD within an existing Creative Cloud All Apps subscription, it still functions for existing projects. Migration tools exist to export XD files to Figma. For any team choosing a primary design tool in 2026 — including teams already paying for Creative Cloud — XD is not a viable option. The practical choice for CC subscribers is Figma Professional ($16/mo) alongside their existing CC subscription, or Sketch ($10/mo annual) for Mac-only teams.
Sketch — Actively Developed, Mac-Native, and Still Genuinely Strong
Sketch's position is simple and defensible: the best Mac-native design experience at the lowest price point. Standard plan is $12/editor/month on monthly billing, or $120/year ($10/month effective) on annual billing — $6/month cheaper than Figma Professional annual. The native Mac architecture delivers better performance on complex files than Figma's browser-based approach. Files are stored locally, so working offline is natural rather than a workaround. Unlimited viewers are free, matching Figma's free viewer model.
Sketch has responded to Figma's collaboration challenge: real-time collaboration is included in the Mac app at no extra cost. The web app allows non-Mac users to view, comment, and inspect designs in any browser. Sketch Libraries enable design system sharing across teams. The plugin ecosystem is smaller than Figma's but covers most professional needs.
The clear constraint remains platform: Sketch requires a Mac for editing. Any team member on Windows or Linux cannot use the Mac app — they are viewer-only via the web app. In 2026, product and engineering teams are rarely Mac-homogeneous, which limits Sketch to design teams where every designer uses Mac and cross-role editing is not required. The Business plan (SSO, invoice billing, advanced permissions) is contact-sales only — old quotes of $20/user are unreliable and likely outdated.
Who Should Use Each Tool?
🟣 Choose Figma if...
- Your team includes designers on Mac and Windows
- You are hiring — virtually all job listings require Figma
- Real-time collaboration across roles is essential
- You want FigJam whiteboarding alongside design
- You need the largest plugin and template ecosystem
🔴 Do NOT choose Adobe XD if...
- You are starting a new project in 2026
- You are a new Creative Cloud subscriber — it may not be available
- You need new features or a development roadmap
- You want to build long-term design system infrastructure
🟡 Choose Sketch if...
- Your entire design team uses Mac exclusively
- Offline access and local file storage are priorities
- You want the fastest Mac performance on complex files
- Budget is a consideration — $10/mo annual is the cheapest here
- You need SSO without paying Figma's Organization premium
Best Tool by Role and Scenario
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Figma cost in 2026?
Is Adobe XD still available in 2026?
Why is Figma now $16 when most articles say $12?
What is the biggest gotcha with Figma pricing?
Is Sketch still worth using in 2026?
Should developers get a full Figma seat or a Dev seat?
Ready to Choose Your UI/UX Design Tool?
Figma's free plan is the best starting point. Sketch offers a 30-day trial.