Figma vs Sketch: which design tool should you use?

Short answer: pick Figma if your team works across Mac, Windows and the browser, wants everyone (designers, developers, PMs, clients) in one shared file, and wants AI built in, from an on-canvas agent to prompt-to-app prototypes with Figma Make. Pick Sketch if your designers work on Macs and want a focused native Mac app that can work fully offline with local files, with free browser-based viewing and developer handoff, and AI that comes from your own tools through its MCP server rather than a credit system. Figma has a free plan; Sketch has a free trial and no free plan.

Both are listed on Unloc. Unloc cards: Figma and Sketch.

Quick verdict

Plans, seats, AI allowances and prices change often, so check both live pricing pages before you decide. Everything below comes from each company's own website, pricing page and help centre.

What Figma does

Figma calls itself the collaborative canvas for design, code and AI. Teams design and prototype in Figma Design, and teammates and AI agents work in the same space with shared context. Around that core sits a family of products: Dev Mode for developers, FigJam for whiteboarding, Figma Slides for presentations, Figma Draw for illustration, Figma Sites for publishing responsive websites, Figma Buzz for producing on-brand assets at scale and Figma Make for turning prompts and designs into working prototypes and web apps.

Figma is cloud-based. You can work in the browser or in its desktop apps for macOS and Windows, and there are mobile apps for iOS, iPad and Android. Files save automatically to the cloud, and you can invite as many people as you want to view, comment, inspect or export from your files for free.

What Sketch does

Sketch describes itself as a toolkit made by designers, for designers. At its heart is a native macOS editor for interface design, with an infinite canvas, a precise vector editor, stack layouts and nestable frames, symbols, colour variables and shared Libraries. Sketch says it built the Mac app for designers and no-one else, not for PMs, developers or clients.

Everyone else joins through the browser. A Sketch subscription includes a shared Workspace and a web app that runs in any browser, on any operating system, where people can view documents, test prototypes, leave comments, inspect designs and download assets. An iPhone and iPad app lets you view designs, play prototypes and mirror from your Mac. Sketch is an independent company and stresses privacy: it says it collects minimal analytics and does not track what you do in your documents.

Designing: one shared canvas vs a focused Mac app

This is the core difference. Figma is built around real-time collaboration in the cloud. Multiple editors can work in the same file at once, see each other's cursors, talk over audio, follow each other through a file and keep everything in one place, with automatic saving and version history. Its design tools cover components, auto layout, variables, modes for theming and team-wide design libraries.

Sketch puts the designer first. Its stack layouts, nestable frames and pinning tools make responsive layouts quick without locking you down, and it supports OpenType and variable fonts, right-to-left text and embedded fonts. Sketch has real-time collaboration in the Mac app, so you can co-edit with others, but you can just as easily design privately and offline, saving files locally or anywhere you choose. Sketch also says its documents are not limited by browser memory, because the editor is a native app.

Platform matters. Figma works on Mac, Windows and in the browser, so mixed teams can all edit. Sketch's editor runs only on macOS, so designers need a Mac, although developers, clients and reviewers can use the web app from any computer.

Prototyping and developer handoff

Both tools have prototyping built in. Figma offers interactive overlays, Smart Animate, transitions, video in prototypes and a responsive prototype viewer, and paid plans add advanced prototyping with variables, conditional logic and multiple actions per interaction. Sketch says you can create a working prototype in very few clicks, with Smart Animate, Overlays for modals and menus, hover, press, drag and swipe interactions and multi-directional scrolling, and you can test prototypes in any browser or on iPhone and iPad.

Handoff is where the pricing models differ. In Figma, free viewers on a file can view measurements and property values, copy CSS, iOS and Android code and export assets. Dev Mode, which is not available on the free Starter plan, adds a workspace for developers, with ready-for-dev statuses and notifications, comparing changes, component playgrounds, code snippets, links to GitHub, Jira and Storybook, and a VS Code extension. Sketch includes developer handoff for free: developers can inspect designs, measure between layers, copy colour values and CSS, download assets and export design tokens in the browser, without a Mac or a paid seat.

AI features

Figma has AI throughout the product. The Figma agent can generate and remix designs, edit images, search your files, automate busywork and give design feedback. Figma Make is a prompt-to-app tool that turns ideas and existing designs into interactive prototypes and web apps you can share or publish. There are also AI tools to rename layers, add interactions, rewrite text and remove backgrounds. Figma meters AI with credits: every seat includes a monthly allotment that depends on plan and seat type, and you can buy more. Figma says admins control AI content training settings.

Sketch takes the opposite approach. It says AI should aid designers, not replace them, and rather than selling AI credits or AI tiers, it offers an MCP server that runs locally on your Mac, is off by default and lets AI clients such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code and Codex work with your designs, for example swapping components, filling in realistic content, tidying layers or building a frame out in code. Sketch says there are no tokens to buy, no extra tiers and no add-ons for this. Figma also has an MCP server that gives AI agents design context for generating code and can write content back to the canvas, with rate limits that vary by seat and plan.

Moving between Figma and Sketch

Switching is possible in both directions. Figma can import .sketch files on all plans, converting artboards to frames and symbols to components, and imported symbol libraries arrive as design files you can publish as a library on a paid plan. Sketch has a .fig file importer and points to its open file format, so you can take your Sketch files to another tool at any time.

Teams, security and integrations

Figma's plans scale from single teams to large organisations, with shared libraries and fonts, centralised admin, custom workspaces, single sign-on, SCIM, audit logs and design system APIs on higher plans. It supports plugins and widgets built by the Figma community, a REST API and webhooks, and integrations with tools such as Slack, Notion, Jira and Google Workspace.

Sketch Workspaces give teams shared documents, Libraries, version history, permissions and private drafts. Higher plans add single sign-on, project archiving and permission groups, and Enterprise adds SCIM provisioning and bring-your-own-key encryption. A Private Cloud option offers a choice of hosting locations in the US and EU. Sketch has its own plugin ecosystem, including an official Slack app and integrations such as Notion and Unsplash.

Free plans and pricing

Figma has a free Starter plan for personal projects and trying Figma products. It includes Figma Design, FigJam, Slides, Draw, Sites, Buzz and Make, but with a limited number of files, shorter version history, no team libraries, no Dev Mode and no publishing in Figma Sites. Paid plans are Professional, Organization and Enterprise, priced per seat, with Full, Dev and Collab seats that unlock different products. On paid plans, others can view and comment without buying extra seats.

Sketch has no free plan; it says free plans are not sustainable. Instead it offers a free trial with no credit card, then a choice of subscriptions (Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Private Cloud), billed per Editor, with unlimited free viewers and free developer handoff. If you do not need collaboration, a one-time Mac-only license lets you keep the Mac app and work locally. Both tools are free for eligible students and educators. Check the live Figma pricing page and Sketch pricing page for current plans, seats and prices.

Who should pick which

• Pick Figma if your team uses a mix of Mac, Windows and browsers and everyone needs to edit, comment and inspect in the same file.
• Pick Figma if you want AI built in, such as the Figma agent and prompt-to-app prototypes with Figma Make, plus whiteboarding, slides and website publishing in one platform.
• Pick Sketch if your designers work on Macs and want a focused native app that works fully offline with local files.
• Pick Sketch if you want free developer handoff, a one-time license option, strong privacy and the freedom to bring your own AI tools through a local MCP server.

Comparing other design tools? See Canva vs Figma, Figma vs Framer and Sketch vs Adobe XD, or browse Penpot on Unloc.

FAQ

Is Figma better than Sketch?

It depends on your team. Figma is better for cross-platform teams that want real-time collaboration in the cloud and built-in AI. Sketch is better for Mac-based designers who want a focused native app, offline work with local files and free developer handoff.

Is Sketch only for Mac?

The Sketch editor is a native macOS app, so designers need a Mac. Collaborators, clients and developers can view documents, test prototypes, comment and inspect designs in the Sketch web app in any browser, on any operating system, and there is an iPhone and iPad app for viewing and mirroring.

Can I use Figma or Sketch for free?

Figma has a free Starter plan with limited files and features. Sketch has no free plan, but it offers a free trial with no credit card, and paid Workspaces include unlimited free viewers and free developer handoff. Both are free for eligible students and educators.

Can Figma open Sketch files?

Yes. Figma imports .sketch files on all plans and converts artboards to frames and symbols to components. Sketch can also import .fig files, so you can move work in either direction.

Does Sketch have AI like Figma?

Sketch takes a different approach. Figma includes AI tools such as the Figma agent and Figma Make, metered with AI credits. Sketch instead runs a local MCP server that lets AI clients like Claude, Cursor or Codex work with your designs, with no tokens to buy or extra tiers.