Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD have been the biggest names in the UI/UX industry, and every search for the ideal interface design app will likely bring you to one of these tools. They are constantly evolving, launching new features, and adapting to the complex needs of designers. The statistics behind these design platforms show that this industry is only getting better.

Figma has a whopping 4 million users, with more joining the community daily. Sketch has venture capital worth 20 million dollars to expand its product offerings across the globe. Adobe XD operates within a market cap of $312.90 billion.

The numbers are quite impressive, but if you had to choose one: which UI/UX design tool would you go with? Choosing the right tool for any design project can be quite exhausting. Each platform has its own features and capabilities, and what may be the best fit for your workflow may not work for others.

In this blog, we will explore the capacities of each platform and why they have become favorites among designers. Let’s get into it!

Figma: The Ultimate UI/UX Design Tool 

Figma is well-known for its easy-to-use cloud-based app, quick and intuitive which makes it a go-to choice among user interface designers. Its online whiteboard FIGJam has gained popularity due to its creative space for virtual brainstorming, team collaboration, and customer journey mapping. The auto layout feature supports responsive designs by automatically adjusting components, while smart animation helps you to create dynamic designs and advanced micro-interactions effortlessly.

• Design system: Figma has a better upgrade on its component system with the introduction of Variants and Auto Layout 4.0, streamlining every UX/UI designer’s design system workflow. It helps in building highly scalable design systems with reusable components, consistent styles, and tokenized design attributes that can be utilized across multiple projects. Over the years, they have also continued to optimize their performance with reduced loading times and enhanced rendering speeds.
• Animations and Transitions: If you are looking to create advanced, customized animations, Figma’s Smart Animate has layer-matching logic, recognizes name-based layer distinctions, and smoothly animates properties such as position, scale, and opacity between frames in a prototype.

Why Figma?

• Seamless real-time collaboration, with fine-grained version control and activity logs, coupled with better transparency for teams to easily work together.
• Quick and easy file sharing with view-only links and comment access which makes designs highly accessible without the need for import/export.
• Cloud-based design availability ensures cross-platform compatibility and better user experience, allowing easy access for everyone.
• Supports a wide range of plugins, including accessibility checkers, icon libraries, and design system managers.
• An all-around package with robust design, prototyping, and collaborative capabilities which makes it ideal for both small teams and enterprise-level projects.

Sketch: Preferred macOS Design Tool for UI/UX Designers

Sketch is a macOS-native design tool ideal for UI/UX designers that delivers streamlined design features optimized for various devices and screen sizes. The tool earned the prestigious Apple Design Award in 2012 for its innovative and advanced functionality. 

Sketch’s community, though relatively small, is highly dedicated and quick to assist designers with technical guidance. However, users have reported issues with the platform crashing during large-size projects, which has caused frustration among some of its community members.

• Design System: Sketch offers robust design system capabilities similar to Figma and Adobe. However, integrating third-party services to complete the product design workflow can complicate the process.
• Animations and Transition: For Sketch users, the Timeline plugin is essential for creating animations and interactions. Though it is a paid plugin, it enriches the tool’s capability by facilitating the animation of websites, mobile apps, and other interfaces.

Why Sketch?

• Highly scalable designs that are quick to create.
• Build and maintain reusable virtual design systems and libraries to ensure consistency and speed up iterations.
• Enhanced efficiency with accurate tools, pixel-perfect designs, and automation.
• Quick and precise renderings that closely match browser appearances.
• Ongoing support from a dedicated community.

Adobe XD: The All-in-One UX/UI Design and Prototyping Tool

On the other hand, Adobe XD has always been a favorite UI design tool among Adobe-native designers and developers. It facilitates seamless integration of communication tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack and supports diverse fields from Illustrator, Photoshop, and AfterEffects with an Asset library. As a popular choice for UI prototyping, XD might lag on larger live-collaboration projects.

• Design system: With Adobe XD, you can create a design system from scratch in a few steps. The advantage of creating your own system will provide consistency across UX and UI design for different team professionals. You can use a few plugins to make the process easier. 
• Animations and Transitions: The recent update in Adobe XD’s auto-animate makes prototyping rich interactions even easier by automatically animating micro-interactions across artboards in the platform.

Why Adobe XD?

• Create reliable design software based on dependable infrastructure.
• Allows editing and reusability of elements with support for resizing groups and objects.
• Supports interactive prototypes with voice prototyping with voice control, animation, gaming support, mobile previews, and flows.
• Cloud saving features with linked assets for view-only mode, cloud-based collaboration.

Comparing the Top 3 UI Tools 

Given the future of UI/UX, having the right tools can make a potential difference in your workflow and productivity. Here’s a quick overview of the key features of the three tools.

Which Tool is Right for Your Needs?

As you can see, every design tool has its own strengths and weaknesses. The best tool for you solely depends on your personal preferences, project needs, and budget. 

If collaboration and cross-platform accessibility are your priorities, then go for Figma. 

If you prefer a large plugin ecosystem and working only on MacOS, then go for Sketch. 

If you are already on Adobe’s creative cloud suite, Adobe XD could be the perfect choice for a smooth transition. 

However, based on our comparison, we consider Figma as the best option for most designers. Their diverse community is constantly creating and sharing new resources and tips. It also has a generous free plan including most other features and functions, offering more value and flexibility than Sketch and Adobe XD. 

Our recommendation for achieving efficient and excellent results in principles of UI/UX Design is to utilize the combination of Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD. Each tool offers unique features. 

If you are a beginner in design, it’s recommended to start free with the free version of Figma to get a hands-on understanding of wireframing, prototyping, and UI design before moving to advanced tools for Sketch and Adobe XD.

The Bottom Line

Building a website for your business is like showing your brand’s story to potential customers. To make this happen in the right way, you need the support of professional website designers and the right design tools. Ensure to choose the right design app that has all the necessary features at your service.

You can hire the right remote UI and UX designers from Hyqoo to simplify the job for you. Our platforms use advanced AI algorithms to analyze your talent requirements and skillset to find the best talent from our database across the globe. We strive to help you build your dream team with the perfect blend of expertise and experience to propel your growth. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Which tool is the most beginner-friendly?

Figma is the most beginner-friendly among the three, thanks to its free version for starters, extensive learning resources, and cross-platform accessibility.

Q2. Can I collaborate with my team in real time using any of these design tools?

Yes, real-time collaboration is possible with all three UX/UI design tools, but the implementation of each tool varies. Figma and Sketch offer built-in collaboration for subscribers. However, adobe XD enables co-editing on projects synced to the cloud platform.

Q3. Is it possible to use plugins or extensions to enhance the function of these tools?

Yes, Sketch has the biggest library of third-party plugins, followed by Figma and Adobe XD. These plugins will add better functionality, including animation, device-adaptive layouts, prototyping, and developer hand-off.