{
  "id": "sketch-vs-figma",
  "ids": [
    "sketch",
    "figma"
  ],
  "title": "Sketch vs Figma: design editing, platforms and handoff",
  "heading": "Sketch vs Figma",
  "kicker": "Creative and development software comparison",
  "deck": "Compare Sketch and Figma for editor platforms, shared design systems, prototype review, developer access and the seats your team actually needs.",
  "description": "Compare Sketch and Figma for editor platforms, shared design systems, prototype review, developer access and the seats your team actually needs.",
  "answerHeading": "Which workflow should you shortlist?",
  "answer": "Sketch fits a team that wants a native Mac design editor and a defined browser review process. Figma fits a team that needs a shared interface-design workflow across supported desktop platforms and the browser. List who must edit, review and inspect before comparing subscriptions: a viewer, designer and developer do not necessarily need the same paid access.",
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-15",
  "researchTag": "Workflow and package comparison",
  "researchLimit": "Official product and plan documentation checked. Acceptance exercises are proposed examples, not measured performance or hands-on trial results.",
  "datasetDescription": "Seven buying differences, four original evaluation briefs and a four-row acceptance checklist for Sketch vs Figma.",
  "type": "workflow-buying",
  "rows": [
    [
      "Design editing",
      "Native macOS editor",
      "Browser-based design with supported desktop apps"
    ],
    [
      "Review access",
      "Browser viewers can review shared work",
      "Browser sharing and access depend on file and plan settings"
    ],
    [
      "Reusable design",
      "Components and libraries",
      "Components, libraries and design-system workflows"
    ],
    [
      "Prototypes",
      "Interactive design prototypes",
      "Interactive design prototypes"
    ],
    [
      "Developer handoff",
      "Browser inspection and asset export available to viewers",
      "Inspect the current Dev Mode and seat entitlements"
    ],
    [
      "Purchase route",
      "Editor subscriptions or a separate Mac-only licence",
      "Free and paid plans with role-specific entitlements"
    ],
    [
      "Existing files",
      "Check imported content and export expectations",
      "Check imported content and export expectations"
    ]
  ],
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Mixed operating systems",
      "question": "Can every designer use the required editor?",
      "left": "Confirm which team members have a supported Mac for editing.",
      "right": "Confirm browser or desktop access on each designer’s system.",
      "note": "Review access is not evidence that a person can fully edit the design."
    },
    {
      "name": "Reusable interface",
      "question": "Can one component revision update the intended screens?",
      "left": "Build a small library and revise one reusable component.",
      "right": "Build the matching library and revise the equivalent component.",
      "note": "Inspect exceptions and local overrides, not just the default state."
    },
    {
      "name": "Engineering delivery",
      "question": "Can a developer implement the agreed screen without a design editor seat?",
      "left": "Check the shared browser document, values and downloadable assets.",
      "right": "Check the exact inspection workflow and required access tier.",
      "note": "Have a developer implement one responsive state using the proposed permissions."
    },
    {
      "name": "Offline continuity",
      "question": "Can the team keep working through the expected connection gap?",
      "left": "Test local Mac editing and the later shared-document reconciliation.",
      "right": "Test the actual offline conditions rather than assuming every shared workflow persists.",
      "note": "Record what remains editable and how concurrent changes are reconciled."
    }
  ],
  "exampleTable": {
    "caption": "Proposed acceptance checks; no measured results or equal capabilities implied.",
    "headers": [
      "Requirement",
      "Exercise",
      "Accept when"
    ],
    "rows": [
      [
        "Editor coverage",
        "List each designer’s operating system",
        "Required editing is supported"
      ],
      [
        "Design system",
        "Revise a component with exceptions",
        "Intended instances update correctly"
      ],
      [
        "Handoff access",
        "Implement one screen as a developer",
        "Permissions and assets are sufficient"
      ],
      [
        "Continuity",
        "Rehearse a connection gap",
        "Recovery steps are documented"
      ]
    ]
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "roles",
      "navLabel": "Seats & roles",
      "title": "Map the team to tasks before counting seats",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Separate people who change the design from people who comment, inspect measurements or download assets. Ask each role to complete one task with the proposed permissions. A plan comparison is incomplete when it assumes the entire team needs one identical seat type.",
        "Sketch’s Mac-only licence is a different purchase from its shared subscription workspace. For Figma, record the current seat and plan entitlements that the engineering workflow needs. Keep procurement based on the working arrangement rather than a single advertised monthly figure."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "system",
      "navLabel": "Design system",
      "title": "Test a real component change and an imperfect handoff",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Use an actual interface state with a long label, a validation error and a narrow screen. Change a reusable component, then inspect which overrides are preserved. This exposes a more useful difference than recreating a polished static homepage.",
        "Ask a developer to work from the shared document without a designer narrating every detail. Record missing assets, unclear states and permission issues. The accepted workflow should survive ordinary team changes, including an external reviewer leaving and a new engineer joining."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Can I use Sketch’s full design editor on Windows?",
      "answer": "Sketch’s design editor is a native Mac application. Browser review and developer handoff do not provide the same editing role."
    },
    {
      "question": "Is a Sketch Mac-only licence the same as its subscription?",
      "answer": "No. The Mac-only licence excludes the subscription’s online collaboration features and has its own update arrangement."
    },
    {
      "question": "Should every developer have a designer subscription?",
      "answer": "Determine the tasks first. Test the required inspection, asset and collaboration workflow with the current plan and role permissions before buying seats."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.sketch.com/design/",
      "facts": "Mac editing and design workflow"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.sketch.com/pricing/",
      "facts": "Subscription, Mac-only licence and viewer distinctions"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.sketch.com/handoff/",
      "facts": "Browser inspection and asset handoff"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.figma.com/design/",
      "facts": "Collaborative design and prototyping"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.figma.com/pricing/",
      "facts": "Current plan and seat distinctions"
    }
  ],
  "relatedLinks": [
    {
      "path": "/compare/figma-vs-miro/",
      "title": "Compare interface design with collaborative whiteboarding"
    },
    {
      "path": "/categories/design-software/",
      "title": "Explore design software"
    }
  ],
  "downloads": [
    {
      "path": "/downloads/sketch-vs-figma-evaluation.csv",
      "title": "Download the evaluation checklist (CSV)",
      "description": "Four starting checks with blank result and owner columns. Adapt the acceptance conditions to your own project."
    }
  ]
}