Figma vs Sketch Comparison 2026
Figma runs in a browser on any machine, free for unlimited solo drafts, then $16 a month for a full seat, with no one-time purchase option at all. Sketch is Mac only, drawn in a native application, priced either as a subscription at $12 an editor a month billed yearly or as a single $120-a-seat purchase that keeps working after its year of included updates ends. Figma reaches everyone regardless of operating system. Sketch reaches only Mac users, but offers to sell the software outright instead of renting it forever.
At a glance
- Sketch starts cheaper, at $12.
- Only Figma has a free tier.
Side by side
Figma | Sketch | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $16 | From $12 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Not stated | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | 30 days |
| API |
Figma
Interface design and prototyping in a browser
Figma is where most interface design happens now, and creators arrive at it for brand kits, thumbnails and anything a developer has to build from later. Files live in the browser and several people can be inside one at the same time without anybody emailing a version. The free Starter plan carries unlimited drafts, which covers solo work. Seats are priced by what you actually do in the file.
Our note
The free tier is genuinely enough for one person maintaining their own brand assets, and the seat split is what makes bringing in an editor or a developer affordable. Penpot is the answer if self-hosting or open formats matter to you.
Sketch
Interface design with a one-time licence
Sketch draws interfaces in a Mac application and puts the reviewing half in a browser, so somebody signing off a screen needs no licence to open it. Editors are counted and viewers are not, which keeps a project's cost tied to the people actually moving pixels. Two ways to pay sit side by side: a subscription per editor, or a single payment that keeps working after the year of updates it includes runs out. Anybody designing on Windows is ruled out, because the editor itself is Mac only.
Why people weigh these two
- Sketch instead of Figma
- Sketch is sold as a licence rather than a per-seat subscription, from $12 on a trial with no permanent free tier, for a team that wants to own the tool rather than rent seats forever.
- Figma instead of Sketch
- Figma is the mixed-operating-system option Sketch's own guidance names, running in a browser with a free tier before a $16 plan, for a team not everyone on a Mac.
Which one should you pick
Pick Figma if the team is not all on Mac, or if browser-based files with no install matter more than owning a licence outright. Starter is free with unlimited drafts, and Professional splits seats by role from $16 down to $3 for a comment-only collaborator. There is no one-time purchase option; every paid seat is a recurring subscription.
Pick Sketch if the whole team designs on Mac and the option to pay once and stop matters, which almost nothing else in this category still offers. Standard is $12 an editor a month billed yearly, or $120 a seat once, which its own guidance says pays for itself against the subscription inside a year. Viewers and guests cost nothing at any number, so review stays free even as a team grows; Windows designers cannot use it at all.
Common questions
- Can I buy Sketch once instead of subscribing, the way I can with Figma?
- Yes, and Figma has no equivalent: Sketch sells a one-time $120-a-seat licence that includes a year of updates and keeps working afterward. Figma is subscription only past its free Starter plan, with no option to pay once and stop.
- Does Sketch work on Windows like Figma does?
- No. Sketch's editor is Mac only, though reviewing happens in a browser so a Windows-based client can still comment. Figma runs in any browser regardless of operating system, which is the reason to pick it for a mixed-OS team.
- Are viewers free on both tools?
- On Sketch, yes, at any number: only editors are counted, so review is free regardless of team size. Figma's cheapest option for a comment-only collaborator is a $3 collaboration seat, not free.
- Is Sketch's one-time licence actually cheaper than Figma's subscription?
- Its own guidance says the $120 one-time licence pays for itself against the $12-a-month subscription within a year, and Figma has no equivalent one-time option to compare against at all. The trade is that a one-time Sketch licence freezes at whatever the app is when the included update year ends.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.