New technologies that have been invented are poised to envelop UI design completely. And the great news is that the traditional tools that have always been associated with design are quickly adapting to fit the speed of UI design change. In the year 2024, the three major tools most commonly used in the UI design tools conversation are: Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD. Each one holds its own list of specialties, distinctive features, and use community. So much so that it’s easy to fall into “which is better?” argument. Design teams, independent freelancers, and agencies all seek out different things-some require real-time cooperation while others need seamless integration with already existing workflows while some only care speed and ease of use. This article will open the door into the depth of how these three are stacking in 2024, from which one is taking the lead in innovation, usability, team collaboration, plugin support to overall industry preference.
Far from being just a checklist of features; it’s about how these feel when used every day, how they unlock creativity, and how they stand up in the real world of projects. Whether you are defining as a seasoned designer and have been using one tool now consider changing or someone new.
Figma The Cloud-Native Powerhouse That Changed the Game
Figma has really grown since its inception, and as of 2024, it is the talk of the town when it comes to UI design. That’s because not just a design app, but a collaboration engine as well. Figma has made browser-based design mainstream, and its influence can now be felt across the industry.
Real-time collaboration is unmatched. The ease with which two or more people can work on one file has transformed the speed and interactivity of feedback loops. This is a huge win for remote teams or agencies working across time zones: Instead of sending files back and forth, everyone can just log on and start working.
Figma’s experience is simple, elegant, and quite friendly for beginners. The learning curve is not steep, which makes this tool appealing for not only junior designers but also fast-scaling teams. Moreover, the very promising plugin ecosystem grows ever stronger each month, offering everything from accessibility checkers to actually usable wireframe kits.
Community support around Figma is yet another great benefit. Templates, UI kits, and community-created plugins can all be very handspeed-up in any flow. And best of all? Most of these resources are free.
From the point of view performance, Figma is really running butter-smooth even on lower-end machines, most of which work processes have been offloaded to the cloud. And yes, now there is offline mode, finally.
Figma leads in collaboration, but it is not the best option for confidential projects because it is a cloud-first product. However, regarding flexibility, speed, and modern UI needs, Figma will lead the way in 2024.
Figma for Teams and Collaboration
Talking about teams, the tool Figma seems to have been born to collaborate. Designers, developers, and even stakeholders drop in from time to time into the same file leaving comments, inspecting assets, or suggesting changes-assets in real-time. This wipes out the need for many meetings or Slack messages explaining design updates.
Figma fits like a glove with Jira, Notion, and Slack, thus integrating well into the respective workflows. Handoffs of designs are made easy, as developers can inspect the designs directly using Figma, view code snippets, and export assets-never needing to switch to another tool. The version history is another feature of Figma greatly appreciated by teams. It allows rolling back previous design iterations with a few clicks, so truly nothing ever gets lost. That sort of peace of mind is priceless in fast-moving projects.
In a nutshell, for design teams that prioritize seamless collaboration and fast iterations, Figma is the choice in 2024.
Sketch The Original Trailblazer That’s Still Evolving
Sketch was a first tool which truly catered towards UI/UX designers taking them away from huge programs like that of Photoshop. With a worldview in such a different way of working, Sketch was the undisputed leader in digital designs for some years.
And in 2024, Sketch still has a huge base of strong, loyal users but mainly Mac users. It is well-known for neat interfaces, precision tools, and a really great plugin system. Sketch’s modularistic approach makes you customize your whole environment exactly how you want it.
However, where Sketch used to shine the most, it’s somehow lagging behind now with regard to collaboration. Sketch works on PC bases, unlike the Figma model of real-time designing-in-the-cloud. Sure, Sketch embraces a cloud share feature called Sketch for Teams, but it still doesn’t feel near a native place or as smooth as Figma.
Conventionally, offline efforts coupled with utmost precision have been where Sketch excels. It’s fabulous for designing pixel-perfect layouts while managing demanding design systems. Plus, if you are already in an Apple-based design workflow, Sketch integrates like a dream.
Not “trendy,” as much Figma anymore, do not count Sketch out—it still will be a very decent alternative for those designers who prefer a bit more of the traditional , desktop-first working environment.
Sketch for Precision and Offline Control
Sketch comes out as the darling of those in design who have to scatter their workflow across as many tools as possible. Because Sketch is a pure macOS app, it works really well on Apple hardware and brings in some cutting-edge offline capacity. Cloud-first design tools simply do not grasp the level of this kind of work.
Perhaps the best thing about Sketch is its layout and accurate setting. It provides granular control for reusing symbols, designing intricate design systems, or pixel-by-pixel icon crafting, which is intended to be very designer-focused.
The richness and maturity of the library of plugins is unmatched anywhere. Most of the plugins written for Sketch end up being very niche and solver for problems that no other tool is able to handle quite as well as Sketch. You can write scripts that automate tasks, check accessibility, sync with prototyping tools—all in your local environment.
It could be that Sketch is the tool of choice for those in agencies or who have clients with NDA-tight requirements; after all, Sketch gets the job done with private local file storage.
Thus, while Sketch isn’t leading in collaboration, it excels in precision and control, and that’s why so many professionals are using it in 2024.
Adobe XD: The Adobe Ecosystem’s UI Entry That Keeps Getting Better
Since its release, Adobe XD has been in the shadow of Figma and Sketch. Its one advantage, however, is that it has the surreal advantage of being an Adobe product, born of the lineage of such illustrious names as Photoshop and Illustrator. Immediately, that gave XD its validation and power of integration.
By 2024, Adobe XD has matured into a powerful yet flexible and efficient UI design tool for those interested in vector editing, prototyping, and design system management all in-house. The learning curve presents little impediment for anyone intermixed within the Adobe product ambiance.
Unbelievable in its animation and prototyping powers, with features that allow smooth transitions and micro-interactions to happen with no code, they give clients and stakeholders a feel of designs close to that of an actual functioning application.
Coediting is also a new feature in Adobe XD, although not quite as fluid as Figma’s real-time engine, it improves with every update. The tool fits well into teams already deep in the Adobe ecosystem—think marketing teams, visual designers, or multimedia teams.
On the negative side, your plugin and community resources may not be as rich as those of Figma; often, XD seems to be lagging in innovation. Yet, when used with Photoshop or Illustrator, Adobe XD can become one of the best tools for hybrid visual/UI designers.
Adobe XD for Animation and Prototyping
While working in Adobe XD in 2024, you would appreciate motion design. Designers can morph interfaces with transitions, auto-animation, and timed interactions. This is extremely beneficial while pitching a concept or explaining complex interactions to a client or developer.
The XD prototyping flow is fluid, not interrupting the design process; you can take your graphics from static screens to animated interactive demos all in a single file. That means fewer exports, fewer delays, and more time considering the experience.
Whenever storytelling comes into play in UI projects or client presentations, a great benefit could arise from XD’s animation features. Thus, creating interactivity at ease bridges the gap from the designer’s vision to what the stakeholder can understand.
Equally, data importation from Illustrator or Photoshop via Adobe Creative Cloud becomes seamless. This interconnectivity is a significant plus for asset-heavy teams.
Final Thoughts
Figma still shines as the collaboration and cloud-based UI design star in 2024, while Sketch maintains its reign with unparalleled precision and offline control, and Adobe XD trails behind with robust prototyping features and integration into the Adobe ecosystem. Every tool has its strong points; it all depends on your workflow, team set-up, and design purposes.
If you’d like to read more comparisons or see how professionals use these tools daily, check Smashing Magazine’s UX page or Figma’s official community page.