Figma vs Adobe XD – which is better? | India

Let’s find out which one is better for UI UX Design- Figma vs Adobe XD?

If you are a UI UX Designer or a beginner you must have definitely heard about Sketch, Adobe XD and Figma. These are the three main products developed exclusively for designers who need to design a website and mobile application.

Sketch was the first company to come up with this concept in 2010. While Sketch was a powerful tool, it’s biggest disadvantage was that it was only develped for Mac users.

Later, Adobe XD and Figma were developed which can also be used on Windows and even Linux systems. These are now among the biggest competitors in the design market. But the question is, which one is better for your purpose? Who wins the Figma vs Adobe XD battle?

Both the tools are pretty good and are doing a great job when it comes to designing apps and websites. But let’s find out which one will serve your purpose by looking at the following factors-

• Cost
• Platform Support
• Collaboration and Sharing
• Features and Plugins

Cost – Figma vs Adobe XD

• Figma –
  • It gives you free access and the Starter plan allows you to have three projects and unlimited storage.
  • The team plan with unlimited access and additional features starts at $12 to $15 per month while the enterprise plan starts at $45 per month.

• Adobe XD –
  • It comes with a free Starter plan where all the major tools can be used with no associated costs for individuals.
  • Their advanced plans range between $10 to $23 per month.

6 Adobe tools for UI / UX Design

Platform Support – Figma vs Adobe XD

• Figma –
  • It is browser based and online so you don’t need to install it into your system. This means your files are always on the cloud. You can use it on Windows, Mac and even on Linux systems. But it does require internet connection.
  • They also provide desktop apps available for Mac and Windows users. Users can install the Figma Mirror App to preview their designs on mobile devices.

• Adobe XD –
  • XD is a desktop application and is available for both Windows and Mac users. The files can be stored either locally in your system or can be synced to Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Users can generate links of their projects and share it with people to get feedback. Users can install the Adobe XD App to preview their designs on mobile devices.

Collaboration and Sharing – Figma vs Adobe XD

• Figma –
  • Provides real time collaboration by allowing commenting and multi-people editing a file at the same time. Actions are shown in real time just like Google Docs and users always stay in sync.
  • You can also limit the permissions on a file if you are the only person working on it.

• Adobe XD –
  • XD also provides real time collaboration. However, syncing is a little bit problematic when more users are working at the same time. It has different sections for commenting, designing and sharing.
  • Users have to create and share an external link of the file to receive feedback from the stakeholders.

Features and Plugins – Figma vs Adobe XD

• Figma –
  • Provides features like auto layout, smart animate along with huge number of templates. It also supports using animated GIFs. It has a Smart Selection feature which allows you to select multiple elements and arrange them consistently.
  • Figma has a modern pen tool which allows to customize shapes easily. It provides integrations with services such as Principle, Zeplin, and Dribble. It has a fair amount of 40+ plugins.

• Adobe XD –
  • Provides features like responsive design, 3D transformations, voice prototyping and auto-animate. It has a Repeat Grid feature which allows you to duplicate the selected elements.
  • It provides integrations with programs such as Trello, Google Sheets, Airtable, etc. XD consists a huge amount of 250+ useful plugins which can make the task of designing very quick and easy.

Figma vs Adobe XD – Which tool is mostly used in India?

We can say, the demand of Figma is growing day-by-day in India as compared to Adobe XD. But still the difference isn’t much. You can see the average number of job requirements for both the tools on top Indian recruitment platforms –

This is the data of June, 2021.

However, you will notice that most of the companies looking for UI/UX Designers would be asking for either Figma or Adobe XD as skills. This is because they just want the work done regardless of the platform.

But some companies take team membership of a particular tool and hence, require the candidates to have that particular tool as skill. You don’t need to worry about it. Both the tools are pretty similar and you can easily switch to another if you have learnt one. Also, there are various online tools with which you can convert Figma files to Adobe XD and vice versa.

Conclusion

I hope after going through these factors you must have already decided your winner of the Figma vs Adobe XD battle. Figma does have more advantages over Adobe XD but most of the features are similar.

If you need to work in a team then Figma is the best option for you. If you are an individual or beginner having some experience with Photoshop or Illustrator, then you can go for Adobe XD as you will be able to learn it quickly.

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