Best Design Software 2021

Figma vs. Adobe XD

Is Figma or Adobe XD the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you decide which design tool is the best fit for your business.

Design software includes features like design templates, photo editing, collaboration, and cloud storage. In today’s digital world, small businesses without a technology-enabled approach to graphic and social media design are falling behind.

This article will discuss the differences between two of the largest players in this space: Figma and Adobe XD. We’ll discuss the notable strengths and weaknesses of each tool, and provide recommendations for who each tool will suit best.

All of our recommendations are based on research, product demos with the software companies, and dozens of hours spent hand-testing design tools. More details regarding our research process can be found on our design category page.

Figma & Adobe XD Comparison Summary

We researched and extensively tested both Figma and Adobe XD. Figma received a SoftwarePundit Analyst Rating of 96 while Adobe XD received a rating of 91.

Figma was rated higher because it is the best prototyping software for small businesses in need of powerful wireframing and collaboration features. Adobe XD was rated lower because its collaboration and access is limited strictly to paid users or Adobe Creative Cloud users.


Here’s a breakdown of our review criteria and how Figma and Adobe XD performed in each category:

CriteriaAnalyst RatingFeaturesUsabilityPricingCustomer Support
Figma969.510108.5
Adobe XD918.599.510

In terms of pricing, Figma begins at $12 per user per month, with a free plan as well. Adobe XD’s pricing starts at $9.95 per user per month.

Both solutions offer the standard features found across design tools. These include design types, tool kits, collaboration features, cloud storage, and exporting options. Both Figma and Adobe XD are similar in their breadth of features. Figma’s strongest features are its user-friendly presentation and tool kit. Adobe XD’s integrations with other Adobe products is its best point.

Overall, Figma is the best option for businesses looking to create high quality wireframes and interactive prototypes. Although Adobe XD is also effective, its features might not be best suited for users who do not already have Adobe Creative Cloud plans.

Here’s a quick breakdown of who will prefer each option:

You'll prefer Figma if:

  • You want the best overall prototyping software
  • You do not need offline access
  • You do not need advanced photo editing features

Try Figma Today

You'll prefer Adobe XD if:

  • You are an Adobe Creative Cloud user
  • You are in need of affordable, paid design software
  • You want to leverage assets from Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

Try Adobe XD Today


Table of Contents

Figma & Adobe XD Price Comparison

Overall, Adobe XD is more affordable than Figma, but Figma offers a free plan. Both solutions offer more features and storage with their more expensive plans.

Figma Pricing Details

Figma pricing starts at $12 per user per month. Its starter plan comes with unlimited projects, as well as shareable team libraries.

Figma also provides a free plan with unlimited files and cloud storage.

Adobe XD Pricing Details

Adobe XD pricing starts at $9.99 per user per month. Its business plan costs $22.99 per user per month and offers additional features such as an admin console and advanced technical support.

Note that Adobe XD is included with Adobe Creative Cloud. This plan is $52.99 per user per month and features other Adobe products such as Illustrator and Photoshop.

Figma & Adobe XD Feature Comparison

Overall, Figma and Adobe XD have a similar breadth of features.

For a full analysis of each solution’s features, read our Figma review and Adobe XD review.

FeatureFigmaAdobe XD
DesignsYesYes
Robust templatesYes (stronger)Yes
Tool kitYesYes
CollaborationYes (stronger)Yes
Cloud storageYesYes
Version ControlYesYes

Designs

Figma and Adobe XD are both built primarily for wireframing. This means that they are best for creating mockups and interactive demos. Contrast this with Canva and Visme, which are best suited for social media posts, business cards, and presentations.

Adobe XD Vector Graphic Icons

Both solutions work with vector graphics. These are scalable graphics you can create and export as SVG files. Because of this, they can be used to design logos similarly to Adobe Illustrator. However, note that Illustrator is a print-friendly software that offers more features centered around this model.

Figma comes with far more templates to choose from than Adobe XD. In fact, Adobe XD only comes with design kits rather than full fledged templates. Figma supports the following templates:

  • Wireframe kits
  • Instagram templates
  • AWS diagrams
  • Google cloud diagrams
  • Azure diagrams
  • Customer journey map

Figma not only offers an ample amount of dedicated templates on its own, but also supports community made templates that can be added in the software itself. This means that if you are new to wireframing and prototyping software, Figma’s templates will be easier and more insightful to use.

Tool Kit

Figma and Adobe XD’s tool kits are similar. Adobe XD’s main draw in this category is its native integrations with Photoshop and Illustrator. This gives you access to high quality assets and photo editing features.

Figma’s user interface is sleek and customizable. An example of an uncustomized user interface is seen below.

Figma User Interface

Although Figma and Adobe Xd’s basic user interface is comprehensive, you can add a number of additional tweaks to modify your interface to your liking. These include:

  • Grid lines
  • Rulers
  • Outlines
  • Fonts
  • Toolbar
  • Resource use

Figma and Adobe XD’s fundamental tools are their Frames and Artboards.These are canvases that house your prototypes and designs. Here are some of the templates provided:

Device CategoryDevice Types
Apple Devices
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Apple Watch
  • MacBook
Android Devices
  • Common mobile
  • Google Pixel
Social Media
  • Twitter post & header
  • Facebook post & cover
  • Instagram post & story
  • LinkedIn cover
Adobe XD Prototyping

Both solutions also offer interactive prototyping capabilities. Adobe XD’s array of animations and connection types are similar to those of Figma.

You can also make very basic adjustments to your images. Unlike Figma and Sketch, you cannot edit saturation and brightness. You can, however, edit a photo’s blend mode.

Adobe XD Photo Editing

Although Adobe XD’s photo editing is not as robust as alternatives, we feel it does well in accommodating designers looking to make quick edits without disturbing their workflow. Additionally, if you have Adobe Creative Cloud, you can quickly edit photos in XD with Photoshop’s highly advanced editing capabilities.

Collaboration

Collaboration in Adobe XD is decent but not as strong as Figma. Adobe XD features real time editing for anyone who has purchased the product. Contrast this with Figma, which offers a free plan and can be leveraged by anyone with a web browser. This accessibility means that collaboration in Adobe XD is less flexible for your team.

Figma Commenting

Commenting in Figma is more flexible than Adobe XD. This is because you can comment in Figma’s application itself rather than in a browser like Adobe XD.

Cloud Storage

Adobe XD is not fully cloud-based like Figma. You’ll need to save your own projects before uploading them to the cloud which takes up space on your harddrive. If this is a concern for your business, consider Figma. Do note, however, that Adobe XD does come with offline access unlike Figma.

Adobe XD Version History

Version control is strong in Adobe XD. You can access and restore versions for up to 30 days. Adobe XD and Figma offer the capability of naming various versions. This makes restoring larger files easier in these programs than in Sketch.

Integrations

Figma and Adobe XD both offer a number of popular integrations found in standard design software. Adobe XD integrates primarily with other Adobe products. Here are some of the most popular native integrations both solutions offer:

Software SolutionIntegrations
Figma
Adobe XD

Bottom Line

Overall, Figma is the best option for businesses looking to create high quality wireframes and interactive prototypes. Although Adobe XD is also effective, its features might not be best suited for users who do not already have Adobe Creative Cloud plans.

If you’re interested, visit Figma or Adobe XD today to get started.

Yousef Fatehpour

Yousef Fatehpour is a Junior Research Analyst at SoftwarePundit. He graduated from University of California, San Diego, where he studied Human Centered Design and Communications. His work at UCSD's Design Lab emphasized UX research and product management.

Yousef's primary areas of interest are software design, user journeys, and how user experience is handled across software markets. Yousef also has experience in product design and multimedia content production. You can connect with Yousef on LinkedIn.

Yousef is an expert in several software categories including:

  • SMS marketing software
  • Document management software
  • Human resource software
  • Applicant tracking software
  • Design software

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