Best Design Software 2021

Figma vs. InVision

Is Figma or InVision 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 InVision. 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 & InVision Comparison Summary

We researched and extensively tested both Figma and InVision. Figma received a SoftwarePundit Analyst Rating of 96 while InVision received a rating of 87.

Figma was rated higher because it is the best prototyping software for small businesses in need of powerful wireframing and collaboration features. InVision was rated lower because its collaboration is weaker and its paid plans are more limited than Figma’s free plan.


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

CriteriaAnalyst RatingFeaturesUsabilityPricingCustomer Support
Figma969.510108.5
InVision87899.58.5

In terms of pricing, Figma begins at $12 per user per month, with a free plan as well. InVision’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. Figma is overall much more powerful than InVision. Figma’s strongest features are its user-friendly presentation and tool kit.

Overall, Figma is the best option for businesses looking to create high quality wireframes and interactive prototypes. Although InVision is also effective, its collaboration and workflow limitations as well as its lack of a free plan make Figma the better option.

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 InVision if:

  • You do not need collaboration features in prototyping software
  • You need access to many animations for your prototypes
  • You want interactive tutorials that help you learn prototyping software

Try InVision Today


Table of Contents

Figma & InVision Price Comparison

Overall, Figma is more affordable than InVision. 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.

InVision Pricing Details

InVision pricing starts at $9.95 per user per month. Its paid plan supports 15 active users, as well as unlimited documents.

InVision also provides a free plan for up to 10 active users.

Figma & InVision Feature Comparison

Overall, Figma has a more powerful breadth of features than InVision. This is mainly due to its collaboration features.

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

FeatureFigmaInVision
DesignsYes (stronger)Yes
Robust templatesYes (stronger)Yes
Tool kitYesYes
CollaborationYes (stronger)Yes
Cloud storageYesYes
Version ControlYesYes

Designs

Figma and InVision 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.

InVision 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 InVision. 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 InVision’s tool kits are similar. InVision comes with slightly more animations for your prototypes, while Figma offers more advanced photo editing.

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

Figma User Interface

Although Figma’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 InVision’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
InVision Prototyping

Both solutions also offer interactive prototyping capabilities. InVision’s array of animations and connection types rival those of Sketch and Figma. You can also fine tune transitions to a level not seen in other alternative tools.

This is crucial for immersion with test users and developers. It ensures your prototype can be as accurate as possible for both users and developers. Ultimately, however, we feel both software solutions excel in creating prototypes for your user base.

Collaboration

Collaboration in InVision is its biggest weakness. Collaboration does not take place in a centralized software like Figma, where collaborators can edit in real time and place comments on the same document. Instead, these steps are broken apart in both InVision’s prototyping software and its web version.

Figma Commenting

Commenting in Figma is more flexible than both InVision and Sketch. This is because you can pin exact areas of a project you want to comment on. This provides more context for both you and your team members.

Cloud Storage

InVision is not fully cloud-based like Figma. This means that you’ll often need to save your own projects before uploading them to the cloud, which takes up space on your harddrive. Ultimately, consider Figma if you feel you and your team will be handling a vast amount of projects and files for your business.

Figma Version History

InVision also does not support version control like Figma does. This is a severe limitation if you’re working with large files or files that go through many changes.

Integrations

Figma and InVision both offer a number of popular integrations found in standard design software. Here are some of the most popular native integrations both solutions offer:

Software SolutionIntegrations
Figma
InVision

Bottom Line

Overall, Figma is the best option for businesses looking to create high quality wireframes and interactive prototypes. Although InVision is also effective, its collaboration and workflow limitations as well as its lack of a free plan make Figma the better option.

If you’re interested, visit Figma or InVision 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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