I’ve used both extensively and I think the conversation around Sketch being dead is more nuanced than people make it.
Where Figma clearly wins: real-time collaboration, browser access, plugin ecosystem breadth, and the fact that every new designer learns Figma first now. The network effect is massive. When I send a Figma link to a client they can comment in browser. When I send a Sketch file they ask me what to open it with.
Where Sketch still has a case: native macOS performance on large files is genuinely better. The single-player design experience (no lag, no cloud dependency) is smoother for solo designers working on complex compositions. Symbol management for large design systems is more predictable in my experience.
Where I think Sketch lost: not the feature gap but the collaboration gap. Design became a team sport and Sketch treated it as a solo craft for too long. By the time they added collaboration it was table stakes, not a differentiator.
The honest take for someone choosing today: learn Figma. The job market expects it, the collaboration model is the future, and the plugin ecosystem solves most workflow gaps. Sketch is a valid choice for specific solo workflows but it’s a niche tool now, not a default.
Am I being unfair to Sketch? Anyone still using it as their primary tool?
Still using Sketch as primary for one long-term client engagement where the entire design system was built in Sketch three years ago. Migrating to Figma would be a project in itself. For new projects though, everything starts in Figma. The migration cost is what’s keeping Sketch alive in some studios, not preference.
The native performance point is real for illustration-heavy UI work. I do a lot of complex vector work in interface design and Sketch handles 200+ artboard files without the lag I get in Figma on the same complexity. For that specific use case, the local-first model matters.
@sleek.Protocol the network effect argument is the one that settles it for me. I can be a better designer in Sketch individually, but I’m a better collaborator in Figma. The collaboration wins because design doesn’t happen in isolation anymore.
Sketch’s plugin ecosystem was once the advantage. Now Figma’s community plugins cover the same ground and more. The developer handoff story in Figma (inspect mode, dev mode) is also significantly ahead. For cross-functional teams it’s not close.
The hiring angle matters too. I’ve reviewed portfolios from 40+ junior designers this year. Every single one used Figma. If you’re building a team, Figma fluency is the baseline expectation. Sketch experience is a bonus, not a requirement.