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?