Adobe XD remains one of Figma’s most formidable competitors, offering a mature suite of design and prototyping capabilities. What sets XD apart is its seamless integration with Adobe’s creative suite—you can easily import assets from Photoshop, incorporate illustrations from Illustrator, and even bring in motion graphics from After Effects.

The platform excels in several key areas. Its responsive resize feature automatically adjusts layouts across different screen sizes, while the voice prototyping capabilities allow designers to create voice-activated interfaces. The auto-animation feature creates smooth transitions between artboards with minimal manual work, and the extensive plugin ecosystem extends functionality significantly.

XD’s collaborative features have matured considerably, now supporting real-time co-editing similar to Figma’s approach. The integration with enterprise tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Jira makes it particularly attractive for large organizations already using Adobe’s creative suite.

Sketch pioneered many of the design patterns we see in modern UI design tools, and it remains a powerhouse for Mac users. While it may seem less collaborative than browser-based tools, Sketch has significantly improved its team features through Sketch Cloud and third-party integrations.

The platform’s strength lies in its vector editing capabilities and symbol system, which allows for consistent design systems across large projects. The plugin ecosystem is vast and mature, with solutions for everything from content generation to advanced prototyping. Many design teams appreciate Sketch’s performance advantages, especially when working with complex files or large design systems.

Recent updates have focused on improving collaboration through better version control, shared libraries, and real-time feedback tools. While not as seamless as Figma’s collaboration model, it offers a more traditional desktop application experience that some teams prefer.

Framer has evolved from a code-heavy prototyping tool into a comprehensive design platform that bridges the gap between design and development. Its standout feature is the ability to create highly interactive prototypes with complex animations, micro-interactions, and conditional logic that closely mimics final product behavior.

The platform’s unique approach allows designers to work visually while having access to code components when needed. This hybrid model enables the creation of prototypes that feel almost like finished products, making it invaluable for user testing and stakeholder presentations. The responsive design features are particularly sophisticated, allowing for true adaptive layouts rather than simple scaling.

Framer’s real-time collaboration features have been enhanced significantly, and the platform now offers robust design system capabilities. The learning curve is steeper than some alternatives, but the results can be dramatically more realistic and interactive.

InVision Studio represents the company’s answer to comprehensive design platforms like Figma and Sketch. Built on years of experience in design collaboration and prototyping, Studio offers powerful animation tools and sophisticated interaction design capabilities.

The platform’s strength lies in its animation timeline, which allows for complex, multi-layered animations that can be precisely controlled. The responsive design features are comprehensive, and the integration with InVision’s broader ecosystem of tools—including user testing, feedback collection, and design system management—creates a complete design workflow.

Studio’s collaborative features are well-developed, with real-time editing, commenting, and version control. The design handoff capabilities are particularly strong, generating detailed specifications and assets for developers automatically.

Lunacy by Icons8 offers a unique proposition in the design tool landscape: a fully-featured design application that works entirely offline. This makes it invaluable for designers who travel frequently, work in areas with unreliable internet, or simply prefer desktop-based workflows.

The platform comes with an extensive library of built-in assets, including icons, illustrations, and photos from the Icons8 ecosystem. This integration means designers can quickly access high-quality assets without leaving the application or managing external subscriptions.

Lunacy’s interface will feel familiar to Sketch users, but with additional features and a more modern approach to design systems. The performance is excellent, even with large files, and the platform supports all major design file formats for easy collaboration with teams using other tools.

Marvel App focuses on simplicity and speed, making it an excellent choice for teams that need to move quickly from concept to prototype. The platform’s clean interface and intuitive workflow make it accessible to both designers and non-designers, facilitating better collaboration across diverse teams.

The prototyping capabilities are robust without being overwhelming, allowing for quick creation of interactive mockups that can be easily shared and tested. The user testing features are particularly strong, enabling teams to gather feedback directly within the platform and iterate quickly based on user insights.

Marvel’s design handoff tools have been improved significantly, providing developers with the specifications and assets they need. The platform also offers integrations with popular project management and communication tools, making it easy to incorporate into existing workflows.

Vectr offers a completely free, browser-based design experience that’s perfect for getting started with vector design. While it doesn’t have the advanced features of premium tools, it provides a solid foundation for learning design principles and creating simple graphics.

The platform’s real-time collaboration features work well for basic team projects, and the interface is intuitive enough for non-designers to contribute effectively. The ability to work entirely in a browser without installation requirements makes it accessible across different devices and operating systems.

Recent updates have improved the tool’s capabilities while maintaining its simplicity. It’s an excellent choice for small teams, startups, or individual designers who need basic design capabilities without the complexity or cost of professional tools.

Canva has evolved far beyond its origins as a simple template-based design tool. While it still excels at enabling non-designers to create professional-looking graphics quickly, it now offers more sophisticated design capabilities and collaboration features.

The platform’s strength lies in its vast template library, stock photo integration, and drag-and-drop interface. Recent additions include advanced typography controls, brand kit management, and improved collaboration tools. The mobile app is particularly strong, allowing for design work on the go.

For teams that need to create consistent marketing materials, social media graphics, or presentations quickly, Canva offers an unmatched combination of ease of use and professional results. The brand management features ensure consistency across all team members’ work.

Balsamiq takes a deliberately low-fidelity approach to design, focusing on structure and functionality rather than visual polish. This philosophy helps teams focus on user experience and information architecture without getting distracted by visual details in the early stages of design.

The hand-drawn aesthetic encourages experimentation and iteration, while the extensive library of UI components speeds up the wireframing process. The platform’s simplicity makes it accessible to stakeholders who might find more complex design tools intimidating.

Recent updates have improved collaboration features and added more component libraries. The platform integrates well with other design tools, allowing teams to move from low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity designs smoothly.

UXPin positions itself as a tool for advanced prototyping and design systems management. Its strength lies in creating prototypes with complex interactions, conditional logic, and realistic data integration that closely mirrors final product behavior.

The platform’s design system capabilities are particularly sophisticated, allowing for the creation of component libraries with advanced properties and states. The code components feature enables the use of actual React components in prototypes, creating an unprecedented level of realism.

UXPin’s collaboration features are enterprise-grade, with advanced commenting, approval workflows, and version control. The design handoff capabilities include automatic code generation and detailed specifications, streamlining the development process.

Webflow represents a different approach to web design, combining visual design tools with the power to generate production-ready code. This unique position makes it invaluable for designers who want to maintain control over the final implementation of their designs.

The platform’s visual editor allows for pixel-perfect design while automatically generating clean, semantic HTML and CSS. The CMS capabilities enable the creation of dynamic websites without backend development, and the hosting platform provides a complete solution for web projects.

Recent updates have improved the design capabilities, making Webflow more competitive with traditional design tools while maintaining its unique code-generation features. The learning curve is steeper than pure design tools, but the results can be dramatically more functional.

Affinity Designer offers professional-grade vector design capabilities with a one-time purchase model, making it attractive to designers who prefer to own their tools rather than subscribe to them. The platform combines vector and raster editing capabilities in a single application.

The interface is clean and professional, with advanced features like non-destructive effects, precise typography controls, and comprehensive export options. The performance is excellent, even with complex files, and the platform supports professional workflows including CMYK color spaces and print-ready output.

While it lacks real-time collaboration features, Affinity Designer excels as a individual design tool, particularly for logo design, illustration, and UI element creation. The recent addition of iPad support has expanded its appeal to mobile-first designers.

Zeplin is a design collaboration and handoff tool that bridges the gap between designers and developers. It works seamlessly with tools like Sketch, Figma, and Adobe XD, allowing for easy design handoff by generating specifications and assets for developers.

It doesn’t offer the same design functionalities as Figma, but if you’re looking for something to improve your workflow between teams, Zeplin is an excellent choice. The platform automatically generates CSS, Swift, and Android code from designs, making developer implementation much more efficient.

Gravit Designer is a powerful vector design tool that can be used both online and offline (through its desktop app). It’s a great alternative to Figma for those who need a lightweight design tool with many of the same capabilities, including vector editing, prototyping, and flexible export options.

Gravit Designer offers robust features for designers working on web, print, branding, and UI/UX design projects, and it’s free with paid options for more advanced features. The cross-platform compatibility makes it accessible across different operating systems and devices.

Origami Studio, developed by Facebook, is another prototyping tool that stands out for its ability to create highly interactive and realistic prototypes. It’s a great choice for designers who want to go beyond basic click-through prototypes and need more advanced interactions, animations, and transitions.

While it’s more suited for prototyping, it integrates well with design tools like Sketch and Figma, offering advanced animation features and the ability to test interactions within your designs. The learning curve is significant, but the results can be incredibly sophisticated.