Design · alternatives
Alternatives to Adobe XD
21 design tools sit alongside Adobe XD in this directory. Below is what separates each from Adobe XD on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 13
- Cheaper to start
- 10
- Adobe XD starts at
- $54.99/month
Why people look past Adobe XD
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Adobe XD entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Adobe XD starts at $54.99/month. Across the 9 design tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $12/month.
There is no free tier
The record for Adobe XD carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 13 of the 21 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The collaborative interface design tool
- Can be used without paying; Adobe XD cannot.
- Starts $42.99 a month cheaper, at $12/month.
The digital design toolkit
- Starts $42.99 a month cheaper, at $12/month.
Open source design and prototyping platform
- Can be used without paying; Adobe XD cannot.
- Starts $54.99 a month cheaper, at Free.
Free macOS prototyping tool built by and for Meta design teams
- Can be used without paying; Adobe XD cannot.
Browser 3D modelling built on blended implicit surfaces for non-specialists
- Can be used without paying; Adobe XD cannot.
Authoring, hosting and delivery platform for Lottie vector animations
- Can be used without paying; Adobe XD cannot.
Every Adobe XD alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe XD (this page) | $54.99/month | - | - | |
| FigmaCloud-based design with superior collaboration features and lower entry cost than Adobe XD. | Free, then $12/month | - | 4 | vs Adobe XD |
| SketchMac-native design tool with strong community and excellent vector design capabilities. | $12/month | - | 4 | vs Adobe XD |
| PenpotOpen-source design alternative with self-hosting option and web-based collaboration. | Free | - | 3 | vs Adobe XD |
| Origami Studio | Free | No licence fee | 1 | vs Adobe XD |
| Womp | Free | Per user per month | 2 | vs Adobe XD |
| LottieFiles | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs Adobe XD |
| Playground AI | Free, then $12/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Adobe XD |
| Lunacy | Free | - | - | vs Adobe XD |
| CorelDRAW Graphics Suite | Free | Subscription | 4 | vs Adobe XD |
| Marvel | Free, then $12/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Adobe XD |
| Linearity Curve | Free, then $11.99/month | - | 3 | vs Adobe XD |
| Canva | Free, then $18/month | - | 3 | vs Adobe XD |
| Photopea | Free | - | - | vs Adobe XD |
| Gravit Designer | Free | Freemium | 1 | vs Adobe XD |
| Proto.io | On request | Per user per month | 4 | vs Adobe XD |
| Cadence Allegro | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Adobe XD |
| Axure RP | On request | Per user per month | 3 | vs Adobe XD |
| PaintTool SAI | 5500/month | One-time | 1 | vs Adobe XD |
| Corel Painter | On request | One-time | 2 | vs Adobe XD |
| Magnific | €12/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Adobe XD |
| Affinity Designer | $69.99/one-time | One-time | 1 | vs Adobe XD |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Adobe XD badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (13)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Figma , Free, then $12/month
- Penpot , Free
- Origami Studio , Free
- Womp , Free
- LottieFiles , Free
- Playground AI , Free, then $12/month
- Lunacy , Free
- CorelDRAW Graphics Suite , Free
Cheaper than Adobe XD (10)
Entry price under Adobe XD's $54.99/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Figma , Free, then $12/month
- Sketch , $12/month
- Penpot , Free
- Playground AI , Free, then $12/month
- CorelDRAW Graphics Suite , Free
- Marvel , Free, then $12/month
- Linearity Curve , Free, then $11.99/month
- Canva , Free, then $18/month
What you would be giving up
Adobe XD is most often brought in for web design, mobile app design, design systems, interactive prototypes, user testing. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Adobe XD is broadly right and the question is cost, the Adobe XD pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Design category lists everything the directory holds, and best design tools ranks them.
Adobe XD runs on web, macos, windows. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Adobe XD alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Adobe XD?
- 21 other design tools are listed in this directory, led by Figma, Sketch, Penpot, Origami Studio. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Adobe XD?
- 13 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Figma, Penpot, Origami Studio, Womp, LottieFiles.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Adobe XD?
- Yes. 10 of the alternatives below start under Adobe XD's $54.99/month: Figma at Free, then $12/month, Sketch at $12/month, Penpot at Free, Playground AI at Free, then $12/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Adobe XD?
- On the figures on record, 2 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Adobe XD?
- Adobe XD is most often brought in for web design, mobile app design, design systems, interactive prototypes, user testing. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Adobe XD?
- None of the design tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Adobe XD alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Design, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Adobe XD against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Adobe XD covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every design tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Design category, 21 tools beside Adobe XD. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.