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Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs Sketch

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Sketch logo

Sketch

Technology

The digital design toolkit

From
$12/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Earthly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; Sketch macOS-only for editing, blocking Windows and Linux users from accessing design features
  • They diverge on capability: Earthly covers Policy as code, Sketch covers Vector editing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and Sketch actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and Sketch differ
AttributeEarthlySketch
Starting priceFree$12/month
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websiteUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CLImacOS, Web, iOS, iPad
CategoryDeveloper ToolsTechnology
Founded20202010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Incident response automation
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

Only in Sketch

  • Vector editing
  • Symbols & components
  • Prototyping
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Developer handoff
  • Plugins ecosystem
  • Cloud sync
  • Version history

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot Sketch
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Sketch
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Sketch
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot Sketch

Sketch

  • UI designnot Earthly
  • Mobile app designnot Earthly
  • Web designnot Earthly
  • Design systemsnot Earthly
  • Prototypingnot Earthly

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

Sketch

  • macOS-only for editing, blocking Windows and Linux users from accessing design features
  • Real-time collaboration feels less seamless than Figma with occasional sync delays
  • Limited built-in image editing capabilities, requiring external software for bitmap work
  • Subscription required for cloud features and collaboration, losing access if subscription lapses

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Sketch

$12/month
  • Standard$12/month
    • Real-time collaboration
    • Unlimited documents
    • Unlimited free viewers
  • Professional$24/month
    • Everything in Standard
    • Single Sign-On (SSO)
    • Project archiving
  • Enterprise$44/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • SCIM provisioning
    • BYOK encryption
  • Mac-only License$120/perpetual
    • Native Mac app
    • Offline access
    • Local file saving

Which should you pick?

Choose Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Choose Sketch if

  • You need vector editing.
  • You work on macOS, Web, iOS, iPad.
  • You also want symbols & components.
Sketch review

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or Sketch better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and Sketch at $12/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or Sketch?
Earthly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Earthly and $12/month for Sketch.
Does Earthly or Sketch run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. Sketch runs on macOS, Web, iOS, iPad.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Yes. Earthly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sketch starts at $12/month.
What is Earthly best used for?
Earthly is most often used for enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers, automating incident response procedures across all repositories, embedding compliance requirements into development workflows, standardizing build processes with earthfiles. Of those, enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers and automating incident response procedures across all repositories are not what Sketch is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that Sketch cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies. Sketch covers Vector editing, Symbols & components, Prototyping, Real-time collaboration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

Source
Sketch: Is Sketch available for Windows or Linux?

No. Sketch is macOS-only for the design and prototyping features. Web and mobile apps provide viewing and collaboration, but editing requires macOS 14.0 or later.

Source
Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

Source
Sketch: Does Sketch offer a free trial?

Yes. Sketch provides a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. You can also purchase a one-time Mac-only license for $120 per seat instead of subscribing.

Source
Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

Source
Sketch: What collaboration features does Sketch include?

Sketch supports real-time collaboration, unlimited document sharing, unlimited viewers, and version history on all paid subscription plans (Standard $12/month, Professional $24/month, Enterprise $44/month).

Source
Sketch: Can I use Sketch offline?

Yes. The one-time Mac-only license ($120) allows you to use Sketch offline and save files locally, but it excludes cloud collaboration and iOS previewing features.

Source
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