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Developer Tools · head to head

Ona (formerly Gitpod) vs Sketch

Ona (formerly Gitpod) logo

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Developer Tools

Cloud development environments repositioned as a control plane for software engineering agents

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Sketch logo

Sketch

Technology

The digital design toolkit

From
$12/month
Free plan
No

The short version

  • Only Ona (formerly Gitpod) has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ona (formerly Gitpod) acquisition risk has already materialised: the company closed a sale to OpenAI on 10 August 2026 and now sits inside the Codex team, so nothing public guarantees pricing, continuity or neutrality between model vendors beyond honouring existing commitments.; Sketch macOS-only for editing, blocking Windows and Linux users from accessing design features
  • They diverge on capability: Ona (formerly Gitpod) covers Ephemeral environments, Sketch covers Vector editing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Sketch actually diverge.

Attributes where Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Sketch differ
AttributeOna (formerly Gitpod)Sketch
Starting priceFree$12/month
Pricing modelPer month by compute unitUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud PlatformmacOS, Web, iOS, iPad
CategoryDeveloper ToolsTechnology
FoundedUnknown2010

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 Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Ephemeral environments
  • Agent sessions
  • Bring your own cloud
  • Devcontainer standard
  • Compute unit budgeting
  • Enterprise identity

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.

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setupnot Sketch
  • Running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptopnot Sketch
  • Keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled accountnot Sketch
  • Reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machinenot Sketch

Sketch

  • UI designnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Mobile app designnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Web designnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Design systemsnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Prototypingnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Where each one falls short

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

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Acquisition risk has already materialised: the company closed a sale to OpenAI on 10 August 2026 and now sits inside the Codex team, so nothing public guarantees pricing, continuity or neutrality between model vendors beyond honouring existing commitments.
  • Two disruptive changes of direction inside a year, from development environments to agent orchestration and then from independence to acquisition, mean the product a browser IDE buyer originally chose no longer exists in that form.
  • The Gitpod Classic sunset on 15 October 2025 required manual conversion of configuration, hand-moved secrets, self-rescued workspace data and a brand new account, which is the clearest available precedent for how the vendor handles deprecation.
  • Community self-hosting is finished: the AGPL-3.0 repository is deprecated by its own README, and self-hosted now means a vendor-operated install in your AWS or GCP account, with no Azure, no on-premises and no air-gapped path.
  • Pricing is difficult to model because it runs on a compute unit currency where subscription credits expire at the end of the month, the mapping from units to actual compute is not published on the pricing page, and Enterprise is quotation only.

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

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 3 parallel environments
    • Machines up to 4 vCPU, 16 GB memory and 80 GB disk
    • Ona Cloud multi-tenant only
  • Core$20/month
    • From 20 US dollars a month, up to 100 team members
    • Includes 80 to 2,200 recurring compute units a month depending on tier
    • Additional units from 10 US dollars per 40 units
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Single-tenant deployment in your own AWS or GCP account
    • SAML and OIDC single sign-on
    • Dedicated account management and forward deployed engineers

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 Ona (formerly Gitpod) if

  • You need ephemeral environments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud Platform.
  • You also want agent sessions.

Choose Sketch if

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

Questions people ask

Is Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Sketch better?
Neither clearly leads. Ona (formerly Gitpod) 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, Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Sketch?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ona (formerly Gitpod) and $12/month for Sketch.
Does Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Sketch run on more platforms?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud Platform. Sketch runs on macOS, Web, iOS, iPad.
Can I use Ona (formerly Gitpod) for free?
Yes. Ona (formerly Gitpod) has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sketch starts at $12/month.
What is Ona (formerly Gitpod) best used for?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) is most often used for giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setup, running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptop, keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled account, reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machine. Of those, giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setup and running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptop are not what Sketch is typically brought in for.
What can Ona (formerly Gitpod) do that Sketch cannot?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) covers Ephemeral environments, Agent sessions, Bring your own cloud, Devcontainer standard. Sketch covers Vector editing, Symbols & components, Prototyping, Real-time collaboration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ona (formerly Gitpod): Is Gitpod still called Gitpod?

No. It rebranded to Ona in September 2025, and gitpod.io now redirects to ona.com. The company was acquired by OpenAI in a deal that closed on 10 August 2026.

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
Ona (formerly Gitpod): Can I still self-host it for free?

No. The AGPL-3.0 self-hosted project is deprecated by its own README. What is offered now is a vendor-operated single-tenant install in your AWS or GCP account on the Enterprise plan.

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
Ona (formerly Gitpod): What happened to Gitpod Classic?

Pay-as-you-go Classic was switched off on 15 October 2025. Migration required converting gitpod.yml to devcontainer.json, moving secrets by hand, downloading workspace data before the cutoff and creating a new account.

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
Ona (formerly Gitpod): What does it cost?

Core starts at 20 US dollars a month and includes a monthly allowance of Ona Compute Units, with more from 10 dollars per 40 units. Subscription credits expire monthly. Enterprise is quoted.

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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