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Sketch

The digital design toolkit

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Overview

What Sketch does

Sketch is a vector-based design tool for macOS used primarily for user interface and user experience design. It's focused on screen design and has become the tool of choice for many UX and UI designers.

What people use it for

  • UI design
  • Mobile app design
  • Web design
  • Design systems
  • Prototyping

Related searches

The honest half

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Sketch

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

  • Sketch logo
    Sketch    vs
    Figma logo
    Figma

    Figma: Cloud-based design tool with native cross-platform support and real-time multiplayer collaboration, works on Windows, Mac, and Linux

  • Sketch logo
    Sketch    vs
    Adobe XD logo
    Adobe XD

    Adobe XD: Adobe's UI/UX design tool integrated with Creative Cloud ecosystem, though now in maintenance mode as of 2024

  • Sketch logo
    Sketch    vs
    Penpot logo
    Penpot

    Penpot: Open-source web-based design tool with self-hosting option and no subscription requirement

Pricing

What Sketch costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Standard

$12 /mo

  • Real-time collaboration
  • Unlimited documents
  • Unlimited free viewers
  • Version history
  • Developer handoff

Professional

$24 /mo

  • Everything in Standard
  • Single Sign-On (SSO)
  • Project archiving
  • Permissions groups

Enterprise

$44 /mo

  • Everything in Professional
  • SCIM provisioning
  • BYOK encryption
  • Dedicated support

Mac-only License

$120 /perpetual

  • Native Mac app
  • Offline access
  • Local file saving
  • Excludes collaboration features

Capabilities

Features

  • Vector editing

    Vector editing capability

  • Symbols & components

    Symbols & components capability

  • Prototyping

    Prototyping capability

  • Real-time collaboration

    Real-time collaboration capability

  • Developer handoff

    Developer handoff capability

  • Plugins ecosystem

    Plugins ecosystem capability

  • Cloud sync

    Cloud sync capability

  • Version history

    Version history capability

  • InVision

    Integration with InVision

  • Principle

    Integration with Principle

  • Framer

    Integration with Framer

  • Zeplin

    Integration with Zeplin

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

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
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
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
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

Behind it

Who makes Sketch

Company
Sketch B.V.
Based in
The Hague, Netherlands
Founders
Pieter Omvlee, Emanuel Sá

Timeline

Sketch over time

  1. Funding2019-03-13$20m

    Series A funding from Benchmark

    Source
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Sketch, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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