Sketch
Its market share among UI/UX designers collapsed from 45% in 2017 to roughly 4.5% by 2023. But one thing it genuinely still has no real competition for: offline, air-gapped work — your files sit on your hard drive, fully usable with zero Wi-Fi.
What is Sketch?
Sketch, created in 2010 by the Dutch company Bohemian Coding (now Sketch B.V.), remains a private, independent, Mac-native design tool with an estimated one million-plus users spanning freelancers to Fortune 500 teams. It's genuinely worth being honest about Sketch's real trajectory over the past decade: its share of UI/UX designers collapsed from 45% in 2017 to roughly 4.5% by 2023, according to the widely-cited UX Tools survey, while Figma's browser-based, cross-platform approach came to dominate with an estimated 80-90% share of the same market. That's a real, dramatic decline worth understanding clearly rather than glossing over — Figma's real-time, Google Docs-style collaboration and zero-install browser access made Sketch's Mac-only, desktop-first model look genuinely dated almost overnight when Figma first launched its browser editor in 2016.
And yet Sketch has carved out a real, genuinely defensible niche rather than disappearing: the company continues shipping meaningful updates (Smart Animate, Previews, Inspect improvements, Workspace organization) that keep it competitive for its specific, loyal core audience. The one area where independent 2026 reviews consistently agree Sketch genuinely has no real substitute: offline and air-gapped work. As one detailed technical comparison puts it plainly, "the offline and air-gapped case is where Sketch genuinely has no competition. Figma's desktop app still requires an internet connection to load files — it's not a real offline client, it's an Electron shell around a web app." Sketch's files are genuinely local .sketch documents sitting on your own hard drive, fully functional with zero connectivity — as photographer and entrepreneur Chase Jarvis put it directly, "you own your files... you can work in a cabin with zero Wi-Fi for a week and lose nothing." For designers working in regulated, secure, or genuinely disconnected environments, that's a real, structural advantage no cloud-native competitor can match by design.
The market share collapse figures (45% to 4.5%) are drawn directly from an independent 2026 comparison (Match-vs.com), citing the 2024 UX Tools survey. The "no real competition for offline work" characterization and the Chase Jarvis quote are drawn directly from an independent, dated technical review (CheckThat.ai). Pricing details and the free viewer seat model are drawn from Tech Stack Daily's independent 2026 hands-on review.
Key features
Truly local .sketch files
Full offline functionality, no internet connection required to design.
Native Mac performance
Fast, uses macOS conventions in ways browser-based tools can't fully replicate.
Smart Animate
Build fluid, animated prototypes without extra tools or plugins.
Free viewer & commenter seats
Only active editors need a paid seat, a real cost saving for large stakeholder teams.
Free developer handoff (Inspect)
Developers get specs and assets at no extra cost, unlike some competitors.
Web app & iOS viewing
View designs and prototypes on any device, even though creation stays Mac-only.
Pricing
30-Day Free Trial
- Genuinely generous — full feature access during the trial period
- No free-forever plan exists after the trial ends
- Confirm you're ready to commit before your trial expires
Standard
- Viewers and commenters don't need a paid seat at all
- Monthly billing available but costs more per seat than annual
- A Mac-only, one-time license option also exists at $120/seat
Business / Enterprise
- Best for larger, Mac-standardized design organizations
- Adds workspace organization and enhanced security options
- Confirm current exact figures directly given reported variance
The one-time Mac-only license ($120/seat) includes one year of updates and permanent access to that version — a real, distinct alternative to the ongoing subscription for teams that don't need continuous cloud updates. Prices reflect Sketch's published pricing as of July 2026.
Available models
Integrations & platforms
Pros, cons & best for
Pros
- Genuinely unmatched offline and air-gapped reliability, structurally impossible for Figma to replicate
- Real, meaningful cost savings — cheaper than Figma, with free viewer/commenter seats
- Native Mac performance and feel that browser-based tools genuinely can't fully replicate
Cons
- Real, dramatic market share collapse (45% to 4.5%) reflects genuine competitive pressure
- Mac-only for creation, a hard blocker for teams with Windows or Linux designers
- Prototyping capabilities genuinely trail Figma's for complex, interactive flows
Best for
- Mac-standardized design teams valuing native performance and offline reliability
- Regulated, secure, or genuinely disconnected work environments
- Not the pick for cross-platform teams or those needing Figma's deepest AI/dev tooling
Take a look inside
Alternatives
For cross-platform collaboration or a more prototype-focused tool instead:
Our verdict
Sketch's honest, current story is a real, dramatic decline in overall market position — from 45% to roughly 4.5% of UI/UX designers over less than a decade — as Figma's browser-based, real-time collaborative model became the industry default. But that decline shouldn't obscure a genuine, real remaining strength: for offline and air-gapped work specifically, Sketch has no real competitor, since its .sketch files are genuinely local documents that work with zero connectivity, unlike Figma's desktop app, which still requires internet access to load files at all. Combined with genuinely lower pricing than Figma Professional, free viewer and commenter seats, and native Mac performance that browser-based tools still can't fully replicate, Sketch remains a real, defensible choice for its specific, loyal audience. For Mac-standardized teams valuing native performance, offline reliability, and lower cost over Figma's broader AI-driven collaboration platform, Sketch remains a solid, well-regarded tool; for cross-platform teams or those needing the deepest collaborative and AI tooling, Figma is the more natural fit.
FAQ
How much has Sketch's market share actually declined?
Dramatically — from roughly 45% of UI/UX designers in 2017 down to approximately 4.5% by 2023, according to the widely-cited UX Tools survey, as Figma's cross-platform, browser-based model took over the majority of the market.
Does Sketch still have any real advantage over Figma?
Yes, genuinely — for offline and air-gapped work specifically, Sketch has no real competition, since its files are truly local documents that work with zero internet connectivity, while Figma's desktop app still requires an internet connection to load files at all.
Does Sketch work on Windows or Linux?
Not for creating designs — Sketch requires macOS (Sonoma 14.0 or newer as of 2026) to design, though the web app and iOS app let anyone view finished designs and prototypes regardless of platform.
Do all my team members need a paid Sketch seat?
No — only active editors need a paid seat; viewers and commenters can review and give feedback on work without requiring one, a real cost saving for teams with many stakeholders.
Is Sketch cheaper than Figma?
Yes, generally — Sketch's Standard tier runs $10-12 per editor per month compared to Figma Professional's roughly $15, and Sketch also offers a one-time Mac-only license option at $120 per seat that Figma doesn't match.
Does Sketch have generative AI features like Figma?
Not to the same depth — Sketch has stayed focused on native design craft (Smart Animate, Inspect, Workspace tools) rather than pursuing the kind of generative AI layer Figma has built into its platform.