As a UX/UI designer looking to streamline your workflow, choosing the right tool can be challenging. With options like Adobe XD and Figma dominating the industry, many designers are left wondering which of these two platforms will best suit their needs in 2025. To help you make a well-informed decision, we've thoroughly compared Adobe XD vs Figma in terms of their features, usability, performance, pricing, collaboration, integrations, and more. Our goal here is to offer insights and relatable experiences to guide you toward the most suitable choice.
Whether you’re a seasoned designer or a newcomer looking for your first design software, you will walk away with clarity and confidence after exploring this detailed and updated comparison.
Table of Contents
- Adobe XD vs Figma: Overview of the Platforms
- Adobe XD vs Figma: Comparing Features
- User Experience & Ease of Use
- Adobe XD vs Figma: Collaboration Capabilities
- Adobe XD vs Figma: Integration & Compatibility
- Pricing Model Comparison
- Final Thoughts and Recommendations
Adobe XD vs Figma: Platform Overview in 2025
As of 2025, Figma has emerged as the dominant platform for UI/UX design collaboration, while Adobe XD—once a strong contender—is now in maintenance mode, serving existing Creative Cloud subscribers without active feature updates. This shift reflects broader industry trends and evolving user preferences in vector graphic design and real-time prototyping.
Adobe XD: Legacy and Current State
Launched in 2016, Adobe XD was Adobe's dedicated UI/UX design software, built to compete with tools like Sketch and Figma. With features like Auto-Animate, Repeat Grid, and tight integration into the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem, XD offered a streamlined workflow for designers familiar with Adobe products. However, in early 2025, Adobe officially placed XD in maintenance, discontinuing new user onboarding and active development. Today, it's available exclusively as part of the Creative Cloud All Apps plan.
Figma: Cloud-Native and Future-Ready
Introduced in 2012, Figma is a browser-first vector editing and prototyping tool, purpose-built for real-time team collaboration. Since 2020, Figma has seen rapid growth, thanks to its live co-editing, flexible design systems, and robust plugin support. Even after being acquired by Adobe in 2022, Figma has retained its product autonomy, continuing to innovate with new features like Dev Mode, advanced variable components, and real-time versioning.
Watch this detailed breakdown on YouTube by Design Pilot
Adobe XD vs Figma: Feature Comparison
Both tools offer advanced design and prototyping capabilities but diverge in strengths depending on the workflow.
Prototyping & Interaction Design
Adobe XD
Known for its intuitive prototyping interface, XD features tools like Auto-Animate and Lottie support (added in 2025), allowing designers to create interactive UI flows and micro-animations with ease. It's still a favorite for designers deeply integrated into the Adobe workflow.
Figma
In mid-2024, Figma enhanced its prototyping engine, adding condition-based triggers and smarter transitions. While animation options are less robust than Adobe’s, Figma’s ease of use and seamless integration with collaborative tools make it highly effective for agile teams.
Explore Auto-Animate in this official Adobe tutorial
Design Systems & Component Management
Adobe XD offers components and asset sharing through Creative Cloud, but Figma outpaces it with nested components, variables, and superior version control. Figma's community-driven library ecosystem allows faster iteration and scalability, especially for design teams working across time zones.
Vector Editing Capabilities
Both support vector graphics editing, but Figma provides a more responsive and intuitive vector toolset. Designers report enhanced control over paths, shapes, and Boolean operations—making it ideal for precision-heavy UI design and illustration tasks.
For a broader perspective, see how these tools are used in modern software design workflows.
User Experience and Accessibility
Learning Curve
Adobe XD feels familiar to long-time Adobe users and integrates well with tools like Photoshop and Illustrator. Figma, however, offers a clean onboarding experience and a shallower learning curve for new designers, particularly students and startups seeking rapid team alignment.
Platform Performance
XD's native desktop application provides strong offline performance, while Figma’s cloud-based platform shines in collaborative settings. Although XD has made improvements to its performance in early 2025, Figma’s WebGL-powered editor still delivers faster load times and better scalability for large files.
Collaboration: Real-Time and Asynchronous Design
Simultaneous Co-Editing
Figma remains the leader in real-time design collaboration, allowing multiple team members to edit and comment simultaneously. It includes integrated design review features, live version history, and permission controls—making it ideal for distributed teams.
Adobe XD now offers some collaborative features via shared cloud documents, but lacks the real-time fluidity and interface flexibility that Figma has mastered.
Sharing & Feedback Workflows
Figma’s link-sharing capabilities and persistent URLs offer unmatched simplicity for stakeholder reviews. In contrast, Adobe XD has improved sharing settings but still feels more rigid, particularly when dealing with external clients or non-Adobe users.
Watch how real-time collaboration works in Figma
Adobe XD vs Figma: Integration & Compatibility
Available Plugins & Ecosystem
Both solutions integrate various plugins, but Figma has cultivated an exceptionally active user-driven plugin community. Some useful plugins include Autoflow for easy flow diagrams and Unsplash for quick photo resources.
Adobe XD continues to grow its plugin network, particularly after making more APIs available in early 2025, but still lags behind Figma's endless variety of plugins.
Compatibility with Design Handoff Tools
Both Adobe XD and Figma have robust handoff integrations. XD seamlessly integrates with Zeplin, Abstract, and Jira, whereas Figma smoothly pairs with tools like Maze, Abstract, and Linear.
Pricing Model Comparison
Figma’s Pricing Model
In 2025, Figma offers three main pricing tiers:
- Starter: Free (limited resources, suitable for solo creators).
- Pro: $15/month per editor.
- Organization: Custom pricing for enterprises.
Adobe XD’s Pricing Structure
Adobe XD aligns itself within Adobe Creative Cloud’s subscription ecosystem:
- Starter Plan: Free but highly restricted (only one active prototype).
- Standalone XD Subscription: $9.99/month.
- Creative Cloud All-App Subscription: $54.99/month, includes other Adobe programs, suitable for users who already use Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.
Comparing Adobe XD vs Figma on pricing clearly depends on individual or team-specific requirements.
Final Thoughts and Recommendations
In 2025, both Adobe XD and Figma continue to serve as powerful design platforms, but they cater to distinct user needs and workflows. The best choice ultimately depends on your priorities in terms of collaboration, prototyping, integration, and accessibility.
Choose Figma if:
- You need real-time collaboration across remote teams.
- You value a browser-based interface with automatic updates and cloud-native file management.
- You're building or scaling design systems with reusable components and shared libraries.
- You want seamless feedback loops and simplified sharing via persistent URLs.
- You're looking for a tool with a rich plugin ecosystem and community resources.
- You're an educator or student, as Figma remains free for educational use.
Opt for Adobe XD if:
- You work offline frequently or need local performance for large files.
- You're already using Adobe Creative Cloud tools like Illustrator or Photoshop.
- You require advanced prototyping features such as Auto-Animate, Lottie integration, or voice triggers.
- You prefer a desktop application with a more traditional UI/UX design workflow.
- You're focused on high-fidelity UI mockups within a closed Adobe environment.
Summary Table
| Feature/Need | Best Option |
|---|---|
| Real-time collaboration | Figma |
| Offline access | Adobe XD |
| Advanced prototyping | Adobe XD |
| Cross-platform/web-based | Figma |
| Adobe CC integration | Adobe XD |
| Design system scalability | Figma |
| Free educational access | Figma |
Both tools offer strong performance in 2025, but Figma appears to have the momentum and broader accessibility, particularly as Adobe XD is now in maintenance mode for existing customers only.
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