Adobe XD Vs Figma, what’s the ultimate tool?

Adobe XD has a very clean and simple interface compared to Figma, but Figma has much more advanced tools. When you first open Figma you might get a little overwhelmed with the number of options you have for things like shapes, text and more, while XD has kept it super minimal and user-friendly so anyone could start creating beautiful art.

Figma’s advanced tools contain things like being able to fill text and strokes with gradient - which isn’t feasible directly in XD- , it also has a feature called Variants, it’s very unique, it allows designers to create multiple art styles of the same element, so you don’t have to copy the same element multiple times each copy with a different fill color for example, you can switch between these styles simply by hiding/unhiding them.scrollable cardst gives you the options to change exposure, contrast, saturation..etc

On the other hand XD has a unique feature called Repeat gird, which allows you to repeat any element horizontally or vertically by simply dragging a handle, then grabbing text from a text file and images from a folder and dropping them onto the Repeat Grid group to create multiple copies of the same element, each with different content, this can speed up your workflow drastically, especially if you’re creating scrollable cards.

Both Adobe XD and Figma follow a very similar layering system, with Figma having a slight advantage in terms of having the ability to create multiple pages in the same document. We found this feature helpful if you want to stay more organized. On the other hand, Figma is a little messy when it comes to layer ordering.

Both Adobe XD and Figma support RTL and LTR fonts, but the thing that stands out in Figma is that it not only auto-detects the fonts installed on your computer but also gives you all Google Fonts that you can use freely. With Adobe XD you can activate fonts online with Adobe Creative Cloud, you don’t have to have a full subscription to use free fonts found on CC, but if you have one, then lucky you! You can get your hands on premium fonts and use them directly in the app without the need to install any font on your computer.

As lottie animations are getting more popular, Adobe XD has supported them natively and they also added support for Video with basic video editing right from XD itself. While Figma hasn’t supported Lottie files yet, you have to convert them into GIFs for them to work with still no support for video.

What’s the benefit of creating pleasing UIs if you’re not able to nicely present them to your clients?, so both Adobe XD and Figma provide you with Prototyping tools that can take your designs to a whole new dimension. They both support an automatic animation option called “Auto Animate” in Adobe XD and “Smart Animate” in Figma, and if you’re just starting out this automatic option is all you need to create pleasing, smooth animations (You just have to pay attention to properly name your layers for the smart/auto animate to work). But what’s beyond the Automatic animation option you might ask, well, there are a few ranging from transition, overlay and even hyperlinks to open URLs, but the real game-changer (if you’re into AI and home automation applications) is the Voice trigger and playback option which can simulate a real use case scenario of smart home applications. This option is only found in Adobe XD. They both support Gamepads, so you can create game menus and test out the interface using a real gamepad.

We found that Figma has an advantage in Smart Animate over XD because you have the option to create custom easing, this is by far our favorite option to experiment with, it allows you to create stunning effects effortlessly, and there are even some plugins that can help you with that.

Adobe XD gives you the ability to create multiple interactions for the same element, while Figma is limited to one interaction per element, but this can be easily overcome by converting the element into a Component and creating different Variants of that same component, each can behave differently.

With Adobe XD you can preview your prototypes instantly, while in Figma when you click on Present that opens up a new tab to view the prototype, this may take a little while depending on your internet connection, but once you have opened it, it automatically updates the prototype accordingly.

Figma has a very useful feature here called Flows, with this feature you can set multiple flows each starts from a different point, this can help programmers have a better understanding of how everything works in the right order. In XD you don’t have that option, you can only set the artboard you want to start previewing from.

If you want to record your prototype and you’re using a mac then you have this option already built in Adobe XD, and even if you’re using Windows, you can natively use Xbox Game Centre to record your prototype by pressing (Win+G), sadly you don’t have these options in Figma, rather you have to use a 3rd party program to do so.

Luckily both Adobe XD and Figma have a mirroring app you can install on your phone to live test your designs as if they were real.

One feature that is missing from both platforms is the Scroll trigger, it can help designers to create Parallax effect a lot easier, but they both support scrolling as an Action.

If there’s one thing that Figma stands out in front of Adobe XD that would be collaboration, it’s basically designed around that idea. Both platforms support collaborative features, It’s just that with Figma the execution is more seamless and straightforward.

Let’s take the coediting feature as an example, with Figma you can see your teammate's live cursor movements as they occur, while with Adobe XD you don’t see the cursor, you only see the element that your teammate is working on highlighted in a different color, not to mention that you and your teammate must have Adobe XD updated to the same version to coedit, and since Figma is web-based, then there are no compatibility issues.

One more thing that sets Figma apart from Adobe XD is the version history. With Figma you have an unlimited version history if you’re not using the free version which is a 30 days period, on the other hand Adobe XD offers 30 days for the paid plan and if you’re subscribed to CC plan then it’s going to be 60 days.

Both platforms support shared libraries so you can stay synced to the latest assets from across your workspace. Both Adobe XD and Figma have advantages in this aspect. If you’re on the CC plan then you’ll be able to sync libraries from different Adobe products like Illustrator and Photoshop. With Figma you can have as many libraries as you desire, but they are limited to Figma’s ecosystem.

Figma as well as Adobe XD give you multiple sharing options each with custom permissions for view, edit or inspect (developer mode), but again Figma’s execution is a lot cleaner.
You can share your file by generating a link on both platforms, but if you’re using Adobe XD then this link should be re-generated each time you modify your file, while with Figma it’s one-time generation process.
Generated links open in browser or in Figma app if you have it installed unless you are in coediting mode in Adobe XD, then you can open it in the app itself.

If you’re working with a front-end developer, then luckily both platforms offer Handoff features. They both support CSS code auto-generation, but again if you’re using Adobe XD then you have to update the shared link every time you modify your design.

What’s unique about both platforms is that they both have a very good approach when it comes to learning and designing resources.

Adobe has supported XD with weekly Youtube design challenges and tutorials to help designers create stunning art. Presenters of these of videos are Adobe evangelists, so you’re getting the knowledge from inside the circle, not to mention the extensive plugins and UI Kits marketplace.

Figma on the other hand relies more on the community, which is not necessarily a bad thing. When you go to the community section you can duplicate full projects uploaded by community members (which is a steal feature that we just can’t stop encouraging people who are starting out to make use of ), install plugins, download assets, and much more.

If you’re already on Adobe CC, then Adobe XD is no brainer, as this gives you full integration with Adobe products to create shared libraries, use premium fonts and much more. Matter fact, we believe that this is a smart marketing strategy from Adobe, they want users to stay in their ecosystem loop, by providing very high level integration between apps, that means you can simply copy and paste SVG and vector files directly from Illustrator -for example- to XD, that’s not possible with Figma, but Figam has its own integration advantage, this comes in the form of FigJam, which is a tool used as a brainstorming whiteboard, it’s very useful for UX process, also you import artboards directly from Sketch if you’re a former user.
Both platforms offer great integration with 3rd party apps like Microsoft Teams and Slack.

Pricing is a major player in the equation, as high pricing could be a deal-breaker if you’re just starting out. Adobe XD offers two types of accounts one for Business and another one for individuals each comes with two plans, plus a very limited Starter (Free) Plan, that won’t cut it if you’re planning on doing any collaborative work. The first plan is to buy XD solely, which will cost you 9.99$/mo (individual account) and 22.9$/mo per editor (business account), this plan gives you unlimited file sharing, unlimited libraries, and unlimited PDF exports with a full font library and 30 days version history, with Business account having more support features, 1:1 sessions with Adobe product experts, and an Admin console. if you choose to go with the second plan you’re actually getting a whole lot, you can have access to 20+ Adobe products plus a 60 days version history, this will set you back at 52.99/mo for the individual account and 79.99/mo per editor for the business account

Figma has a more straightforward pricing plan, plus a free plan that can cut it if you’re a freelancer working on not too many small projects simultaneously. You actually have 3 more plans, Pro 12$ per editor (billed annually) that’s free for student and teachers! (Thanks Figma!), Organization 45$ per editor (billed annually) and Enterprise 75$ per editor. Differences between these plans are subtle, with higher pricing plans having more workspace customization options and better direct support from Figma team.
You can visit Figma website for a full comparison between plans.

Both Adobe XD and Figma have pros and cons, it’s actually up to you to decide what works for your budget, use case and type of projects you work on. We suggest that if you already use Adobe CC or you work on AI and home automation projects to go with the XD route. Other than that, we believe that Figma is a solid choice.