Posted Dec 19, 2022

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Design & Inspiration

5 Sketch Alternatives To Try in 2023 [In-depth Analysis]

Design & Inspiration

Design & Inspiration

5 Sketch Alternatives To Try in 2023 [In-depth Analysis]

What is Sketch?

Sketch

Sketch is an industry-leading app for vector-based interface design and illustration. 

It is an all-in-one tool that enables you to collaborate in real-time and create:

  • Prototypes

  • Your own design system

  • Developer hand-offs, etc.

It provides dynamic layouts and you can create multiple user interfaces. 

The latest additions to Sketch’s set of features are override tools for symbols, text property and color, easier resizing, and annotation tools.

Furthermore, Sketch offers hundreds of plugins that add extra functionality and automate work.

In addition, Sketch integrates with third-party apps such as Protopie, Maze, Flinto, etc.

In a nutshell, Sketch is a great UX/UI wireframing app enabling designers to create many app, web, and interface design projects.

Sketch Pros

✔️ Has advanced vector editing tools

✔️ Offers app and website creation tools

✔️ Has many plugins and integrations

✔️ Great for UX/UI designs

Sketch Cons

❌ Only available for macOS operating system 

❌ Has limited animation and prototyping capabilities

❌ Has no automatic layout flow option

Let’s see where Sketch stands in terms of pricing.

Pricing

Sketch offers two paid plans and a 30-day free trial for both.

Sketch pricing

Sketch Scoreboard

Let’s see an overall impression of Sketch in terms of performance, UX/UI, features and price.

Sketch Scoreboard

The time has come to see which Sketch alternatives landed their rightful spot on our list.

5 Sketch Alternatives To Try

1. Glorify

Glorify

Glorify is a graphic design tool that comes with all the bells and whistles of robust graphic apps while staying beginner-friendly.

Although it is a relative newcomer to the scene, Glorify succeeded in filling the void between complex and simpler tools by offering graphic design features and features for boosting marketing efforts.

This makes Glorify extremely popular among eCommerce store owners and non-designers.

So what array of features does Glorify display?

  • Infinite canvases - a great collaboration tool for infinite possibilities. Brainstorming, organizing assets, and strategy sessions are just some examples of how you can use the canvas.

  • Mockups - an excellent way to bring your designs to life with high-quality 3D mockups and scenes and showcase them in a realistic way.

  • Photo editing tools - this set of tools enables you to tweak your designs and resize them, add shadows and reflections, change colors and text, remove backgrounds, do smart resizing, etc.

  • Highlight product feature - an annotation tool that highlights the most prominent features of a product. It is also handy for creating flowcharts and diagrams.

  • Marketing campaign transformation - offers pre-made template bundles to create material for social media, paid ads, email marketing, etc.

  • Brand Kit - helps your brand stay consistent by centralizing all your branding assets and a logo in one place.

  • Share your design - enables you to collaborate and save your design in multiple formats.

All these features and many more are accessible on Glorify’s intuitive dashboard, which has a clean design.

glorify editor

Glorify Pros

✔️ Has advanced photo editing tools as well as marketing tools.

✔️ Intuitive and beginner-friendly.

✔️ Offers a Free plan.

Glorify Cons

❌ Doesn’t have video or animation tools, but they’re around the corner.

❌ The app can freeze from time to time.

❌ Fewer templates than similar platforms, but the template number is rising.

Pricing

Glorify comes with one Free and two Premium plans.

glorify pricing

Let’s find out how Glorify scores on our scoreboard.

Glorify Scoreboard

Glorify Scoreboard

Number two on our list belongs to Figma.

2. Figma

Figma

Figma is a vector graphics editor and prototyping tool that allows you to scale designs infinitely without losing quality. 

Moreover, Figma's library of built-in components gives your designs a consistent aesthetic from start to finish.

Figma is also a great collaboration tool-you can edit and share your designs with multiple parties on an endless canvas.

Figma is, without a doubt, a great alternative to Sketch because it also offers more UX-oriented features compared to some other alternatives. Therefore, Figma doesn’t provide so many templates since its main focus is prototypes and mockups.

On the other hand, Figma compensates for the lack of a great number of templates with a vast plugin library. 

Here you can find plugins for mockups and prototypes, chart creators, wireframes, etc.

Figma Pros

✔️ Great for UX designs, prototypes and mockups.

✔️ A stunning number of plugins.

✔️ Great for collaboration.

Figma Cons

❌ Isn’t beginner-friendly

❌ Doesn’t offer photo editing tools

❌ Doesn’t have a great number of templates. 

How does Figma stand when it comes to pricing?

Pricing

Figma has one Free and three Premium plans.

figma pricing

And the last thing to check about Figma before moving on is its scoreboard.

Figma Scoreboard

Figma Scoreboard

Curious to find out which app comes next? Let’s find out.

3. Adobe XD

Adobe XD

Adobe XD is a design tool from Adobe that has gained lots of popularity since its launch. 

What makes Adobe XD so sought-after is the ability to create high-quality designs, without investing too much time or money as with complex tools like Photoshop or Illustrator.

It offers a modern interface, vector-based drawing tools, and built-in prototyping tools. 

Other features that Adobe XD offers are auto animation, repeat grid, and responsive resize features, to name a few.

Another interesting thing about Adobe XD is that despite being a desktop app, you can still collaborate in real-time. 

In addition, you can also design and prototype at the same time in the same program.

Adobe XD Pros

✔️ Has an integration with Adobe Creative Cloud

✔️ Has robust features

✔️ Great for mockups and wireframing.

Adobe XD Cons

❌ A steeper learning curve unless you are familiar with Adobe

❌ Slow loading speed at times

❌ Expensive if you combine it with other Adobe apps

Speaking of expensive let’s check Adobe XD’s pricing.

Pricing

Adobe XD has one Premium plan for Individual users, but it can be combined with other Adobe apps.

Adobe XD pricing

Adobe XD Scoreboard

Adobe XD Scoreboard

Before we wrap things up, we have two more Sketch alternatives to show you.

Our next pick is InVision.

4. InVision

InVision

InVision is the digital product design platform that offers both vector and raster editing capabilities. 

It also has built-in animation and prototyping tools, so you can create interactive prototypes of your designs.

What’s more, it is a great solution if you need to design mobile app screens and user interfaces.

Still, InVision doesn’t offer the traditional tools you would find in a vector graphics editor. However, it does provide an all-in-one solution for high-quality screen designs and easy team collaboration and developer handoff.

Therefore, if you want to get the most out of InVision Studio, you should combine it with another vector editor.

In addition to being a handy tool for creating prototypes, InVision is also good for wireframing, brainstorming, project planning, etc.

InVision Pros

✔️ Great collaboration tools

✔️ Useful for creating prototypes

✔️ Has integration with other InVision apps.

InVision Cons

❌ Needs to be combined with other vector editors

❌ Limited prototyping functionality

❌ Can be overwhelming for new users.

Pricing

InVision has three plans, one Free and two Premium ones.

InVision pricing

What is our overall impression of InVision? Let’s check in our scoreboard.

InVision Scoreboard

InVision Scoreboard

And last but by no means last on our list is Inkscape.

5. Inkscape

Inkscape

Inkscape is a free, open source vector editing app. It offers a variety of features such as:

  • Freehand drawing tools- pen and pencil tool, calligraphy tool, etc.

  • Shape tools

  • Text tools

  • Embedded bitmaps

  • Transformation tools- moving, scaling, rotating, skewing

  • Layers

  • Color gradient tool

  • Multiple export formats.

Inkcape also has more than 30 powerful Live Path Effects at your disposal.

In addition, the latest version also provides the dark theme, which something usually found in commercial software.

However, being a free tool comes with noth pros and cons. Let’s what those are for Inkscape.

Inkscape Pros

✔️ It is free and open-source

✔️ Has cross-platforms with other apps

✔️ Has a wide range of features.

Inkscape Cons

❌ Doesn’t have UI design features

❌ Mac version isn’t as polished at the Windows or Linux one

❌ Can crash often and be buggy.

Pricing

Inkscape is free of charge.

And how does the Inkscape’s scoreboard look like?

Inkscape Scoreboard

Inkscape Scoreboard

Now that we’ve come to the end of our list of 5 Sketch alternatives, we have an extra treat for you. And what is that?

A comparison table with each alternative so you can see them next to each other for easier reference.

Comparison Table

Comparison Table

Which Sketch Alternative is the Best for You?

If you're looking for some sketch alternatives to try in 2023, consider one of the options on this list.

From online tools to more traditional mediums, there's sure to be an option that fits your needs. But the question still remains how to pick the right one for you?

There isn’t a universal answer. You should make a pick based on your business needs, level of expertise and budget.

Sketch is a great and robust tool, but its biggest drawback is being available only on Mac platforms. 

If you are a seasoned designer who starts designs from scratch and focuses more on the UX parts of the design, Figma makes a logical choice. 

In case you need to create prototypes and wireframes and don’t mind a steeper learning curve, Adobe XD may be your perfect fit.

Conversely, if you don’t mind having limited prototype functions but are in need of a great collaboration tool, InVision makes perfect sense.

Finally, if you need a free tool but you don’t need to create UI designs, try Inkscape.

However, if you are a novice or need much more from a graphic design tool so you can create marketing material and raise brand awareness, then Glorify has your name written all over it.

Its versatile and broad features bridge the gap between typical UX and UI tools. Therefore, you can reap more benefits and attack more of your business painpoints.

So, sign up today to maximize your business designs and marketing efforts.

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