Figma vs Sketch

Figma and Sketch both let you design a storefront, an app, or a marketing site before a single line of code gets written, but they solve that problem in different ways. Figma is a browser-based, real-time collaborative tool that runs on any operating system, while Sketch is a native Mac app built around local files and a plugin-driven workflow. For teams choosing today, Figma is the stronger general-purpose pick, and it is also the format our own Figma themes are delivered in, but Sketch is not obsolete for shops already invested in it.

This comparison is aimed at merchants, freelance designers, and small commerce teams deciding which tool to standardize on, or trying to understand why a theme or template they bought came in one format and not the other. We will not pretend one tool is universally better in every dimension — each has real strengths — but we will be direct about where the industry has clearly moved and what that means for your buying decision.

The Short Version

• Platform: Figma runs in any modern browser plus native desktop apps for Mac and Windows; Sketch is Mac-only.
• Collaboration: Figma is multiplayer by default, with multiple people editing the same file live; Sketch relies on cloud file sync and a separate web viewer for comments, with editing happening locally.
• Pricing model: Figma is priced per editor with a usable free tier; Sketch is a one-time-or-subscription license tied to a Mac seat.
• Ecosystem: Figma has a larger, more actively maintained plugin and community-file ecosystem right now; Sketch's plugin community is smaller than it once was.
• File format for themes: most modern commerce and web themes, including ours, ship as Figma files, since that is where the buyer pool and the plugin tooling both are.

Platform and Access

Sketch was built as a native macOS app, and that has never changed. If your team is entirely on Mac and always will be, this is a non-issue. But the moment a client, a developer, a contractor, or a stakeholder needs to open a file on Windows or Linux, or just review it from an iPad in a meeting, Sketch requires exporting or a separate web-based viewing layer. Figma sidesteps this entirely: it runs in a browser on any device, plus dedicated desktop apps for both Mac and Windows, so a design file is never locked to one operating system or one person's laptop.

For a commerce team specifically, this matters more than it might for a solo designer. Store owners, merchandisers, and marketing leads who are not trained designers still need to open a mockup, leave a comment, or check how a promotional banner will look before it ships. Being able to send a link that opens instantly in any browser, rather than asking a non-designer to install and license a Mac-only app, removes a real point of friction.

Real-Time Collaboration

This is the area where the two tools differ most fundamentally, not just cosmetically. Figma was built from the ground up as a multiplayer canvas — multiple people can be in the same file, editing different frames simultaneously, and see each other's cursors move in real time. Comments, version history, and branching all live inside that same collaborative model.

Sketch's collaboration story has improved over the years through Sketch Cloud and companion web tools, but the core editing experience is still closer to a local-file model with sync layered on top, rather than true simultaneous multiplayer editing. For a single designer working alone, this distinction barely registers. For a small team — say, a designer working alongside a developer and a store owner reviewing a new collection page together — Figma's live collaboration removes a lot of the back-and-forth of exporting screens, emailing PNGs, or waiting for a file to sync before the next person can open it.

Plugins, Components, and the Wider Ecosystem

Both tools support plugins and reusable components, and both have communities built around sharing UI kits and templates. In practice, Figma's plugin and community-file ecosystem has grown faster and stayed more actively maintained over the past several years, in part because its browser-based, API-friendly architecture makes it easier for third-party developers to build and distribute tools against it. That shows up in small but constant ways: more up-to-date icon and illustration plugins, more actively supported design-token and handoff tools, and a larger pool of free community templates to learn from or adapt.

Sketch still has a functioning plugin ecosystem and long-time users who rely on specific tools they have used for years, but the pace of new plugin development and the size of the active community has generally slowed relative to Figma. If you are choosing a tool today with no existing investment in either, this tips the practical decision toward Figma — not because Sketch's plugins stopped working, but because the newer tooling a design team wants tends to show up on Figma first, if it shows up on Sketch at all.

Pricing and Team Fit

Figma's pricing is per-editor, with a free tier that covers a meaningful amount of solo or small-project work before you need a paid seat, and paid tiers scaling with team size and features like advanced version history or design systems. Sketch's model has shifted over time between a one-time license and subscription pricing tied to a Mac seat, generally bundled with its cloud collaboration features.

Neither pricing model is objectively wrong, and the right fit depends on your team shape. A solo Mac-based designer with a stable, long-running set of local files may find Sketch's model perfectly comfortable. A distributed team, an agency working with outside clients, or a store owner who wants to be able to peek into a design file without buying a full license will generally find Figma's browser-first, per-editor model more flexible.

Why Most Commerce Themes Ship as Figma Files

If you have shopped for storefront themes or UI kits recently, you have probably noticed that the overwhelming majority ship as Figma files rather than Sketch files. That is a direct consequence of the platform and ecosystem differences above: theme creators want the widest possible buyer pool, and buyers increasingly expect to open a file instantly in a browser, inspect components, and hand it to a developer without a licensing hurdle. Our own Figma theme collection follows that pattern, and it includes purpose-built options across categories — the Medical Figma theme for healthcare and clinic storefronts, the Wosa Figma theme for fashion, the Course Whiz Figma theme for e-learning brands, and the Electronix Figma theme for electronics retailers. For teams that want breadth in one purchase, the e-commerce Figma bundle packages several niche layouts together.

This is also why, if your team is standardizing on one tool for future projects, choosing Figma keeps more purchased design assets directly compatible without a conversion step. Converting a Sketch file to Figma (or the reverse) is possible with import tools, but it is rarely a perfectly clean process — text styles, component structures, and some effects can shift during the conversion and need manual cleanup.

When Sketch Still Makes Sense

It would be dishonest to frame this as a total blowout. If your team has years of Sketch libraries, symbol systems, and workflows built up, and everyone works exclusively on Mac, there is a real cost to migrating that has nothing to do with which tool is "better" in the abstract — it is the cost of retraining and rebuilding component libraries. Sketch also remains a capable, focused vector and UI design tool on its own terms; it has not become unusable, it has simply become the less common default for new teams and new commerce tooling.

If you are in that position, the practical move is not necessarily to switch everything at once. Many teams keep Sketch for legacy files while adopting Figma for new collaborative work, new client-facing projects, or anything where purchased design assets — like a storefront theme — are only available in Figma format.

How to Decide for Your Team

• If you are starting from zero with no existing files in either tool, choose Figma — it gives you the widest plugin ecosystem, the most flexible collaboration model, and the broadest pool of purchasable themes and templates.
• If your whole team is Mac-only and you have significant existing Sketch libraries, it is reasonable to keep using Sketch for that ongoing work rather than force a migration.
• If you regularly work with outside collaborators, clients, or non-designers who need to view or comment on files, Figma's browser access removes friction Sketch cannot fully match.
• If you are buying a pre-built storefront theme or UI kit, check the file format before purchasing — most modern options, including ours, are Figma-native, and a Sketch-only workflow may mean an extra, imperfect conversion step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I open a Figma file in Sketch, or a Sketch file in Figma?

Figma can import Sketch files directly, and there are community and third-party tools that attempt the reverse. Neither conversion is guaranteed to be perfectly clean — text styles, components, and some effects often need manual review after import — so treat conversion as a starting point rather than a finished result.

Is Figma really free to use?

Figma offers a free tier that covers a meaningful amount of solo and small-team work, with paid tiers unlocking things like extended version history and organization-level features. Whether the free tier is enough depends on your team size and how much history and file organization you need, but it is a genuine, usable starting point rather than a stripped-down trial.

Which tool should I learn if I am new to UI design?

Figma is the more practical default to learn first: it works on any device, has a larger library of free community files and tutorials to learn from, and matches the format most modern themes and templates — including our own Figma themes — are actually delivered in.

Do I need Figma to use a Polo Themes Figma product?

Yes — our Figma themes, such as the Optics Figma theme, are delivered as native Figma files so you can inspect components, copy styles, and hand the design straight to a developer without an export step. A free Figma account is enough to open and explore them.