Looking for an alternative for Sketch on Windows

Sketch is the design tool for Mac users, but options for Windows such as Figma, Adobe XD, and Invision Studio are quickly gaining ground with powerful features for web and app design.

Sketch is an excellent design tool for designing websites and apps. Thanks to the large number of available plugins, it is a very efficient tool for quickly realizing designs. On my MacBook, I used Sketch with full satisfaction. Unfortunately, the developers of Sketch are so determined that there will never be a Windows version of Sketch released.

Bohemian Coding claims that it is technically impossible to develop Sketch for Windows. In my opinion, however, it has more to do with the assumption that every designer works on a Mac. Although this image may be partially true in the West, a Mac is often unattainable in other parts of the world.

Whatever the reason, I find it completely outdated to release a program exclusively for one operating system. Fortunately, there are more and more good alternatives to Sketch that do work on Windows, Linux, or even in the browser.

Figma, Adobe XD, and Invision Studio

In the search for a full-fledged alternative to Sketch, three programs have particularly stood out: Figma, Adobe XD, and Invision Studio. It is clear that each of these programs is inspired by Sketch in its own way and builds upon the success of Sketch.

Designing from the browser with Figma

I am impressed by how quickly you can get started with Figma. No complicated sign-up, no installation; you just need a browser to work in Figma. You log in on the website and can immediately start designing. This allows you to work on your designs anywhere there is internet.

Because Figma operates in the cloud, you never have to save your designs manually; this happens automatically. The same goes for creating backups and keeping track of different versions of your design.

The transition from Sketch to Figma is quite straightforward, as Figma's interface largely resembles that of Sketch. This is convenient, because there is little wrong with the interface of Sketch.

When working in a team, Figma offers a convenient 'Team Library' feature. This allows you to exchange design components with your team and keep them consistent. For example, if you decide to change the color of buttons, you publish this change and the rest of the team automatically receives the update. Figma even offers the ability to work on a design together in real-time.

What I find even more amazing about Figma is the ability to easily turn your designs into a prototype. You can link your designs together to create a working prototype. You can then share this prototype with your client or team, who can in turn provide feedback on your design.

Figma is free for individual use. If you want to use the team features, you pay $15 per team member per month. With an annual payment, the cost per team member drops to $12 per month. I think it's a great deal.

Adobe is taking a new direction with XD.

Who hasn't designed a website or app in Adobe Photoshop? For years, Adobe enjoyed an absolute monopoly in the field of design tools for both web and print. But the days when designers used Photoshop for their designs are now behind us.

Adobe had to respond to the enormous success of Sketch. In early 2016, the first preview version of Adobe XD was released. Initially, this version was only available for Mac and had limited functionality. Over the course of a year and a half, Adobe added small updates and improvements to XD each month, and during this period, XD was free to use. In October 2017, version 1.0 of XD was released and from that point on, it became a paid app.

In the 1.5 years that XD has been in development, relatively few new features have been added. Fortunately, Adobe has taken the effort to also release a Windows version of XD.

The app operates surprisingly smoothly and its user interface closely resembles that of Sketch and Figma. This makes the transition easy and saves a lot of time. Of the reviewed programs, XD has the smallest feature set so far. Unfortunately, not all features are equally well-developed.

What is also special is that until recently, Adobe XD did not work well with other programs from the Adobe family. For example, it has only been possible since March 2018 to load Photoshop or Illustrator files into XD. It is remarkable that it took almost two years before such a feature was added. Unfortunately, this is not the only time XD has been slow to implement new features, to the great annoyance of the community.

It seems that Adobe still has a long way to go to attract new users. However, Adobe has built up a large group of loyal fans over the past few years. For this group, XD is a good addition to the Creative Suite. Given the current price and feature set, I think there are few people who will purchase Adobe XD separately.

At $20 per month, Adobe XD is by far the most expensive. It's almost twice as expensive as Sketch or a team license for Figma. You can also get XD as part of the Adobe Creative Suite. A license for the Creative Suite costs $50 per month, but then you also get licenses for InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Premiere.

New kid on the block: Invision Studio

It had been on the cards for a while that Invision would come up with its own design tool. For those who are not familiar with Invision: it's a tool that allows you to make your designs interactive, for example by emulating an app or website. In addition, Invision has released a popular plugin for Sketch that enables you to design 'smarter'.

The rumor was that Invision was planning to acquire Sketch, but that turned out not to be the case. Instead, Invision is coming out with its own design tool that is currently still in Early Access.

At the time of writing, I have access to the Early Access program. Unfortunately, there is currently only a Mac version of Studio available, but what I have seen so far of Studio is promising for the future. Do you also want to get started with Invision Studio? You can sign up for the Early Access program for free.

Invision seems to be targeting app designers primarily with Studio. A major part of the package is the extensive prototyping capabilities. Users can add detailed animations to their prototypes, creating a very good user experience.

When the Windows version of Invision Studio is released, an extensive review will follow on my blog. Until then, you can keep an eye on Invision's YouTube channel and Twitter feed for updates.

Invision Studio is free for Invision users. A subscription starts at $15 and allows you to create three prototypes. A team license costs $99 per month and provides access to creating an unlimited number of prototypes. It is currently unclear whether a free Invision plan also includes access to Invision Studio.

Extra: Opening Sketch files on Windows with Lunacy

Are you looking for a tool to open Sketch files on Windows, perhaps because you've received a design in Sketch as a developer? Then there are some recently released programs that you will probably find interesting. The most popular tool at the moment is Lunacy.

At the end of March, Lunacy was launched by the Icons8 team. Currently, Lunacy has limited functionality: you can open and save Sketch files, edit artboards, draw objects, export assets, and Lunacy has a basic font tool.

Icons8 is far from finished with the development of Lunacy. The roadmap includes many useful features such as a component library, symbols, and layout grids. Lunacy is not yet a full-fledged replacement for Sketch, but it's good to see that developers are working on a Sketch version for Windows.

Lunacy is currently free to download.

Summary

It's good to see that more and more alternatives to Sketch are being developed. Competition ensures that everyone stays sharp. Perhaps the increasing competition will force the Sketch team to reconsider their decision not to release a Windows version.

Until then, I will start working with Figma myself. I am very impressed with the recently released Figma API. This offers many possibilities, such as automatically generating style guides or synchronizing designs with React components. In addition, I continue to closely monitor the development of Lunacy and Invision Studio. Adobe XD is not an option for me considering the price-quality ratio; $20 per month is too much for this tool.