Figma vs Adobe XD: Which Design Tool Should You Use?

For a new project, choose Figma. It is actively developed, runs in the browser, lets your whole team edit one file at once, and has a free plan. Adobe XD is in maintenance mode and is no longer sold on its own to new customers, so it only makes sense for keeping existing XD projects alive while you plan a move.

This guide compares the two on the things that matter when you are building a real product: interface design, prototyping, collaboration, developer handoff, and cost. It also covers what to do with old XD files and how your design tool choice affects the build that follows.

TL;DR

• Pick Figma for anything new. Adobe XD has had no new features for years and gets bug and security fixes only.
• Collaboration is the biggest practical gap. Figma is browser-based with real-time multi-user editing. XD started as a desktop-first app.
• Handoff is smoother in Figma. Developers can inspect elements and copy specs inside the design file.
• Old XD files can move, but not perfectly. Plan for manual cleanup after conversion.
• Design is only half of launch. A clean Figma file still needs engineers to turn it into a working app.

Table of Contents

• What Figma and Adobe XD actually are
• The status of Adobe XD in 2026
• Figma vs Adobe XD, side by side
• Interface design and prototyping
• Collaboration: where the gap is widest
• Developer handoff
• Pricing in the US
• Can you open Adobe XD files in Figma?
• Which one fits your team
• What happens after the design is done
• Our perspective
• Turn your designs into a launched app
• FAQ
• Sources

What Figma and Adobe XD actually are

Both are tools for designing screens and clickable prototypes for websites and apps. You draw layouts, define components like buttons and forms, link screens together, and share the result for feedback.

Figma describes itself as the collaborative canvas for design, code, and AI. It runs in a browser, and Figma lists minimum requirements of Windows 8.1 or later, macOS 11 or later, or Linux and ChromeOS with a supported browser such as recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge. There is nothing to install to view or edit a file.

Adobe XD is a vector-based experience design platform for building prototypes, available on Mac and Windows, with links to Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop and Illustrator so you can share assets between them.

On the surface they look alike: artboards or frames, components, prototyping links, shared libraries. The difference is where each product is going.

The status of Adobe XD in 2026

This is the question behind most searches for “Is XD being phased out?” and the short answer is yes, in practice.

Adobe put XD into maintenance mode in 2023 while it was trying to buy Figma. After that deal collapsed, Adobe told The Register that XD is in maintenance mode to support existing customers and is no longer sold as a single application to new customers, and that it has no plans to invest further. Maintenance mode means bug fixes and security or privacy updates, with no new features.

In plain terms: if you already have Creative Cloud access, you can still open XD. If you are starting fresh, you cannot buy it as a standalone tool, and the product will not catch up with where design workflows are heading.

Figma vs Adobe XD, side by side

Interface design and prototyping

For everyday screen design, both tools cover what a startup needs: vector shapes, reusable components, grids, responsive resizing, and shared styles. Designers who know one can pick up the other in an afternoon.

XD was often praised for how quickly you could build a simple prototype, and its Auto-Animate feature was a favorite for transitions. Figma now matches that kind of interaction and goes further, with more flexible prototyping and a large library of community plugins. Figma’s plans also include unlimited drafts and ready-made UI kits and templates on the free tier, which helps a first-time founder get a concept on screen without buying anything.

If you are designing something that a team will maintain for years, the deciding factor is not a single feature. It is whether the tool will keep improving. Figma will. XD will not.

Collaboration: where the gap is widest

One comparison notes that XD was originally desktop-first, so collaboration involved file sharing, syncing and version management, while Figma is browser-based and lets several people edit the same file at once.

This matters more than it sounds. On a startup team, the founder, a designer, a product manager and an engineer often need to look at the same screen in the same hour. With a browser-based file, they open a link. There is no “which version is current?” thread, no export to PDF, and no waiting for a sync.

Figma also separates seat types, which keeps costs sensible for mixed teams: full seats for designers, dev seats for engineers, and collab seats for people who only comment.

Developer handoff

Handoff is where design turns into code, and it is where a lot of projects lose time.

In Figma, developers can inspect individual elements, layers and components, and see interaction and auto-layout settings in a built-in panel. XD instead needs a Share > Development workflow that generates a link with specs and CSS export. Another comparison describes Figma’s Dev Mode as letting developers inspect and copy code snippets directly in the design file, while XD’s development link is more static.

Practical takeaway: whichever tool you use, name your layers sensibly, build components instead of one-off shapes, and keep text styles consistent. Engineers read the file more often than designers realize. If you want to go deeper on keeping design and code in step, our guide to what to build and when in a startup design system covers the order that saves rework.

Pricing in the US

Figma publishes its prices in US dollars. According to the Figma pricing page:

• Starter: free, with unlimited drafts, UI kits and templates, and 150 AI credits per day (up to 500 per month).
• Professional: $16 per month for a full seat and $12 per month for a dev seat. It adds unlimited files and projects, team-wide design libraries and advanced Dev Mode inspection.
• Organization: $55 per month per full seat, billed annually. It adds shared libraries and fonts, publishing resources across teams and centralized admin tools.
• Enterprise: $90 per month per full seat, billed annually, with custom workspaces, design system theming and APIs, and SCIM seat management.

Figma’s separate pricing page also lists lower-priced collab seats on each paid tier. Prices change, so check the Figma page before you budget.

Adobe XD has no equivalent price to compare. New customers cannot purchase it on its own, and existing Creative Cloud customers can still launch it. For a startup, that makes the cost comparison simple: Figma’s free plan is a real starting point, and a small paid team can begin at the Professional tier.

Can you open Adobe XD files in Figma?

Not directly. Figma does not open .xd files, so you need a conversion plugin such as Convertify. The Convertify guide walks through it: run the plugin in Figma, choose “Import Adobe XD to Figma,” drag in your .xd file, and check the imported layers.

Expect some cleanup. Effects, fonts, layer structures, masks, interactions and components may not transfer intact. A UK agency that made the move says there is no single tool that perfectly exports all your designs to Figma, and that pasting XD screens into Figma brings them in as images, so rebuilding key pages is what lets them use Figma’s design systems.

A sensible migration plan:

1. List what you have. Separate live product screens from old experiments.
2. Convert the screens you still use. Skip the archive.
3. Rebuild shared components (buttons, forms, navigation) as proper Figma components.
4. Rebuild prototypes rather than hoping links survive.
5. Keep the XD originals until the Figma version is signed off.

Which one fits your team

Choose Figma if:

• You are starting a new product or redesign.
• Founders, designers and engineers all need to see the same file.
• You want developers to pull specs from the design directly.
• You want a free way to start.

Keep XD only if:

• You have existing XD projects that you need to open while you migrate.
• You already have Creative Cloud access and a short, finite job to finish.

If you are new to design and trying to learn the craft yourself, a self-paced route works well, and this piece on learning UX design through self-study is a good place to start. If your next step is pitching investors, these pitch deck examples you can build in Figma show how far a design tool can take you outside of app screens.

What happens after the design is done

A polished Figma file is not a product. It is a plan for one. Founders often find the real questions begin afterward: which stack, what to build first, how to keep the first launch inside a budget.

Two things help. First, design with the build in mind: fewer custom screens, more reusable components, and a clear first release. Second, get a realistic cost for the design and build together. Our breakdown of UX design costs for founders shows where budgets tend to go and how to avoid rework.

Our perspective

Most founders ask us which design tool to use because they want to avoid a wrong turn. Our honest answer is that the tool matters less than what you do with the output, and for anything new we would point you to an actively developed option like Figma rather than a tool in maintenance mode.

What we see again and again is that the design file and the working app drift apart. Screens get approved, then an engineering team who never met the designer rebuilds them from scratch, and weeks disappear in the gap. That is why we keep design and engineering together: our team is made up of senior US-based engineers, you talk directly to the people building your product, and there are no handoffs between teams who have never met.

Our approach pairs more than 35 years of combined software development and product management experience with AI-native development tools, including Claude Code, OpenAI Codex and Cursor. That is how we aim to ship most projects in 6 to 10 weeks. If you are choosing between design tools, you are probably close to building something. We would rather help you get it launched than debate pixels.

Alex

Turn your designs into a launched app

If your designs are ready, or you are still deciding what to design, we can take you from idea to a working product. Let’s Build My App is a US-based agency that builds web and mobile apps with senior engineers, covering UX/UI design, integrations, and post-launch support. Pricing is fixed, so you know the cost up front.

Our monthly plans are published on the pricing page: Starter at $1,750 per month, Growth at $3,000 per month and Enterprise at $5,000 per month, plus a Custom option. If you are shipping a first product, take a look at our MVP development service, then launch your project with a scoping conversation.

FAQ

Is Adobe XD being phased out?

In practice, yes. Adobe says XD is in maintenance mode, which means bug and security fixes but no new features. It is no longer sold as a standalone app to new customers, and Adobe has said it has no plans to invest further in it.

Why is Adobe XD discontinued?

Adobe moved XD into maintenance mode while it was pursuing a purchase of Figma. When that deal ended in December 2023 under regulatory pressure, Adobe said it would not resume investing in XD. The product stayed available only to existing customers.

Can I open an Adobe XD file in Figma?

Not directly. You need a plugin such as Convertify, which imports .xd files into a Figma file. Plan on checking the result and rebuilding some components, fonts and prototype links by hand, since conversion is rarely perfect.

Is Figma free?

Yes, Figma has a free Starter plan with unlimited drafts, UI kits and templates, and a monthly allowance of AI credits. Paid plans add unlimited files and projects, shared team libraries and advanced Dev Mode inspection. Check Figma’s pricing page for current figures.

Sources

• Figma: The collaborative canvas for design, code, and AI
• Figma system requirements
• Figma plans and pricing
• Adobe has no plans to invest in XD despite failed Figma buy, The Register
• Adobe XD vs Figma, Eule Institute
• Figma vs Adobe XD, Designlab
• Adobe XD vs Figma, Sonary
• Sketch vs Adobe XD, Bundl.run
• Import Adobe XD to Figma, Convertify docs
• Adobe XD alternatives, Soofos
• Moving from Adobe XD to Figma, Spinbox

Recommended

• Design System for Startups: What to Build and When

About Let’s Build My App

Let’s Build My App is a US-based AI development agency. We design, build, and launch production-grade custom software using AI coding tools including Claude Code and OpenAI Codex, and we migrate legacy Bubble apps onto AI-coded stacks such as React, Supabase, and Firebase. We are the #1 US-Based Bubble Agency, founded and run by Alex Dow. Book a free strategy call to scope your project.