What is Sketch used for?

Sketch is a Mac-based design toolkit for interface design, prototyping, collaboration and developer handoff, made for UI and product designers. It is a good fit for designing app and website interfaces, handing specs to developers, and building reusable component libraries.

How much does Sketch cost?

Paid plans for Sketch start at $12 per seat per month, and there is no free plan. A free trial is available.

Is Sketch open source?

No. Sketch is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Sketch include Penpot, OpenPencil and Doop.

What are some alternatives to Sketch?

Sketch competes with Figma, Framer and Adobe Illustrator. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Sketch alternatives.

Sketch: features, pricing and alternatives

About Sketch

Sketch is a design toolkit built for interface and product designers. It covers designing screens and icons with vector tools, prototyping interactions, collaborating with teammates, and handing designs off to developers. The company describes it as made by designers, for designers.

The Mac app requires a recent version of macOS, and a web experience supports collaboration and sign-in. The site lists design, collaboration, prototyping, developer handoff and AI sections, with an option to connect an AI client. Recent updates mentioned include component variants and sections in beta, better stacks and expanded effects support. The product is extended through plugins and integrations, and there is a changelog, a roadmap, design resources and a community Discord.

Sketch is proprietary software. You can get started for free, and plan details are on the vendor's pricing page.

Key features

Vector-based interface and icon design
Prototyping of interactions
Shared documents for collaboration
Developer handoff from design to code
Component variants and canvas sections
Plugins and integrations

Good fit for

→Designing app and website interfaces
→Handing specs to developers
→Building reusable component libraries

Tags: ui-design; prototyping; vector-design; macos; design-tools; collaboration; handoff

Sketch: questions and answers

What is Sketch used for?: Sketch is a Mac-based design toolkit for interface design, prototyping, collaboration and developer handoff, made for UI and product designers. It is a good fit for designing app and website interfaces, handing specs to developers, and building reusable component libraries.
How much does Sketch cost?: Paid plans for Sketch start at $12 per seat per month, and there is no free plan. A free trial is available.
Is Sketch open source?: No. Sketch is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Sketch include Penpot, OpenPencil and Doop.
What are some alternatives to Sketch?: Sketch competes with Figma, Framer and Adobe Illustrator. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Sketch alternatives.