Sketch vs Affinity
Sketch and Affinity are both design options. Sketch lists 6 features across 4 platforms; Affinity lists 7 features across 2 platforms — see the full breakdown below, sourced from each vendor's own site rather than ratings or reviews.
Side-by-side summary
Best for Sketch
Best suited to UI/UX designers and design teams that work primarily on macOS and want a native design editor with shared workspaces, browser review, prototyping, and developer handoff.
Best for Affinity
Professional and hobbyist designers who want a full desktop-grade design suite without a subscription, following Canva's acquisition of Affinity-maker Serif.
Feature comparison
Every feature listed here comes directly from each vendor's own official site.
Sketch
- Nestable frames and flexible stack layouts for responsive design
- Vector editing tools
- Smart Animate for prototype transitions
- Real-time co-editing
- Free developer handoff and inspection tools
- Component libraries and frame presets
Affinity
- Vector design tools with pen tools and non-destructive editing
- Raster photo editing in the same unified app
- Page layout and publishing tools for multi-page documents
- Typography with text-on-path and OpenType features
- GPU-accelerated 60 FPS real-time rendering
- AI vector generation from text prompts
- No subscription required — full professional feature set free, forever
Pros and cons
Sketch
- Nestable frames and flexible stack layouts for responsive design
- Vector editing tools
- Smart Animate for prototype transitions
- Real-time co-editing
- Free developer handoff and inspection tools
- Component libraries and frame presets
- Sketch does not offer a permanent full-featured free editor plan; subscriptions start after a 30-day trial, aside from education offers and free viewer access.
- The primary design editor is a native Mac app, so teams that require native Windows design editing should compare cross-platform alternatives.
- The $12, $24, and $44 per-editor monthly rates shown for Standard, Professional, and Enterprise are billed yearly; Private Cloud is quote-based.
Affinity
- Vector design tools with pen tools and non-destructive editing
- Raster photo editing in the same unified app
- Page layout and publishing tools for multi-page documents
- Typography with text-on-path and OpenType features
- GPU-accelerated 60 FPS real-time rendering
- AI vector generation from text prompts
- No subscription required — full professional feature set free, forever
We don't infer weaknesses from missing or differently worded vendor marketing copy. Use documented plan limits, migration requirements, and other sourced constraints as decision inputs; anything not supported by a source remains unverified.
Key differences
- Sketch lists Nestable frames and flexible stack layouts for responsive design, Vector editing tools, Smart Animate for prototype transitions, Real-time co-editing, Free developer handoff and inspection tools, Component libraries and frame presets that Affinity doesn't list.
- Affinity lists Vector design tools with pen tools and non-destructive editing, Raster photo editing in the same unified app, Page layout and publishing tools for multi-page documents, Typography with text-on-path and OpenType features, GPU-accelerated 60 FPS real-time rendering, AI vector generation from text prompts, No subscription required — full professional feature set free, forever that Sketch doesn't list.
- Sketch supports Web, iOS, iPadOS, which Affinity doesn't list.
- Affinity supports Windows, which Sketch doesn't list.
Choose Sketch if…
Choose Sketch if this fits: Best suited to UI/UX designers and design teams that work primarily on macOS and want a native design editor with shared workspaces, browser review, prototyping, and developer handoff. Compared with Affinity specifically, Sketch also offers Nestable frames and flexible stack layouts for responsive design, Vector editing tools, Smart Animate for prototype transitions, and 3 more features that Affinity doesn't list, plus Web, iOS, iPadOS support that Affinity doesn't list.
Choose Affinity if…
Choose Affinity if this fits: Professional and hobbyist designers who want a full desktop-grade design suite without a subscription, following Canva's acquisition of Affinity-maker Serif. Compared with Sketch specifically, Affinity also offers Vector design tools with pen tools and non-destructive editing, Raster photo editing in the same unified app, Page layout and publishing tools for multi-page documents, and 4 more features that Sketch doesn't list, plus Windows support that Sketch doesn't list.
Facts on this page are sourced from each vendor's official site (linked below), not from ratings or reviews. Products change — verify anything that matters to your decision directly on the vendor's own site before switching. See our Disclaimer and Sources Policy.
Sketch sources
Last verified October 8, 2026
- https://www.sketch.com/pricing/
- https://www.sketch.com/docs/
- https://www.sketch.com/support/subscriptions/manage/free-plan/
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