Figma vs Adobe XD: Is Adobe XD Actually Dead, and Should You Migrate Now?
Adobe stopped investing in XD after its bid to acquire Figma fell apart - it still runs for existing Creative Cloud subscribers, but it is no longer a tool you should be building a new design workflow around.
This is not a normal head-to-head anymore. Adobe stopped taking new XD customers in mid-2023 and confirmed in 2024 that it is not investing further in the product - it is in maintenance mode, bug fixes and security patches only, no new features. If you are starting a new project or team, use Figma. If you are already on XD, the honest advice is to start planning your migration to Figma now, before file compatibility or team availability becomes a forced, rushed decision instead of a planned one.
Figma and Adobe XD used to be genuinely compared as competing UI/UX design tools, both offering interface design, prototyping, and collaboration features. That comparison no longer holds in the same way. Adobe discontinued XD as a purchasable standalone product in June 2023, and in early 2024 confirmed publicly that it would not be developing new features for it going forward - the product is in maintenance mode, meaning Adobe will patch bugs and security issues for existing Creative Cloud subscribers but is not building anything new. Adobe has not announced a hard end-of-life date, but a feature-frozen product with no committed roadmap is, in practical terms, no longer a tool to build a new workflow on.
Figma, by contrast, remains an actively developed, browser-based design and prototyping tool with continued investment in real-time collaboration, developer handoff, and its plugin ecosystem. This page compares the two honestly: not as two equally live options, but as a decision between an actively maintained tool and one you should be planning to move away from if you have not already.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | Figma | Adobe XD |
|---|---|---|
| Ongoing development | Active - new features shipped regularly | Maintenance mode only - no new features since 2024, bug/security fixes only |
| Real-time multiplayer collaboration | Core strength - multiple editors in one file simultaneously | Co-editing supported, but less central to the product than in Figma |
| Runs in browser | Yes, browser-based with native desktop app available | Desktop app required for full editing; browser used mainly for viewing/commenting |
| Prototyping | Built-in, with interactive components and variables | Built-in, comparable core prototyping functionality |
| Plugin and community ecosystem | Large, active plugin and community file ecosystem | Smaller ecosystem, reduced new plugin activity as the product winds down |
| Platform support | Windows, macOS, Linux (browser), iOS/Android viewer apps | Windows and macOS desktop app; no browser-based full editor |
| New customer availability | Open to any new signup | Not sold standalone; only accessible to existing Creative Cloud subscribers |
| Design-to-dev handoff | Native Dev Mode plus broad third-party integration support | Basic spec/handoff features, not actively expanded |
Pricing Compared
| Tier | Figma | Adobe XD |
|---|---|---|
| Free / entry | Starter plan - free, limited number of design files, unlimited viewers | No longer sold or offered as a standalone free plan to new users |
| Individual / team | Professional - roughly $12-15 per editor/month depending on annual or monthly billing | Only available bundled inside an existing Adobe Creative Cloud subscription |
| Business / organization | Organization - roughly $55/user/month for multi-team features | Not applicable - no XD-specific business tier is being sold |
| Enterprise | Enterprise - roughly $90/user/month | Not applicable |
Figma restructured its pricing into this tier-and-seat model in 2025. Adobe XD is not sold on its own at any tier - it is only usable if it is already included in a Creative Cloud All Apps subscription you hold, and that subscription's monthly price is set for the full Creative Cloud suite, not XD specifically. Verify current numbers directly with each vendor before budgeting.
Pricing and product availability for both tools change and are approximate as of when this page was last reviewed - confirm current plans, seat pricing, and Adobe XD's support status directly on each vendor's site before making a decision.
Pros & Cons
Figma
Pros
- ✔ Actively developed, with a public roadmap and regular feature releases
- ✔ Best-in-class real-time multiplayer editing for design teams
- ✔ Large, current plugin and template ecosystem
- ✔ Runs fully in-browser, so no install is required to collaborate or view files
Cons
- ✕ Pricing has grown more complex since the 2025 restructuring
- ✕ Heavier files or very large design systems can feel slower in-browser than a native desktop app
- ✕ Some advanced native-app-style performance still favors a dedicated desktop tool for very large projects
Adobe XD
Pros
- ✔ Existing files and workflows still function for current Creative Cloud subscribers today
- ✔ Familiar to teams already fluent in Adobe's design tools and shortcuts
- ✔ Core prototyping and interface design functionality is still usable as-is
Cons
- ✕ No longer sold as a standalone product to new customers since mid-2023
- ✕ Confirmed to be in maintenance mode since 2024 - no new features, only bug and security fixes
- ✕ No committed long-term roadmap or end-of-life date, which makes long-term planning around it risky
- ✕ Smaller and shrinking plugin/community ecosystem as development activity winds down
Which One Should You Actually Pick
Starting a new design project or team from scratch
Use Figma. Adobe XD is not available as a new standalone purchase, and building a new workflow on a maintenance-mode product with no roadmap is not a sound long-term bet.
Already using Adobe XD today with an active Creative Cloud subscription
Your existing files still work, but start planning a migration to Figma on your own timeline. Waiting until Adobe forces the issue, if it eventually does, turns a manageable transition into a rushed one.
Deeply embedded in the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
You can keep using XD for now since it is bundled into your existing subscription at no extra cost, but treat any new project as a good moment to evaluate Figma rather than defaulting to XD out of habit.
Need the deepest real-time collaboration for a distributed design team
Figma is the stronger choice regardless of your XD history - multiplayer editing has been its core strength from the start and remains an area of active investment.
Why This Comparison Looks Different From a Normal Tool Face-Off
Most tool comparisons on this site weigh two actively competing products against each other on features and price. This one is different because one side of the comparison has effectively stopped competing. Adobe's decision to wind down investment in XD followed its attempted acquisition of Figma, which was called off after regulatory pushback. Rather than continuing to build XD as an independent competitor afterward, Adobe shifted it into maintenance mode. That context matters for anyone reading a feature table and assuming both columns represent an equally live, forward-looking option - they do not.
If you are choosing a design tool today with no prior investment in either platform, this makes the decision straightforward: pick the actively developed one. The harder case is a team already running production work in Adobe XD, where the file library, prototypes, and team habits represent real sunk cost. For that case, the practical question is not "which tool is better" but "how do we move this work over on our own schedule, rather than someone else's."
What Migrating Off Adobe XD Actually Involves
A move from Adobe XD to Figma is rarely a clean, automatic import. Artboards, basic layer structure, and static assets generally carry over reasonably well through available conversion paths, but interactive prototyping logic, component variants, and any XD-specific plugin-driven workflows typically need to be rebuilt by hand inside Figma rather than transferred automatically. Design systems built as XD components in particular are worth auditing early, since Figma's component and variant model does not map one-to-one with XD's.
The practical approach that avoids a scramble later is to treat this as a planned migration rather than a reactive one: start new projects in Figma now, migrate active design systems on a set timeline rather than an emergency one, and keep XD accessible only for reference on legacy files until the transition is complete.
Common questions
Not entirely, but close to it in practical terms. Adobe stopped selling XD as a standalone product in June 2023, and in early 2024 confirmed it is not investing in new features for it going forward. It remains usable by existing Creative Cloud subscribers and receives bug and security fixes, but Adobe has not committed to any future development roadmap.
No, not on its own. XD is not available as a new standalone purchase. It is only accessible if it is already included as part of an existing Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.
Yes, for now, if you retain a Creative Cloud subscription that includes XD. There is no announced date at which existing files stop opening, but with no active development, planning a migration path to Figma before you need one is the safer approach.
At a feature level the two were historically comparable in core interface design and prototyping. The meaningful difference now is not a single missing feature - it is that Figma is actively developed with a real roadmap, while Adobe XD is not, which matters far more for any tool you plan to depend on for the next several years.
Migrating off Adobe XD, or setting up a new design workflow in Figma?
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