Affinity Designer
Sketch
| Feature | Affinity Designer | Sketch |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $69.99/mo | From $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.6 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | illustrators, graphic-designers, budget-conscious-professionals, print-designers | ui-designers, mac-users, design-agencies, icon-designers |
| Founded | 2014 | 2010 |
| Vector Editing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Raster Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pen Tool | ✓ | ✗ |
| Artboards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Constraints | ✓ | ✗ |
| Export Personas | ✓ | ✗ |
| Isometric Design | ✓ | ✗ |
| Symbols | ✗ | ✓ |
| Prototyping | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shared Libraries | ✗ | ✓ |
| Developer Handoff | ✗ | ✓ |
| Plugins | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cloud Workspace | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Affinity Designer Pros
- One-time purchase with no subscription fees
- Professional-grade vector and raster tools combined
- Excellent performance even on large canvases
- Cross-platform (Mac, Windows, iPad)
✗ Affinity Designer Cons
- Smaller plugin ecosystem than Adobe
- Less industry adoption for collaboration
- No AI-powered features yet
✓ Sketch Pros
- Lightweight and fast native macOS performance
- Mature plugin ecosystem with thousands of extensions
- Excellent symbol and library system
- One-time license option for Mac app
✗ Sketch Cons
- Mac-only (no Windows or Linux support)
- Collaboration features lag behind Figma
- Market share declining as teams move to Figma
The Verdict
Affinity Designer is built for illustrators and graphic designers, with a focus on vector-editing and raster-editing. Sketch targets ui designers and mac users and leads with vector-editing and symbols.
On pricing, Sketch is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $12/mo compared to $69.99/mo for Affinity Designer. That $57.989999999999995/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
Affinity Designer edges out on user ratings (4.6 vs 4.2). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: Affinity Designer has a slight overall edge — but if lightweight and fast native macos performance matters most to you, Sketch may still be the right call.
