Figma vs Adobe XD: Which should you use?

Reviewed September 27, 2026. Originally published in 2020; updated to reflect Adobe XD’s maintenance status and current migration options.

For a new UI design project, my recommendation is Figma. The biggest difference today isn’t a missing drawing tool: Adobe XD is in maintenance mode. Adobe says it is no longer developing new features, although it continues to address bugs and security or privacy needs for existing customers. That makes this a different decision from the Figma vs Adobe XD comparison I wrote in 2020. Adobe’s maintenance-mode explanation.

If your team already works in XD, you don’t need to abandon an active project overnight. Check your access, preserve your source files and test a migration before committing the team to a new workflow.

Figma vs Adobe XD at a glance

Your situation	Figma	Adobe XD
New UI project	My recommendation for new work.	Maintenance mode; no new features.
Developer handoff	Basic inspection; paid Dev Mode for advanced features.	Existing design-spec sharing.
Existing XD project	Test one imported file first.	Keep current work here while planning migration.
Team cost	Check designer and developer seats.	Confirm existing Adobe access.
Legacy files	Import .xd files with Convertify.	Keep backups and compare results.

Developer handoff: check the workflow, not just the feature list

Figma’s basic inspection lets developers view properties and measurements, copy code and export assets. Dev Mode adds features such as advanced inspection, frame-version comparisons and development statuses. It requires a Full or Dev seat on a supported paid plan; it isn’t included in Starter. You don’t need to buy every reviewer a Dev seat just to inspect a design. Figma’s guide to Dev Mode and seats.

Adobe XD also has design-spec sharing. My original comparison was too dismissive of that built-in workflow: a separate handoff service isn’t automatically required. If your developers already work successfully from XD specs, include that workflow in your migration test rather than assuming a new tool will improve it. Adobe XD’s design-spec documentation.

In either tool, inspection output is a starting point for implementation, not a finished application. Test one representative screen with a developer before moving a large project.

Should an existing Adobe XD team switch to Figma?

I’d separate the next project from the current one. Starting new work in Figma can be sensible while an existing XD project stays where the team can still maintain it reliably.

Before switching, check:

• Access: can everyone who needs the XD source still open it? Keep local backups rather than relying only on shared links.
• Handoff: can your developers find the measurements, assets and design decisions they need in the new workflow?
• File quality: do important screens, fonts and effects look right after import?
• Cost: which people need editing or advanced inspection, and which only need to review?

Use Figma’s current pricing and your actual Adobe account access for the budget comparison. Old plugin counts, historical subscription prices and assumptions about Creative Cloud access aren’t a useful basis for this decision.

How to move Adobe XD files into Figma

You don’t have to redraw every screen manually. Our Convertify Adobe XD-to-Figma workflow imports local .xd files into Figma:

1. Keep a backup of the original .xd file and choose a representative design to test.
2. Open your destination Figma file and run Convertify.
3. In Import into Figma, select Import Adobe XD to Figma.
4. Drop the local .xd file into the plugin’s import area.
5. Compare the imported design with the original before migrating the rest of the project.

The Convertify XD import guide covers the import workflow. A successful import doesn’t prove that every component, interaction or effect behaves identically. Check those details, along with fonts and layout, and allow time to rebuild anything your project needs.

My recommendation

Choose Figma for new UI design work. For an established XD team, plan the transition around a tested file and a working handoff, rather than a rushed all-at-once migration. If legacy files are the obstacle, try the Convertify migration workflow on one design first.