Sketch
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a Mac-based UI designer or small studio that wants an affordable native design tool; most collaborative product teams will be better served by Figma.
Comparison
Sketch vs Penpot
Sketch and Penpot both land on Depends.
Penpot
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you want a free or self-hosted design tool and can accept rougher edges than Figma.
| Compare | Sketch | Penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Mac-based UI/UX designers | Startups dodging per-seat design bills |
| Who it's not for | Windows or Linux teams . Sketch runs on Mac only | Teams already fluent in Figma |
| Privacy | Publishes security measures and states at least one annual penetration test; one CVE (2021) appears in public vulnerability databases.⁵ | Active 2026 CVE record . including a critical MCP remote code execution . though the vendor publishes a security whitepaper and supports self-hosting. |
| Support quality | No usable evidence in sources | No support evidence found |
| Public sentiment | Reviewers generally describe Sketch as solid, affordable design software, though a minority of UX practitioners call it overrated.⁸ | Users praise the free open-source model, but many say Penpot still trails Figma on polish. |
| Biggest gotcha | No free tier . every editor pays from day one, even solo users³ | Community openly asks how long the free tier stays free; pricing may shift |
Pick Sketch when
- Mac-based UI/UX designers
- Freelancers and small design studios
- Budget-conscious teams avoiding Figma pricing
- Designers who prefer a native offline app
When Sketch is not a fit
- Windows or Linux teams . Sketch runs on Mac only
- Teams needing real-time multiplayer editing at scale
- Non-designers who just want quick social graphics . use Canva
- Anyone expecting a free plan . there isn't one
Pick Penpot when
- Startups dodging per-seat design bills
- Teams needing self-hosting or data control
- Design-dev duos wanting open standards
- Open-source-first orgs
When Penpot is not a fit
- Teams already fluent in Figma
- Anyone wanting Figma-level polish and plugin breadth
- Security-sensitive orgs without staff to patch or self-host
- Buyers wanting turnkey enterprise support
Sources
- Sketch Pricing 2026: $12-$44/editor/monthcostbench.comreview
- Sketch Pricing | Capterracapterra.comreview
- About Sketchsketch.comofficial
- Sketch Securitysketch.comofficial
- Sketch Security Vulnerabilities . Vulnersvulners.comsecurity
- Sketch raises $20m Series A from Benchmark . TechCrunchtechcrunch.comnews
review
- Review of Sketch: Pricing, Pros, Consfirstsales.ioreview
- Sketch Software Reviews . SoftwareAdvicesoftwareadvice.comreview
official
review
- anybody using sketch . Reddit r/Designreddit.comreview
- Penpot review | TechRadartechradar.comreview
- Penpot Reviews 2026 | G2g2.comreview
- Penpot Reviews | SoftwareAdvicesoftwareadvice.comreview
- Experience using Penpot | Redditreddit.comreview