The Figma versus Adobe XD comparison was genuinely competitive two years ago. In 2026, it is not. Adobe XD is officially in maintenance mode — receiving only security patches with no new features in development. Figma is the active industry standard with weekly releases, an expanding AI feature set, and the dominant position in professional UI/UX design workflows. This guide explains what happened, what the current state of each tool is, and what the practical implications are for teams still making decisions about design tooling.
What Happened to Adobe XD?
In September 2022, Adobe announced a $20 billion acquisition of Figma. Over the following year, Adobe slowed active development of XD, expecting to eventually consolidate design tools around Figma. When the Adobe-Figma merger was terminated in December 2023 under regulatory pressure from European and UK competition authorities, Adobe found itself with a design tool whose development had been paused for over a year — and without the product it had planned to replace it with.
Adobe officially placed XD in maintenance mode — security patches and critical bug fixes only, no new feature development. The product is not being discontinued immediately, but it is effectively a legacy application. Adobe's design strategy has shifted toward integrating AI creative tools into Photoshop, Illustrator, and Firefly rather than rebuilding XD.
Current State of Each Tool in 2026
| Feature | Figma | Adobe XD |
|---|---|---|
| Development status | ✅ Active — weekly releases | ❌ Maintenance mode — no new features since mid-2023 |
| AI features | ✅ Make, AI Replace, Auto Layout improvements | ❌ None |
| Real-time collaboration | ✅ Industry-leading multiplayer | Basic co-editing |
| Developer handoff | ✅ Dev Mode — code snippets, specs, annotations | Basic inspection only |
| Platform | ✅ Web-based (any OS, no install) | Desktop app (Windows/Mac install required) |
| Prototyping | ✅ Advanced interactions, variables | Basic prototyping |
| Component libraries | ✅ Team libraries, variants, properties | Limited |
| Pricing | Free (limited) / $15/editor/month Professional | Included in Creative Cloud (no standalone plan) |
Figma in 2026 — The Design Industry Standard
Figma is browser-based, meaning it runs on any operating system without installation. Its real-time multiplayer collaboration — multiple designers editing simultaneously with cursor presence, comments, and version history — remains the benchmark that all other design tools are measured against. The 2026 version adds meaningful AI capabilities: Make generates UI components from text prompts, AI Replace swaps placeholder content with contextually relevant text and images, and auto-layout improvements reduce the manual work of responsive frame construction.
Dev Mode is now a core part of professional Figma workflows. When designers mark files as ready for development, Dev Mode exposes exact CSS properties, spacing values, asset exports, and annotation overlays — reducing the handoff friction that historically required third-party tools like Zeplin or InVision Inspect.
Figma's pricing: a free tier with limited projects, Professional at $15 per editor per month (billed annually), Organization at $45 per editor per month for shared libraries and design systems, and Enterprise for advanced SSO and governance.
Adobe XD in 2026 — A Legacy Tool in Maintenance
Adobe XD remains accessible to Creative Cloud subscribers, but it should not be adopted for new projects in 2026. With no new features since mid-2023, it is falling further behind Figma's weekly release pace every month. Teams still using XD for legacy file maintenance can continue cautiously, but the practical recommendation from the design community — and from Adobe's own actions — is to migrate to Figma as the primary tool.
If you are an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber looking for Figma alternatives that integrate with your existing workflow, Adobe's own recommendation has shifted toward Adobe Illustrator for vector design and Firefly for AI asset generation within the CC ecosystem, rather than rebuilding XD.
Should You Switch from Adobe XD to Figma?
Yes — the question is not whether to migrate but when and how. Figma's XD import function handles most file formats without manual rebuilding. The interface paradigms are similar enough that experienced XD users typically reach comfortable productivity within two to four weeks. Most importantly, the design job market has standardized on Figma: it is the tool listed in the majority of UI/UX job descriptions, and maintaining XD skills as a primary competency creates a professional disadvantage relative to Figma fluency.
For teams currently running design sprints in XD: migrate the next new project to Figma rather than converting existing files mid-sprint. Run in parallel if needed, then wind down XD usage as projects complete. The investment in migration pays back quickly in access to Figma's AI tools, Dev Mode, and an actively maintained platform.