Adobe XD

Discontinued

helpx.adobe.com

Country: United States (US)
Founded: 2016
Developer: Adobe Inc.
Pricing: Part of Creative Cloud subscription
Open source: No
Platforms: macOS, Windows, Web

Indexes

Design Tools

Overview

Adobe XD was a vector-based tool for designing and prototyping user experiences for websites and mobile apps. It targeted UI/UX designers, enabling wireframing, visual design, and interactive prototypes. Key distinctions included seamless integration with other Adobe products and cloud collaboration features.

Key Features

Artboards - Multiple canvases for designing screens and layouts.
Repeat Grids - Quick creation of grid-based lists and patterns.
Auto-Animate - Smooth transitions between artboards for prototypes.
Components - Reusable UI elements with states and variants.
Voice Prototyping - Interaction prototypes triggered by voice commands.
Libraries - Shared assets across documents and teams.
Inspect - Export of design specs like colors, measurements, and code snippets.
Plugins - Extensibility through third-party plugins.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Creative Cloud All Apps	$59.99/month	Full Adobe suite including XD before discontinuation.
Single App (historical)	$9.99/month	XD access only.
Creative Cloud Pro	$69.99/month	Advanced features across apps.

Platforms & Requirements

Adobe XD ran as a desktop app on macOS (10.13+) and Windows (10+), with a web-based version for prototyping and sharing. Mobile apps existed for previewing prototypes on iOS and Android. After discontinuation in 2024, web access remains limited for existing projects.

Integrations & Ecosystem

Photoshop
Illustrator
Creative Cloud Libraries
Slack
Jira
Figma import (limited)
Code export (CSS, Swift, Android XML)
Behance

Alternatives

App	Difference
Figma	Browser-based with real-time multiplayer collaboration, unlike XD's desktop focus.
Sketch	macOS-only with strong plugin ecosystem, contrasting XD's cross-platform support.
Framer	Code-friendly prototyping with animations, beyond XD's design emphasis.
InVision Studio	Free tier available with gesture-based interactions.

Reputation

Adobe XD was valued for its intuitive interface, auto-animate transitions, and tight Adobe ecosystem integration, popular among enterprise teams. Criticisms included lagging innovation compared to Figma and performance issues on large projects. Following Adobe's 2024 discontinuation announcement, users migrated to alternatives, viewing it as outdated.

Sources (9)