Axure RP vs. Sketch

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Axure RP
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Axure RP is a software prototyping tool used by UX designers, from Axure Software Solutions in San Diego.N/A
Sketch
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
Sketch is a visual design tool of use for application prototyping, coming with a wide variety of extensions, plugins, and an active user community.N/A
Pricing
Axure RPSketch
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Axure RPSketch
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Axure RPSketch
Considered Both Products
Axure RP
Chose Axure RP
Overall, Axure RP is a reliable prototyping and wireframing tool that has been around for a while. Due to its longevity, it has a large number of features and a large base of help documentation. Contrary, Axure RP does not always feel as thought out as some of its competitors, …
Chose Axure RP
Axure stacks up pretty nicely against other tools, in terms of available functionality and support for users. It’s probably the best tool I have used to create the most realistic and complex prototypes for sales purposes. However, its interface is outdated compared to other …
Chose Axure RP
Sketch and Axure serve different levels of fidelity for our designs. Axure is able to provide rapid, lower-fidelity prototypes that will demonstrate workflows to customers, whereas Sketch is great for higher-fidelity designs that are non-functional, but exact down to the pixel …
Chose Axure RP
Axure RP has its place among the competitors. Every product has its pros and cons. Axure works well for larger and less visual design projects or deliverables. In some cases we might use Axure along with another tool, such as Sketch or Photoshop, to create different …
Chose Axure RP
We initially based our decision on Axure's reputation as the industry standard for prototyping. It is the best as what it does for now, but this is a highly competitive field. There seems to be a new UX/UI tool coming out monthly. I think Axure will continue to be the best for …
Chose Axure RP
Since Axure RP is a desktop software that can work without a cloud connection, it is easy to have approved within a highly restricted corporate environment for a low cost with a small team. iRise is a solution that requires greater amounts of management, best service a group of …
Sketch
Chose Sketch
At the time of purchase, Sketch was the industry standard. It's affordable and we liked it wasn't tied to a subscription model. We're on Macs so it being an OSX exclusive wasn't a deterrent. Sketch has set the bar high, but there is a massive amount of competition in this …
Chose Sketch
Sketch is designed for a specific need, in my opinion, creating screen designs with tools you can reuse and share across a project. There are no extra features to get in your way or slow you down. Other products I've used are good at creating the same type of work products, but …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Axure RPSketch
Small Businesses
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.3 out of 10
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.3 out of 10
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.3 out of 10
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Axure RPSketch
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(25 ratings)
6.3
(35 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(3 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.3
(2 ratings)
9.1
(8 ratings)
User Testimonials
Axure RPSketch
Likelihood to Recommend
Axure Software Solutions
Still the best IMHO for dynamic prototyping. Sometimes you need to wireframe novel on-page widgets, such as draggable search areas (in the context of map-based search), or interactive annotations on diagrams. And sometimes real data values are necessary for test participants to give good feedback. However, this is something of a niche scenario. The majority of uxers prefer xd or Figma and find that static prototypes (screen1->click->screen2) is sufficient.
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Bohemian Coding
It is very simple to master and has a variety of built-in tools that allows one to begin prototyping quickly, and can be powered using a variety of plugins for presentations. However, Sketch struggles with more complex designs, particularly those where animations or transitions are desired. It also isn't a good fit for agencies that use a variety of prototyping tools, as results from importing are not predictable.
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Pros
Axure Software Solutions
  • Adaptive views enable us to create truly responsive designs, even when they are very complex.
  • The platform’s many available templates and ability to create a library of reusable designs enables us to prototype faster and more efficiently than creating every single design from the ground up.
  • The company provides a lot of support options, from training videos to online forums. This is a pretty complex tool, so knowing that we can always look up or ask a question and get a quick answer has helped us immensely.
  • Axure’s comprehensive suite of tools to portray interactivity in prototypes has truly helped us show stakeholders and clients what an end product will look like, which has really helped us gain necessary internal and external buy-in.
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Bohemian Coding
  • Auto Saving your work
  • Great library of plugins to use to make the software your own
  • Easy to understand interface that is very similar to other prototyping applications
  • They have been around for 12 years so you know the support and legacy stands
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Cons
Axure Software Solutions
  • The user interface is somewhat old and not always the most intuitive.
  • I've been using Axure RP for 5 years and often forget that it has a steep learning curve, which makes it harder to onboard new employees.
  • The "teams" functionality, as far as working and sharing the same files, has some room for performance improvements.
  • Results of the Preview function varies per browser (although it works best on Chrome).
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Bohemian Coding
  • Color management can be finicky. For instance, the eyedropper tool sometimes isn’t very precise.
  • It would be helpful if there was a built-in commenting system that included tagging where designers and developers could have real-time collaborative conversations about designs.
  • Sketch is only available to Mac users. This is fine internally, but an issue when working with external folks.
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Likelihood to Renew
Axure Software Solutions
No answers on this topic
Bohemian Coding
Sketch is a core tool for us and the cost to keep it going with our teams is low. It provides a good alternative to other screen design tools for our team members who prefer to use it.
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Usability
Axure Software Solutions
Axure feels like a tool that started with a simple interface that wasn't redesigned over time. Simple tasks sometimes require clicking through multiple layers. Crucial pieces of functionality are hidden under text links, or just flatly aren't discoverable. Much of the quirks of the interface only come from having screwed up numerous times, and knowing that certain things are just difficult to accomplish.
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Bohemian Coding
At the end of the day, it's just simple. This goes a long way in design and goes even further when your talking productivity, intuitive design and turnover rate. It's not difficult to figure something out even if it's not something your directly familiar with, i.e. if you want to export in certain file formats or change the size of the canvas, you don't have to delay your end product trying to figure it out. Similar situations took me less than 30 seconds to solve without a Google search. That's Usability.
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Support Rating
Axure Software Solutions
I've never used the support for Axure but they do have an online community that can be helpful when you're unsure how to accomplish a specific bit of interactivity. Overall the community for Axure is a great benefit for the software. There are also a lot of shared library assets which can help reduce the time you spend on projects.
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Bohemian Coding
The support is relatively decent, and they are quick to respond. However, their releases are not great. Sketch could use more robust testing of their software before releases. Over the last four years, I have had many days lost while waiting for Sketch to patch issues with their releases. It's actually a running joke in our office. So, support, good. Releases in the first place? Not great.
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Online Training
Axure Software Solutions
I think that the online training videos cover all product features and are a great resource to point people to. The newsletter is also frequent and passes on a range of tips and techniques for users that are eager to learn more, or just want to keep themselves up to date
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Bohemian Coding
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Axure Software Solutions
Since Axure RP is a desktop software that can work without a cloud connection, it is easy to have approved within a highly restricted corporate environment for a low cost with a small team. iRise is a solution that requires greater amounts of management, best service a group of designers in a corporate environment. InVision is cloud-based and, although not impossible, would require a long-term agreement to be made between the corporate and InVision. These could take years. Origami is free and desktop based and has great control of the transitions and data - but is so granular that additional time commitments may have to be made to make a prototype of this fidelity
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Bohemian Coding
Sketch is great for creating digital assets quickly and easily. It is simple to figure out and easy to use. It has a very clean user interface and isn't a resource hog like Adobe products tend to be. Its export feature is fantastic, generating multiple asset sizes/resolutions in one shot. For anything other than print design, Sketch is my go-to.
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Return on Investment
Axure Software Solutions
  • Axure allows for us to quickly get the entire sales team trained on a specific narrative and gives them a fool proof click path for them to use in the demo.
  • Axure is relatively inexpensive and allows for purchasing the software without having to pay a monthly subscription (although they do have that option).
  • The Sketch integration has allowed for a 10 fold increase in productivity by taking designs already created in another program and quickly adding them to Axure.
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Bohemian Coding
  • Sketch has had a positive impact on the amount of time my team needs to spend in meetings gathering feedback. By creating screen views in Sketch and posting to our InVision projects, we're able to collect feedback without requiring multi-person meetings.
  • Sketch is an extremely affordable price point with many free and inexpensive add-on options that allow me to work the way I want without spending a lot of money on additional products.
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ScreenShots