Figma FAQ
8 common questions about Figma — answered.
Figma offers four pricing tiers: Starter (free — up to 3 Figma and 3 FigJam files), Professional ($12/editor/month billed annually), Organization ($45/editor/month with design systems, branching, and centralized admin), and Enterprise ($75/editor/month with advanced security, SSO, and dedicated support). Viewers are always free on all plans.
Yes, Figma offers a free Starter plan that includes up to 3 Figma design files, 3 FigJam whiteboard files, unlimited personal files, and unlimited viewers. It's generous enough for freelancers, students, and small projects. You only need to upgrade when you need unlimited files, shared team libraries, or advanced features like branching.
Figma is browser-based, collaborative in real-time, and works on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Sketch is Mac-only, with a native app that some designers prefer for performance. Figma wins on collaboration (multiple designers editing simultaneously), cross-platform access, and developer handoff. Sketch wins on native macOS performance and its mature plugin ecosystem. Most teams have migrated to Figma for its collaboration advantages.
FigJam is Figma's online whiteboard tool for brainstorming, planning, and diagramming. It includes sticky notes, shapes, connectors, stamps, emojis, and drawing tools. FigJam is designed for cross-functional collaboration — product managers, designers, engineers, and stakeholders can all use it without learning Figma's design tools. It integrates directly with Figma files.
Dev Mode is Figma's dedicated workspace for developers. It provides ready-to-use code snippets (CSS, iOS, Android), exact measurements and spacing values, asset export controls, and a compare view to see what changed between design versions. Dev Mode helps bridge the designer-developer gap without requiring developers to learn design tools. It requires a paid seat on Professional plans and above.
Figma has limited offline support. The desktop app caches recently opened files, so you can view and edit them without internet. Changes sync automatically when you reconnect. However, you can't open new files, access team libraries, or collaborate in real-time while offline. For fully offline design work, Sketch or Affinity Designer may be better options.
Yes, Figma has a thriving plugin ecosystem with thousands of community-built plugins. Popular plugins include Unsplash (stock photos), Iconify (icon libraries), Content Reel (realistic placeholder data), Autoflow (user flow arrows), and Figma Tokens (design token management). You can also build custom plugins using JavaScript and the Figma Plugin API.
Adobe discontinued active development of Adobe XD in 2023, making Figma the clear choice for new projects. Figma offers real-time collaboration, a browser-based editor, a larger plugin ecosystem, and active feature development (variables, auto layout, Dev Mode). If you're still using Adobe XD, Figma provides import tools to migrate your files.