Adobe XD vs. Optimal

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe XD
Score 6.1 out of 10
N/A
Adobe XD is a prototyping and UX/UI option for website and mobile application design, featuring a range of UI tools and and templates, a versatile artboard and contextual layer panels, and deep integration with Adobe's creative suite of products for fast import of objects from these applications.
$33.99
per month per license
Optimal
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Optimal Workshop, a company in New Zealand, offers their suite of user research tools on a subscription basis, including the Treejack information architecture tool, OptimalSort card sorting test, Chalkmark first-click testing, and other tools.
$2,388
per year
Pricing
Adobe XDOptimal
Editions & Modules
Individual
$9.99 ($119.88)
per month (annual, prepaid)
Students & Teachers - All Apps
$19.99 ($239.88)
per month, annual plan (for the year)
Business - Single App
$33.99
per month per license
Business - All Apps
$79.99
per month per license
Schools & Universities - Institution Wide
Contact Sales
Starter
$2388
per year
Enterprise
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe XDOptimal
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
Adobe XDOptimal
Considered Both Products
Adobe XD
Chose Adobe XD
Adobe XD used to be able to stack great, but I would select Figma over Adobe XD any day. Much better features, better quality of life features and includes darkmode. Another great part of Figma is the fact you can strickly use it in a browser without having to install any apps, …
Chose Adobe XD
So far I've had minimal issues with Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. All my issues have been with Adobe XD simply not being that great.
Chose Adobe XD
More and more competitors, agencies, start-ups, tech companies are using Figma instead of Adobe XD or sketch so our company is trying to get licenses of Figma in addition to Adobe XD. At a large company like us, we already have an Adobe Creative Cloud license so it makes sense …
Chose Adobe XD
First off if we talk about Sketch, then Adobe XD has the upper hand because it supports both Windows and Apple Macintosh. Then coming on Axure RP, Adobe XD is far better than Axure. Because it comes with extensive features. Finally, about Figma, Figma is the only rival to Adobe …
Chose Adobe XD
Figma is also a very good product, but the reason we are still using Adobe XD is because we can grab this software and have multiple projects that are going on at the same time, so it's very hard for to move on to other software. ** The Repeat Grid Feature is super good and, in …
Chose Adobe XD
If we compare with Sketch, I would still prefer Adobe XD. Sketch is a pioneer as a UI design tool, but the features and integration (without plugins) that Adobe XD provides are number 1, especially on the prototyping side.
Chose Adobe XD
Before XD came to the company, screens were designed in Illustrator or Photoshop and a PDF presentation was generated, which was extremely time-consuming. XD saved us a lot of time (and money) by generating interactive prototypes, which are much more tangible for the client …
Chose Adobe XD
A little change in layout can lead to massive process in Wix, Although templates and ADI system is good it makes issues sometimes. ADOBE XD has more powerful tools than it and for a customized website, It works very well. basic designing particles in the library can be used …
Chose Adobe XD
While I have used Zeplin, Invision, and Adobe XD on various projects, partly dependent on in-house client teams preferences, Adobe XD is the most familiar to me based on 20+ years [of] working within Adobe applications. They all can do most of what I am looking to do within …
Chose Adobe XD
Sketch, InVision, Affinity, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe Photoshop, KeyShot and Balsamiq
Chose Adobe XD
It's a lot easier to prototype ideas and make mock-ups faster in Adobe XD than it is to in say Photoshop. Figma is fairly similar but XD works with the Adobe ecosystem and I feel is easier to learn and use and the way you can share XD links is what I really like.
Chose Adobe XD
I have tried Sketch to see how it compares to Adobe XD but that didn't last long and i will stick to XD.
Chose Adobe XD
Adobe XD is very comparable to most of the other wireframing and UX builders on the market. One of the big advantages is that it works on both a Mac & PC environment removing a possible tech barrier. The similarity with the other Adobe products makes it easy to get up to …
Chose Adobe XD
I do not use Sketch consistently as it is designed for Mac computers but Sketch is an alternative to consider if you don't have an Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription. Sketch is a one-time charge, has an intuitive interface. There is a low learning curve and has useful …
Chose Adobe XD
Compared to Sketch, Adobe XD is perfectly capable for most prototyping needs that we have. And it's free! I am less familiar with Figma, but can only say that it was a cost-prohibitive choice at the time we were evaluating. I do believe that Figma has become more sophisticated …
Chose Adobe XD
Highlighted previously, but Sketch is likely a better product. We have XD included in Creative Cloud so it was no additional cost, and half the team is on Windows. Otherwise would be paying for Sketch.
Chose Adobe XD
Adobe XD is a very useful tool for building wireframes, but I've now turned to Figma for my go-to wireframing and prototyping software. The thing that both Adobe and Figma have going for them is that they're available on Windows, as well as Mac. A lot of tools are Mac-only. …
Chose Adobe XD
I think in the next year XD will make Sketch irrelevant. It's sad to see giants like Adobe flat out copying independent companies, but it's hard to say no when XD is already included in my CC subscription. They have (mostly) the same features, so it's just a no-brainer.
Chose Adobe XD
We actually use Figma, Sketch, and InVision along with XD in our design practice. We mainly use XD on quick prototypes or experimentation for mobile projects. We always end up falling back to Sketch+InVision for our Design System Implementations and developer collaboration …
Chose Adobe XD
I'm still trying to explore why I should choose XD over Figma.
Chose Adobe XD
In terms of visualization, it is best when compared to any other software.
Chose Adobe XD
We have used Sketch software alongside Adobe XD to make prototypes and wireframes of our projects. There are some features which are exclusively available into Sketch and we don't want our clients to get shorted on any features, so that's why we use both.
Chose Adobe XD
Standard Adobe type expectations as far as integrating with other apps.
Optimal
Chose Optimal
For the price as it is very convenient for first-time beginners, its intuitiveness both for the one who is designing the activities and for those who have to interact with them. The fact that it collects and gathers the data into insights of the overall responses collected by …
Chose Optimal
Optimal seems a little more friendly in terms of setting up tests. We do use UserTesting as well, but it felt like that experience has more in-depth workflows to blast a test. Optimal Workshop feels like it is easy to quickly set up one test and then launch it immediately.
Chose Optimal
Optimal Workshop has many different research study tools beyond just surveys.
Chose Optimal
Optimal Workshop is worse than its competitors, and I only tried it because of the price. Huge mistake.
Chose Optimal
Optimal Workshop was the best tool that provided just what we needed and not anything more. The price point was also perfect for us as it provided room to try it out and then jump into a bigger package.
Best Alternatives
Adobe XDOptimal
Small Businesses
OmniGraffle
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Score 9.1 out of 10
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Score 8.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.1 out of 10
Dovetail
Dovetail
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
OmniGraffle
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User Ratings
Adobe XDOptimal
Likelihood to Recommend
5.5
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
5.5
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.3
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe XDOptimal
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe XD is particularly useful and extremely easy to learn if you are a designer or a frequent user of the Adobe Creative Suite. Like all Adobe software, the tools, shortcuts, and interface are very similar to each other and allow for easy migration. Now, if you are not a frequent user of Adobe, it will probably cost a bit more to learn how to use the software, plus it is probably not going to be worth the price just for Adobe XD.
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The tools are great for user researchers who have a solid foundation with IA research methods, or are willing to learn them while using the tools. However they don't magically create valid IA studies; someone with no IA research experience may struggle to use the tools and/or run studies resulting in poor quality data.
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Pros
  • Wireframing/high fidelity mockups. We're using it for both responsive websites and apps.
  • Prototyping. It just gets better with each update, especially with auto-automate.
  • Ridiculously small learning curve. In my opinion, everything seems to be just where I would expect it to be, especially being familiar with other Adobe products.
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  • Optimal Workshop's UI and UX are impeccable. It's incredibly easy to use and set up tests even for novices.
  • Optimal Workshop's test type offerings are fantastic. They have almost anything you could need within the platform.
  • Optimal Workshop's payment options are incredibly reasonable and useful whether you're doing very few tests or a lot of tests.
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Cons
  • Doesn’t have image editing tools, so having to go back to Photoshop or Lightroom just to make a sight edit can be a pain.
  • Could add some text editing functionality. It feels silly that I have to draw a line under text when I should just be able to underline.
  • Would be nice to have some real-time collaboration functionality.
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  • The recruitment panelists are not professional, nor do they take the tasks seriously. You are going to get a lot of bad data.
  • They are HQ'd outside the US and must have a small team because the customer service is the absolute WORST I've experienced in their industry.
  • They pride themselves on documentation, but when they fail to document something they blame the customer for the mistake.
  • There are way too many limitations with the tool after you launch, limited integrations, and poor survey questionnaire options. The tool itself is far too basic for most sites, especially B2B.
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Likelihood to Renew
We utilize many of the applications in the Adobe CC suite and our usage of this application came about simply because it was the one that was already paid for. Bearing that in mind we will definitely be renewing the software upon the expiration of the licensing. I am not sure if this is the solution we would go with were it not already included, we would have to evaluate all other options
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No answers on this topic
Usability
Adobe XD is basically on life-support now, there are much better software out there that do everything XD can do, and a few that you don't even have to pay a monthly subscription fee on. While Adobe XD is great as shortcuts that are used in other CC software works, and its integration with CC is great. But it still lacks compared to its closest competitor.
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I would rate Optimal Workshop's overall usability 9 out of 10 due to several key factors. Firstly, the platform has a user-friendly interface makes navigation straightforward, even for first-time users. The tools and features are well-organized, ensuring users can quickly find what they need without unnecessary complexity. Secondly, the platform is highly intuitive, meaning users can easily understand how to perform tasks without extensive guidance. This is supported by clear and concise instructions throughout the application, reducing the learning curve significantly.
Additionally, the learnability of Optimal Workshop is exceptional. New users can become proficient in a short amount of time, thanks to its well-thought-out design and helpful onboarding materials. Even more advanced features are presented in a way that feels approachable and manageable. Finally, the platform supports a seamless workflow, allowing users to focus on their research or tasks rather than struggling with the software. These qualities collectively make Optimal Workshop a reliable and efficient tool for many projects, justifying its high usability rating.
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Support Rating
I have not had a need to connect with the Adobe XD support team as of yet, but from past experience when dealing with the other products, the support has been very very good, and I would have no reason to think that this product would be any different. There are a good number of training videos on the Adobe site for this product as well as on other social media sites so a quick search should let you find the answers in several different ways.
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We’ve never had to use much of their support services since the platform is very easy to use, we have however needed to transfer ownership between team members due to people leaving or other circumstances. Under those situations, the support offered to us has been been very quick and efficient and we never had to nudge them much to get the job done.
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Implementation Rating
Implementation was a snap
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Adobe XD used to be able to stack great, but I would select Figma over Adobe XD any day. Much better features, better quality of life features and includes darkmode. Another great part of Figma is the fact you can strickly use it in a browser without having to install any apps, but if you do install the apps, it works great if not better.
Read full review
Optimal Workshop was the best tool that provided just what we needed and not anything more. The price point was also perfect for us as it provided room to try it out and then jump into a bigger package
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • The time it takes to design in Adobe XD is significantly faster. Saving time.
  • It boosts productivity, causing better ideas to be created.
  • It's easy to use and quick to learn. Not much of a learning curve so we can get to work pretty quickly.
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  • Optimal Workshop has provided a very low-risk, quick testing ground for navigation menus. So while the full impact cannot be determined, we are happy we are using Optimal Workshop, and are gaining benefits from it.
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ScreenShots