Is there a question bugging you inside your head? Is this question, “Which is a better user experience design application between Adobe XD and InVision Studio?” Then you have come to the right place. Because here you will discover all the pros and cons of why should you use either one of those. So, welcome to Adobe XD vs InVision Studio.
For a proper user experience design application you need to check some boxes. Some questions need to be answered if you want to get the best user experience design application in the market. So, what are the questions that need answering?
How Good Are They With Different Platforms?
The technology world has developed a whole lot, and people’s taste has gotten a lot more diverse. Some of us prefer Mac OS over Windows, and some of us prefer Windows over Mac OS. It just depends on your taste. It depends on what you are more comfortable with using.
I prefer Windows because that is the operating system I’ve been using since I was a kid. The thought of me using any operating system other than Microsoft Windows makes me cringe because I know all the ins and outs of Microsoft Windows like the back of my hand.
So, for example, if I ever switched to Mac OS, I would feel like a fish out of water because I’d need time to learn all the necessary things that I already know in Windows. The transition process from Windows to Mac OS is what I dread the most.
Now, which one of them can run on both platforms? Adobe XD started with only support for Mac OS. That disheartened me, but luckily they started providing support for Windows. Nobody was more thrilled than me.
InVision Studio has started to give out support for Windows users, so they just run on both Windows and Mac OS. So, I do not have any problem with using InVision Studio on my Windows PC. I am delighted they started giving out support to Windows users made life much easier.
So, who wins the round of How Good Are They On Different Platforms? Both of them provide support for Mac OS and Windows. So, I will have to go for a draw in this round.
Which One Is Easier To Start Working With?
In this part, we talk about how easy it is to start working on each of these applications. The main focus of this part is to talk about how effortless it is to start working on each of these applications. It is time for us to start looking at both of the apps.
Both of these applications have kind of a similar welcome screen, which makes sense to me because there are a lot of users that will be switching between these applications. The switching process should be as effortless as it can be.
You can quickly start working on both of these applications. You will be shown all the latest designs you have done, and you can go ahead and open one of them. Or you can also select the template you want from the vast variety of templates that they have to offer.
I do not understand why Adobe XD still does not gives us the template for the iPhone X because it has been on other applications such as InVision Studio which offers you templates for the iPhone X and more. Adobe XD needs to give us templates for the iPhone X because the iPhone 6/7/8 templates are not trending anymore.
Just like phones, the iPhone 6/7/8 templates are old as well. These phones are old and so designing on a template for their size is not a good idea if you ask me. So, Adobe XD needs to add iPhone X templates soon, so it makes our jobs a little bit easier.
However, some people like to start their work on bigger screens which allows them more freedom to be creative and sketch with fewer restrictions. For example, you start working on a template for an iPad on Adobe XD and you finish your design.
You can always scale your design down to a smaller size with little to no adjustments. So, it is not a deal breaker that Adobe XD does not have a template for the iPhone X versions.
It just makes life a little bit harder because you have to design on a larger screen and then scale it back; it only seems like much more work to me.
So, I decide to use InVision Studio whenever I work on something related to iPhone X. So, in that case, I have an exact idea of screen space I am working with and how it will look on the real iPhone X screen because you may do a design for an iPhone X on an iPad.
Then when you downscale the design and see the outcome. It might not be as good as it seemed before. Most of the time you will be okay with making some minor adjustments but if you are unlucky you may have to start the whole design all over again, and that is a lot of work.
It may save you a lot of time and energy to design something for the iPhone X on a template that is scaled as an iPhone X rather than something else. So, for me, the point for Which One Is Easier To Start Working With has to go to InVision Studio. Because of the simple reason that they offer the iPhone X template from the get-go.
Which Of The Two Has A Better Design?
What I mean by Which of the Two Has a Better Design is how easy and user-friendly the design is to the people that will be using these applications. The things I took into account for this round are the overall look of the apps and also the design workflow.
How easily can you work with a particular design on each of these applications? Both of them have a great user-friendly experience. InVision Studio has a great dark theme by default which helps you to focus on work when there is little less light around.
I feel a bit let down by Adobe in that they did not decide to go with this feature with their latest application, the Adobe XD. But I heard that an Adobe XD dark theme is in the works and will be available in the future updates.
In general, both of them have similar user interface except in some aspects like the toolbar. The toolbar placement is different in each of the applications, though corner manipulation feels excellent and is much easier in Adobe XD. Dragging the handle on the layers effortlessly feels brilliant.
About Plugins
Adobe XD has introduced plugins, and they have a lot of cool and varied plugins out there. But for InVision Studio they do not offer any plugins right now, and this is one of the real disadvantages of InVision compared to Adobe XD.
Adobe XD provides different types of plugins compared to InVision Studio, and this is one of the reasons people prefer Adobe XD over InVision Studio.
Pricing
For an application to appeal to the masses, its price matters a lot. It is important to consider whether it is cheaper or has a more premium price. Though premium price gives you premium products but still the cost of application matters a lot.
Let’s start with Adobe XD. In the beginning, Adobe XD was available for download with the other Adobe CC applications, but now thankfully it is free to download and use. But if you would like to have the full potential of Adobe XD combined with Creative Cloud, then you would have to pay around $53/month.
You can also use InVision Studio for free if you have a Studio account. But the single professional version will cost you around $25/month.
The Sum Off: Adobe XD vs InVison Studio
In my opinion, Adobe XD vs InVision Studio both have their pros and cons. But at the end of the day, it all boils down to which one you are comfortable with. Personally, I prefer Adobe XD because I am a big Adobe fan and will be a little biased to any application they make.
Do you want to find out how well did the winner from this round performed against another UX app rival – Sketch? Read all about it in my next article HERE.
