Sketch Problems & Issues

Sketch is exclusively available on macOS with no Windows or Linux support planned. This creates friction for mixed-OS teams and excludes a significant portion of designers. Sketch uses core macOS technologies like Core Animation and Core Graphics that aren't available on Windows, making a port technically challenging.

Sketch's collaboration features are limited compared to browser-based alternatives like Figma. Real-time collaboration relies on cloud features that feel bolted-on rather than native. Many companies have switched to Figma specifically because collaboration is easier and more seamless.

Trustpilot reviewers report recent drastic changes have made Sketch worse, describing it as 'unintuitive' and creating 'a lot more burden onto designers.' Users complain about removed features like Layer Style menu options, keyboard shortcuts for Rename functions, and 'Select Group's Content on Click' behavior.

Sketch's built-in prototyping is basic compared to competitors. Users need plugins like Zeplin, InVision, and Abstract to provide functionalities like advanced prototyping and developer handoff. This adds complexity and cost to what should be an all-in-one design workflow.

Sketch isn't without its difficulties and learning curve, and can be intimidating to beginners. Powerful features like Symbols are often confusing for new users who don't understand what they are or how to use them. Users struggle to find basic features like undo buttons and color change options.

Users struggle with object selection, sometimes unable to select an object beside another object, particularly with Symbols. Even using keyboard modifiers like Cmd or Option doesn't always work as expected. This basic interaction issue causes daily frustration for professional designers.

Sketch is not suitable for vector illustrations or photo editing. When you need to edit images in your design, you can't do it in Sketch. It's not as powerful as Adobe Illustrator for complex designs with lots of layers and objects, and users often need additional software.

macOS Sonoma no longer supports converting EPS files, so you can't import EPS files into Sketch. Users must convert files to PDF first before importing, adding extra steps to the workflow when working with legacy assets.

When designing products with multiple artboards (50+), Sketch becomes laggy and resource-consuming even on the latest i7 Macs with 16GB RAM. Large documents with lots of layers, Symbols, or detailed elements slow down significantly, with users reporting 10+ second delays for basic operations.

Sketch updates often break existing plugins, creating frustration for users who rely on daily tools. The plugin development community is dwindling, and plugins may cause the Mac app to hang or crash. Some plugins still load even if disabled, and developers struggle to find resources for advanced functionality.

Sketch's developer handoff only provides copy/paste of HTML or CSS for specific UI elements. Developers still need to write complex screen code including layout and positioning. Without a design system, handoff creates inconsistencies and frustration between designers and developers.

Sketch's transition from one-time purchase to subscription pricing has frustrated many users. While a $120 one-time Mac-only license exists, it lacks cloud collaboration features. Users feel forced to pay yearly to maintain the latest features, with annual fees and plugin costs adding up quickly.

Users on Trustpilot report being charged immediately on the day of their free trial starting, with support insisting on keeping the money despite only trying the paid version for a couple of hours. The company profile remains unclaimed on Trustpilot with no responses to customer concerns.

Text rendering becomes buggy at extreme sizes, requiring canvas resizing or movement to properly display content. Users report various rendering glitches that disrupt workflow and require workarounds to fix.

The iOS companion app has limited functionality and some users complain about ad bombardment. The View and Mirror app is primarily for previewing designs rather than editing, creating a disconnect between desktop and mobile workflows.