COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE REFRESH - Q4 2025

Report Date: December 3, 2025
Report Type: Quarterly refresh (no previous comparison)
Competitors Tracked: Figma, Canva, Sketch
Focus Areas: AI features, Pricing

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Current Landscape:

• Canva launched major AI offensive - April 2025 “Visual Suite 2.0” with proprietary AI design model, Canva AI assistant, Canva Code, and AI-powered photo editor
• Figma responded with Config 2025 - May 2025 launch of Figma Make (prompt-to-app), Figma Sites, and AI coding assistants
• Sketch remains AI-free - No AI features announced; positioning as focused, offline-first design tool for designers
• Pricing: Wide spread from $10/month (Sketch) to $75/month (Figma Enterprise); Canva most aggressive at $12.99/month with 500 monthly AI credits included

Strategic Priority: CRITICAL - AI is now table stakes for design tools. Two of three competitors heavily invested.

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AI FEATURES ANALYSIS

Canva - HIGHEST AI INVESTMENT

Major Launch: Visual Suite 2.0 (April 2025)

Canva AI (Proprietary Model)

• What It Does: All-in-one creative AI assistant that generates designs, images, and text from simple prompts
• Unique Angle: Proprietary foundational model trained on Canva’s design elements that generates designs with editable layers and objects (not flat images)
• Multi-format: Works across social posts, presentations, whiteboards, websites
• Launched: April 2025

Canva Code

• What It Does: Creates interactive features with simple prompts; merges AI-powered coding with full Canva design capabilities
• Powered By: Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet model
• Launched: April 2025

AI-Powered Photo Editor

• Features: Point-and-click editing, AI-generated backgrounds with lighting/layout awareness, object removal/replacement
• Quality: “Studio quality” and “professional grade” positioning

Additional Move: Made Affinity (professional design suite) completely free forever

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Figma - STRONG AI RESPONSE

Major Launch: Config 2025 (May 7, 2025)

Figma Make

• What It Does: Generates interactive prototypes from text prompts
• Status: Moved out of beta July 24, 2025 - now available to all users
• Features: Import existing Figma libraries for consistent styling, Supabase integration for backend database connections

Figma Sites

• What It Does: Turns designs into fully responsive websites directly in Figma
• AI Component: AI coding assistant generates interaction code from natural language
• Additional Features: Pre-built responsive templates, integrated CMS

Figma Buzz

• Target: Marketing teams producing brand-aligned content

AI-Powered Search

• What It Does: Find designs across teams/organizations using part of a design, screenshot, or description

First Draft

• What It Does: Transforms ideas into editable designs in minutes

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Sketch - NO AI FEATURES

Positioning: “A toolkit made by designers, for designers” - “Designers, welcome home”

Strategy: Emphasizing focus, offline-first capability, independence, human craft

Key Differentiators:

• Native Mac app with offline-first design
• No AI features mentioned anywhere in marketing
• “Made by designers, for designers” positioning suggests resistance to AI automation

Strategic Implication: Either betting on AI backlash OR significantly behind and at risk

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PRICING COMPARISON

Figma

Starter (Free): Up to 2 editors, 3 collaborative files, unlimited storage

Professional: $15/editor per month (annual billing)

• Unlimited Figma files, advanced prototyping, team libraries, Dev Mode features

Organization: $45/editor per month (annual billing only)

• Organization-wide library, Dev Mode private plugins, centralized file management

Enterprise: $75/editor per month (annual billing only)

• Professional design system theming, sync variables to code, dedicated workspaces

AI Pricing: AI features (Make, Sites, AI search, First Draft) included in Professional+ tiers; no separate AI credit system

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Canva

Free: 250,000+ free templates, 5GB cloud storage, Limited AI: 50 total Magic Write uses

Pro: $12.99/month ($119.99/year)

• 140+ million premium assets
• 500 monthly Magic Write credits + 500 AI image generations/month
• 1TB cloud storage, Up to 1,000 Brand Kits

Enterprise: $30/user/month (custom pricing)

• SSO, advanced team functionality, 24/7 enterprise support

AI Pricing Model: Credit-based system with monthly resets; most aggressive AI inclusion at entry price point

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Sketch

Standard: $12/month per Editor (billed yearly)

• Real-time collaboration, unlimited documents/viewers, version history

Business: $24/month per Editor (billed yearly)

• SSO, unlimited online storage, advanced permissions

Enterprise: $44/month per Editor (billed yearly, 25+ editors minimum)

• SCIM provisioning, BYOK encryption

Mac-Only License: $120 one-time per seat

• Native Mac app only, no collaborative/cloud features, “Yours to keep, forever”

AI Pricing: No AI features = no AI costs

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PRICING SUMMARY TABLE

Tool	Entry Paid Tier	Mid Tier	Enterprise	AI Features Included
Canva	$12.99/mo (Pro)	$30/mo (Enterprise)	Custom	500 credits/mo
Sketch	$12/mo (Standard)	$24/mo (Business)	$44/mo (Enterprise)	None
Figma	$15/mo (Professional)	$45/mo (Organization)	$75/mo (Enterprise)	Included (unlimited)

Key Insight: Canva wins on entry pricing + AI value ($12.99 with 500 AI credits). Sketch cheapest for pure design ($12/mo). Figma most expensive but unlimited AI usage.

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MARKET TRENDS

Trend 1: AI Commoditization Accelerating

Evidence:

• Canva launched proprietary AI model (April 2025)
• Figma launched 4 AI-powered products (May 2025)
• Both now include AI in base paid tiers
• Sketch is the outlier with zero AI features

Market Pattern: AI moving from premium add-on to baseline expectation in 6-month window

Impact: Design tools without AI will be perceived as outdated by Q1 2026

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Trend 2: “Prompt-to-Production” is New Battleground

Evidence:

• Canva AI generates editable multi-layer designs
• Canva Code turns prompts into interactive features
• Figma Make creates interactive prototypes from text
• Figma Sites turns designs into live websites with AI coding assistant

Implications:

• Competitive bar raised from “AI-assisted design” to “AI-generated production assets”
• Designer role shifting from creator to editor/director
• Speed-to-market becoming primary value proposition

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Trend 3: Pricing Compression at Entry Level

Evidence:

• Canva Pro with AI: $12.99/month
• Sketch Standard (no AI): $12/month
• Figma Professional with AI: $15/month

Market Pattern: $12-15/month price band now includes advanced AI capabilities

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Trend 4: Platform Expansion Beyond Core Design

Evidence:

• Canva: Sheets (spreadsheets), Code (coding), Grow (marketing analytics)
• Figma: Sites (website building), Make (prototyping), Draw (illustration), Buzz (marketing)
• Sketch: Staying focused on core design tool

Strategic Shift: Winners positioning as “creative operating systems” not just design tools

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COMPETITOR THREAT ASSESSMENT

Canva

Activity Level: VERY HIGH (Major launch April 2025, follow-up October 2025)
AI Maturity: ADVANCED (Proprietary model, multi-product AI suite)
Threat Level: CRITICAL
Momentum: ACCELERATING

Why Critical:

• Proprietary AI model creates defensible moat
• Most aggressive pricing ($12.99 with AI)
• Expanding beyond design into code, sheets, marketing
• Made Affinity free (eliminating professional design tool competitor)
• Editable layer generation is technical breakthrough

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Figma

Activity Level: HIGH (Config 2025 in May, continued rollouts)
AI Maturity: MODERATE-HIGH (Multiple AI products launched, still in early adoption)
Threat Level: HIGH
Momentum: STABLE

Why High:

• Strong response to Canva with Make, Sites, AI search
• Tight developer integration (code generation, MCP server)
• Make moved to general availability (July 2025) shows commitment
• Design-to-code workflow becoming real

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Sketch

Activity Level: LOW (Incremental feature updates only)
AI Maturity: NONE (No AI features)
Threat Level: LOW (currently) → DECLINING
Momentum: STAGNANT

Why Low Threat Now:

• Focused niche positioning
• Offline-first appeals to privacy-conscious designers
• Lowest entry pricing for pure design ($12/mo)
• Mac-only license ($120 one-time) unique in market

Why Declining:

• Zero AI features in AI-dominated market trend
• No platform expansion (just design tool)
• Risk of appearing outdated by Q2 2026

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STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS

CRITICAL (1 week)

1. AI is Now Table Stakes (Not a Differentiator)

   • Two of three competitors heavily invested in AI
   • Entry pricing includes AI features
   • Absence of AI = perceived as outdated, not focused
   • Action: Ship AI features in Q1 2026 or clearly position why you don’t have them

2. Canva’s Pricing + AI Bundle is Aggressive

   • $12.99/month with 500 AI credits threatens all premium positioning
   • Can’t justify $20+ pricing without clear AI superiority
   • Action: Match $12-15 entry price OR offer more AI capabilities to justify premium

HIGH PRIORITY (2 weeks)

3. “Prompt-to-Production” is New Bar
   • AI-assisted design is baseline
   • AI-generated production assets is expectation
   • Action: Ship prompt-to-X feature (design, prototype, code, video, etc.) in 6 months

MEDIUM PRIORITY (30 days)

4. Platform Expansion Strategy Needed
   • Canva and Figma expanding beyond core design
   • Single-purpose tools face commoditization
   • Action: Define your 3-year vision - staying focused or expanding to creative suite?

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NEXT REFRESH RECOMMENDATION

Recommended Date: March 1, 2026 (Quarterly)

Rationale:

• Extremely high activity (two major launches in Q2 2025)
• Rapid AI feature iteration expected
• Pricing changes likely (Canva promotion ends, Figma may adjust)
• Sketch’s strategy will be clearer (AI or no AI)

Watch for Next Period:

1. Canva AI credit limit changes - May increase to maintain competitive advantage
2. Figma Make/Sites adoption - Early metrics will inform future AI investment
3. Sketch AI announcement - Decision point is Q1 2026 Config season
4. New entrants - Open-source or specialized AI design tools
5. Pricing wars - Entry tier may compress below $12/month