# Sketch

12 Hacker News commenters recommended Sketch and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A Mac design app people reach for to throw together quick designs, with local-first, offline use and a buy-outright option. Critics point to the two-machine license limit and a hard-to-reach license manager.

## Why people recommend it

- Offline-first, local-first approach (2 comments): "Sketch is offline first but has a really stellar online app as well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46917634)) "I prefer the UI of Sketch, as well as its local-first approach" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48997253))

## What people warn about

- Native Mac app limits sharing (2 comments): "having to tell them to download some Mac app and open a specific file" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47822265)) "being a native app primarily is a bad idea in this year" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46067729))
- Unclear value, not worth buying today (2 comments): "I'm not sure what the value proposition of Sketch is these days" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48997274)) "There's no way I'd make the same purchase today." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47833111))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Canva](https://hackerapproved.com/p/canva.md): 27 recommend
- [Penpot](https://hackerapproved.com/p/penpot.md): 23 recommend
- [Lunacy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lunacy.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.sketch.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Sketch", https://hackerapproved.com/p/sketch/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).