Figma vs Adobe Express
A feature-by-feature comparison of Figma and Adobe Express across 7 capability categories.
Modalities — Figma Wins
| Feature | Figma | Adobe Express |
|---|---|---|
Text Input | Yes, requires free plan. Canvas, comments, and the Figma agent take prompts. Starter includes limited AI credits. | Yes, requires free plan. Templates and generative fill take prompts. Distinct from the Firefly web app. |
Image Upload / Vision | Yes, requires free plan. Place images; AI image editing and Weave tools. Agent can add images/files. | Yes, requires free plan. You upload photos to edit. That is the editor loop. |
Image Generation | Yes, requires plus plan. Weave tools generate images and vectors. AI credits: 500/mo on Starter, 3,000/mo on Professional Full ($16). | Yes, requires plus plan. Firefly-powered generation inside Express. Plan gates were not on the sign-in wall this round. |
Voice Mode | No. Audio conversations exist for collab. That is not a voice-assistant loop. | No. Not a voice assistant. |
Video Understanding | No. Video in prototypes / Figma Motion. The agent does not watch YouTube as a vision model. | No. Can edit short video. It does not watch/understand arbitrary video as an LLM. |
Video Generation | No. Not a video generation product. | Unknown. Sign-in wall; Firefly video inside Express was not confirmed this round. |
File Upload (PDF, DOCX) | Yes, requires free plan. Import files; Make can add images and files. Not a PDF-chat product. | Partial. Images/video for the editor. Not PDF chat. |
Code Execution | Partial. Figma Make and MCP can produce code/PRs. That is codegen, not a Python sandbox in chat. | No. Not a code sandbox. |
Audio Input | No. Not a speech-to-text product. | Unknown. Audio on video timelines was not confirmed (page was a sign-in wall). |
Canvas / Artifact Editor | Yes, requires free plan. The product is a multiplayer canvas. | Yes, requires free plan. The product is a design canvas. |
Screen Sharing / Computer Use | Partial. Observation mode / audio conversations. Not computer-use of your OS. | No. No computer-use product. |
Memory & Context — Figma Wins
| Feature | Figma | Adobe Express |
|---|---|---|
Persistent Memory | No. Files persist. The agent is not a personal-facts memory profile. | No. Brand kits persist. Not chat memory of you. |
Large Context Window | No. AI credits, not a published token window. | No. Not an LLM context-window product. |
Custom Instructions | Partial. Skills, Make kits, and design-system libraries. Not a global chat instruction card. | Unknown. Brand kits likely. Not confirmed behind the sign-in wall. |
Conversation History | Yes, requires free plan. Comments, version history (30 days on lower plans), agent on-canvas chat. | No. Project files, not chat threads. |
Integrations — Figma Wins
| Feature | Figma | Adobe Express |
|---|---|---|
Web Search / Browsing | Unknown. Visual search of your files is listed. Live web search was not. | No. Not a search engine. |
Plugins / Extensions | Yes, requires free plan. Community plugins on Starter; private plugins on higher plans. Generative plugins (beta). | Unknown. Not confirmed this round. |
API Access | Yes, requires pro plan. REST APIs, webhooks, MCP (20 tool calls/month on Starter; more on paid). | Unknown. Not confirmed on the public URL this round. |
Zapier Integration | Unknown. Not checked this round. | Unknown. Not checked. |
Custom GPTs / Bots | Yes, requires plus plan. Generative plugins: describe a plugin and the agent builds it. | No. No custom-GPT store. |
Real-time Collaboration | Yes, requires free plan. Multiplayer, comments, spotlight, unlimited viewers. | Unknown. Not confirmed this round. |
Live Social Data Integration | No. No live social firehose. | No. Exports to social; that is not a live firehose. |
Live Citation Mapping | No. Not a cited-search product. | No. Not a cited-search product. |
Developer — Figma Wins
| Feature | Figma | Adobe Express |
|---|---|---|
Function Calling | Yes, requires plus plan. MCP server so external agents can read/act on designs. Agent skills/connectors. | No. Not a developer function-calling API. |
Streaming Responses | Unknown. Agent streaming was not specified. | No. Editor returns assets, not token streams. |
Fine-Tuning | No. Uses off-the-shelf and fine-tuned models they host. You do not train Figma. | No. You do not train Express. |
Embeddings API | No. Not an embeddings API. | No. Not an embeddings API. |
Structured Output (JSON) | Partial. Variables, Code Connect, MCP. Not arbitrary JSON chat. | No. Returns designs, not JSON answers. |
Reasoning / Thinking Mode | No. Figma agent is design automation, not Deep Think. | No. Not an LLM reasoning mode. |
Local Execution | No. Cloud editor. Make-on-local-codebase is still a Figma feature, not self-hosted Figma. | No. Cloud editor. |
Open Weights | No. Closed product. | No. Closed Adobe models. |
Multi-Agent Orchestration | No. One Figma agent plus external MCP clients. Not a swarm orchestrator. | No. Not an orchestrator. |
Platforms — Figma Wins
| Feature | Figma | Adobe Express |
|---|---|---|
Web App | Yes, requires free plan. figma.com editor. | Yes, requires free plan. express.adobe.com (sign-in required to enter the editor). |
iOS App | Partial. Figma Make on mobile is listed. The full Design editor is not the iPhone app. | Unknown. Mobile apps exist in market; not re-verified this round. |
Android App | Unknown. Make on mobile is listed without OS. Android was not isolated. | Unknown. Not re-verified this round. |
Desktop App | Yes, requires free plan. Official desktop app is a long-standing Figma product (not re-listed on the AI pricing table). | Unknown. Not confirmed this round. |
Chrome Extension | No. Not a Chrome-extension product. | Unknown. Not confirmed this round. |
Privacy — Figma Wins
| Feature | Figma | Adobe Express |
|---|---|---|
GDPR Compliant | Unknown. Security page exists; a GDPR assertion was not copied from marketing. | Unknown. Adobe privacy exists; not re-read this round. |
Opt Out of Data Training | Yes, requires enterprise plan. Admins control AI content training; powered by off-the-shelf plus fine-tuned models. | Unknown. Firefly vs Express training policy was not re-read. |
Enterprise Privacy Mode | Yes, requires enterprise plan. SSO, SCIM, localized hosting, Governance+ add-on. Enterprise Full $90/mo. | Unknown. Adobe enterprise exists; Express-specific terms were not on the sign-in page. |
Workspaces — Figma Wins
| Feature | Figma | Adobe Express |
|---|---|---|
Projects / Folders | Yes, requires plus plan. Unlimited files/folders on Professional. Starter is limited. | Partial. Saved files in an Adobe account. Not a coding project environment. |