UX prototyping: Invision vs Adobe XD vs Sketch

A while back we used Invision to demo and send prototypes to clients, but we've recently cancelled our membership as we just don't seem to use it anymore. Recently I tried out Adobe XD to demo some wireframes to an overseas client. It went really well. Being able to go through the wireframes click by click with the client during a Skype call was invaluable. However, Adobe XD is still in it's early stages so I'm interested in exploring what else is out there.

I'm looking into the 3 big players; Invision, Adobe XD and Sketch to see what each one has to offer and establish which one works best for me.

I've spent some time with Adobe XD and Invision (although I still need to push them a little further) and whittled my thoughts down to the follwing pros and cons for each.

Adobe XD

Pros:
• Quick and easy to copy and paste designs from Illustrator. A programme I'm very familiar with for wireframing.
• Prototyping view - You can create interactions / user flows quickly and easily with drag and drop between artboards.
• It's a desktop app. It's super fast and everything feels really easy and smooth to use.
• It's an Adobe app, so in time it's likely to work very well with other Adobe apps.

Cons:
• It's tricky to update the designs (when brought in from Illustrator). When you replace the design, it clears the interactions for that page.
• Interactions are limited. Although looking at the feedback forum, I'm guessing they will be releasing micro interactions fairly soon; side scrolling elements, opening / closing menus, fixed headers etc.
• You can't copy interactions across from one artboard to another.


Invision App

Pros:
• You can sync files (jpg, png, pdf, gif) either by uploading to the site or if you install the Invision sync desktop app, you can sync files direct from a folder everytime you save the file.
• Various interaction features - fixed headers, overlays, animated gifs which can be triggered by different user gestures. This makes the prototype almost seem real.
• New integrations with Photoshop allow you to save out layers as separate screens, all from one file. I haven't tried this feature yet, nor am I that keen on it as PSD file sizes could become unmanageable.
• From what I've read it integrates well with Sketch too, but I'm yet to try Sketch out.

Cons:
• You have to create interactions on a page by page basis. It would be nice to see a user flow overview between the artboards. Invision have just acquired SilverFlows, so perhaps this is on it's way.
• It's an online app, which makes it feel a little clunky at times. It would be great if it could be installed as a desktop app.

Written by Matt Boyle (Lead Designer). Read more in Insights by Matt or check our their socials Twitter, Instagram