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It's a split decision.
Choose Figma for shared app and website design, design-to-development handoff, and team libraries. Its Starter plan is free; paid seats have different prices and AI-credit allowances. Choose Pixelmator Pro for photo retouching, layers, vector graphics, and Apple Pencil support. It costs $49.99 as a standalone Mac app or comes through Creator Studio, with a seven-day standalone trial. Eligible education subscribers can get Creator Studio for less. These tools solve different problems, so compare workflows before comparing price alone.
01Side by side
| Figma | Pixelmator Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $3/seat/month listed; billing setting unclear | $2.50/month education annual rate |
| Free plan | Yes: Starter includes drafts and AI credits | No; standalone app has a 7-day trial |
| Best for | Collaborative app, website, and product design | Mac and iPad image editing and graphics |
| Core strength | Shared design workspace and developer handoff | Photo retouching, layers, and vector graphics |
| Ease-of-use review score | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Integrations and context | Designs connect with codebases and agents | Integrates with Apple Creator Studio and Photos |
| Team and seat costs | Seat-based; Professional Full seat listed at $16/month | $49.99 one-time Mac license; seat limits unpublished |
| Support review score | 5/10 | 6/10 |
Figma Choose Figma if
- Choose Figma if your team designs apps, websites, or digital products.
- Choose Figma if you need shared libraries and developer handoff.
- Choose Figma if a free Starter plan fits your needs.
Pixelmator Pro Choose Pixelmator Pro if
- Choose Pixelmator Pro if you edit photos on Mac or iPad.
- Choose Pixelmator Pro if you need retouching, layers, or vector tools.
- Choose Pixelmator Pro if Apple Pencil support matters to your workflow.
02Pricing compared
Figma’s Starter plan is free and includes unlimited drafts, 150 AI credits a day, and up to 500 a month. Paid seats are priced differently by role: Professional lists annual rates of $16 for Full, $12 for Dev, and $3 for Collab, per seat per month. The pricing page shows a monthly/annual toggle but doesn’t say which setting those displayed prices reflect. Organization and Enterprise are billed annually.
Pixelmator Pro costs $49.99 as a one-time standalone Mac app purchase, with a seven-day trial. It’s also available through Apple Creator Studio, listed at $12.99 monthly or $129 annually, with a one-month trial. Eligible education subscribers pay $2.99 monthly or $29.99 annually. These plans and prices cover different workflows, so a lower starting price doesn’t make the apps direct substitutes.
03Features and depth
Figma is built around shared product design: teams work on apps, websites, and other digital products in a shared workspace. Its tools support design-to-development handoff, including Dev Mode inspection and team-wide design libraries on Professional. Figma also describes an AI agent that can add motion, document design systems, and implement feedback. AI credits vary by seat and plan, so don’t treat AI as unlimited.
Pixelmator Pro focuses on image editing and graphic design for Mac and iPad. Its feature set includes layered, nondestructive editing; photo repair, cloning, denoising, and selective adjustments; vector shapes and paths; and templates and mockups. The product also lists AI tools such as background removal and Super Resolution. On iPad, it supports Apple Pencil pressure sensitivity. That makes it more relevant for image work and illustration than collaborative product handoff; Figma is the clearer fit for shared interface design.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The learning curve depends on the work you need to do. Figma’s shared canvas and product-design tools are aimed at teams creating apps, websites, and other products. Its multiple seat types can make buying less straightforward: check who needs design access, Dev Mode, or collaboration access before pricing a team.
Pixelmator Pro is centered on image editing and graphic design, with layer-based tools, templates, and brush-based retouching. Its iPad app adds touch-first controls and Apple Pencil support. The standalone license is for Mac; Creator Studio is another purchase route. Before switching, confirm which version includes the features you need, especially if you’re comparing the standalone app with the subscription suite.
Questions people ask
What has replaced Photoshop Elements?
Neither Figma nor Pixelmator Pro is presented as a direct Photoshop Elements replacement. Pixelmator Pro is the closer fit for photo editing, with retouching, layers, and graphic-design tools. Figma is for shared app and website design, so it addresses a different job.
Is Pixelmator better than Lightroom?
They’re not directly comparable from the information here: Pixelmator Pro is described as an image editor with retouching, layers, and vector graphics, while no Lightroom features or prices are provided. If you need Pixelmator’s listed tools, compare those against your specific Lightroom workflow before switching.
Is Figma as good as Photoshop?
They serve different purposes. Figma focuses on collaborative product design and design-to-development handoff. Pixelmator Pro is the image-editing option here, with retouching, layers, and vector graphics. The available information doesn’t support a general claim that Figma matches Photoshop.
Is Figma like CorelDRAW?
Only in a broad sense: both can relate to design work, but the information here describes Figma as a shared workspace for app and website design. Pixelmator Pro lists vector shapes and paths. There’s no CorelDRAW feature or pricing information here for a closer comparison.