Adobe, long the titan of the creative software industry, has faced many challengers over the decades—from Corel in the 90s to Sketch in the 2010s. Yet none have unsettled its dominance as significantly or as swiftly as Figma. What began as a browser-based curiosity for UI/UX designers has evolved into a collaborative design platform that not only rivals Adobe’s offerings but arguably redefines what creative software should be in a cloud-native world.
The core of Figma’s threat lies in its philosophy. While Adobe built its empire on professional, feature-rich, desktop-centric tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, Figma emerged with a different DNA: real-time collaboration, accessibility through any browser, and minimal onboarding friction. It’s not just software; it’s a living design environment. Designers, developers, and stakeholders can work simultaneously in the same file, from any device, anywhere. Adobe tried to bolt collaboration onto its Creative Cloud suite, but with Figma, it’s foundational. That’s the kind of conceptual leap that disrupts industries—not just competes within them.
More critically, Figma has become the default tool in the growing field of interface and product design. Startups, digital agencies, and large enterprises alike have adopted it not just for mockups, but for design systems, prototyping, and even some level of developer handoff. Adobe XD, its most direct competitor in this space, lagged behind in user adoption and momentum, despite Adobe’s vast resources. So threatened was Adobe that in 2022, it agreed to acquire Figma for $20 billion—an eye-popping amount reflecting not just Figma’s valuation but Adobe’s strategic desperation. When regulators blocked the merger in 2023, Adobe was left with a $1 billion breakup fee and no easy answer to Figma’s rise.
Figma’s rise also represents a generational shift. Younger designers don’t want software that takes hours to install and years to master; they want lightweight, intuitive, always-available tools that work in teams, reflect modern workflows, and are decoupled from operating systems and high-end machines. Adobe’s software still speaks the language of print, while Figma speaks the language of product. That difference in audience, approach, and agility makes Figma more than a competitor—it makes it the prototype of what creative tools are becoming.
That doesn’t mean Adobe is going anywhere. Its strength in raster and vector editing, photo manipulation, video production, and creative tooling at large remains unparalleled. Its foothold in enterprise licensing, digital marketing, and creative agencies is strong. And it has begun a more aggressive push into AI-powered tools and cloud services to stay relevant. But the brand that once symbolized innovation is now in the unfamiliar position of reacting to it.
So yes, Figma is a serious threat—perhaps the most serious one Adobe has ever faced—not just because it takes market share, but because it rewrites the expectations for what design tools should be.
Figma brought in $749 million in revenue for the full year 2024, reflecting a 48% increase over the prior year. Its growth continued into early 2025 with $228.2 million in revenue for the first quarter alone, marking a 46% year-over-year gain. On a rolling 12-month basis, Figma is approaching $821 million in total revenue, with an exceptionally high gross margin of 91%, underscoring its operational efficiency and strong business fundamentals.
Adobe, by contrast, remains the heavyweight in the creative software industry, reporting $21.5 billion in revenue for its fiscal year 2024 and raising its 2025 outlook to between $23.3 and $23.55 billion. Recent quarterly results have shown consistent 11% year-over-year growth. On a trailing twelve-month basis into mid-2025, Adobe’s revenue stands at approximately $22.6 billion.
The comparison illustrates the classic dynamic between a fast-scaling disruptor and a mature incumbent. Figma’s nearly $1 billion revenue run-rate and explosive growth signal a company on the rise, especially in the high-demand realm of collaborative, browser-based design tools. Adobe, while vastly larger in absolute terms—roughly 30 times the size—is growing at a steadier, more incremental pace, leveraging a broader product portfolio and deep entrenchment across creative industries. Yet Figma’s agility and cloud-native focus have carved out a territory Adobe cannot ignore.