Design Apps for Mac

Acorn

Design

Acorn is a desktop image editor for Mac users who want layers, selection tools, filters, and export controls without committing a project to a subscription service. The current Acorn 8 product page describes a single-window editor, image layers, vector and text tools, filters, file import, and output settings for common image formats. Its direct-download page identifies version 8.6.1 and says the current release requires macOS 14 or later. A read-only inspection of that exact developer-hosted ZIP found both x86_64 and arm64 slices in the Acorn application binary, so the compatibility statement here is limited to that inspected artifact. Acorn's purchase page offers a direct purchase path and the product page says there are no subscriptions. The useful tradeoff is version and workflow scope: current Acorn 8 needs Sonoma or newer, while its vendor points people on older Macs to a legacy release. Use the download to assess the interface and export path before purchasing, and confirm the current price, upgrade terms, and required macOS version when a team or client workflow depends on them.

Sketch

Design

Sketch is a macOS design tool for teams and solo designers who want to build interface layouts, reusable components, design systems, and interactive prototypes in a dedicated desktop app. The official feature and documentation pages describe a native Mac editor that can work privately and offline, while the web app lets other collaborators inspect designs, export assets, leave comments, and take part in handoff. Its current official download requires macOS 14 or later; the inspected 2026.2.1 archive contains both Intel and Apple-silicon executable slices. The buying decision matters because Sketch has two distinct paths. A Mac-only license keeps documents local and does not include web-app or real-time collaboration features, while a subscription adds a shared Workspace and collaboration. That makes Sketch a good fit when the team needs a Mac-based editor with a clear path from visual design to prototype and developer review, but the collaboration workflow needs an account, shared Workspace, and compatible Mac-app versions for everyone editing together. Try the workflow with a representative document before committing to a plan, and check the current pricing and renewal terms directly with Sketch before purchase.