Scott
Historical correction — checked September 10, 2026
Adobe and Figma announced their proposed $20 billion merger on September 15, 2022, then mutually terminated the agreement on December 18, 2023. Adobe did not acquire Figma under that agreement. The companies said there was no clear route to the necessary European Commission and UK regulatory approvals. Adobe’s termination announcement confirms the outcome. The discussion below records the proposal and concerns raised in 2022; the page update date does not mean a new acquisition has been announced.
- September 15, 2022: proposed merger announced.
- December 18, 2023: merger agreement terminated.
In September 2022, the design community reacted to Adobe's proposed $20 billion acquisition of Figma. The proposal raised questions about how the two companies might have combined their resources and expertise, and how designers could have been affected.
The 2022 announcement surprised designers and prompted comparisons with Adobe’s earlier acquisitions, including Macromedia in 2005. Those comparisons formed part of the reaction to a proposal, not a completed Figma acquisition.
Part 1. Historical context: what the proposed Adobe–Figma merger could have influenced
1. How Figma users might have been affected
In 2022, designers asked whether a merger might change Figma’s free offering, education use, and community. Figma was already available through the browser, so installing a desktop app was not a requirement to start designing.
The original discussion focused on teams, students, and independent designers who depended on Figma’s collaboration tools and community resources.
Some designers were concerned that a completed merger might change pricing or free access. These were concerns about the 2022 proposal, not confirmed consequences. The terminated agreement cannot be used to explain current plan terms.
2. How Figma might have been affected
At the time of the proposal, Figma CEO Dylan Field said that Figma would continue to operate autonomously. The proposed merger could have combined Adobe’s expertise in imaging, illustration, photography, video, and 3D with Figma Design, FigJam, and the Figma community. Those were possibilities discussed at the time, not outcomes of a completed acquisition.
3. How Adobe might have been affected
Under the proposed merger, Adobe said it could have expanded creativity, sharing, brainstorming, collaboration, and productivity across its products. Commentators also considered what the proposal might have meant for Adobe XD. Because the merger was terminated, those possible effects remain historical analysis rather than current product changes.
Part 2. Free Figma alternatives considered at the time
The proposed merger led designers to consider alternatives such as Sketch or Adobe XD. That discussion was tied to the 2022 proposal and should not be read as a response to a current Adobe acquisition. Pixso is one alternative design tool that can be evaluated on its current features and plan terms.
Pixso can be evaluated as an alternative for interface design and prototyping. When testing migration, check the current supported import formats with a representative project, and compare collaboration features and current plan limits. The historical acquisition proposal does not establish feature parity or a price advantage.
For creative designers, the proposed merger did not determine which tools they can use today. Compare current capabilities, file support, collaboration features, and plan terms before choosing a design workflow.
