# Sketch vs Subframe (slim)

> Sketch scores 53.5 (D) to Subframe's 39.7 (E) for design files. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-09

Sketch scores 53.5 (D) on agent readiness against Subframe's 39.7 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Subframe leads on security & auth. Both do design files.

- Sketch: D 53.5, rank #707 of 950 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sketch.min.md
- Subframe: E 39.7, rank #915 of 950 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/subframe.min.md
- Sketch, good for A designer or developer at a Mac who wants an agent to inspect, audit, export or edit an open Sketch document, or turn a frame into code. Ahead on Reliability, 53 against 19; Schema & documentation, 64 against 54; Agent ergonomics, 70 against 47; Transparency & trust, 65 against 57. Also No key needed to call it; Runs on your own machine; Free to start without a card; No incidents deducted, where Subframe loses 3 points for them.
- Subframe, good for A coding agent working beside a team that designs React and Tailwind interfaces in Subframe and wants the design as code, with a read-only route for review. Ahead on Security & auth, 44 against 34. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install.

| Category | Sketch | Subframe |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 53 | 19 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 64 | 54 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 70 | 47 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 34 | 44 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 30 | 33 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 65 | 65 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 65 | 57 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Sketch | Subframe |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Sketch B.V. | Atomic Design Inc |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://mcp.subframe.com/mcp` |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP |
| Auth | None | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| Licence | Proprietary Mac app under Sketch's End User Licence Agreement and Terms of Service. The connector in sketch-hq/agents is MIT and the skills are Apache-2.0 | Proprietary service under Atomic Design's terms of service. `@subframe/cli` and `@subframe/core` are marked ISC in their package files and the Claude Code plugin MIT in its manifest, with no licence file in the repository |
| Tools exposed | 8 | 46 |
| Last release | 2026-09-14 | 2026-10-08 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-01-22 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-01-22 |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 97 stars | 435 stars, 1k npm/wk |