Adobe XD is a mature, subscription-based design tool with superior performance and integrations, while Penpot is a free, open-source alternative that runs entirely in the browser with growing capabilities but less polished execution.
Adobe XD vs Penpot — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Adobe's cloud-based UI/UX design and prototyping platform with professional-grade tools.
Free, open-source web-based design tool with strong real-time collaboration features.
Pricing Model. Primary Delivery Method. Performance (File Load Time). Component System Maturity. Collaboration Features. Adobe Ecosystem Integration. Plugins/Extensions
Choose Adobe XD if you need professional-grade performance, deep integration with other Adobe apps, and access to an extensive plugin ecosystem for enterprise workflows. Choose Penpot if budget is your priority, you want a truly collaborative experience with simultaneous editing, and you prefer open-source tools with no subscription commitment.
Adobe XD: Up to 5 concurrent editors | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Desktop primary (Windows, Mac) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Design tokens with Creative Cloud sync | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: AI-assisted design with enhanced prototyping | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Optimized desktop performance for large files | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 12,957 customers | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Full co-editing support | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Native AI capabilities included | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Automatic responsive resizing | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Native design systems included | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: General prototyping | Penpot: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Single Editor)
Adobe XD: $9.99 standalone | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Windows, macOS, iPad | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Performance issues above 500MB | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Full offline support | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: CSS/SVG export, design specs | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Windows and macOS | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Yes (cloud-native) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Repeat Grid with constraints | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 12+ (including voice, drag, animation) | Penpot: N/A
Cloud Storage Included (Free Plan/Trial)
Adobe XD: 2 GB with free Creative Cloud account | Penpot: N/A
Market Share Among UI/UX Designers (2024)
Adobe XD: $9.99 | Penpot: Free (Premium: $10)
Adobe XD: 400+ plugins | Penpot: Limited ecosystem, community-driven
Adobe XD: Up to 30 shared project members | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Advanced (35+ triggers, animations, voice) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 32,000 x 32,000 pixels | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Native with library sync | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Full support with clean code | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: $119.88/year standalone | Penpot: Free (Premium optional €60/year)
Adobe XD: 2-3 seconds | Penpot: 8-12 seconds
Adobe XD: Limited (comments only, not full co-editing) | Penpot: Full real-time co-editing with 20+ users
Adobe XD: Yes (Windows/Mac application) | Penpot: No (browser-based only)
Adobe XD: Native with Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects | Penpot: No direct integration
Adobe XD: Not available | Penpot: Yes (open-source)
Total Monthly Cost (with Required Services)
Adobe XD: $54.49 (Creative Cloud) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Native timeline animations with easing, delays, triggers | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 5+ simultaneous users | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Native Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects integration | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: CSS measurements and specs panel | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Shared symbols, component variants, design libraries | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 2-3 concurrent editors before slowdown | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: No free tier; 7-day free trial only | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Limited variant support (main + 1-2 states) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 19% among design teams | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Full offline mode; all features available | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Basic transitions and timing; 8 interaction types | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Not applicable (no free tier) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Yes, limited to 1 shared prototype | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Limited to Creative Cloud team | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: macOS, Windows, Web | Penpot: Web-based (all OS)
Adobe XD: 400-500 before slowdown | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Shared components with variants | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Advanced with voice/gesture | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Limited to shared link viewers | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Native with Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 4-6 hours (steeper curve) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Windows, macOS desktop only | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: $9.99 (Single App) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: $299.99 (5 × $9.99 × 2.5x for teams) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Limited to license holders | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Full frame-based timeline with easing curves | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 2 (Mac, Windows only) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Shareable links with basic feedback | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: $9.99 (standalone) or $54.99 (full Creative Cloud) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Advanced (auto-animate, voice, speech recognition) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Yes (built-in, voice/video chat) | Penpot: N/A
Performance on Large Files (100+ Artboards)
Adobe XD: Good (occasional lag reported) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Native (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Yes (limited free tier) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Windows, macOS, Web, iOS | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 1000+ plugins in XD ecosystem | Penpot: 50+
Adobe XD: Native real-time co-editing | Penpot: Yes (built-in multiplayer)
Adobe XD: 28% of design tools market (2024) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 45-60 min (with Adobe account setup) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Comments, limited real-time co-editing, shared libraries | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Unlimited (desktop app) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Professional: Pen tool, Boolean operations, gradient editor, mesh transform | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Full desktop app with offline support | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 20-30 hours for proficiency | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 200+ integrations (Creative Cloud native) | Penpot: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Individual Plan)
Adobe XD: $14.99/month (Creative Cloud required) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: PNG, SVG, PDF, XD format | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: 14 (tap, drag, scroll, voice, gesture-based) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: Spec export, measurement tools, CSS export (limited) | Penpot: N/A
Adobe XD: $119.88 | Penpot: $0 (Premium: $120)
Adobe XD: 1-3 (plan dependent) | Penpot: Unlimited
Adobe XD: 20+ (including auto-animate, voice commands) | Penpot: 8-10 (basic transitions)
Adobe XD: 2 | Penpot: Unlimited projects
Adobe XD: Cloud-based shared libraries with design tokens | Penpot: Community plugins; native support developing
Adobe XD: No (cloud-only) | Penpot: Yes (open-source)
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: No native AI tools (community experiments only)
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: $0 (free forever)
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: Basic (standard prototyping)
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: AGPL v3 (fully open)
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: 4+ years of resources
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: 100% Open Source (GitHub)
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: Good (Components, Shared Libraries)
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: $0 (self-hosted)
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: $192/month unlimited (or free self-hosted)
Adobe XD: N/A | Penpot: Yes (Docker, Kubernetes)
How to choose between Adobe XD and Penpot
Adobe XD vs Penpot — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Adobe XD vs Penpot. Contains 131 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Adobe XD vs Penpot — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Adobe XD vs Penpot.
Penpot's cloud version requires internet connectivity, but since it's open-source, you can self-host it on your own servers for offline use. Adobe XD offers offline editing in the desktop app but requires periodic cloud sync for cloud features.
Is Penpot suitable for professional design teams?
Yes, Penpot is increasingly viable for professional teams, especially those prioritizing collaboration and open-source principles. However, teams heavily invested in Adobe workflows or requiring extensive plugin ecosystems may find XD more mature. As of 2026, Penpot has matured significantly but still lags in performance for very large design systems.
Which tool is better for design systems?
Adobe XD has a more established design system implementation with shared libraries and nested components. Penpot now supports design tokens and components but with fewer third-party tools available for system management. For complex enterprise design systems, XD remains more robust.
There is no native export/import bridge between XD and Penpot. You must manually recreate designs or use workarounds like exporting to SVG and importing. Penpot can import Figma files and other formats, but Adobe XD imports are not directly supported.
Adobe XD includes more advanced prototyping with voice commands, gesture interactions, and animation transitions natively built in. Penpot offers basic prototyping with interactive components and flows but lacks the depth of interaction options available in XD.
How to Choose Between Adobe XD and Penpot
Pricing Model: Adobe XD has $9.99/month (Creative Cloud) or $19.99 standalone, while Penpot has Free forever + optional paid cloud plan at €5/month.
Primary Delivery Method: Adobe XD has Native desktop application (Windows/Mac), while Penpot has Browser-based web application.
Performance (File Load Time): Adobe XD has Average 2-3 seconds for 50MB file, while Penpot has Average 8-12 seconds for 50MB file.
Component System Maturity: Adobe XD has Established with shared libraries across projects, while Penpot has Newer implementation with growing feature parity.
Collaboration Features: Adobe XD has Cloud-based with real-time comments, limited simultaneous editing, while Penpot has Real-time multiplayer editing with live cursors.
Adobe Ecosystem Integration: Adobe XD has Native integration with Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, while Penpot has No direct integration.
Plugins/Extensions: Adobe XD has 500+ plugins available in XD plugin ecosystem, while Penpot has Limited plugin ecosystem with ~50 community plugins.