Adobe XD is a mature, feature-rich design tool with superior prototyping capabilities and seamless Adobe ecosystem integration, while Penpot is a free, open-source alternative with collaborative real-time editing that appeals to budget-conscious teams and developers.
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. Prototyping Capabilities. Real-Time Collaboration. Adobe Ecosystem Integration. Component System. Open Source & Self-Hosting. Design System Support
Choose Adobe XD if you're already invested in Adobe's ecosystem, need professional-grade prototyping, or work with enterprise clients who expect advanced animation and interaction design. Choose Penpot if you prioritize cost savings, need seamless team collaboration without seat limits, value open-source software, or want self-hosting capabilities for data security.
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.
Adobe XD offers a free tier limited to 1 active shared prototype and 2 GB cloud storage. Penpot is completely free with unlimited projects, files, and collaborators. For serious work, Adobe XD requires a $9.99/month subscription, while Penpot remains free or offers optional premium features at $10/month.
Which tool has better real-time collaboration?
Penpot excels in real-time collaboration with unlimited simultaneous editors, cursor tracking, and live presence indicators. Adobe XD limits simultaneous editors to 1-3 users depending on your plan and provides cloud-based but less fluid real-time collaboration. For distributed teams, Penpot is superior.
Is Adobe XD or Penpot better for prototyping?
Adobe XD has significantly more advanced prototyping features including auto-animate, voice prototyping, device preview, and shared prototype links. Penpot supports basic interactive prototyping with limited animation capabilities. For complex, high-fidelity prototypes, Adobe XD is the stronger choice.
Can I import Figma files into these tools?
Penpot natively supports importing Figma files, making migration smooth. Adobe XD does not have direct Figma import capability but can import from Sketch and other formats. If you're migrating from Figma, Penpot is the easier transition.
Which tool integrates better with development workflows?
Penpot, being open-source with SVG-based exports and API access, integrates better with developer-friendly workflows and CI/CD pipelines. Adobe XD integrates tightly with Creative Cloud but less directly with development tools. For dev-first organizations, Penpot is more flexible.
How to Choose Between Adobe XD and Penpot
Pricing Model: Adobe XD has $9.99/month (Creative Cloud) or $4.99/month standalone, while Penpot has Free with unlimited projects, premium plans at $10/month.
Prototyping Capabilities: Adobe XD has Advanced with voice prototyping, shared links, and device preview, while Penpot has Basic interactive prototyping with limited animation options.
Real-Time Collaboration: Adobe XD has Cloud-based with limited simultaneous editing (1-3 users depending on plan), while Penpot has Full real-time multiplayer editing with cursor tracking.
Adobe Ecosystem Integration: Adobe XD has Native integration with Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and Creative Cloud, while Penpot has Limited integration; exports to standard formats only.
Component System: Adobe XD has Robust with nested components, variants, and asset panels, while Penpot has Component system available with variants support.
Open Source & Self-Hosting: Adobe XD has Proprietary; cloud-only, while Penpot has Fully open-source; self-hosting available.
Design System Support: Adobe XD has Adobe XD with cloud-based shared libraries and tokens, while Penpot has Community plugins available; native support developing.