Figma dominates with 4M+ monthly active users, superior performance, and extensive plugin ecosystem, while Penpot offers a fully open-source alternative with lower costs and better data privacy for teams prioritizing self-hosting and customization.
Figma vs Penpot — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Cloud-based collaborative design platform with 4M+ users, industry-leading performance, and 2,500+ plugins.
Open-source design platform with self-hosting, lower costs, and full transparency for privacy-conscious teams.
User Base & Market Share. Pricing Model. Plugin Ecosystem. Prototype Frame Rate. Open Source Availability. Team Collaboration Capacity. Self-Hosting Option
Choose Figma if you need the most powerful design tool with extensive integrations, fastest performance, and the largest design community—essential for agencies and enterprise teams. Choose Penpot if you prioritize cost savings, open-source control, data privacy, self-hosting capabilities, and are willing to accept a smaller ecosystem in exchange for complete transparency and customization.
Figma: $10.53-13.8 billion (public) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 9x-35x (varies by metric) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Public (NASDAQ: FIG) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Enterprise Design Teams | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Advanced multiplayer editing | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Built-in real-time collaboration | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Sites CMS beta (200 items) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Variables, components, tokens | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Requires external hosting | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Dev Mode with inspection | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Unlimited (per plan) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Cloud-only, no self-hosting | Penpot: Yes (open-source deployment)
Figma: Voice-to-text, Make controls, question cards, design suggestions | Penpot: No native AI tools (community experiments only)
Figma: Closed source | Penpot: AGPL v3 (fully open)
Figma: 5,000+ plugins and integrations | Penpot: Limited ecosystem, community-driven
Figma: Unlimited with live cursors | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Web browser + Desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Master Variables with full version control | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Limited (separate ecosystem) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Voice-to-text, Make features, automation | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Browser-dependent, can slow with 1000+ frames | Penpot: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Single Editor)
Figma: Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Performance issues above 2GB | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Limited offline, primarily cloud-based | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Advanced design specs, Dev Mode, code generation | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Intermediate (basic flows, transitions) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 500+ (performance degrades) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Generous (3 projects, 2GB) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Unlimited simultaneous editors | Penpot: N/A
Starter Plan Monthly Cost (Annual Billing)
Figma: Four-tier with seat types (Full, Dev, Collab) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Industry-leading precision tools | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Excellent for design workflows | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Basic design assistance | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 15+ concurrent editors (unlimited) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Yes—unlimited projects, 3 editors per file | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Advanced variables system with 20+ variant combinations per component | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 71% among design teams | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Limited offline mode (view-only) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Advanced auto-animate, conditional logic, 35+ interaction types | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 30 days of version history | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Unlimited (draft-based) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Community plugins only | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Interactions, conditional logic, component states, animations, flows | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Enterprise-grade (variants, tokens, documentation) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Yes (100% browser-native) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: $144-240 | Penpot: $0 (free forever)
Figma: Mac, Windows, Linux, Web | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Limited (browser-dependent) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Yes, full features for 1 file | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Web + macOS + Windows + iPad | Penpot: Web-based (all OS)
Figma: Shared libraries with variants | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Advanced with variables | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Live multiplayer editing with cursor tracking | Penpot: Yes (built-in multiplayer)
Figma: Basic preset animations without timeline | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Unlimited on paid plans | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Dev Mode with code snippets and specs | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Component versioning in main product | Penpot: N/A
Figma: $12 per editor/month | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Unlimited on any plan | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 40+ interactive components and states | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Optimal up to 5,000 artboards | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 61% of design professionals | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 70% of professional design teams | Penpot: N/A
Figma: No built-in hosting | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 2000+ official plugins and integrations | Penpot: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Professional Plan)
Figma: $12/month (billed annually) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 500+ simultaneous users | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 40-60% (design to code via plugins) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Basic interactions, limited keyframe animation | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Variables, tokens, component library, extensive version control | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 3 files maximum, unlimited pages per file, basic prototyping, browser-based | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 50-100 (community-sourced) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 10+ simultaneous editors with live cursors | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 0 (third-party integrations available) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Components, variables, tokens, auto-layout, design tokens management | Penpot: Good (Components, Shared Libraries)
Figma: Limited AI—mostly design optimization and naming suggestions | Penpot: N/A
Figma: $0 (Free) / $12 (Pro) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Interactive prototyping only, no native keyframe animation | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 1.5-2.5 hours (beginner-friendly) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Unlimited (Team plan) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Any browser (Windows, macOS, Linux, iPad, web) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: $60 (all share one license) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Basic interactions (tap, hover, drag) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: 4 (Web, Mac, Windows, iPad) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Limited (API for third-party imports) | Penpot: N/A
Figma: Public/password-protected with comment threads | Penpot: N/A
Figma: $80 | Penpot: $192/month unlimited (or free self-hosted)
Figma: Not available | Penpot: Yes (Docker, Kubernetes)
Figma: N/A (proprietary) | Penpot: 30,000+
Figma: N/A | Penpot: Basic (standard prototyping)
Figma: N/A | Penpot: Free (Premium optional €60/year)
Figma: N/A | Penpot: Full real-time co-editing with 20+ users
Figma: N/A | Penpot: No (browser-based only)
Figma: N/A | Penpot: No direct integration
Figma: N/A | Penpot: Free (Pro: $8/month optional)
Figma: N/A | Penpot: 4+ years of resources
Figma: N/A | Penpot: 100% Open Source (GitHub)
Figma vs Penpot — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Figma vs Penpot. Contains 149 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Figma vs Penpot — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Figma vs Penpot.
Is Penpot really free? What's the catch?
Penpot's self-hosted version is completely free and open source—no catch. You host it on your own servers and maintain full control. The cloud version costs $192/month for teams, but the desktop/self-hosted option remains permanently free. Figma has no free option; even basic use requires a paid plan ($12/month minimum).
Penpot can import Figma files, but compatibility isn't 100% perfect. Complex prototypes, certain components, and some advanced features may need adjustment. For simple design files, migration is usually straightforward. For complex projects, plan 10-20% rework time. Figma→Penpot is easier than the reverse.
How does real-time collaboration compare?
Both offer excellent real-time collaboration with simultaneous editing. Figma has pixel-perfect sync and slightly faster responsiveness (60 FPS). Penpot's collaboration is solid but slightly less polished, with occasional 1-2 second sync delays on larger teams (5+ editors). For teams under 5 people, both are seamless.
Which tool integrates better with development workflows?
Figma wins decisively: 2,500+ plugins include Slack, Jira, Storybook, GitHub, Linear, and VS Code extensions. Penpot has 50+ plugins, mainly design-focused. If you need deep dev tool integration (CI/CD, code handoff, design tokens), Figma is the clear choice. Penpot is improving but still lags.
Penpot offers superior privacy: self-hosted version keeps all data on your servers, and you can audit the open-source code. Figma stores all files on their cloud servers; you must trust Figma's security practices. For regulated industries (healthcare, finance, government), Penpot's self-hosting option is a major advantage. Figma complies with SOC 2, GDPR, but data leaves your infrastructure.
User Base & Market Share: Figma has 4M+ monthly active users, while Penpot has 250K+ monthly active users.
Pricing Model: Figma has $12-80/month per editor (cloud-only), while Penpot has $0-192/month or self-hosted free.
Plugin Ecosystem: Figma has 2,500+ plugins available, while Penpot has 50+ plugins available.
Prototype Frame Rate: Figma has 60 FPS with hardware acceleration, while Penpot has 30-45 FPS depending on complexity.
Open Source Availability: Figma has Closed source, proprietary, while Penpot has Fully open source (AGPL v3).
Team Collaboration Capacity: Figma has Unlimited simultaneous editors per file, while Penpot has Unlimited simultaneous editors per file.
Self-Hosting Option: Figma has Not available, while Penpot has Available (Docker, Kubernetes support).