Figma vs Penpot Comparison 2026
Figma is where most interface design already happens, free for unlimited solo drafts, then $16 a month for a full seat, cloud-only with no self-hosted option. Penpot does the same core job as open source software, free per user with unlimited files and teams, or $7 a user a month for extended storage and version history, with a bill capped at $175 a month no matter how large the team grows. Figma's own guidance sends anybody who cares about self-hosting or open formats to Penpot. Penpot's own guidance sends anybody who just needs to draw a thumbnail, or wants the deepest plugin library, back to Figma.
At a glance
- Penpot starts cheaper, at $7.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Figma | Penpot | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $16 | From $7 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Not stated |
Figma
Interface design and prototyping in a browser
Figma is where most interface design happens now, and creators arrive at it for brand kits, thumbnails and anything a developer has to build from later. Files live in the browser and several people can be inside one at the same time without anybody emailing a version. The free Starter plan carries unlimited drafts, which covers solo work. Seats are priced by what you actually do in the file.
Our note
The free tier is genuinely enough for one person maintaining their own brand assets, and the seat split is what makes bringing in an editor or a developer affordable. Penpot is the answer if self-hosting or open formats matter to you.
Penpot
Open source design you can host yourself
Penpot does the job Figma does and is open source, which matters if you would rather keep design files on a server you control than on somebody else's. The free plan is fully featured rather than crippled, and paying mostly buys storage, version history and a bill that stops rising past a point. Files are standards-based, so what comes out is SVG and CSS rather than a format only one company reads.
Why people weigh these two
- Penpot instead of Figma
- Penpot is open source and can be self hosted instead of run through Figma's servers, with a free tier and paid plans starting at $7 a month.
- Figma instead of Penpot
- Figma has the deepest plugin library and the most collaborators already fluent in it, the default Penpot is the open source alternative to.
Which one should you pick
Pick Figma for the deepest plugin library and a network of collaborators already fluent in it, which still matters for handoff to a developer. Starter is free with unlimited drafts, and Professional splits seats by role, $16 for a full seat down to $3 for a comment-only collaborator. There is no self-hosted option at any tier; every file lives on Figma's own servers.
Pick Penpot when where the files live actually matters, or a past format that would not export has already caused a problem. The free plan is fully featured rather than crippled, unlimited files and teams for up to eight members, and Unlimited at $7 a user a month caps the whole team's bill at $175 regardless of headcount. Output is standards-based SVG and CSS, readable without the tool itself, which is the opposite of a proprietary lock-in.
Common questions
- Is Penpot cheaper than Figma?
- Often, and predictably so: Penpot's free plan already covers up to eight team members, and Unlimited at $7 a user a month never exceeds $175 total regardless of team size. Figma charges per seat with no cap, $16 for a full seat, so a large team can cost considerably more.
- Can Penpot be self-hosted the way Figma cannot?
- Yes, at every tier, cloud or self-hosted. Figma has no self-hosting option at all; files live on Figma's own servers only, which is exactly the gap its own guidance says Penpot fills.
- Does Penpot's free plan have real limits like Figma's does?
- It is fully featured rather than crippled: unlimited files and teams, plugins and up to eight team members with unlimited viewers, though storage is capped at 10GB and version history at seven days. Figma's free Starter plan also allows unlimited drafts for solo work, with seats priced once collaborators join.
- Which one has the bigger plugin library and more fluent collaborators?
- Figma does, and Penpot's own guidance concedes this directly: the deepest plugin library and the most collaborators already fluent in a tool both still favour Figma. Penpot's plugin system is open, but less has been built on top of it so far.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.