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Both cover design & graphics. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Penpot | Playground AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $7 | From $12 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 14 days | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Covers | Design & Graphics | AI Image Generation, Design & Graphics |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | 1 | None right now |
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.
Our note
The capped bill is the quietly good part of this: it removes the sting from adding the ninth person to a team. Take it seriously if you are choosing tools for an organisation that cares about lock-in, and stay on Figma if you just need to draw a thumbnail.
Image generation with design templates
Playground puts several image models behind one editor and adds the layout tools a thumbnail or a poster needs, so the generated image does not have to leave for another app. Free accounts generate at a slower queue and get no commercial licence, which is the line that decides whether it is a toy or a tool. Paid credits are counted per generation across the premium models.
Only on this side
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.