With Figma’s relentless price hikes squeezing budgets and Adobe’s corporate takeover threatening the tool’s independence, designers are desperately seeking alternatives that won’t break the bank or compromise their creative freedom. Enter Penpot – an open-source design and prototyping platform that delivers professional-grade features without the subscription shackles or corporate overlords dictating your workflow. After spending several months testing Penpot alongside my increasingly expensive Figma subscription, I can confidently say it’s not just a promising alternative – it’s a refreshing return to what design tools should be.
But can Penpot actually liberate you from Figma’s corporate grip? Let’s explore how this community-driven Spanish tool is challenging the design establishment and why it might be exactly what the industry needs.
DesignWhine's Verdict
Overall
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Design Features
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User Experience
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Performance
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Value Proposition
Summary
Penpot stands as a beacon of hope in an increasingly corporate-dominated design tool landscape. While Figma continues its aggressive monetization strategy, Penpot offers genuine professional capabilities without the subscription burden. It’s not just a viable alternative – it’s a statement against the commoditization of creativity.
Pros
Completely free and liberating – No subscription extortion or artificial feature limitations
Community-driven development – Built by designers, for designers, not corporate shareholders
Strong prototyping features – Often superior to Figma’s locked-down interactions
Web standards-based – Future-proof technology, not proprietary vendor lock-in
Self-hosting freedom – Your data stays yours, period
Transparent roadmap – No surprise price hikes or feature removals
Ethical foundation – Supporting open-source means supporting creative freedom
Cons
Performance optimization needed – Still being refined, but improving rapidly
Small plugin ecosystem – Smaller but more focused community contributions
Different workflow – Requires unlearning Figma’s imposed limitations
Lack of advanced features – Auto-layout coming soon, component system evolving
Smaller corporate backing – Relies on community support rather than VC funding
Active development pace – Features arrive through community needs, not marketing demands
What is Penpot?
Penpot is an open-source design and prototyping platform developed by Kaleidos Open Source. Launched in 2021, it positions itself as the first open-source design tool that bridges the gap between designers and developers by using web standards (HTML, CSS, SVG) as its foundation.
Unlike proprietary tools like Figma or Sketch, Penpot’s code is publicly available, allowing anyone to contribute to its development or even host their own instance. The tool runs entirely in the browser and offers features for interface design, prototyping, and team collaboration.
The Spanish company behind Penpot has been building design tools for over a decade, and their experience shows in the thoughtful approach to developer handoff and the tool’s underlying architecture.
Getting Started: First Impressions
Setting up Penpot is refreshingly straightforward. You can start designing immediately by visiting penpot.app – no downloads, installations, or complex setup processes. The onboarding is minimal, perhaps too minimal, as I found myself slightly lost when first exploring the interface.
Coming from Figma, the layout feels familiar yet different enough to be disorienting. The toolbar placement and panel organization follow design tool conventions, but the iconography and terminology take some getting used to. The learning curve isn’t steep if you’re experienced with design software, but it’s noticeable.
One thing I appreciated immediately was the performance during initial setup – everything loads quickly, and you can start creating without the typical “syncing” delays that plague some cloud-based tools.
Interface and User Experience
Penpot’s interface strikes a balance between familiar and unique. The main canvas area is clean and uncluttered, with toolbars that can be customized and docked according to your preferences. However, the visual design feels less polished than Figma’s sleek interface.
The typography panel is particularly well-designed, offering granular control over text properties that actually surpasses Figma in some areas. You can adjust letter-spacing, line-height, and other typographic properties with more precision than most design tools offer.
However, the tool struggles with consistency in its interface design. Some panels feel modern and well-thought-out, while others seem like afterthoughts. The color picker, for instance, is functional but lacks the elegance of Figma’s color management system.
Navigation can be frustrating when working with complex files. The layers panel doesn’t handle large projects as gracefully as Figma, and finding specific elements in deeply nested structures becomes cumbersome.
Core Design Features
Penpot covers the basics well but lacks some of the advanced features that make Figma so powerful. You can create shapes, work with typography, manage colors, and build basic component systems. The pen tool works adequately for vector work, though it’s not as refined as Figma’s implementation.
The component system exists but feels primitive compared to Figma’s variants and component properties. You can create master components and instances, but the workflow for managing complex component libraries is tedious. There’s no equivalent to Figma’s auto-layout, which is a significant limitation for responsive design work.
Color management is functional but basic. You can create color styles and apply them across your design, but there’s no equivalent to Figma’s robust variable system for managing design tokens at scale.
The asset management system works for small projects, but it becomes unwieldy as your design system grows. Organization features are limited, and searching through large libraries is inefficient.
Prototyping Capabilities
While Figma focuses on extracting maximum revenue from existing features, Penpot’s prototyping capabilities genuinely innovate. The timeline-based animation system outshines Figma’s basic transitions, offering the kind of sophisticated interaction design that Figma charges premium prices for through plugins and enterprise features.
The smart animate functionality works beautifully without the artificial limitations Figma imposes. You’re not restricted by arbitrary interaction limits or forced to upgrade to access “advanced” prototyping features that should be standard in any modern design tool.
What’s particularly impressive is how Penpot handles complex interaction flows. Where Figma often forces you into their prescribed workflow patterns (optimized for their server architecture and billing model), Penpot gives you the flexibility to prototype exactly how your users will experience the interface.
The preview and sharing experience is refreshingly straightforward – no confusing permission tiers or “view-only” limitations designed to push stakeholders toward paid accounts. Everyone can interact with your prototypes fully, comment meaningfully, and provide feedback without hitting paywalls.
Collaboration and Team Features
Penpot’s collaboration features are adequate for small teams but lack the sophistication needed for large-scale design operations. Real-time collaboration works, though it’s not as smooth as Figma’s implementation. You’ll occasionally experience conflicts when multiple people work on the same file simultaneously.
The permission system is basic – you can share files and set view or edit permissions, but there’s no granular control over different sections of a file or advanced admin features that enterprise teams require.
Version history exists but is limited compared to Figma’s comprehensive version management. You can see major changes and restore previous versions, but the granular history that Figma provides is missing.
Comments and feedback collection work adequately for basic design reviews, but the workflow isn’t as refined as what you’d experience with mature design tools. Stakeholders can leave feedback, but organizing and responding to that feedback lacks the polish of established platforms.
Performance and Reliability
This is Penpot’s biggest weakness. While simple files perform adequately, complex designs with multiple artboards, numerous components, or heavy image assets quickly bog down the application. The browser-based architecture, while convenient, shows its limitations when dealing with resource-intensive design work.
Loading times for large files can be frustrating, and the tool occasionally becomes unresponsive during intensive operations like duplicating complex components or applying changes across multiple instances.
Auto-save works reliably, which is crucial given the performance issues. I never lost work due to crashes, but the frequent sluggishness disrupted my design flow more often than I’d like.
The web-based nature means performance is also dependent on your browser and internet connection. Working offline is impossible, which can be limiting for designers who travel frequently or work in areas with unreliable internet.
Open Source Advantage
The open-source nature of Penpot isn’t just a technical detail – it’s a philosophical revolution in how design tools should work. While Figma treats designers as subscription revenue streams to be optimized and monetized, Penpot respects you as a creative professional who deserves tools built for your success, not their profit margins.
True Data Ownership: Unlike Figma’s cloud-first approach where your creative work lives on their servers (subject to their terms, their security breaches, and their business decisions), Penpot gives you complete control. Self-host your instance, keep your intellectual property private, and never worry about losing access because you missed a payment or disagreed with new terms of service.
Transparent Development: Figma’s roadmap is driven by venture capital demands and acquisition strategies. Penpot’s development is transparent, community-driven, and focused on actual designer needs rather than quarterly growth targets. You can see exactly what’s being worked on, contribute ideas, and even submit code improvements.
No Rug-Pull Guarantee: Remember when Adobe bought Figma for $20 billion? That acquisition happened because Figma became too valuable to remain independent. With Penpot, there’s no corporate entity that can be bought, sold, or “pivoted” by shareholders. The tool exists for the community, not for exit strategies.
Educational Freedom: Universities and educational institutions can teach design without budgeting for expensive per-seat licensing. Students can learn professional tools without subscription barriers, creating a more equitable design education landscape.
Pricing: The Obvious Winner
Here’s where the design tool industry’s greed becomes crystal clear. While Figma continues its relentless march toward pricing out individual designers and small teams, Penpot stands as a middle finger to the subscription economy.
Figma’s Money Grab:
- Figma Professional: $15/month per user (recently increased from $12)
- Figma Organization: $45/month per user (with forced enterprise features you don’t need)
- Future price hikes: Guaranteed, because shareholders demand growth
- Feature hostage situations: Basic functionality locked behind paywalls
Penpot’s Revolutionary Approach:
- Everything: $0/month per user, forever
- No artificial limitations: All features available to everyone
- No corporate overlords: Community-driven development priorities
Let’s do some math that’ll make your CFO weep with joy. A team of 10 designers using Figma Professional costs $1,800 annually. That same team using Penpot? Absolutely nothing. Over five years, you’re looking at $9,000+ in savings – money that could fund actual creative projects instead of lining Adobe’s pockets.
For agencies and startups operating on tight margins, this isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s business survival. While your competitors hemorrhage cash on Figma subscriptions, you’re investing in actual design work and team growth.
Migration from Figma
Moving from Figma to Penpot isn’t seamless, but it’s not impossible either. Penpot can import some Figma files, though the results are mixed. Simple designs transfer reasonably well, but complex files with advanced features often require significant cleanup.
Components don’t migrate perfectly – you’ll need to rebuild component libraries and reorganize your design system structure. This represents significant effort for teams with established design systems.
The workflow differences mean there’s a learning curve even for experienced designers. Keyboard shortcuts are different, panel layouts require adjustment, and some features work differently enough to disrupt established workflows.
For new projects, starting fresh in Penpot is much easier than trying to migrate existing work. Teams considering the switch should plan for a gradual transition rather than attempting to move everything at once.
Penpot vs Figma: The Final Showdown
Penpot represents more than just a design tool – it’s proof that the creative software industry doesn’t have to be dominated by subscription-hungry corporations treating designers as revenue units to be maximized. This Spanish-born platform demonstrates that passionate communities can build professional-grade tools that serve users rather than shareholders.
The tool isn’t perfect, but its imperfections come from rapid development and community priorities, not from artificial limitations designed to drive upgrade sales. Every rough edge in Penpot represents authentic software development, not corporate product management optimizing for subscription conversion rates.
Is Penpot ready to completely replace Figma? For many designers and teams, absolutely. The core functionality is solid, the prototyping capabilities often surpass Figma’s offerings, and the freedom from subscription anxiety is genuinely liberating.
Should you make the switch? If you’re tired of being treated as a recurring revenue stream rather than a creative professional, Penpot offers a compelling alternative. The learning curve is minor compared to the long-term benefits of escaping the subscription treadmill.
More importantly, choosing Penpot is a vote for a different kind of design tool ecosystem – one where community needs drive development, where transparency replaces corporate secrecy, and where your creative tools work for you instead of against your budget.
The future doesn’t have to be dominated by a few massive corporations extracting maximum value from designers’ creativity. Penpot proves that open-source alternatives can compete on features while winning on values. It’s time to stop feeding the machine that’s pricing creativity out of reach and start supporting tools built by and for the design community.
