- Pick it if you are:
- Remote collaborative design teams; Product teams with design systems
- Top complaint:
- Large files cause severe performance issues and crashes
- Price:
- Free plan, paid from $16/mo
- Pick it if you are:
- Developers and design-curious engineers; Teams needing self-hosted or on-prem design
- Top complaint:
- Why is Penpot so slow and laggy on large files?
- Price:
- Free plan, paid from $7/mo
Score Comparison
Signals Comparison
Figma
- Large files cause severe performance issues and crashes(9/10)
- Prototypes have extremely long load times(7/10)
Penpot
- Why is Penpot so slow and laggy on large files?(8/10)
- Penpot freezes or says 'page not responding'(8/10)
- New WebGL render engine slower for some migrated files(7/10)
- Penpot is laggy in Safari and Firefox(6/10)
Figma
- Dev Mode requires separate paid seats - previously free(8/10)
- Unexpected seat charges and confusing billing(9/10)
- Figma price increase: Organization and Enterprise seats up 20-22%(6/10)
- AI credits are metered and run out fast (Figma Make)(6/10)
Penpot
- Penpot is free but paid plans add history, storage and SSO(4/10)
Figma
- UI redesign moved features and broke workflows(7/10)
- Steep learning curve with frequent UI changes(6/10)
- Responsive design is a major headache(6/10)
- Team locked and read-only after downgrading to Starter(7/10)
Penpot
- Penpot component variants arrived late and are still maturing(6/10)
- Custom fonts will not upload or merge into one variant in Penpot(5/10)
Figma
- Figma Make (AI) constantly hallucinating and breaking designs(7/10)
- No true offline mode - internet always required(7/10)
- Service outages impact productivity(7/10)
Penpot
- Penpot 2.0 broke existing designs(7/10)
- Penpot PDF export is blank or has a huge white background(7/10)
- Self-hosted Penpot breaks after an upgrade(8/10)
Figma
- Woeful customer service and billing disputes(7/10)
Penpot
No signals
Figma
- Limited print design capabilities - no CMYK or 300dpi export(5/10)
Penpot
- Penpot has no Dev Mode and far fewer plugins than Figma(7/10)
- Figma to Penpot import fails on large files(7/10)
Figma
- Limited font support and local font issues(4/10)
Penpot
No signals
Figma
No signals
Penpot
- No mobile app for Penpot(3/10)
Pricing Comparison
Figma
Users: Unlimited viewers; 1 team
Storage: 1 folder and 3 files per team (unlimited drafts)
Limits: 1 folder and 3 files per team, 30-day version history, no shared team libraries, no private projects, no Dev Mode, community-forum support only
Users: Per Full seat/month (annual); $20 if billed monthly
Storage: Unlimited files
Limits: No SSO/SAML, No centralized admin, No design system analytics, No dedicated support
Users: Per full seat/month (annual only)
Storage: Unlimited
Limits: No dedicated CSM, No custom contracts, No enhanced security features
Users: Per full seat/month (annual only)
Storage: Unlimited
Limits: Requires sales engagement, Complex procurement, Long implementation timeline
Penpot
Users: Up to 8 team members on the compact table, unlimited viewers
Storage: Limited cloud storage, per the comparison table
Limits: Shorter autosaved version history and file recovery, less storage, no early-access features, no SSO or IP whitelisting
Users: Per editor, capped at $175/month
Storage: More storage than free
Users: Per member
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Figma | Penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Collaboration | ||
| Real-time Collaboration Industry-leading, multiple cursors, live editing | ||
| Real-time collaboration | ||
| Branching & Merging Organization plan and above | ||
| Version History 30 days on free, unlimited on paid | ||
| FigJam (Whiteboard) Included in all plans | ||
| Native whiteboard | ||
| Design Systems | ||
| Component Libraries Shared team libraries on paid plans | ||
| Components Variants added later via releases | ||
| Design tokens | ||
| Variables & Tokens Design tokens, modes, themes | ||
| Layout | ||
| Flex and grid layout CSS-style layouts | ||
| Design | ||
| Auto Layout Responsive components, padding, spacing | ||
| Prototyping Interactive prototypes, limited on free plan | ||
| Developer | ||
| Dev Mode Requires separate paid seats | ||
| Hosting | ||
| Self-hosting Docker based | ||
| Handoff | ||
| Dev Mode equivalent Inspect tab exists; not the same as Figma Dev Mode | ||
| Extensibility | ||
| Plugin ecosystem Much smaller than Figma's | ||
| Plugins Large ecosystem, community plugins | ||
| Platforms | ||
| Mobile app | ||
| Mobile App iOS and Android for viewing/commenting | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Offline Mode No true offline - basic editing only on open files | ||
| Export | ||
| CMYK Export RGB only, not suitable for print | ||
| 300dpi Export No high-res print export | ||
| Security | ||
| SSO/SAML Organization plan and above | ||
| Deployment | ||
| Self-Hosting Cloud-only, no on-premise option | ||
| AI | ||
| AI Features (Make) New feature, still unreliable | ||
Have an app idea? Our small team builds any software: web and mobile apps, games, desktop, AI tools. Price agreed together.
Talk to us