#1★ TOP PICK
Penpot
The one open design tool that genuinely competes — and it self-hosts.
92
OPEN SOURCEMPL-2.0SELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
Penpot is a browser-based design and prototyping tool with real-time collaboration, components, auto-layout and prototyping, built on open web standards rather than a proprietary format. Files are SVG-based, which means what you draw is readable by other software instead of trapped. It self-hosts with Docker, so designs can live on your own infrastructure — the deciding factor for regulated work. MPL-2.0, around 58k GitHub stars. It imports Figma files, though fidelity drops on complex documents, so treat a migration as a project rather than a click.
Strengths
- +Only open tool with real feature parity ambitions against Figma
- +SVG-based files — your work is not locked in a proprietary format
- +Self-hosts with Docker; designs never leave your infrastructure
- +MPL-2.0 with no enterprise directory carve-out
Trade-offs
- −Real-time collaboration is smoother in Figma
- −Plugin ecosystem is a fraction of Figma's
- −Figma import loses fidelity on complex files
- −Performance lags on very large documents
Free and open source, self-hosted or on Penpot's free cloud. Paid plans for hosted teams. #2
Inkscape
Professional vector editing, free for twenty years.
96
OPEN SOURCEGPL-2.0 / GPL-3.0SELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
Inkscape is a mature desktop vector editor — the open answer to Illustrator rather than to Figma. Precise path editing, full SVG support, extensions and a two-decade track record. For icon work, illustration and print-bound vector output it is genuinely professional. It is on this page because a meaningful slice of Figma seats are bought by people who only ever draw vectors, and a desktop tool with no per-seat fee serves them better. GPL, installed rather than browser-based, and single-player by design.
Strengths
- +Deep, precise vector editing — better than Figma at pure illustration
- +Native SVG throughout; files open anywhere
- +Runs entirely offline with no account of any kind
- +Twenty years of development and a large extension library
Trade-offs
- −No collaboration — this is a single-player desktop tool
- −No prototyping, components or developer handoff
- −Interface feels dated next to browser-native tools
- −Wrong tool for designing product screens
Free and open source. Desktop install, no accounts. #3
Excalidraw
Diagrams and whiteboarding, done better than Figma does them.
95
OPEN SOURCEMITSELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
Excalidraw is a hand-drawn-style whiteboard for diagrams, architecture sketches and wireframes. It is not an interface design tool and does not pretend to be — but for the specific job of getting an idea onto a shared canvas fast, it beats Figma comfortably. MIT, roughly 129k stars, and it runs entirely in the browser with optional end-to-end encrypted collaboration. Included because a large share of what teams actually use Figma for is diagramming, and paying editor seats for that is expensive.
Strengths
- +Fastest tool here from blank canvas to a diagram someone understands
- +MIT, self-hostable, works offline in the browser
- +End-to-end encrypted collaboration on the hosted version
- +Enormous adoption — 129k stars and used across the industry
Trade-offs
- −Not an interface design tool — no components or auto-layout
- −No developer handoff surface
- −Deliberately limited: the sketch aesthetic is the product
- −Wrong choice if you are designing screens rather than explaining systems
Free and open source. Excalidraw+ is an optional paid hosted tier. #4
Lunacy
Free desktop UI design that opens Sketch and Figma files.
48
SOURCE-AVAILABLEProprietary (free)LOCAL-FIRST
Lunacy is a free desktop design app from Icons8 that reads and writes Sketch files and imports Figma documents, with built-in icons, illustrations and photos. It runs natively on Windows, macOS and Linux, and works offline — useful where a browser-based tool is not an option. It is proprietary and free rather than open source, which is why it scores where it does: you are not paying, but you are still depending on a company's decision to keep it free.
Strengths
- +Genuinely free with no seat limit
- +Opens Sketch files natively and imports from Figma
- +Runs offline as a native desktop app on all three platforms
- +Built-in asset libraries save real time
Trade-offs
- −Proprietary — free today is a business decision, not a licence
- −No self-hosting and no source access
- −Collaboration is weaker than Figma or Penpot
- −Tied to Icons8's ecosystem and its commercial direction
Free. Paid Icons8 subscription only for premium asset libraries. #5
Sketch
The incumbent Figma displaced — still excellent, still Mac-only.
38
SOURCE-AVAILABLEProprietaryLOCAL-FIRST
Sketch was the tool Figma took the market from, and it is still a first-class native macOS design application with a strong plugin ecosystem and a one-time-purchase option alongside subscriptions. Being native means it is fast in ways a browser tool is not. The constraints are the ones that cost it the market: macOS only, and collaboration that was retrofitted rather than designed in. Listed because for a solo designer on a Mac who resents subscriptions, it remains a rational choice.
Strengths
- +Native macOS performance — noticeably faster than browser tools
- +One-time purchase option, which is rare in this category now
- +Mature plugin ecosystem built over a decade
- +Files are local by default
Trade-offs
- −macOS only — excludes most teams outright
- −Collaboration is bolted on rather than native
- −Proprietary format with the same lock-in as Figma's
- −Losing ecosystem momentum to Figma and Penpot
Around $12 per editor per month, or a one-time licence with a year of updates.