Penpot vs Excalidraw
Both are alternatives to Figma. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Excalidraw vs Penpot — same comparison, one verdict.
Penpot
TOP PICKThe one open design tool that genuinely competes — and it self-hosts.
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.
Excalidraw
Diagrams and whiteboarding, done better than Figma does them.
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.
Side by side
| Penpot | Excalidraw | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 92 | 95 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Pricing | Free and open source, self-hosted or on Penpot's free cloud. Paid plans for hosted teams. | Free and open source. Excalidraw+ is an optional paid hosted tier. |
Penpot is Macrostack's recommended Figma alternative, so it's our pick here.
Penpot
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
Excalidraw
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
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-08-07. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.