Penpot
Top pickThe one open design tool that genuinely competes — and it self-hosts.
92
sovereigntyPenpot 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.
OPEN SOURCEMPL-2.0SELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
LicenseMPL-2.0
PricingFree and open source, self-hosted or on Penpot's free cloud. Paid plans for hosted teams.
Open sourceYes
Self-hostableYes
Local-first dataYes
What it does well
- +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
Where it falls short
- −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
Penpot as an alternative to
Where Penpot shows up in our comparisons, and how it ranked.
Penpot head-to-head
Straight comparisons against the tools people weigh it against.