Excalidraw
🖌️ Design & CreativeOpen-source, hand-drawn-style collaborative whiteboard.
Beloved, distinctive hand-drawn …Free and open source
AI features are lighter than ded…Less polished for formal busines…
🖌️ Design & Creative
Penpot
Open-source design and prototyping tool.
·Free / open source
·Free
🎯 The Honest Verdict — Should You Use This?
🟢
Use it ifyou want a free, open-source alternative to Figma.
🟡
Maybe ifyou are exploring open-source design tools.
🔴
Skip it ifyou need mature AI features or Figma's plugin ecosystem.
Pros
- Completely free and open source
- Self-hostable for full control
- Growing feature parity with commercial tools
Cons
- Smaller plugin ecosystem than Figma
- AI features are less mature than commercial rivals
- Smaller community and template library
✅ Best for
- ✓Open-source-first design teams
- ✓Budget-conscious designers
- ✓Self-hosting-focused organizations
⛔ Avoid if
- ✕You want the most mature AI design features
- ✕You need Figma's full plugin ecosystem
What is Penpot?
Penpot is a free, open-source design and prototyping tool positioned as an alternative to Figma, with a growing set of AI-assisted features.
Penpot sits in the Design & Creative category and earns an overall AIProsNCons Trust Score of 8.3/10, making it a solid, dependable choice for most people.
Penpot strengths
Where Penpot shines: completely free and open source, self-hostable for full control, and growing feature parity with commercial tools.
Where Penpot falls short
No tool is perfect. The main limitations to weigh up are that smaller plugin ecosystem than Figma, aI features are less mature than commercial rivals, and smaller community and template library.
How much does Penpot cost?
Penpot is free to use (Free / open source), so you can get started without a credit card.
Is Penpot worth it?
Penpot is worth it if you want a free, open-source alternative to Figma. You should skip it if you need mature AI features or Figma's plugin ecosystem.
Penpot — FAQ
Is Penpot free?
Yes — Penpot is free to use (Free / open source).
What is Penpot best for?
Penpot is best for open-source-first design teams, budget-conscious designers, self-hosting-focused organizations.
What are the main downsides of Penpot?
The main drawbacks: Smaller plugin ecosystem than Figma; AI features are less mature than commercial rivals; Smaller community and template library.
Is Penpot worth it?
With an overall Trust Score of 8.3/10, Penpot is a solid, dependable choice for most people. It is worth it if you want a free, open-source alternative to Figma.
What are the best alternatives to Penpot?
The closest design & creative alternatives to Penpot are Excalidraw, Canva Magic Studio, and Typeform.
Affiliate disclosure: the "Try Free" button may be an affiliate link. If you sign up through it we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects our pros & cons.
