Penpot exists because someone finally asked "why is there no open-source Figma," and the answer, three years in, is a legitimately usable design tool rather than a hobby project. Being built on open web standards (SVG) rather than a proprietary format is not just an ideological point — it means your files are genuinely portable.
We assessed Penpot alongside the rest of our design & visuals reviews, including Figma, Canva and Photoshop, so the score below is relative to that field.
For teams with real data-residency or compliance concerns, self-hosting Penpot on your own infrastructure is a meaningful option that simply doesn't exist with Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD.
The honest tradeoff is maturity. Complex files with lots of nested components and boards start to lag in a way Figma has mostly engineered around, and prototyping — while functional for basic click-through flows — lacks the advanced interaction states power users expect from Figma or Framer.
Importing a mid-size design system file from Figma generally carries most of the work across, but component variant structures are the common casualty and need manual rework. For a team prioritizing open source and self-hosting over bleeding-edge features, that's a reasonable trade.
| PLAN | PRICE | WHAT YOU GET |
|---|---|---|
| Penpot Cloud Free | $0 /mo | generous free tier for small teams |
| Self-hosted | $0 /one-time | host on your own infrastructure |
| Penpot Cloud Pro | see vendor /mo | team plans for larger orgs |
Teams wanting open-source, self-hostable design tooling — and anyone who wants Penpot to do the heavy lifting in this category.
you rely on a mature third-party plugin ecosystem — if that's a dealbreaker, see every design & visuals tool we've tested.
- Is Penpot worth it in 2026?
- The open-source Figma alternative that finally makes "self-hosted design tool" a realistic option, if you can live without some polish. We rate it 7.2/10, and it's the strongest pick for teams wanting open-source, self-hostable design tooling.
- How much does Penpot cost?
- Penpot lists Penpot Cloud Free at $0/mo, Self-hosted at $0/one-time, Penpot Cloud Pro at see vendor/mo. List prices change often, so confirm with the vendor before you buy.
- What are the downsides of Penpot?
- Smaller community and plugin library than Figma Performance lags on very large, complex files Fewer built-in prototyping features Onboarding docs still catching up to feature set
- How did BestCreates review Penpot?
- Editorially reviewed: Evaluated against our documented editorial framework — features, ease of use, pricing accuracy, support and integrations — using vendor documentation, pricing pages and published user evidence rather than hands-on testing. The score is relative to the other tools we cover in this category.
Editorially reviewed. Evaluated against our documented editorial framework — features, ease of use, pricing accuracy, support and integrations — using vendor documentation, pricing pages and published user evidence rather than hands-on testing. Read our review standards.
BestCreates is written and edited by Carlos Gil. Every tool is assessed against the same documented framework — the jobs creators hire it for, ease of use, pricing accuracy, support and integrations — and each review states in the open how it was assessed.
LAST CHECKED SEP 16, 2026
SIGNED BY CARLOS GIL · FOUNDER & EDITOR, THE BEST NETWORK · OUR DISCLOSURE POLICY