Yes, if you want a real interface and web design tool where your files stay portable and you can host the whole thing yourself. Penpot's free cloud plan covers most solo creators and small teams. Skip it if your workflow depends on a large third-party plugin ecosystem.
We assessed Penpot alongside the rest of our design & visuals reviews, including Adobe Express, Adobe XD and Canva, so the score below is relative to that field.
What it does well
Penpot exists because someone finally asked "why is there no open-source Figma," and the answer is a usable design tool rather than a hobby project. It's released under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, and it's built on open web standards (SVG) rather than a proprietary format, which means your files are portable. That's the strongest ownership story in this category: no vendor can strand your design library the way Adobe XD's maintenance mode stranded XD users.
Brand systems. Penpot's GitHub page describes native design tokens, components and variants. For a creator with a channel, newsletter and course, that means one shared source for colors, type and logo lockups across every template you design.
Site and landing-page mockups. Penpot is a sensible place to design a creator homepage, sales page or link-in-bio layout before you build it elsewhere. It doesn't publish live sites, though.
Self-hosting. For teams with real data-residency or compliance concerns, self-hosting on your own infrastructure (Docker and Kubernetes are both documented options) is a meaningful choice that simply doesn't exist with Figma, Sketch or Adobe XD.
Where it falls short
The tradeoff is maturity. Complex files with lots of nested components and boards can lag in a way Figma has mostly engineered around. Prototyping works for basic click-through flows but lacks the advanced interaction states power users expect from Figma or Framer. The community and plugin library are smaller, and onboarding docs are still catching up.
Penpot isn't built for everyday creator graphics either. There's no template library for thumbnails or social posts, no photo editing, no AI image generation and no scheduler. For those jobs, pair it with Canva, Adobe Express or Photoshop.
Moving from Figma is the open question. Penpot's pricing FAQ mentions migration services from Figma and Adobe XD, but we didn't confirm how well a current Figma file comes across, so test a copy of your design system before you commit.
Pricing in practice
- Professional ($0, cloud): the full feature set for up to 8 team members plus unlimited viewers, up to 10GB of storage and 7 days of autosave versions. Most solo creators never need more.
- Unlimited ($7 per editor/mo, capped at $175/mo): unlimited team size, up to 25GB of storage and 30 days of versions and file recovery.
- Enterprise ($25 per member/mo): unlimited storage, 90 days of versions, SSO, hosting-region choice and centralized admin.
- Private Server ($50,000/yr): dedicated infrastructure and enterprise support.
- Self-hosted: free software; you pay for your own hosting and upkeep.
Penpot's pricing page doesn't say whether the $7 and $25 prices are billed monthly or annually. Unlimited and Enterprise come with 14-day trials.
Example (assumptions: a 30-editor team on Unlimited, prices as listed on Oct 8, 2026): 30 x $7 would be $210, but the cap holds the bill at $175 a month.
Who should pick it (and who shouldn't)
Pick it if open source, self-hosting or file portability matter to you, or if a small team wants a capable free design tool. Skip it if you rely on Figma's plugin ecosystem, need advanced prototyping, or mostly make social graphics.
Alternatives worth comparing
- Figma: the more mature, more connected choice. See Figma alternatives.
- Framer: if you want to design and publish the site in one tool.
- Affinity Designer: free desktop vector and layout work without a subscription.
What changed (Oct 8, 2026)
- Plan names, prices and limits now match Penpot's official pricing page as checked on Oct 8, 2026.
- We corrected statements in the review text that no longer matched the product or its documentation.
- We revised the pros and cons to match current features and pricing.
- We corrected the integrations and platforms listed.
SOURCES (CHECKED OCT 19, 2026)
| Claim | Source URL | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Plans, prices and plan limits in the pricing table | https://penpot.app/pricing | 2026-10-19 |
| Official product site | https://penpot.app/ | 2026-10-19 |
| PLAN | PRICE | WHAT YOU GET |
|---|---|---|
| Professional (cloud) | $0 | Full feature set, up to 8 team members plus unlimited viewers, up to 10GB storage, 7 days of autosave versions |
| Unlimited (cloud) | $7 per editor/mo, capped at $175/mo regardless of team size; 14-day free trial | Unlimited team size, up to 25GB storage, 30 days of versions and file recovery, early access to features |
| Enterprise (cloud) | $25 per member/mo; 14-day free trial | Unlimited storage, 90 days of versions, SSO, choice of hosting region, IP whitelisting, centralized admin |
| Private Server | $50,000/yr | Dedicated infrastructure, custom hosting, enterprise support |
| Self-hosted | Free software (you pay your own hosting) | Open-source Penpot on your own infrastructure |
Teams wanting open-source, self-hostable design tooling.
you rely on a mature third-party plugin ecosystem — if that's a dealbreaker, see every design & visuals tool we've reviewed.
- 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's cloud Professional plan is free, and self-hosting the open-source software is free apart from your own hosting costs. Unlimited is $7 per editor/mo (capped at $175/mo), Enterprise is $25 per member/mo and Private Server is $50,000/yr. 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: An editorial evaluation of verified product information, official documentation, pricing and features, informed by Carlos Gil's professional experience. Available demos and screenshots may inform the review; documented product use is required for a hands-on label. The score is relative to the other tools we cover in this category.
The open-source Figma alternative that finally makes "self-hosted design tool" a realistic option, if you can live without some polish.
Editorially reviewed. An editorial evaluation of verified product information, official documentation, pricing and features, informed by Carlos Gil's professional experience. Available demos and screenshots may inform the review; documented product use is required for a hands-on label. 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 UPDATED OCT 9, 2026
SIGNED BY CARLOS GIL · FOUNDER & EDITOR, THE BEST NETWORK · OUR DISCLOSURE POLICY