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.
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.
We tested it by rebuilding a mid-size design system file from Figma, and about 85% ported over cleanly; some component variant structures needed 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, look at the alternatives in the sidebar.
- Is Penpot worth it?
- 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
Rebuilt an existing mid-size design system originally created in Figma inside Penpot to test file portability and component fidelity.
We buy the tools, use them on real client and creator work, then write what we found.
LAST TESTED APR 18, 2026
REVIEWED BY THE BESTCREATES DESK · REVIEWS TEAM · OUR DISCLOSURE POLICY