Penpot
FreeOpen-source design and prototyping platform using SVG and open web standards — components, auto-layout via flexbox and grid concepts, and self-hosting. Free with no editor limits.
Why we recommend Penpot
Penpot is the serious open-source answer to Figma, and its architectural bet is the interesting part: files are SVG-native and layouts use actual CSS flexbox and grid semantics, so what designers build maps directly to what developers implement. It is free without seat limits, self-hostable for organizations with data-residency requirements, and its ownership model cannot be acquired out from under its community the way proprietary tools can.
Best use cases
Best for: teams that want design tooling on their own infrastructure, open-source projects whose contributors should not need paid licenses to open the design files, designers working closely with CSS-literate developers, and education settings where per-seat pricing is prohibitive.
Honest limitations
The plugin ecosystem and community template library are far smaller than Figma's, and very large files can feel less snappy. Some polish features (advanced prototyping interactions, mature dev-mode tooling) still trail. Migrating existing Figma libraries involves conversion friction.
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