Alternatives / Adobe XD
Looking for an open source Adobe XD alternative? We compared 4 open source design and prototyping tools by license, collaboration, AI features, and self-hosting. Adobe XD is no longer being developed, and Penpot is the closest full replacement for design and prototyping.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Penpot | Closest full design and prototyping platform | MPL-2.0 |
| OpenPencil | Figma-compatible editor with AI chat | MIT |
| Grida | Canvas editor with a developer SDK | Apache-2.0 |
| Quant-UX | Prototyping and user testing | GPL-3.0 |
We looked for open-source tools that overlap with Adobe XD's core: designing interfaces, building clickable prototypes, and handing off to developers. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. XD is a proprietary tool Adobe has put in maintenance mode, so we compare how each alternative handles collaboration and handoff. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Penpot is the closest: a browser-based design and prototyping platform covering wireframes, UI design, interactive prototypes, and developer handoff, with exports in CSS, HTML, SVG, and JSON. It can be self-hosted, and multiplayer collaboration needs its server.
OpenPencil is a desktop and web design editor that is Figma-compatible and opens .fig files, with built-in AI chat, a headless CLI, peer-to-peer collaboration, and a Vue SDK. Grida is a canvas editor with Figma import and export, a React component, a modular SDK, and a pixel drawing mode, with enterprise options such as on-premise deployment.
Quant-UX focuses on interactive prototyping, user testing, and UX analytics, with design system support and an AI assistant. It is less of a general visual design tool than Penpot.
Penpot is MPL-2.0, Grida is Apache-2.0, OpenPencil is MIT, and Quant-UX is GPL-3.0.
All four projects had commits within days of this update.
Adobe XD is proprietary software that Adobe stopped actively developing, leaving users without a future roadmap and with files in a format tied to Adobe. Open-source alternatives let you self-host, open files in standard formats, avoid per-seat pricing, and rely on projects that are actively developed, at the cost of a smaller plugin ecosystem than the leading commercial tools.
Penpot is an MPL-2.0 browser-based design platform for collaborative interface design, prototypes, components, design systems, responsive layouts, design tokens, and developer handoff. It can be self-hosted and uses open standards such as SVG, CSS, HTML, and JSON.
Pricing: Open source and self-hostable under MPL-2.0; hosted plans may be available separately.
OpenPencil is an MIT design editor focused on direct .fig file support, copy/paste interoperability with Figma, AI tools, MCP, a headless CLI, SDKs, and peer-to-peer collaboration.
Pricing: Free and open source under MIT; verify current project hosting and builds.
Quant-UX is a GPL-3.0 prototyping platform focused on interactive UI widgets, user testing, behavioral analytics, and data-driven UX research with self-hosting and Docker support.
Pricing: Free and self-hostable under GPL-3.0.
Grida is an Apache-2.0 canvas and application-building platform combining UI/UX design, SVG editing, forms, databases, AI tools, developer SDKs, and design-to-code workflows.
Pricing: Free and open source under Apache-2.0; hosted services may be offered separately.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penpot | Design platform | MPL-2.0 | Yes | Teams and developer handoff |
| OpenPencil | AI-native editor | MIT | Yes | Figma-compatible design |
| Grida | Canvas editor | Apache-2.0 | Yes | Designers and developers |
| Quant-UX | Prototyping tool | GPL-3.0 | Yes | User testing |
Want a full open-source design platform
Penpot offers design, prototyping, collaboration, and developer handoff in the browser, under MPL-2.0 with self-hosting.
Want to open Figma files with AI help
OpenPencil is MIT-licensed, opens .fig files, and adds AI chat, a headless CLI, and peer-to-peer collaboration.
Want to prototype and test with users
Quant-UX provides interactive prototyping, user testing, and UX analytics under GPL-3.0.