Penpot Review

Penpot describes itself as the open-source design platform for teams that build digital products at scale. Its stated strength is full ownership of design infrastructure: it can be used in the browser or deployed on your own servers. The README highlights real-time collaboration, design that is expressed as code so developers can translate it directly, native Design Tokens as a single source of truth between design and development, and an MCP server for multi-directional design and code workflows with AI. A plugin system (with a plugin hub) and an open API make the workspace programmable, while webhooks and access-token APIs integrate with the toolchain. Layout uses CSS Grid and Flex so interfaces behave like real code from the start, and Components and Variants support design systems. Penpot Enterprise adds an Admin Console, advanced permissions, and SSO for cloud or self-hosted use. The license is MPL-2.0.

You can use Penpot in the SaaS at design.penpot.app, or deploy it with Docker, Kubernetes, Elestio, or other options described on the self-hosting page. The README calls Penpot the only design and prototype platform that is deployment agnostic. Self-hosting Penpot means running a multi-service application with its own database and storage, so expect normal operations work. We did not deploy it.

The interface is a web-based design canvas comparable in layout to other vector design tools, with a left layer panel, a canvas, and a right-hand properties and inspect area, plus real-time multiplayer editing. Developers can open an inspect mode to copy SVG, CSS, and HTML. We did not test the design experience hands-on, and designers who live in Figma should expect some differences in features and community assets.

• Browser-based real-time collaborative design
• Native Design Tokens, components, and variants
• CSS Grid and Flex layout in the design tool
• Inspect mode with SVG, CSS, and HTML output
• Plugin system, open API, and webhooks
• MCP server for AI and design-to-code workflows
• Self-hosting and an Enterprise Admin Console with SSO

• Developer-friendly handoff because layouts map to CSS Grid and Flex
• Self-hosting with a real commercial backer and an Enterprise tier for governance
• Free hosted plan with no feature limits according to the pricing page
• Large community: about 61,200 stars and daily commits

• The plan table on the pricing page was flattened when we read it, so storage, version history, and team size limits per plan are unclear
• Smaller ecosystem of plugins, templates, and community files than Figma
• Self-hosting requires managing several services
• Advanced governance (Admin Console, SSO) is paid

Professional is free per user per month, described as fully featured. Unlimited is $7 per editor per month capped at $175 per month regardless of team size, with a 14-day trial. Enterprise is $25 per member per month with a 14-day trial and adds centralized administration and permissions. Private Server is $50k per year. All paid tiers mention a 50% discount on Penpot events, and non-profit, education, and open-source discounts are available by application.

Figma is the dominant collaborative design tool with a vast plugin and template ecosystem and deep integrations, and it is only available as a hosted service. Penpot offers a comparable core design workflow you can self-host, with design tokens and code-oriented layout as selling points, but you will find fewer third-party assets and less polish in advanced prototyping.

• Product teams that want an open-source design tool they can host
• Designers and developers who work closely on design systems
• Organizations with data sovereignty requirements

• Designers who rely on Figma's plugin and community-file ecosystem
• Teams that do not want to maintain infrastructure and do not need self-hosting
• Workflows centered on advanced motion prototyping