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Penpot

An open-source design and prototyping tool for interfaces, built on web standards.

Instead of Figma and Adobe XD

M · SystemOpen sourceFreeSelf-hostableOpen formats
penpot.app
Screenshot of the Penpot website

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Penpot is made for the moment a designer hands a screen to a developer, with both of them looking at the same file in a browser. It comes from Kaleidos, calls itself the open-source design platform for teams, and works with CSS, HTML, SVG and JSON. It has its own open file format, so designs are not trapped in a private one, and you can sign up for free or host it yourself.

Penpot scores a 5 on lock-in and longevity, a 4 on self-direction, power and delivery and a 3 on footprint.

It suits interface and product design, with real-time collaboration, and it is easy to try because it runs in the browser. That also means it needs a server, either Penpot's or yours, so it asks more of you than a desktop app does.

We could not confirm the paid plans from its home page.

    What stands out

  • Open-source interface design and prototyping in the browser
  • Works with CSS, HTML, SVG and JSON, with its own open file format
  • Sign up for free or host it yourself
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For comparison, we also reviewed Adobe Creative Cloud (12/30) as a benchmark.

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