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Caret vs Penpot
Penpot is an open-source design and prototyping platform that stores designs as files, not as live React code in the repo.
CaretOpen-source AI design tool that lives in your repo
PenpotOpen source design and prototyping platformWhich to pick
Pick Caret if you want…
- Design-as-code in Git
- A free, open-source tool
- Integrations with React, Remix or Vue (on Caret's list, not Penpot's)
Pick Penpot if you want…
- Open-source full-stack design platform
- Open-source UI prototyping
- Integrations with CSS, HTML or SVG (on Penpot's list, not Caret's)
Side by side
- What it is
- Caret:Caret is an open-source AI-powered design tool that stores React designs as code inside a .caret folder in your repo.
- Penpot:Penpot is an open-source design and prototyping platform for collaborative UI, design systems, and AI-enhanced workflows.
- Best for
- Caret:Design-as-code in Git
- Penpot:Open-source full-stack design platform
- Who it’s for
- Caret:Frontend developers who want design and code in the same repository.
- Penpot:Designers, developers, and AI agents needing scalable, code-friendly design collaboration.
- Pricing
- Caret:Free
- Penpot:Freemium
- Plans
- Caret:—
- Penpot:Professional $0 per user per month · Unlimited $7 per editor per month · Enterprise $25 per member per month · Private Server $50k per year
- Open source
- Caret:Yes, 36 GitHub stars
- Penpot:Yes, 60,699 GitHub stars
- Works with
- Caret:React, Remix, Vue, Svelte, Rails, Node.js
- Penpot:CSS, HTML, SVG, JSON, design tokens, AI agents
Caret features
- Live editable React canvas. Edit UI directly on a live canvas; changes are written as .tsx files in .caret/.
- AI-assisted edits. Paint over elements and describe changes; the AI agent updates the exact code.
- Versioned design files. Design files live in git, are reviewable via pull requests and never drift.
- Sync control. Choose when to sync design changes into your app, with automatic diff detection.
- Asset generation. Generate logos, images, textures as code-based assets that respect your design tokens.
- Multi-variant playground. Create and compare multiple design variations side-by-side live.
Penpot features
- Responsive UI Design. Create wireframes, interactive prototypes, and CSS Grid/Flex layouts.
- Design Systems. Manage components, design tokens, and shared libraries at scale.
- Code Inspection. Export and inspect CSS, HTML, SVG, JSON and Penpot’s open file format.
- AI Workflows. Integrate any LLM or AI tool directly into design-to-code and code-to-design pipelines.
- Self-host & Cloud. Choose between Penpot’s hosted cloud or self-hosted deployment.
- Unlimited Collaboration. Unlimited teams, projects and file creation across plans.
Caret vs Penpot FAQ
Is Caret or Penpot free?+
Caret is free. Penpot has a free plan (Professional); paid plans start at $25/month per user (Enterprise).
Which is cheaper, Caret or Penpot?+
Caret is free, so it costs less. Penpot starts at $25/month per user (Enterprise).
Is Caret or Penpot open source?+
Yes, both are open source: Caret (precious112/caret-desktop on GitHub, Apache-2.0 license) and Penpot (penpot/penpot on GitHub, MPL-2.0 license).
Do Caret and Penpot integrate with the same tools?+
Their integration lists don't overlap: Caret lists React, Remix, Vue, Svelte and 2 more; Penpot lists CSS, HTML, SVG, JSON and 2 more.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.