← PenpotAlternatives
Penpot alternatives
Quick answerThe best free Penpot alternative is Excalidraw, for sketch-style whiteboarding. Pick Framer for visual website publishing, or Figma for collaborative UI design.
Penpot is a free alternative to Figma and Adobe Illustrator.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Votes | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Framer | Visual website publishing | Paid | — | vs Penpot → |
| Figma | Collaborative UI design | Paid | 1 | vs Penpot → |
| Excalidraw | Sketch-style whiteboarding | Free, open source | — | vs Penpot → |
| Lunacy | Free design file compatibility | Free | — | vs Penpot → |
How to choose
- For visual website publishing: Framer (paid)
- For collaborative UI design: Figma (paid)
- For sketch-style whiteboarding: Excalidraw (free, open source)
- For free design file compatibility: Lunacy (free)
- For open-source full-stack design platform: Penpot itself
Closest alternatives
Framer is a visual website builder focused on publishing, not an open-source, self-hostable design system. Penpot vs Framer →
Figma is a proprietary SaaS design tool, whereas Penpot is open source and self-hostable. Penpot vs Figma →
Excalidraw offers hand-drawn style diagrams, not full UI design or code export. Penpot vs Excalidraw →
Lunacy is a free design tool that opens Figma/Sketch files but is not open source or self-hosted. Penpot vs Lunacy →
More Design tools
FAQ
What is the best alternative to Penpot?+
The closest Penpot alternatives are Framer (visual website publishing), Figma (collaborative UI design) and Excalidraw (sketch-style whiteboarding). Lunacy is also close. Each one links to a side-by-side comparison with Penpot.
What is the best free alternative to Penpot?+
Excalidraw (sketch-style whiteboarding) is the closest free alternative to Penpot. Lunacy (free design file compatibility) is free too.
Is there an open source alternative to Penpot?+
Yes. Excalidraw (sketch-style whiteboarding) is open source.
What is Penpot used for?+
Penpot is an open-source design and prototyping platform for collaborative UI, design systems, and AI-enhanced workflows. Common uses: design responsive web interfaces with CSS-based layout controls, maintain a shared design system with tokens and component libraries and generate code assets (HTML/CSS/SVG/JSON) that match the visual design.
Is Penpot free?+
Penpot has a free tier and paid plans, with a free trial.








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