Why Look for Figma Alternatives?
Figma is the industry-standard collaborative design tool, but designers explore alternatives for several reasons:
Top 10 Figma Alternatives
1. Penpot
Best for: Open-source collaborative design with no vendor lock-in
Pricing: Free and open-source; self-hosted option available
Why choose Penpot: The leading open-source design tool that rivals Figma's core features:
Unique features:
2. Framer
Best for: Designing and publishing production websites directly from the canvas
Pricing: Free tier; Mini $5/month; Basic $15/month; Pro $25/month
Why choose Framer: Framer bridges the gap between design and live websites:
Unique features:
3. Sketch
Best for: macOS-native UI design with a mature plugin ecosystem
Pricing: Standard $12/editor/month; Mac-only license $120/year
Why choose Sketch: The original modern UI design tool with deep macOS optimization:
Unique features:
4. Adobe XD / Adobe Express
Best for: Adobe Creative Cloud users needing integrated design workflows
Pricing: Included with Creative Cloud at $55/month; Express free tier available
Why choose Adobe ecosystem: Seamless integration with Photoshop, Illustrator, and the Adobe ecosystem:
Unique features:
5. Lunacy (Icons8)
Best for: Free full-featured design tool with built-in assets
Pricing: Completely free
Why choose Lunacy: A free design tool that includes what others charge extra for:
Unique features:
6. Canva
Best for: Non-designers who need quick, professional-looking designs
Pricing: Free tier; Pro $13/month; Teams $10/user/month
Why choose Canva: The most accessible design tool with AI-powered features:
Unique features:
7. Uizard
Best for: AI-powered wireframing and rapid prototyping from sketches
Pricing: Free tier (3 projects); Pro $19/month; Business $39/month
Why choose Uizard: Turn hand-drawn sketches and screenshots into digital designs with AI:
Unique features:
8. InVision Freehand
Best for: Collaborative whiteboarding and early-stage design ideation
Pricing: Free tier; Pro $4/user/month
Why choose InVision Freehand: Visual collaboration space for design thinking and ideation:
Unique features:
9. Axure RP
Best for: Complex interactive prototypes with conditional logic and data
Pricing: Pro $29/month; Team $49/user/month; Enterprise custom
Why choose Axure: The most powerful prototyping tool for complex interactive experiences:
Unique features:
10. Galileo AI
Best for: AI-first UI design generation from text descriptions
Pricing: Free waitlist; Pro pricing TBD; currently in beta/early access
Why choose Galileo AI: Generate complete, editable UI designs from natural language:
Unique features:
Comparison Table
FAQ
Can any tool fully replace Figma?
Penpot comes closest as a direct open-source replacement with real-time collaboration, components, and design systems. Framer is a strong alternative if your focus is web design. For pure UI design on Mac, Sketch remains excellent. No single tool matches Figma's entire ecosystem yet, but the gap is closing.
Which Figma alternative has the best AI features?
Galileo AI leads in AI-native design generation. Uizard excels at converting sketches and screenshots to editable designs. Framer offers AI website generation. Canva's Magic Design generates layouts from prompts. Lunacy includes AI background removal and upscaling.
Is Penpot really free? What's the catch?
Penpot is genuinely free and open-source under the Mozilla Public License. There's no catch — it's funded by Kaleidos and the community. You can self-host it for complete control, or use their free cloud service. They plan to offer premium enterprise features eventually.
Which alternative is best for design systems?
Figma remains the gold standard for design systems, but Penpot, Sketch, and Framer all support component libraries and design tokens. Sketch's Symbols and Libraries system is particularly mature for design system management.
Can I import my Figma files into alternatives?
Penpot, Lunacy, and Framer support Figma file import. Sketch offers a Figma importer plugin. Most tools support SVG import as a universal fallback. The quality of imported files varies — complex components and auto-layout may need manual adjustment.