The Best Penpot Alternatives in 2026
Tolodora Editorial Team
Independent software reviews for founders and small businesses.
Quick answer
The best Penpot alternatives in 2026 are Figma, Lunacy and Sketch. Figma is our top overall pick, best for teams wanting the standard with the biggest ecosystem. See the full ranked comparison below.
Want your product listed here?
Get featured in this comparison — tell us about your tool.
Penpot is a free, open-source design-and-prototyping tool that's web-based and developer-friendly, a genuine open alternative to the big players. But people compare it for a few reasons: a wish for the industry-standard ecosystem, native-Mac polish, free desktop tools, or a simpler all-rounder. Depending on whether you want the standard, polish or free simplicity, there's a Penpot alternative that fits your design work.
Here are six Penpot alternatives worth a look in 2026, ranked on value, features, ecosystem and fit. One's the industry standard, one's a free Figma-like tool, and others are Mac-native or all-round. More in design.
Prices below are each tool's published 2026 pricing where available, but design tools change plans often, so confirm the current figure before you commit. Ratings are our own editorial calls to help you compare.
| Tool | Starts at | Free plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Figma | Free; paid plans available | Yes (generous) | Teams wanting the standard with the biggest ecosystem |
| Lunacy | Free | Yes (free) | Designers wanting a free, offline-capable design tool |
| Sketch | Paid plans; free trial | No (free trial) | Mac-based designers wanting a polished native tool |
| Framer | Free; paid from ~$5/mo | Yes | Designers who want to design and publish sites, not just mockups |
| Pixso | Free; affordable paid plans | Yes (generous) | Teams wanting a cheaper Figma-style collaborative tool |
| Canva | Free; affordable paid plans | Yes (generous) | Non-designers wanting easy design across everything |
| Tool | Value | Support | Ease of use | Features | Overall | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunacy | 10.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.8 | Designers wanting a free, offline-capable design tool |
| Canva | 9.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 8.8 | Non-designers wanting easy design across everything |
| Figma | 7.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 8.5 | Teams wanting the standard with the biggest ecosystem |
| Sketch | 8.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.5 | Mac-based designers wanting a polished native tool |
| Pixso | 9.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.5 | Teams wanting a cheaper Figma-style collaborative tool |
| Framer | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 8.3 | Designers who want to design and publish sites, not just mockups |
Comparing against the original?
See Penpot's profile, rating & reviews on Tolodora →
| # | Tool | Best for | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Figma | Teams wanting the standard with the biggest ecosystem | 4.3/5 |
| 2 | Lunacy | Designers wanting a free, offline-capable design tool | 4.4/5 |
| 3 | Sketch | Mac-based designers wanting a polished native tool | 4.3/5 |
| 4 | Framer | Designers who want to design and publish sites, not just mockups | 4.1/5 |
| 5 | Pixso | Teams wanting a cheaper Figma-style collaborative tool | 4.3/5 |
| 6 | Canva | Non-designers wanting easy design across everything | 4.4/5 |
Figma
- Pricing
- 7.0/10
- Functionality
- 10.0/10
- Ease of use
- 9.0/10
- Support
- 8.0/10
What I like
The industry-standard collaborative design tool with a huge ecosystem.
Best for
Teams wanting the standard with the biggest ecosystem
Figma is the industry-standard Penpot alternative, and what Penpot is most often compared to. It's the leading collaborative, browser-based design and prototyping tool, with real-time multiplayer editing, components, auto-layout, prototyping, dev mode and a vast plugin and community ecosystem. For a team that likes Penpot's web-based, collaborative approach but wants the most capable, widely-adopted tool with the biggest ecosystem and talent pool, Figma is the obvious pick, with a generous free tier. The trade-off versus Penpot is that it's closed-source and priced per editor as you scale. But for the collaborative design standard with unmatched ecosystem, Figma is a benchmark Penpot alternative. See our <a href="/alternatives/figma-alternatives">Figma alternatives</a> too.
Lunacy
- Pricing
- 10.0/10
- Functionality
- 8.0/10
- Ease of use
- 9.0/10
- Support
- 8.0/10
What I like
A free, fast design app with built-in icons, photos and AI assets.
Best for
Designers wanting a free, offline-capable design tool
Lunacy (from Icons8) is the free, resource-rich Penpot alternative. It's a free design app for Windows, Mac and Linux that opens Sketch files, with built-in libraries of icons, illustrations and photos, AI tools (background removal, upscaling) and offline use. For a designer who likes Penpot's free, open ethos but wants a fast desktop app packed with built-in assets (and Sketch-file compatibility), Lunacy is a compelling, genuinely free pick. It's less collaboration-first and open-source than Penpot. But for a free, fast, asset-rich design tool that works offline and opens Sketch files, Lunacy is a strong Penpot alternative, especially for solo designers and tight budgets.
Sketch
- Pricing
- 8.0/10
- Functionality
- 9.0/10
- Ease of use
- 9.0/10
- Support
- 8.0/10
What I like
The Mac-native design classic with a mature plugin ecosystem.
Best for
Mac-based designers wanting a polished native tool
Sketch is the Mac-native Penpot alternative, a long-standing favourite for UI design on macOS. It offers polished vector design, symbols, libraries and prototyping, with a mature plugin ecosystem and (now) web-based collaboration and handoff alongside the native Mac app. For a Mac-based designer or team that likes Penpot's design focus but wants a refined, native macOS experience with a deep plugin library and years of polish, Sketch is a strong choice. It's Mac-only for the editor and closed-source, unlike cross-platform, open Penpot. But for Mac-based designers wanting a polished, mature native design tool, Sketch is a capable Penpot alternative. See our <a href="/alternatives/sketch-alternatives">Sketch alternatives</a> too.
Framer
- Pricing
- 8.0/10
- Functionality
- 9.0/10
- Ease of use
- 8.0/10
- Support
- 8.0/10
What I like
Design-led site building that publishes real, live websites.
Best for
Designers who want to design and publish sites, not just mockups
Framer is the design-to-live-site Penpot alternative, for designers who want to ship, not just mock up. It combines a designer-grade canvas with the ability to publish real, responsive websites, with animations, CMS and AI help, so your design becomes a live site rather than a static prototype. For a designer or founder who likes Penpot's design power but really wants to design and publish a working marketing site or landing page, Framer is a compelling, different take, with a free tier. It's more website-builder than pure UI-design-and-prototyping tool. But for designing and publishing real websites with design-tool polish, Framer is a strong Penpot alternative. See our <a href="/alternatives/framer-alternatives">Framer alternatives</a> too.
Pixso
- Pricing
- 9.0/10
- Functionality
- 8.0/10
- Ease of use
- 9.0/10
- Support
- 8.0/10
What I like
An affordable, Figma-like collaborative design tool with AI.
Best for
Teams wanting a cheaper Figma-style collaborative tool
Pixso is the affordable, Figma-like Penpot alternative, a browser-based collaborative design tool at a friendly price. It offers real-time collaboration, components, prototyping, developer handoff and AI features, and can import Figma and Sketch files, aiming to be a capable, cheaper collaborative design platform. For a team that likes Penpot's web-based collaboration but wants a polished, Figma-style experience (with Figma/Sketch import) at lower cost, Pixso is a compelling pick, with a generous free tier. It's closed-source rather than open like Penpot, and a smaller ecosystem than Figma. But for an affordable, collaborative, Figma-style design tool with AI and file import, Pixso is a solid Penpot alternative worth trying.
Canva
- Pricing
- 9.0/10
- Functionality
- 8.0/10
- Ease of use
- 10.0/10
- Support
- 8.0/10
What I like
The easy all-rounder for graphics, with simple UI and web design too.
Best for
Non-designers wanting easy design across everything
Canva is the easy all-rounder Penpot alternative, for people who want approachable design rather than pro UI tooling. It's famous for making graphics, social posts, presentations, docs and simple websites easy via templates and drag-and-drop, and has added more UI/whiteboard and even basic prototyping features. For a non-designer, marketer or small team that likes the idea of a design tool but finds Penpot (and pro tools) too specialised, Canva's simplicity and template library are a big draw, with a generous free tier. It's not a dedicated UI/UX design-and-prototyping tool like Penpot. But for easy, all-round design across many formats, Canva is a strong Penpot alternative, especially for non-designers. See our <a href="/alternatives/canva-alternatives">Canva alternatives</a> too.
The verdict
For the industry standard, Figma leads; Lunacy is the free, asset-rich desktop pick and Pixso the affordable Figma-style collaborative tool. Sketch is the Mac-native classic, Framer designs and publishes real sites, and Canva is the easy all-rounder. Match it to whether you want the standard, free tools, Mac polish, live sites or easy all-round design.
Whatever you shortlist, run your real work through it for a week before committing — the right tool is the one that quietly disappears and lets you get back to it. And if you build software like this yourself, you can list it on Tolodora free.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best alternative to Penpot for teams?
Figma is the industry standard — collaborative, browser-based, with the biggest ecosystem and talent pool — and Pixso is a cheaper, Figma-style collaborative tool (with Figma/Sketch import). For the standard, Figma; for a lower-cost Figma-like tool, Pixso.
Is there a free Penpot alternative?
Penpot itself is free and open-source; among alternatives, Lunacy is genuinely free (with built-in assets, offline use), and Figma, Pixso and Canva have generous free tiers. For a free desktop tool, Lunacy; for free collaboration, Figma or Pixso.
Which is best for Mac-based designers?
Sketch is the Mac-native classic — polished vector design, symbols and a mature plugin ecosystem, now with web collaboration too. For a refined native macOS design tool, Sketch is the pick.
Which alternative publishes real websites?
Framer goes beyond mockups to design and publish real, responsive websites with animations, CMS and AI. For designers who want to ship a live site rather than just a prototype, Framer is the standout.
Why do people choose a Penpot alternative?
Usually wanting the industry-standard ecosystem (Figma), free desktop tools (Lunacy), Mac-native polish (Sketch), live-site publishing (Framer), a cheap Figma-style tool (Pixso), or easy all-round design (Canva). Penpot is a great open-source option; the best alternative depends on ecosystem, platform and goals.
Sources & further reading
Keep exploring
Building one of these alternatives?
List your tool on Tolodora and get discovered by buyers comparing options.
Launch Your Product
