Penpot vs Figma: is it time to try the open-source route?

Penpot keeps closing the feature gap with Figma, especially on dev handoff and self-hosting. It's still niche, but worth knowing if you're building your toolkit.

Penpot's pitch — free, open-source, built on SVG/CSS, no seat-limit pricing — keeps getting sharper comparisons against Figma, especially since the Adobe-Figma acquisition talks collapsed and put 'vendor lock-in' back on everyone's radar. Recent write-ups highlight matching layout tools (CSS Grid/Flex), an Inspect tab for dev handoff, and self-hosting for teams that care about data control. It's not replacing Figma for most studios yet — plugin ecosystem and market share still favour Figma hugely — but as a junior, knowing both tools signals adaptability, especially for agencies or public-sector clients who lean open-source. This is adoption-in-progress, not a takeover.

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