Penpot's matured, but Figma's still the UK default

A 2026 head-to-head shows Penpot as a genuinely capable free, open-source, self-hostable alternative to Figma. It's not a drop-in replacement yet — but the gap is closing fast, especially on cost.

Figma is still the industry default here — real-time collab, mature Dev Mode, huge plugin ecosystem. But a detailed 2026 comparison puts a 10-seat Figma team at roughly £5,000+/year before enterprise add-ons, against Penpot's free, no-seat-limit, self-hostable setup built on open web standards (SVG/CSS). For a junior on both tools: Penpot's Dev Mode equivalent and plugin ecosystem are younger, so handoff and automation workflows still feel less polished. But if you're freelancing, job-hunting at smaller studios, or just want to understand *why* teams debate vendor lock-in, knowing Penpot's actual strengths (not just "it's free") is a genuinely useful talking point in interviews.

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