Figma
The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying.
A collaborative design tool in the browser: vector editing on a shared canvas with components, variables and prototyping, where several people can work in the same file at once.
Do not rebuild Figma. Build the one thing you keep going back to it for: a design token pipeline. WHAT TO BUILD - Node, no browser canvas anywhere in this - Tokens as the source of truth in a single JSON file, checked into the repository THE TOKEN FILE - Colours, spacing, radii, type scale and shadows, with references between them - Semantic layer on top: text.primary points at grey.900, never at a hex code - Themes as overrides of the semantic layer only; the primitives never change OUTPUTS, GENERATED NOT WRITTEN - CSS custom properties for the web, one file per theme - A TypeScript module with typed names, so a wrong token fails at build time - A JSON file in the shape the design tool imports, so the canvas follows the code CHECKS THAT RUN IN CI - Every semantic colour pair checked for WCAG contrast, with the ratio printed and the build failed under 4.5 - No hex code allowed anywhere outside the primitives file - A diff report showing which tokens changed between two commits WHAT THIS DELIBERATELY IS NOT - A canvas, an editor, or a way to draw anything Include a README explaining that the tokens lead and the design file follows, and the contrast rule that cannot be waived.
What you lose
- Multiplayer editing on a canvas, which is a hard distributed-systems problem, not a feature
- A rendering engine fast enough for thousands of vector nodes in a browser
- Components, variants and variables — a design system that actually propagates
- The plugin ecosystem and the fact that every handoff tool already speaks Figma
- Everyone you work with already having a file open in it
If you would rather not build
- Sketch — paid, macOS, single-player heritage
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
Penpot
$0Design and prototyping in the browser, open source and self-hostable.
penpot/penpotfree · open source
Excalidraw
$0Hand-drawn style whiteboard and diagrams, embeddable in your own app.
excalidraw/excalidrawfree · open source
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
11/100
Verdict no at 11: a multiplayer vector editor is one of the hardest things on this entire list, and nobody should attempt it as a replacement. The prompt takes the part that genuinely belongs in code — tokens and contrast checks — and leaves the canvas alone.
History
tracked since 9 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.
Questions about Figma
answered from the record above
Is Figma free?
No — the plan we track is $16 a month. Professional at $16 per full seat per month billed monthly, $12 annually; view-only collaborators are free, dev seats are priced separately.
Can you replace Figma by building your own?
KEEP IT. The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying. Replacement score 11 out of 100, build time longer than it saves. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does Figma cost?
$16 a month on Professional — $192 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing Figma?
Multiplayer editing on a canvas, which is a hard distributed-systems problem, not a feature; A rendering engine fast enough for thousands of vector nodes in a browser; Components, variants and variables — a design system that actually propagates; The plugin ecosystem and the fact that every handoff tool already speaks Figma; Everyone you work with already having a file open in it. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Figma?
Yes: Penpot, Excalidraw. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
Related entries
same category first, most replaced first
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