InVision
Penpot
| Feature | InVision | Penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $7.95/mo | Free / from $8/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 3.8 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | design-teams, product-managers, stakeholder-reviews, legacy-users | open-source-teams, privacy-focused-designers, developers, educational-institutions |
| Founded | 2011 | 2015 |
| Prototyping | ✓ | ✓ |
| Freehand Whiteboard | ✓ | ✗ |
| Design Systems | ✓ | ✗ |
| Inspect Mode | ✓ | ✗ |
| Commenting | ✓ | ✗ |
| User Testing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Vector Editing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Components | ✗ | ✓ |
| Design Tokens | ✗ | ✓ |
| Real Time Collaboration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Css Output | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ InVision Pros
- Excellent prototyping with hotspots and transitions
- Freehand whiteboarding for brainstorming
- Design system manager (DSM) for consistency
- Good stakeholder review and commenting workflow
✗ InVision Cons
- Company has pivoted and scaled down significantly
- Studio product was discontinued
- Most teams have migrated to Figma
✓ Penpot Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable for free
- CSS-based design outputs production-ready code
- Real-time collaboration (Figma-like experience)
- SVG-native (no proprietary formats)
✗ Penpot Cons
- Performance slower than Figma on complex files
- Smaller plugin and community ecosystem
- Missing some advanced design features
The Verdict
InVision is built for design teams and product managers, with a focus on prototyping and freehand-whiteboard. Penpot targets open source teams and privacy focused designers and leads with vector-editing and prototyping.
Both tools come in at similar price points ($7.95/mo for InVision, $8/mo for Penpot), so pricing won't make the decision for you.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Penpot edges out on user ratings (4.3 vs 3.8). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Penpot offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while InVision takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Penpot has a slight overall edge — but if excellent prototyping with hotspots and transitions matters most to you, InVision may still be the right call.