MantisBT
Penpot
| Feature | MantisBT | Penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $4.95/mo | Free / from $8/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 3.9 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, small-teams, open-source-projects, budget-conscious-teams | open-source-teams, privacy-focused-designers, developers, educational-institutions |
| Founded | 2000 | 2015 |
| Bug Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Custom Fields | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email Notifications | ✓ | ✗ |
| Role Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Plugins | ✓ | ✗ |
| Time Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Vector Editing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Prototyping | ✗ | ✓ |
| Components | ✗ | ✓ |
| Design Tokens | ✗ | ✓ |
| Real Time Collaboration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Css Output | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ MantisBT Pros
- Free and open-source
- Easy to set up
- Lightweight
- Extensible with plugins
✗ MantisBT Cons
- Dated interface
- Limited agile features
- Small community vs alternatives
✓ 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
MantisBT is built for developers and small teams, with a focus on bug-tracking and custom-fields. Penpot targets open source teams and privacy focused designers and leads with vector-editing and prototyping.
Pricing is close: MantisBT starts at $4.95/mo versus $8/mo for Penpot — not a deciding factor on its own.
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 3.9). 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 MantisBT takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for developers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Penpot has a slight overall edge — but if free and open-source matters most to you, MantisBT may still be the right call.