Penpot
tldraw
| Feature | Penpot | tldraw |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $8/mo | Free / from $0/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | open-source-teams, privacy-focused-designers, developers, educational-institutions | developers, quick-sketches, embedded-canvas-apps, open-source-projects |
| Founded | 2015 | 2021 |
| Vector Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Prototyping | ✓ | ✗ |
| Components | ✓ | ✗ |
| Design Tokens | ✓ | ✗ |
| Real Time Collaboration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Css Output | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Infinite Canvas | ✗ | ✓ |
| Drawing Tools | ✗ | ✓ |
| Embeddable Sdk | ✗ | ✓ |
| Export | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Features | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multiplayer | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ tldraw Pros
- Completely free and open-source
- Incredibly fast and responsive canvas
- Embeddable SDK for building custom apps
- AI-powered features (make real, draw-to-code)
✗ tldraw Cons
- Fewer built-in shapes than enterprise whiteboards
- No built-in templates or frameworks
- Collaboration requires self-hosting or tldraw.com
The Verdict
Penpot is built for open source teams and privacy focused designers, with a focus on vector-editing and prototyping. tldraw targets developers and quick sketches and leads with infinite-canvas and drawing-tools.
On pricing, tldraw is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $0/mo compared to $8/mo for Penpot. That $8/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
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.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.