Penpot
Webflow
| Feature | Penpot | Webflow |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $8/mo | Free / from $14/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | open-source-teams, privacy-focused-designers, developers, educational-institutions | web-designers, agencies, freelancers, marketing-teams |
| Founded | 2015 | 2013 |
| Vector Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Prototyping | ✓ | ✗ |
| Components | ✓ | ✗ |
| Design Tokens | ✓ | ✗ |
| Real Time Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Css Output | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Visual Editor | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cms | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ecommerce | ✗ | ✓ |
| Interactions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Seo | ✗ | ✓ |
| Hosting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Responsive Design | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Webflow Pros
- Full design control like writing CSS
- Clean semantic code output
- Powerful CMS for dynamic content
- Excellent interactions and animations
✗ Webflow Cons
- Steep learning curve — need CSS knowledge
- Expensive for multiple sites
- E-commerce limited compared to Shopify
The Verdict
Penpot is built for open source teams and privacy focused designers, with a focus on vector-editing and prototyping. Webflow targets web designers and agencies and leads with visual-editor and cms.
On pricing, Penpot is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $8/mo compared to $14/mo for Webflow. That $6/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.
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.
