Penpot
Zeplin
| Feature | Penpot | Zeplin |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $8/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | open-source-teams, privacy-focused-designers, developers, educational-institutions | design-teams, developers, agencies, product-teams |
| Founded | 2015 | 2014 |
| Vector Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Prototyping | ✓ | ✗ |
| Components | ✓ | ✓ |
| Design Tokens | ✓ | ✗ |
| Real Time Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Css Output | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Design Handoff | ✗ | ✓ |
| Style Guide | ✗ | ✓ |
| Code Snippets | ✗ | ✓ |
| Measurements | ✗ | ✓ |
| Version History | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Zeplin Pros
- Great handoff tool
- Developer-friendly
- Design system support
- Multi-platform
✗ Zeplin Cons
- Figma reducing need
- Limited design editing
- Fewer updates
The Verdict
Penpot is built for open source teams and privacy focused designers, with a focus on vector-editing and prototyping. Zeplin targets design teams and developers and leads with design-handoff and style-guide.
Pricing is close: Penpot starts at $8/mo versus $12/mo for Zeplin — 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.
Feature-wise, Penpot offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Zeplin 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.
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.