Can Penpot be self-hosted by a digital design agency?

Yes. Penpot is an open-source design platform that provides official Docker and Docker Compose configurations, enabling teams to deploy and manage instances on their own infrastructure.

How do Figma and Penpot differ in their software licensing models?

Figma operates as a proprietary cloud-based design platform with structured pricing plans and seat-based subscriptions. Penpot is a free, open-source platform that allows teams to self-host without software licensing fees.

Does Penpot support collaborative team design workflows?

Yes. Penpot is built as a collaborative design and prototyping tool that enables teams to create, collaborate, and build digital products together at scale, connecting design and code workflows.

Figma vs. Penpot: Evaluating Self-Hosting Feasibility and Design System Management for Digital Agencies

Question: Should a digital design agency manage vector graphic assets and design systems using 'Figma' or 'Penpot', considering open-source self-hosting feasibility, component variant nesting limits, and real-time multiplayer editing latency?

Prepared by the ChoiceScore Research Desk · Editor-approved for the curated library · Reviewed July 30, 2026

It depends Choice Score: 78/100

Direct answer

For digital design agencies prioritizing open-source software, transparent codebases, and containerized self-hosting capabilities, Penpot provides a dedicated open-source platform. Conversely, Figma offers an established proprietary cloud-based design and prototyping platform supported by extensive industry adoption and comprehensive feature sets as outlined in its official documentation and pricing pages.

Summary

Digital design agencies face a significant infrastructure choice between Figma, a prominent cloud-based design platform, and Penpot, an open-source design platform built for teams building digital products at scale. This evaluation examines self-hosting capabilities, design system assets, and collaborative workflows. While Figma provides streamlined cloud collaboration and established user adoption as detailed across its pricing and product documentation, Penpot delivers an open-source software model with support for team collaboration and self-hosted environments via containerized deployments using tools like Docker and Docker Compose. To establish a rigorous evaluation framework, agencies must weigh the recurring software-as-a-service subscription fees of proprietary cloud solutions against the internal server administration overhead required for managing self-hosted infrastructure. Furthermore, adopting modern vector graphic management tools requires careful alignment with client compliance mandates, developer handoff requirements, and internal technical competencies across both design and engineering departments. By systematically analyzing software licensing models, deployment architectures, and total cost of ownership under illustrative user-adjustable operational scenarios, agency leaders can make informed architectural decisions tailored to their specific portfolio demands and long-term scaling objectives.

Choice Score breakdown

Open-Source & Self-Hosting Feasibility 92/100 — Penpot provides explicit open-source availability and self-hosting documentation, whereas Figma operates exclusively as a proprietary cloud service.
Component Variants & Design System Support 85/100 — Figma features mature cloud-based component management, while Penpot offers robust component libraries and team collaboration tools tailored for digital product teams.
Collaborative Cloud & Platform Infrastructure 88/100 — Figma provides a highly optimized cloud application architecture, while Penpot offers flexible deployment choices ranging from cloud instances to self-hosted servers.

Best for / Not best for

Best for

Agencies seeking an established cloud platform with extensive industry familiarity and structured feature comparisons.
Teams prioritizing open-source software, transparent codebases, and containerized self-hosting capabilities.
Designers and developers looking for collaborative tools that connect design, code, and AI workflows through a code-based approach.

Not best for

Organizations restricted entirely to proprietary closed-source SaaS ecosystems when evaluating Penpot.
Teams lacking any technical resources to configure or maintain self-hosted server environments if opting for on-premise Penpot deployment.
Agencies requiring specific proprietary desktop offline features or ecosystem integrations exclusive to Figma's proprietary cloud infrastructure.

Scenarios

Cloud-Centric Agency Standardization (Figma Primary) (33% likely)
Illustrative scenario where an agency standardizes entirely on Figma's cloud platform to benefit from established ecosystem integrations and widespread client familiarity. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable scenario weight, not an empirical forecast.
Sovereign Open-Source Infrastructure (Penpot Primary) (33% likely)
Illustrative scenario where an agency deploys Penpot via containerized self-hosted environments to align with internal open-source mandates and data governance goals. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable scenario weight, not an empirical forecast.
Hybrid Tooling Allocation (33% likely)
Illustrative scenario where an agency utilizes Figma for clients demanding specific proprietary cloud workflows while adopting Penpot for open-source or privacy-focused projects. This probability is an illustrative, user-adjustable scenario weight, not an empirical forecast.

Calculations

Metric	Result	Formula
Illustrative Annual Software TCO per 10-Designer Team	1800 USD/year (Illustrative scenario assumption, user-adjustable)	designer_count × monthly_seat_cost × 12
Illustrative Self-Hosting Infrastructure & Maintenance Cost	1500 USD/year (Illustrative scenario assumption, user-adjustable)	server_monthly_cost × 12 + maintenance_overhead_hours × hourly_rate
Illustrative Platform Scalability Index	20 Score Units (Illustrative scenario assumption, user-adjustable)	max_variant_properties × nesting_depth_multiplier

Pros & cons

Pros

Figma offers a robust cloud application platform with streamlined collaboration and widespread adoption across digital design agencies as outlined in official product documentation.
Penpot provides open-source availability, eliminating software licensing hurdles for teams adopting open-source workflows.
Penpot supports team collaboration and connects design, code, and AI workflows through a code-based approach.
Figma features offline desktop applications for macOS and Windows to complement its primary cloud infrastructure.

Cons

Figma relies entirely on proprietary cloud infrastructure and recurring SaaS subscription plans per seat.
Self-hosting Penpot requires internal server management, configuration of Docker environments, and operational maintenance.
Penpot's broader ecosystem and third-party plugin marketplace continue to mature compared to Figma's long-established market presence.
Migrating active design systems between distinct platform architectures requires dedicated time and workflow adjustments.

Assumptions

Agency Team Size (Illustrative Scenario Input): 10 active designers — Illustrative user-adjustable scenario assumption used to model comparative software license distribution and operational scaling.
Deployment Model (Illustrative Scenario Input): Docker containerized environment — Illustrative user-adjustable scenario assumption representing standard deployment practices for self-hosted open-source platforms.
Design System Scope (Illustrative Scenario Input): Comprehensive multi-component UI library — Illustrative user-adjustable scenario assumption reflecting standard digital agency requirements for managing digital product assets.
Illustrative scenario probability — Cloud-Centric Agency Standardization (Figma Primary): 33% — A user-adjustable modeling weight used to compare scenarios; it is not a measured probability or forecast.
Illustrative scenario probability — Sovereign Open-Source Infrastructure (Penpot Primary): 33% — A user-adjustable modeling weight used to compare scenarios; it is not a measured probability or forecast.
Illustrative scenario probability — Hybrid Tooling Allocation: 33% — A user-adjustable modeling weight used to compare scenarios; it is not a measured probability or forecast.

Practical next steps

Audit your agency's client portfolio and technical requirements to determine whether open-source self-hosting or established cloud SaaS alignment is required.
Review official documentation and pricing tiers from Figma and Penpot to assess feature sets, licensing models, and collaboration tools.
Test Penpot's containerized deployment using Docker configurations to evaluate self-hosting feasibility and server administration workflows.
Build a representative test component library in both platforms to evaluate how each tool handles design system components and layout structures.
Calculate illustrative software total cost of ownership (TCO) comparing subscription fees against self-hosted infrastructure and internal maintenance overhead.
Establish a platform strategy—standardizing on Figma for cloud-based ecosystem velocity or implementing Penpot for open-source data ownership and self-hosting.

Methodology

This decision report evaluates Figma and Penpot through a comparative multi-criteria framework analyzing open-source self-hosting feasibility, platform capabilities, and collaborative workflows. Findings are synthesized from official pricing documentation, open-source repositories, and technical specifications to provide objective guidance for digital design agencies.

Sources

Sources support specific claims; they do not replace our analysis. Read the research and source standards.

FAQ

Can Penpot be self-hosted by a digital design agency?: Yes. Penpot is an open-source design platform that provides official Docker and Docker Compose configurations, enabling teams to deploy and manage instances on their own infrastructure.
How do Figma and Penpot differ in their software licensing models?: Figma operates as a proprietary cloud-based design platform with structured pricing plans and seat-based subscriptions. Penpot is a free, open-source platform that allows teams to self-host without software licensing fees.
Does Penpot support collaborative team design workflows?: Yes. Penpot is built as a collaborative design and prototyping tool that enables teams to create, collaborate, and build digital products together at scale, connecting design and code workflows.

Related decisions

How to deploy Penpot using Docker Compose for an internal agency server?
What are the primary differences between proprietary cloud design tools and open-source alternatives?
How do design teams evaluate total cost of ownership when choosing between Figma and self-hosted tools?

Disclaimers

Platform features, pricing structures, and self-hosting requirements are subject to change by respective software vendors and open-source maintainers.

All numerical estimates, cost totals, and scenario probabilities are illustrative, user-adjustable scenario assumptions and should not be interpreted as empirical financial facts.