Comparison

Backlight vs Theo

On the evidence we track, Backlight leads this comparison with a composite score of 57/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Backlight full profile →Theo full profile →

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.

★Backlight57

Theo39

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	BacklightLeader	Theo
vioscaleAI score	57 / 100medium · 53%	39 / 100low · 48%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	freemium	open_source
Price levelpricing.price_level	high	free
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	$149	-
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	-
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	3	-
Security
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	-
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	-	3.5
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	https://backlight.dev/legal/privacy-policy	https://github.com/security
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	-	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=theo&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	-	165
Github starsadoption.github_stars	-	1,990
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	-	0
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	20
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	-	BSD-3-Clause
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	-	JavaScript
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · HQ FR	-
Content
Faqcontent.faq	7 items	4 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

Backlight57 / 100medium · 53%

Theo39 / 100low · 48%

Pricing

Free tier

Backlight✓

Theo✓

Model

Backlightfreemium

Theoopen_source

Price level

Backlighthigh

Theofree

Starting price

Backlight$149

Theo–

Transparent

Backlight✓

Theo–

Integrations

Count

Backlight3

Theo–

Security

Gdpr

Backlight✓

Theo–

Scorecard

Backlight–

Theo3.5

Trust center

Backlighthttps://backlight.dev/legal/privacy-policy

Theohttps://github.com/security

Vulnerabilities

Backlight–

TheoCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=theo&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Adoption

Dependent repos

Backlight–

Theo165

Github stars

Backlight–

Theo1,990

Activity

Commits last 30d

Backlight–

Theo0

Release

Cadence days

Backlight–

Theo20

History

Backlight–

Theo20 items

License

Spdx

Backlight–

TheoBSD-3-Clause

Language

Primary

Backlight–

TheoJavaScript

Market

Availability

BacklightAvailable worldwide · HQ FR

Theo–

Content

Faq

Backlight7 items

Theo4 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for design systems. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Design Systems
Capability	Backlight	Theo
Capabilities
Architecture model	Managed cloud saas	Open source framework
Design token variable translation engine figma to code	✓	-
Interactive storybook react component embedding	-	-
Continuous integration ci github gitlab token sync	-	-
Visual regression testing and component history	✓	-
Markdown and mdx custom documentation authoring	✓	-
Brand asset management hub for logos and fonts	-	-
Version control and releaseing for brand guidelines	-	-
W3c design token format specification support	✓	-
Multi tenant theme support for white labeling	-	-
SOC2 type ii	-	-
Mit or apache permissive oss license	-	✓
Pricing model	-	Free open source

Capabilities

Architecture model

BacklightManaged cloud saas

TheoOpen source framework

Design token variable translation engine figma to code

Backlight✓

Theo-

Interactive storybook react component embedding

Backlight-

Theo-

Continuous integration ci github gitlab token sync

Backlight-

Theo-

Visual regression testing and component history

Backlight✓

Theo-

Markdown and mdx custom documentation authoring

Backlight✓

Theo-

Brand asset management hub for logos and fonts

Backlight-

Theo-

Version control and releaseing for brand guidelines

Backlight-

Theo-

W3c design token format specification support

Backlight✓

Theo-

Multi tenant theme support for white labeling

Backlight-

Theo-

SOC2 type ii

Backlight-

Theo-

Mit or apache permissive oss license

Backlight-

Theo✓

Pricing model

Backlight-

TheoFree open source

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Backlight

Leader

A code-centric platform for designing, collaborating on, and publishing design systems with integrated visual review and Figma plugin support.

Independently observed

Theo

Theo is a framework for converting centralized design token files into platform-specific formats, allowing teams to share design information like colors and fonts across web, iOS, Android, and other platforms.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Backlight

Leader

from $149/moHybridFree tier

Free starter plan. Pro from $149/mo (billed annually) or $186/mo (monthly). Enterprise custom pricing.

StarterFree
- Unlimited users
- Up to 2 design systems
- Online IDE and Command-line
- Instant share
- GitHub & GitLab integrations
- +7 more
Pro$149/mo (billed annually) or $186/mo (monthly)
- All Starter features
- Up to 5 design systems
- 1000 Visual regression reports
- Publish to any registry
- Publish to any scope
- +3 more
EnterpriseContact sales
- All Pro features
- Unlimited design systems
- Unlimited Visual regression reports
- Email support with SLA
- story.to.design (automatically generate and maintain Figma UI Kits)

as of 2026-09-01verify ↗

Theo

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-10-12verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Backlight	Theo
WebPlatforms	✓	✗
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✗
Self-hostedDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

Backlight✓

Theo✗

CLI

Backlight✓

Theo✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Backlight✓

Theo✗

Self-hosted

Backlight✗

Theo✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Backlight

Leader

3 total

GitHub
GitLab
Figma

Independently observed

Theo

Not documented yet.

Still deciding?

Backlight or Theo: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.