Comparison

Penpot vs Zeplin

On the evidence we track, Zeplin leads this comparison with a composite score of 69/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Penpot63
★Zeplin69
Score
vioscaleAI score
Penpot63 / 100medium · 68%
Zeplin69 / 100low · 40%
Pricing
Free tier
Penpot✓
Zeplin✓
Model
Penpotfreemium
Zeplinfreemium
Price level
Penpotlow
Zeplinlow
Starting price
Penpot$7
Zeplin$12
Transparent
Penpot✓
Zeplin✓
Integrations
Count
Penpot5
Zeplin8
Reliability
Status page
Penpot✓
Zeplin–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Penpot0
Zeplin–
Github stars
Penpot60,714
Zeplin–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Penpot100
Zeplin–
Release
Cadence days
Penpot9
Zeplin–
History
Penpot20 items
Zeplin–
License
Spdx
PenpotMPL-2.0
Zeplin–
Language
Primary
PenpotClojure
Zeplin–
Content
Faq
Penpot8 items
Zeplin7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for ui/ux & prototyping tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Design
Vector UI design
Penpot✓
Zeplin-
Component / design-system libraries
Penpot✓
Zeplin✓
Auto layout / responsive
Penpot✓
Zeplin-
Prototyping
Clickable prototyping
Penpot✓
Zeplin-
Advanced interactions (variables / conditions)
Penpot✓
Zeplin-
Collaboration
Real-time multiplayer collaboration
Penpot✓
Zeplin✓
Handoff
Dev handoff / spec export
Penpot✓
Zeplin✓
Platform
Platform breadth (Web / macOS / Windows / Linux / self-hosted)
PenpotWeb-based; self-hosted on Linux with Docker; cloud-hosted with data residency op
ZeplinWeb application, VS Code extension, integrations with Jira, Azure DevOps, Slack,
Licensing
Self-hostable / open-source
Penpot✓
Zeplin✗
AI
AI design assist
Penpot✓
Zeplin✓
Pricing
Pricing model
PenpotOpen-source
ZeplinFreemium
Ecosystem
Plugin / community ecosystem
PenpotOpen plugin API with community contributions and MCP Server for multi-directiona
ZeplinOfficial integrations with design tools (Figma) and dev tools (Jira, Azure DevOp

What each one is

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

Penpot

A web-based design and prototyping tool built on open web standards (SVG, HTML, CSS) that facilitates real-time collaboration between designers and developers. It supports responsive UI design with CSS-based layouts, design systems with components and tokens, interactive prototyping, and integrates with AI workflows through an extensible plugin ecosystem.

Independently observed

Zeplin

Leader

Zeplin is a collaboration platform where design teams finalize designs, document requirements, manage versions, and handoff to developers with integrated code generation. It sits between design creation tools and development environments, keeping specifications organized and synchronized without disrupting the design process.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

Penpot

from $7/editor/mofreemiumFree tier14-day trial

Free Professional plan with full features. Unlimited plan at $7/editor/month (capped at $175/month) with 14-day trial. Enterprise at $25/member/month. Private Server at $50k/year.

  • ProfessionalFree
    • No file limits
    • Unlimited teams
    • Open source
    • Unlimited team size (8 members + unlimited viewers)
    • 10GB storage
    • +2 more
  • Unlimited$7/editor/month (capped at $175/month). 14-day free trial.
    • All Professional features
    • Extra storage
    • Extended history
    • Early access to features
    • 30 days autosave versions
    • +1 more
  • Enterprise$25/member/month
    • All Unlimited features
    • Advanced governance
    • Centralized administration
    • Team permissions
    • Secure collaboration
    • +4 more
  • Private ServerContact sales
    • Dedicated infrastructure
    • Custom hosting
    • Advanced security
    • Enterprise-grade support
as of verify ↗

Zeplin

Leader
from $12/seat/moHybridFree tier

Free tier available. Per-project and per-seat options. Advanced from $12/seat/month.

  • FreeFree
    • Code-connected components
    • Jira & Azure integrations
    • Storybook integration
    • Slack & Teams
    • VS Code extension
    • +3 more
  • BasicOne flat rate per project (packs of 1, 3, 6, 9, or 12); annual plans include 1 month free
    • All Free features
    • Styleguides and component versioning
    • Component variants
    • No user dashboard or advanced permissions
  • Advanced$12 per seat/month billed annually
    • All features
    • User dashboard
    • Admin, Editor, Developer, and Reviewer roles
    • SAML-based SSO
    • MFA
    • +4 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • All features
    • Success Manager
    • Custom configuration
    • 24-hour support SLA
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Penpot✓
Zeplin✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Penpot✓
Zeplin✓
Self-hosted
Penpot✓
Zeplin✗
On-premise
Penpot✓
Zeplin✗
Air-gapped
Penpot✓
Zeplin✗

Integrations

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

In common (1)
  • Webhooks

Penpot

5 total - 4 not shared
  • Open API
  • MCP Server
  • Access tokens
  • Plugins
Independently observed

Zeplin

Leader
11 total - 10 not shared
  • Jira
  • Azure DevOps
  • VS Code
  • Storybook
  • Slack
  • Teams
  • Figma
  • Zeplin API
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Zeplin MCP Server
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Penpot or Zeplin: 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.