Affinity Designer vs Penpot Comparison
Compare Affinity Designer and Penpot side-by-side — pricing, features, scores, and which one is right for you.
The bottom line
Affinity Designer and Penpot are both strong contenders in the design tools space, but they serve different needs. Affinity Designer edges ahead with an overall score of 82/100 compared to Penpot's 74/100. Affinity Designer is easier to get started with (8/10 for ease of use vs 7/10). On pricing, both offer free tiers, so you can try each before committing. Both score equally on value for money (10/10), so the choice comes down to which feature set fits your workflow better.
At a glance
| Affinity Designer | Penpot | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 82/100 | 74/100 |
| Starting price | Free | $7/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Professional design, no subscription | Open-source design and prototyping |
Pricing comparison
Calculate your cost
Affinity DesignerAffinity Designer 2
Free/mo
Free/yr
PenpotFree
Free/mo
Free/yr
Feature comparison
core
| Feature | Affinity Designer | Penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Vector editing | Yes | Yes |
| Prototyping | No | Yes |
| Components | Symbols | Yes |
| Auto-layout | No | CSS Grid |
collaboration
| Feature | Affinity Designer | Penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time editing | No | Yes |
| Comments | No | Yes |
| Version history | Local | Yes |
| Dev handoff | No | CSS/SVG export |
advanced
| Feature | Affinity Designer | Penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Design systems | Asset manager | Design tokens |
| Plugins | No | Yes |
| Animation | No | Basic |
| Responsive design | No | CSS Grid |
integrations
| Feature | Affinity Designer | Penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Photoshop (PSD) | Yes | No |
| Illustrator (AI) | Yes | No |
| Yes | No | |
| SVG | Yes | No |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes |
| SVG export | No | Yes |
| CSS export | No | Yes |
| JSON export | No | Yes |
Ratings breakdown
Choose Affinity Designer if...
- You want a free tier to get started
- You value an intuitive, easy-to-use interface
- Getting strong value for money is a priority
Choose Penpot if...
- You want a free tier to get started
- You value powerful features over simplicity
- Getting strong value for money is a priority
