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Developer Tools · head to head

Penpot vs Whimsical

Penpot logo

Penpot

Developer Tools

Open source design and prototyping platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Whimsical logo

Whimsical

Technology

Where great ideas take shape

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Penpot smaller user base and community compared to Figma means fewer templates and resources; Whimsical the free plan is capped at 3 team boards, 3 teams and 10 guest seats
  • They diverge on capability: Penpot covers Vector editing, Whimsical covers Flowcharts.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Penpot and Whimsical actually diverge.

Attributes where Penpot and Whimsical differ
AttributePenpotWhimsical
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, LinuxWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsTechnology
Founded20212017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Penpot

  • Vector editing
  • Interactive prototyping
  • Design systems
  • Components & libraries
  • SVG support
  • CSS Grid & Flexbox
  • Code export
  • Figma import

Only in Whimsical

  • Flowcharts
  • Wireframes
  • Mind maps
  • Sticky notes
  • Docs
  • Templates
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Notion

Both cover

  • Real-time collaboration
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Penpot

  • UI/UX design
  • Prototypingnot Whimsical
  • Design systemsnot Whimsical
  • Developer handoffnot Whimsical
  • Open source projectsnot Whimsical

Whimsical

  • Product planningnot Penpot
  • UI/UX design
  • Brainstormingnot Penpot
  • Process documentationnot Penpot
  • Project visualizationnot Penpot

Both are used for ui/ux design, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Penpot

  • Smaller user base and community compared to Figma means fewer templates and resources
  • Self-hosting requires Linux server and Docker knowledge for technical setup
  • Real-time collaboration features may have performance issues with very large design files

Whimsical

  • The free plan is capped at 3 team boards, 3 teams and 10 guest seats
  • File uploads are limited to 5MB per file and 1GB in total on the free plan
  • Version history on the free plan goes back 7 days
  • Voting, the timer, private teams, the GitHub integration, password-protected files and watermark removal all need Pro at $10 per editor per month
  • SSO and SAML are Business tier only at $20 per editor per month

Pricing, plan by plan

Penpot

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Cloud-based design
    • Real-time collaboration
    • Components and variants
  • Unlimited$7/month
    • All free features
    • Priority support
    • Advanced cloud features
  • Enterprise$950/month
    • Custom enterprise features
    • Dedicated support
    • Advanced security

Whimsical

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Up to 4 boards
    • Unlimited viewers
    • 7-day version history
  • Pro$10/month
    • Unlimited boards
    • Unlimited version history
    • Advanced permissions
  • Org$20/month
    • Everything in Pro
    • SSO
    • User management

Which should you pick?

Choose Penpot if

  • You need vector editing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want interactive prototyping.
Penpot review

Choose Whimsical if

  • You need flowcharts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want wireframes.
Whimsical review

Questions people ask

Is Penpot or Whimsical better?
Neither clearly leads. Penpot starts at Free and Whimsical at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Penpot or Whimsical?
Penpot starts at Free and Whimsical at Free.
Does Penpot or Whimsical run on more platforms?
Penpot runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux. Whimsical runs on Web.
Can I use Penpot for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Penpot best used for?
Penpot is most often used for ui/ux design, prototyping, design systems, developer handoff. Of those, prototyping and design systems are not what Whimsical is typically brought in for.
What can Penpot do that Whimsical cannot?
Penpot covers Vector editing, Interactive prototyping, Design systems, Components & libraries. Whimsical covers Flowcharts, Wireframes, Mind maps, Sticky notes. Both handle Real-time collaboration, Cloud deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Penpot: Is Penpot really free?

Yes. Penpot is completely free with no feature gates. The open-source version can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure for zero cost beyond server expenses.

Source
Whimsical: What are Whimsical's pricing tiers?

Whimsical offers three plans: Free at 0 dollars per month per editor, Pro at 10 dollars per month per editor, and Business at 20 dollars per month per editor.

Source
Penpot: Can I self-host Penpot?

Yes. Penpot can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure with no licensing costs. Organizations with specific privacy or governance needs can run Penpot on their own servers.

Source
Whimsical: What is included in the Free plan?

The Free plan allows creation of up to 50 board objects and 50 doc blocks per month, includes watermarked exports, and provides 7-day version history. Storage is limited to 1GB.

Source
Penpot: What are the paid plans if I use Penpot cloud?

Penpot's cloud service offers a free tier, Unlimited plan at $7 per user per month for professionals and medium teams, and Enterprise starting at $950 per month for larger organizations.

Source
Whimsical: What features unlock in the Pro plan?

The Pro plan removes the object creation limits, provides unlimited board objects and doc blocks, removes watermarks from exports, extends version history to 90 days, and offers 100GB of storage.

Source
Penpot: What platforms does Penpot support?

Penpot runs in the browser, so it works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and any OS with a web browser. No platform-specific downloads required.

Source
Whimsical: What security and team features come with Business?

The Business plan adds private teams, SAML single sign-on, SCIM and advanced security controls, unlimited version history, priority support, and a dedicated success manager. Storage starts at 2TB.

Source
Whimsical: Do discounts apply for annual billing?

Yes, annual billing offers a 17 percent discount compared to monthly rates. Additionally, nonprofits receive a 20 percent discount and students and teachers get full access.

Source
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