Free design tools, prototyping, and UI resources for developers.
| Service | Free Tier | Limits | Rate Limits | Verified | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Figma | Starter plan (free forever) | 3 Figma files + 3 FigJam files per team, unlimited personal drafts, unlimited viewers, plugins & community files | 30-day version history, no shared libraries, no advanced permissions, deleted files count toward limit for 30 days | ✅ 2026-04 | figma.com/pricing |
| Penpot | Free plan (open-source) | Unlimited projects, unlimited files, unlimited editors, all design features, self-host or cloud | No per-editor pricing, fully featured free tier with no paywalls, plugins supported on all plans | ✅ 2026-04 | penpot.app/pricing |
| Canva | Free plan | 2.1M+ free templates, 1.8M+ stock photos/illustrations, 5 GB cloud storage, collaboration for up to 10 team members | 3 AI designs/day, 2 Magic Write prompts/project, 10 video renders/week, 5 background removals/mo, no custom fonts, no SVG/transparent PNG export, 5 MB file upload limit | ✅ 2026-04 | canva.com/pricing |
| Framer | Free plan | Unlimited projects, 1,000 pages, 10 CMS collections, free SSL, 5 MB file uploads | Framer subdomain only (no custom domain), "Made in Framer" badge, 100 MB/mo bandwidth, 1,000 visitors/mo, non-commercial use only | ✅ 2026-04 | framer.com/pricing |
| Spline | Free plan | Unlimited personal files & viewers, real-time 3D design in browser, web export | Spline logo watermark on exports, no code/mobile exports, no version history, no video imports, no asset library | ✅ 2026-04 | spline.design/pricing |
| Rive | Free plan | 3 files, access to all runtime platforms, fonts & audio in editor | No runtime fees (exports work forever), community features only, no tags/folders, no CDN hosting, no libraries | ✅ 2026-04 | rive.app/pricing |
| Excalidraw | Free (open-source) | Infinite canvas, unlimited scenes, export PNG/SVG/JSON, real-time collaboration via shareable links | No account required, fully free, end-to-end encrypted collaboration | ✅ 2026-04 | plus.excalidraw.com/pricing |
| Storybook | Free (open-source) | Unlimited components, unlimited stories, all addons, works with React/Vue/Angular/Svelte/Web Components, built-in test runner (Vitest + Testing Library) | Self-hosted, no usage limits, MIT license | ✅ 2026-04 | storybook.js.org |
| IconBuddy | Free tier | 200K+ open-source SVG icons from 70+ collections (Material Design, Bootstrap, Feather, etc.), customize color/size, export SVG/PNG/JSX/Base64 | Premium tier ($69 one-time) for full 300K+ library and advanced features | ✅ 2026-04 | iconbuddy.com |
| Zeplin | Free plan | 1 project (max 100 screens), 1 styleguide (max 100 components), unlimited viewers, specs/code snippets/comments | 30-day version history, only owner can upload designs on free plan | ✅ 2026-04 | zeplin.io/pricing |
| Eraser.io | Free plan | Unlimited diagrams, docs, and whiteboarding, AI-powered diagram generation | Limited AI generations/mo, single user, community support only | ✅ 2026-04 | eraser.io/pricing |
- Penpot is the standout free option -- fully open-source with no per-editor pricing and no feature gating.
- Framer is excellent for building landing pages and marketing sites; the free plan is great for learning and prototyping but requires a paid plan ($5/mo+) to launch with a custom domain.
- Spline brings real-time 3D design to the browser for free -- ideal for adding 3D elements to websites, though exports carry a watermark.
- Rive is purpose-built for interactive animations that ship to production (web, iOS, Android, Flutter). The free 3-file limit is tight but there are no runtime fees -- your exports work forever.
- IconBuddy aggregates 70+ open-source icon libraries into one searchable interface -- the free tier covers most needs.
- Figma's free tier is tight (3 files) but sufficient for solo designers and learning. Unlimited personal drafts soften the limit.
- Excalidraw is perfect for quick whiteboarding and architecture diagrams with zero friction.
- Storybook is a dev tool (component explorer), not a design tool -- but essential for design systems.