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Canva vs Penpot
Canva vs Penpot
A side-by-side look at Canva (the paid SaaS) and Penpot (the open source alternative). Use this page to decide if the switch fits your team and workflow.
| Canva | Penpot | |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | Drag-and-drop graphic design for everyone. | Open source Figma alternative for design-dev collaboration. |
| License | Proprietary SaaS | MPL-2.0 |
| Pricing | Free tier; Pro from $14.99/month. | Free to self-host · optional paid hosted plan |
| Self-host option | No | Yes — difficulty 3/5 |
| Hosted cloud available | Yes (only option) | Yes |
| Desktop apps | Varies by product | Web only |
| Mobile apps | Official apps typically available | None official |
Ad slot — between tables
Best for
When you want a real design canvas rather than drag-and-drop templates.
Penpot strengths
- Strong Figma-like UX with design tokens.
- SVG-native — developer-friendly exports.
- Self-hostable for confidential work.
Penpot weaknesses
- Plugin ecosystem is newer.
- Performance on very large files lags Figma.
- Collaboration UX still maturing.
What's the catch with Canva?
- Watermarks on free templates and elements.
- Cloud-only workflow.
- Design ownership can feel ambiguous.
Still unsure?
Check the full list of alternatives to Canva: see Canva alternatives, or learn more about Penpot on its project page.