What is the difference between Penpot and Rive?

Penpot is best for Teams that want a free, open-source Figma alternative, while Rive is best for Designers building interactive animations for apps and web. Penpot starts at Free and Rive starts at Free.

Is Penpot or Rive cheaper?

Penpot starts at Free and is free. Rive starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Rive?

Both Penpot and Rive offer free tiers.

Penpot vs Rive

Penpot is open-source, browser-based design and prototyping platform. Self-hostable, while Rive is interactive animation tool for creating state-based animations that run in real-time. Penpot is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Penpot is built for teams that want a free, open-source figma alternative, whereas Rive targets designers building interactive animations for apps and web.

At a glance

	Penpot	Rive
Best for	Teams that want a free, open-source Figma alternative	Designers building interactive animations for apps and web
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Components	✓	—
Interactive	—	✓
Open Source	✓	—
Prototyping	✓	—
Runtime	—	✓
SVG Native	✓	—
Self-Hosted	✓	—
State Machine	—	✓
Web/Mobile	—	✓

Penpot

Strengths

100% free and open source
Self-hostable for data sovereignty
Real-time collaboration like Figma
Uses open standards (SVG)

Weaknesses

Less mature than Figma — fewer features
Smaller plugin and community ecosystem
Performance not as smooth as Figma
Fewer design resources and templates available

Try Penpot → Full review

Rive

Strengths

State machine visualization catches edge cases in complex UI flows
Includes Runtime as a core feature, purpose-built for design workflows
Free for 3 files — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes interactive alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Output quality depends on your design skills — templates only go so far
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Rive → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Penpot and Rive are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Penpot offers Components, Open Source and Prototyping that Rive lacks. Rive brings Interactive, Runtime and State Machine that Penpot does not have.

Team fit: Both tools target small teams teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Open source: Penpot is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Rive is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Penpot's biggest strengths are: 100% free and open source. self-hostable for data sovereignty. Rive's biggest strengths are: state machine visualization catches edge cases in complex ui flows. includes runtime as a core feature, purpose-built for design workflows.

Watch out for: With Penpot, users commonly note that less mature than figma — fewer features. With Rive, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Penpot if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams that want a free, open-source figma alternative
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Components and Open Source
You care about self-hostable for data sovereignty

Choose Rive if...

You need a tool built for designers building interactive animations for apps and web
You specifically need Interactive and Runtime
You care about includes runtime as a core feature, purpose-built for design workflows
The free tier works for you: free for 3 files