DESIGN-WHITEBOARD

Should I self-host Figma?

$20/mo · Professional per seat · alternative: Penpot

RATING

KINDA

OUTLOOK

NOT ASSIGNED

RATIONALE

Penpot is the real thing — components, prototyping, dev handoff, SVG-native. For solo work and internal tools it's a clean yes. What keeps this at KINDA is everyone else: client files, plugins, and the fact that design collaboration happens where the other designers are.

WHAT YOU LOSE

Figma's plugin ecosystem and multiplayer ubiquity

Auto-layout parity is close but not identical — test your patterns

WHAT YOU'RE PAYING FOR

UI design · components & libraries · prototyping · dev handoff

Self-Hosting Facts

1 app per panel · Figma

Assumes 1 seat on 1 always-on box you already run

Amount per month% of sub *

Subscription$20.00

VPS share2.0010%

Storage + backup0.000%

Your hours · 40 min @ $2013.3367%

Self-hosted all-in15.3377%

Effective markup1.3×

Setup · 15 min measured$5.00 once

Break-even1.1 months

VERDICT

KINDA

OUTLOOK

NOT ASSIGNED

What's your hour worth? $20/h

* Percent of the subscription price. Your time is priced at the slider's rate — $0/h ("my homelab time is free and I love it") is a legitimate position. Every number is derived from the record, never hand-written. Price source, checked 2026-08-06.

Runs comfortably on a real VPS (2 GB+).

ALTERNATIVES

Ranked alternatives

PenpotComponents, prototyping and more than one cursor on the same board, on a domain you own and with no per-seat bill.

penpot/penpot · ★ 58,362 · 1d

ExcalidrawA hand-drawn-style whiteboard that runs as one static container and keeps every drawing in the browser that drew it.

excalidraw/excalidraw · ★ 129,294 · 1d

Penpot running from the boot-verified compose file — Penpot, running from the compose file on this page — screenshot from our verified instance, not marketing material.

EVIDENCE

PROTOCOL

VERIFIED BY

zernonia

REVIEWED

10 AUG 2026

SETUP MEASURED

15 MIN

AI ASSISTANT

CLAUDE-CODE · STATED

FULL TIMED LOG

# Figma — verdict log

- **Date:** 2026-08-10
- **Verdict:** KINDA — worth it if…
- **Protocol:** v1 (2GB reference env, Docker preinstalled, AI assistant: claude-code)

## Why no compose file

- This verdict is decided by economics/capability, not setup effort — the rubric doesn't require a timed install to conclude the subscription should stay (or that the replacement's cost lives elsewhere, e.g. GPUs, egress, or an installer script).

## The call

Penpot is the real thing — components, prototyping, dev handoff, SVG-native. For solo work and internal tools it's a clean yes. What keeps this at KINDA is everyone else: client files, plugins, and the fact that design collaboration happens where the other designers are.

HISTORY

10 AUG 2026UNRATED → KINDAInitial verdict: Penpot is the real thing — components, prototyping, dev handoff, SVG-native.