Design & Whiteboards
Design, prototype and brainstorm. Browse the 22 parent tools below — each has a dedicated page with up to 10 indie or bootstrapped alternatives, plus pricing, founders, and where applicable, open-source flags.
Figma's Adobe acquisition didn't happen — and then it didn't happen again — but the design tool space hasn't sat still. Penpot is the open-source bet, Sketch is back in active development, and Framer has pulled designers out of Figma and into shipping live sites. For solo designers and small product teams, the right call depends on whether you handoff to engineers or ship the final pixels yourself.
What to look for
- File format you can open in five years (Figma's .fig is not that)
- Real-time multiplayer that doesn't degrade on a 50-frame file
- Plugin ecosystem if you depend on icon libraries, charts, or auto-layout helpers
- Export pipeline that produces production-ready assets, not Photoshop slices
Common gotchas
- Per-editor pricing that punishes letting engineers comment on files
- Local file storage that turns into a coordination nightmare on a 3+ person team
- AI design features that produce demo-quality work, not shippable work
Editor's pick
Penpot is the credible open-source Figma replacement (Kaleidos team, Spain). Framer is the right call if your design output is the live site, not a handoff.
Top tools in Design & Whiteboards
← All categoriesFigma
Collaborative interface design.
Miro
Online collaborative whiteboard.
Framer
Design and publish responsive websites.
Adobe XD
Adobe's UI design tool.
Lucidchart
Online diagram + flowchart tool.
Abstract
Version control for design files.
InVision
Prototyping + design collaboration.
ProtoPie
Advanced prototyping tool.
Whimsical
Flowcharts, wireframes, mind maps + docs.
Eraser
Whiteboard + docs for engineering teams.
Bezel
Realistic device mockups for Figma + Sketch.
LottieFiles
Animations for designers + developers.
Mobbin
Mobile + web design inspiration library.
Nicely Done
Curated UI patterns + design inspiration.
Lucidspark
Whiteboard by Lucid.
Lucidscale
Cloud architecture visualization.
Overflow
User flow diagramming.
FlowMapp
UX sitemap + flowchart tool.
Specify
Design tokens platform.
Supernova
Design system platform.
Felt
Collaborative web map editor.
Placemark
OSS geospatial tool.