Figma is hired for interface design: making screens, sharing them for comment and handing them to engineers. Seat type drives the bill, so the first savings are often seats set higher than the work requires. Below: what the plans cost as published, the realistic replacement, and the file, font and asset checks that decide whether leaving is possible.
Design files become the source for what gets built. A component library, a set of screens and a prototype link are all referenced by engineers and product managers who never open the editor, which makes the file feel like infrastructure.
Seats drift upward. Someone who needed to comment is given a full seat, a contractor is added for a launch and stays. The vendor prices seat types differently, so the cheapest saving is usually matching each person to the seat they use.
Only alternatives we have checked. An open-source project is listed with the license its repository reports, on the date shown; one whose license could not be read as a single standard id is not offered as open source. Read the license guide before running any of them.
| Alternative | Kind | License | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penpot | Open source | MPL-2.0 | Penpot repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
Each feature below is what the product's own page or README says, linked to where we read it on the date shown. Pros and cons are limited to what those pages state and to what the path itself changes. We do not rank products on quality.
| Plan | Price as published | Includes | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Figma Starter | Free | Unlimited drafts, UI kits and templates; 150 AI credits a day, up to 500 a month | Figma pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Figma Professional, Full seat | $16 per month (billing period not stated in the text we read) | Unlimited files and projects; 3,000 AI credits a month on a Full seat | Figma pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Figma Professional, Dev seat | $12 per month (billing period not stated in the text we read) | Dev Mode inspection; 500 AI credits a month | Figma pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Figma Organization, Full seat | $55 per month, billed annually | Shared libraries and fonts, centralized admin tools; 3,500 AI credits a month on a Full seat | Figma pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Figma Enterprise, Full seat | $90 per month, billed annually | Design system theming and APIs, SCIM seat management; 4,250 AI credits a month on a Full seat | Figma pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
List prices as printed on the vendor's page on the checked date, per seat per month and excluding tax. The Professional price was shown beside a monthly and annual toggle and the text we read did not say which period the figure reflects. Prices at checkout can differ.
Interface design is hired for making screens, sharing them and handing them to the people who build them. Cost is driven by seat type, and the page lists different prices for full, developer and collaborator seats. The first question is whether everyone billed as a designer designs.
Moving design work is harder than moving a whiteboard because the file holds structure: components, styles, auto-layout and prototype links. Whether that structure survives a round trip is the real constraint, and the only reliable way to learn it is to export your own files and open them in the replacement.
Samples are made up and are not Figma's prices. Type in the figures from your own invoice or order form.
The honest yearly cost of running open-source software yourself, set against the bill it replaces, with the seat count where it stops paying.
Paid seats against seats in use: what the idle ones cost a year, and what you save by right-sizing at renewal.
Arithmetic only, not tax, accounting or legal advice. Check the figures against your own order form.
File structure is the risk here, so the order is test first, then pilot, then cut over.
List every file and project, the people billed on each seat type, and who actually opened a file in the past quarter. Archive the files that nobody has touched in a year.
Decide which formats must leave: images or PDFs for review, and an editable format for continued design work. Write the list down so the test has a pass mark.
Export three real files, including the most complex one, from a copy. Open them in the replacement and check components, text styles, layout rules, images and prototype links. Write down what has to be rebuilt.
List every font, icon set, photo and template used. For each, find who holds the license and whether it covers use in another tool. Replace what you cannot move.
Run one real project in the replacement, including the handoff to the people who build it. Count what slows down.
Move the files that pass, replace links in specs and tickets, and tell engineers where measurements and assets now come from.
Wait a full month, keep a dated export of everything, then end the plan inside the contract's notice window and keep the confirmation.
Run the vendor report for QuickBooks Online or Xero, then open the free audit.
General information, not legal advice. See cancelling without penalties. Last reviewed Oct 25, 2026. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify them.
Send us the export and see which lines are worth a second look. A connected version is planned. Figma is one of the lines worth a look.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
| Self-hosting, per year | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hosting, backups, tooling | 720.00 |
| Admin and restore-test time | 2,640.00 |
| Total | 3,360.00 |
| One-off set-up (not in the yearly total) | 1,200.00 |
The saving holds only if the time is real. Price the admin hours at what that person's time costs the company, not at zero.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
“In use” is your call: last sign-in in the past 30 or 90 days from the vendor's admin report. A seat for someone on leave is not idle.