What’s Figma? Penpot Is The New Tool Everyone Talks About

We all love Figma. Well, not all of us. And “loved” in the past tense might be more accurate. But… yeah. Figma was great. But in a move that surprised no one and angered pretty much everyone, Adobe decided to acquire the rival it couldn’t beat. Now many creatives look for a new favorite tool not yet owned by Adobe. Everything points to Penpot being that tool.

Penpot is making rounds

Figma cost Adobe 20 billion, which is pretty surreal, and Penpot is nowhere near that sum. Still, it just recently picked 8 million, becoming one of the hottest startups on the block. But what makes it the “new Figma”?

First of all, there’s no new Figma. In fact, Figma is as good as it ever was. The only negative thing about it in the eyes of many is that Adobe owns it, a company a few like or even respect anymore. Many of us had started using Figma precisely because Adobe did not make it. They had their own thing (XD). And now… people see Penpot and become interested.

The Madrid-based company became a thing only a year ago and immediately garnered a sizable audience. It was open-source, polished, and free. People loved it for focusing on open standards like SVG, and everything about it just screamed quality. It was insane that it was entirely free, and pretty soon, it was one of the most favored tools of the biggest companies in the world, from Google to Tencent. 

Since the news about Adobe’s deal, the number of sign-ups has increased to 5,600%. Does it mean that Penpot is on the way to greatness? It’s too early to tell, but the fact is, there’s an opening in the market, and Penpot knows precisely what to do. The designers hope to stay off Adobe’s leash, and Penpot gives them that opportunity. And if it means they have to suffer through some growing pains, so be it.