head to head · open source
open-design vs OpenPencil
open-design has 105,526 GitHub stars, 12,030 forks, 1,090 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenPencil has 9,551 stars, 1,004 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped yesterday. open-design leads on adoption by 1,005% (105,526 vs 9,551 stars). open-design is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; OpenPencil is written in TypeScript under MIT. open-design has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, OpenPencil 11%. OpenPencil was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| open-design | OpenPencil | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 106K | ★ 9.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 12K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick open-design if
- You weight community size — 106K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OpenPencil if
- You want the OpenPencil feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and OpenPencil fits your workflow better
About open-design
OpenDesign: The open source Claude Design alternative ⚡ OpenDesign Cloud — the official model service. One recharge to use both agent and image models inside OpenDesign: GPT, Claude, and DeepSeek for agents; GPT Image 2.0, Seedream 5.0 Pro, and Nano Banana 2.0 for images. 🚀 DeepSeek V4 Flash and V4 Pro are now available. Put top tier intelligence to work across prototypes, decks, design systems, and everyday agent tasks. OpenDesign members can use both models without limits for two weeks, directly inside the app. 🧩 DeepSeek Harness is now supported. Connect DeepSeek's official dsh agent harness to OpenDesign…
read the full open-design overview →
About OpenPencil
OpenPencil Open source design editor. Opens .fig and .pen design files, includes built in AI, and ships as a programmable toolkit with a headless Vue SDK for building custom editors. Status: Active development. Usable today, with some rough edges as features evolve. Try it online → · Download · Documentation · Roadmap · llms.txt Installation macOS (Homebrew): Or download from the releases page, or use the web app — no install needed. What it does Opens .fig and .pen files — read and write native Figma files, open supported Pencil documents from the app or OS file browser, copy & paste nodes between apps AI…
read the full OpenPencil overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is open-design or OpenPencil more popular?
open-design has 105,526 GitHub stars and OpenPencil has 9,551. open-design has the larger community by that measure.
Are open-design and OpenPencil free?
Both are open source. open-design is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenPencil under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between open-design and OpenPencil?
open-design is written in TypeScript and OpenPencil in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, open-design or OpenPencil?
Choose open-design if you want the larger community (105,526 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OpenPencil if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.