head to head · open source
open-design vs pencil
open-design has 96,938 GitHub stars, 11,262 forks, 1,090 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pencil has 9,865 stars, 791 forks, 533 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. open-design leads on adoption by 883% (96,938 vs 9,865 stars). open-design is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; pencil is written in JavaScript under GPL-2.0. open-design has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, pencil 8%. open-design 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 | pencil | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 97K | ★ 9.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-06-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 791 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick open-design if
- You weight community size — 97K 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 pencil if
- You want the pencil feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and pencil fits your workflow better
About open-design
OpenDesign is an open source, local first desktop design application for macOS and Windows that turns the coding agent already installed on a developer's machine into the design engine, producing prototypes, dashboards, decks, images, and motion graphics as real files exported to HTML, PDF, PPTX, and MP4.
read the full open-design overview →
About pencil
Pencil is a free and open source diagramming and GUI prototyping tool, licensed under GPL 2.0, that lets designers and developers sketch wireframes, mockups, and diagrams on the desktop without a commercial licence.
read the full pencil overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is open-design or pencil more popular?
open-design has 96,938 GitHub stars and pencil has 9,865. open-design has the larger community by that measure.
Are open-design and pencil free?
Both are open source. open-design is licensed under Apache-2.0 and pencil under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between open-design and pencil?
open-design is written in TypeScript and pencil in JavaScript. 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 pencil?
Choose open-design if you want the larger community (96,938 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose pencil if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.