head to head · open source
open-design vs Plasmic
open-design has 97,128 GitHub stars, 11,287 forks, 1,090 open issues and last shipped today. Plasmic has 7,029 stars, 719 forks, 44 open issues and last shipped today. open-design leads on adoption by 1,282% (97,128 vs 7,029 stars). open-design is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Plasmic is written in TypeScript under MIT. open-design has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Plasmic 10%. open-design was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (design-systems), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| open-design | Plasmic | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 97K | ★ 7.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 719 |
| 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 Plasmic if
- You want the Plasmic feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Plasmic 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 Plasmic
Plasmic is an open source, MIT licensed visual builder for React that integrates with an existing codebase, aimed at developers and at the marketing, design, and technical users who build alongside them.
read the full Plasmic overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Design & Prototyping projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Design & Prototyping field.
Frequently asked questions
Is open-design or Plasmic more popular?
open-design has 97,128 GitHub stars and Plasmic has 7,029. open-design has the larger community by that measure.
Are open-design and Plasmic free?
Both are open source. open-design is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Plasmic under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between open-design and Plasmic?
open-design is written in TypeScript and Plasmic 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 Plasmic?
Choose open-design if you want the larger community (97,128 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Plasmic if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.