head to head · open source
OpenPencil vs Grida
OpenPencil has 8,357 GitHub stars, 815 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Grida has 2,642 stars, 147 forks, 125 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenPencil leads on adoption by 216% (8,357 vs 2,642 stars). OpenPencil is written in TypeScript under MIT; Grida is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. OpenPencil has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Grida 6%. OpenPencil was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai, figma-alternative), 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.
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Side by side
| OpenPencil | Grida | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.4K | ★ 2.6K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 815 | ⑂ 147 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenPencil if
- You weight community size — 8.4K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Grida if
- You want the Grida feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Grida fits your workflow better
About OpenPencil
OpenPencil is an open source, AI native design editor that opens and writes native Figma .fig and Pencil .pen files, runs as a roughly 7 MB desktop app or in the browser, and is aimed at designers and developers who want a local, fully programmable alternative to Figma.
read the full OpenPencil overview →
About Grida
Grida is an open source canvas editor, SVG editor, and Supabase backed Database/CMS and Forms toolkit written in TypeScript under the Apache 2.0 licence, aimed at designers and developers who want to design and build web apps on one open canvas instead of stitching together a design tool, an SVG editor, and a separate back end.
read the full Grida overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenPencil or Grida more popular?
OpenPencil has 8,357 GitHub stars and Grida has 2,642. OpenPencil has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenPencil and Grida free?
Both are open source. OpenPencil is licensed under MIT and Grida under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenPencil and Grida?
OpenPencil is written in TypeScript and Grida 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, OpenPencil or Grida?
Choose OpenPencil if you want the larger community (8,357 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Grida if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.