head to head · open source
OpenPencil vs Plasmic
OpenPencil has 8,357 GitHub stars, 815 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Plasmic has 7,022 stars, 719 forks, 44 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenPencil leads on adoption by 19% (8,357 vs 7,022 stars). OpenPencil is written in TypeScript under MIT; Plasmic is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenPencil has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Plasmic 10%. 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
| OpenPencil | Plasmic | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.4K | ★ 7.0K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 815 | ⑂ 719 |
| 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 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 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 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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenPencil or Plasmic more popular?
OpenPencil has 8,357 GitHub stars and Plasmic has 7,022. OpenPencil has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenPencil and Plasmic free?
Both are open source. OpenPencil is licensed under MIT and Plasmic under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenPencil and Plasmic?
OpenPencil 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, OpenPencil or Plasmic?
Choose OpenPencil if you want the larger community (8,357 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Plasmic if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.