Framer vs Figma

Figma is for designing products and handing them to developers. Framer is for designing a site and publishing it. Here is when each one fits.

Framer pricing and review Figma pricing and review

Framer vs Figma: the short answer

Pick Framer if you need a marketing site live this week and don't want to write code. Pick Figma if you're designing a product interface, building a design system, or handing specs to developers. They look alike on the surface, but Figma produces mockups and Framer produces the real, hosted website. Many solo founders use both.

What is Framer?

Framer is a no-code website builder with a design-tool canvas. You design, animate and publish a live site with hosting and a CMS included. It started as a prototyping tool, so the direct-manipulation feel is close to Figma's.

What is Figma?

Figma is a browser-based interface design tool for UI mockups, prototypes and design systems. Several people can edit one file at once, and it's the default for design-to-developer handoff.

Framer vs Figma pricing

Pricing checked November 2026.

Framer (priced per site per month):

Free: $0, with a free Framer domain, 1 GB of bandwidth and 500 AI credits. No custom domain.
Basic: $10/mo. 2 CMS collections, 50 GB bandwidth, 30 pages.
Pro: $30/mo. 10 CMS collections, 100 GB bandwidth, 150 pages, redirects, staging and branching.
Enterprise: custom. Extra editors cost $20/mo each, viewers are free.

Figma (priced per seat):

Starter: free, with unlimited drafts and 150 AI credits a day.
Professional: Full seat $16/mo, Dev seat $12/mo, Collab seat $3/mo.
Organization: Full seat $55/mo, billed annually.
Enterprise: Full seat $90/mo, billed annually. Viewers are free on paid plans.

For a solo builder, Figma is cheaper because the free plan covers most design work, while a live Framer site costs at least $10/mo. That flips if you'd otherwise pay for separate hosting and a CMS for the marketing site.

Key differences

Output: Figma gives you a mockup that still needs building. Framer gives you the production site.
Hosting: Framer hosts and publishes for you. Figma doesn't host anything.
Pricing model: Framer charges per site, Figma charges per seat. A team of five on one site and a team of five designing a product cost very different amounts.
Handoff: Figma has Dev Mode, specs and code snippets for developers. Framer has no handoff step because there's nothing to hand off.
Scope: Framer suits marketing pages. It's the wrong tool for the product itself or anything with deep custom logic. Figma covers app UI, design systems, whiteboarding (FigJam) and slides.
Ecosystem: Figma has a large plugin ecosystem and most design tools export to it.

When to pick Framer

You're a founder who needs a polished, animated landing page fast.
You don't have a developer and don't want a design-to-code handoff.
You want a CMS for a blog without touching the design.
The site is separate from your app and doesn't need custom logic.

When to pick Figma

You're designing app screens, flows or a shared design system.
A developer will build what you draw, and they need specs.
You work with a team that needs to comment and edit in the same file.
You want a free plan that's enough to start.

Other options

If you'd rather code the marketing site, Tailwind CSS avoids per-site fees and platform limits. For product UI, shadcn/ui gets you to real components without a separate design step.

Verdict

They aren't a real contest: the tools don't really compete. Use Figma for product design and Framer for the landing page. If you can only pick one and your goal is a live site today, take Framer; if you're designing an actual product, take Figma.