Open-Source & Self-Hosted Alternatives to Figma & Miro
Collaborative UI design and infinite whiteboards charging $15 to $75/user/month with proprietary cloud file lock-in.
Why Migrate Away from Figma & Miro?
Figma and Miro impose aggressive per-seat editor pricing that balloons design team budgets, while locking proprietary design files into closed cloud ecosystems. Self-hosting Penpot and Excalidraw delivers SVG-native vector prototyping, CSS Flexbox and Grid layout systems, and end-to-end encrypted architectural diagramming with unlimited team members on your own VPS.
Top 2 Recommended Open-Source Replacements
Tested, self-contained, and production-ready. Click any tool to inspect verified docker-compose configurations, hardware sizing, and deployment guides.
Penpot
MPL-2.0⭐ 34.5k+The open-source web-based vector design and prototyping platform built on open web standards (SVG & CSS).
✅ Advantages
- Open web standard (SVG) native design files
- Team libraries & components without per-seat fees
- Seamless dev-mode inspection for frontend engineers
⚠️ Trade-offs / Limitations
- Requires at least 2GB RAM for smooth backend rendering
Core Features
version: '3.8'
services:
penpot-frontend:
image: penpotapp/frontend:latest
restart: always
ports:
- "9001:80"
environment:
- PENPOT_FLAGS=disable-registration=false
depends_on:
- penpot-backend
penpot-backend:
image: penpotapp/backend:latest
restart: always
volumes:
- penpot_assets:/opt/data/assets
environment:
- PENPOT_DATABASE_URI=postgresql://penpot:penpot123@penpot-postgres/penpot
- PENPOT_REDIS_URI=redis://penpot-redis/0
- PENPOT_SECRET_KEY=super-secret-penpot-encryption-key-32chars
depends_on:
- penpot-postgres
- penpot-redis
penpot-postgres:
image: postgres:15-alpine
restart: always
environment:
- POSTGRES_DB=penpot
- POSTGRES_USER=penpot
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD=penpot123
volumes:
- penpot_pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
penpot-redis:
image: redis:7-alpine
restart: always
volumes:
penpot_assets:
penpot_pgdata:🚀 5-Minute Deployment Guide
- 1Spin up a 4GB RAM VPS (e.g. Hetzner CX22 or DigitalOcean Droplet).
- 2Install Docker with curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh.
- 3Create directory mkdir -p ~/penpot && cd ~/penpot.
- 4Save docker-compose.yml and set your custom secret keys.
- 5Run docker compose up -d to launch frontend, backend, PostgreSQL, and Redis.
- 6Configure Caddy or Nginx reverse proxy with HTTPS for your design domain.
Recommended Cloud VPS for Penpot
Compare all VPS hosts →CX22 (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB NVMe)
Smooth vector rendering and multi-user collaboration for entire teams.
Deploy on Hetzner →Basic Droplet (2 vCPU, 2GB RAM, 60GB SSD)
Deploy instantly with 00 free trial credits for 60 days.
Claim $200 DO Credit →Excalidraw
MIT⭐ 92.0k+Virtual collaborative whiteboard tool that lets you easily sketch diagrams that have a hand-drawn feel.
✅ Advantages
- Zero friction and lightning-fast load times
- End-to-end encrypted collaboration room
- Minimal memory footprint (<100MB RAM)
⚠️ Trade-offs / Limitations
- Focuses on architectural diagramming rather than high-fidelity vector UI prototyping
Core Features
version: '3.8'
services:
excalidraw:
image: excalidraw/excalidraw:latest
container_name: excalidraw
restart: always
ports:
- "5000:80"🚀 5-Minute Deployment Guide
- 1Deploy on any low-cost 1GB VPS.
- 2Create folder mkdir -p ~/excalidraw && cd ~/excalidraw.
- 3Create docker-compose.yml and run docker compose up -d.
- 4Point reverse proxy to port 5000 with SSL enabled.
Recommended Cloud VPS for Excalidraw
Compare all VPS hosts →CX22 (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB NVMe)
Host Excalidraw alongside 10+ other lightweight tools on a single VPS.
Deploy on Hetzner →Quick Specification Matrix
| Tool | License | Min RAM | Min CPU | GitHub Repo | Primary Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Figma & Miro (Proprietary) | Proprietary Closed | Managed Cloud | Managed Cloud | N/A | Turnkey onboarding with vendor lock-in & paywalls |
| Penpot | MPL-2.0 | 2 GB | 2 vCPU | penpot/penpot | Open web standard (SVG) native design files |
| Excalidraw | MIT | 256 MB | 1 vCPU | excalidraw/excalidraw | Zero friction and lightning-fast load times |
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