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Head-to-head · Web Design Software

Xara Web Designer vs Penpot

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score Xara Web Designer #3 in Web Design Software 9.0/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Xara
Penpot #8 in Web Design Software 8.0/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 1 of 5 features Visit Penpot

Xara Web Designer leads on 0 checks, Penpot on 2, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreXara Web Designer · 9.0/10
  • Lowest starting pricePenpot · $7/user/mo
  • Free planonly Penpot
  • Free trialboth
  • Most featuresXara Web Designer · 4 of 5

Xara Web Designer scores higher on our rubric for web design software: 9.0 against 8.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #8.

Penpot offers free plan; Xara Web Designer doesn't. Penpot is cheaper to start at $7/user/mo against $12/user/mo.

Xara Web Designer is the better fit for small businesses building polished marketing sites. Penpot is the better fit for open-source teams needing full UI design.

  • Xara Web Designer fits best

    Small businesses building polished marketing sites

  • Penpot fits best

    Open-source teams needing full UI design

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Xara Web Designer 9.0/10 Visit ↗ Penpot 8.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.0
Ranking #3 in Web Design Software #8 in Web Design Software
Best for Small businesses building polished marketing sites Open-source teams needing full UI design
Pricing model Paid Free plan + paid
Starting price $12/user/mo $7/user/mo (best)
Free plan — ✓ (best)
Free trial 14 days 14 days
Free trial length 14 days 14 days
Deployment Desktop Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Windows Web
Support Live chat, Docs Email, Community, Docs
Integrations 18 integrations 3 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Xara Web Designer 4/5 · Penpot 1/5
Responsive design ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Prototype interactions ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Code export ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Design systems ✓ ✓
Team collaboration Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
Included team seats 1 seats Not checked yet
Primary platform Desktop Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Responsive variants for mobile, tablet, and wide screens
  • HTML export, publishing, SEO, forms, and ecommerce tools
  • Reusable blocks, global styles, and built-in graphics editing
  • Responsive UI design with CSS Grid and Flex layouts
  • Design tokens, shared libraries, and developer inspection
  • Hosted cloud or self-hosted deployment with APIs and webhooks
Cons
  • Windows desktop software only
  • One team seat
  • No free plan; trial limited to 14 days
  • The free Professional plan supports up to 8 team members
  • Enterprise features require the $25 per-user monthly plan
  • Private Server pricing is handled separately from listed cloud plans
Our verdict

Xara Web Designer is a Windows desktop tool for individuals, small businesses, and professional web designers creating and publishing websites without coding. Its WYSIWYG drag-and-drop editor supports templates, reusable web blocks, global…

Read the review →

Penpot is a web-based, open-source platform for designers, developers, and product teams working on interface design and prototypes. Its feature set covers responsive layouts, interactive flows, reusable components, variants, styles,…

Read the review →
  1. Xara Web DesignerWeb Design Software 9.014-day trial
  2. PenpotWeb Design Software 8.0Free plan · 14-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Xara Web Designer — where it wins

    • Responsive variants for mobile, tablet, and wide screens
    • HTML export, publishing, SEO, forms, and ecommerce tools
    • Reusable blocks, global styles, and built-in graphics editing

    Where it doesn't

    • Windows desktop software only
    • One team seat
    • No free plan; trial limited to 14 days

  • Penpot — where it wins

    • Responsive UI design with CSS Grid and Flex layouts
    • Design tokens, shared libraries, and developer inspection
    • Hosted cloud or self-hosted deployment with APIs and webhooks

    Where it doesn't

    • The free Professional plan supports up to 8 team members
    • Enterprise features require the $25 per-user monthly plan
    • Private Server pricing is handled separately from listed cloud plans
  • Xara Web Designer9.0/10 · 14-day trial

    A capable Windows website builder with responsive design, export, and marketing tools.

    Visit XaraFull verdict →
  • Penpot8.0/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

    A broad UI design platform with real-time collaboration, tokens, APIs, and self-hosting.

    Visit PenpotFull verdict →

More comparisons

All web design software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update