Zeplin is a design delivery tool: designers publish screens from their design app, and developers get specs, assets, style guides and comments in one place. It still runs, and it has added AI Design Review and AI Organize. The Zeplin pricing page also says that "As of September 2024, Zeplin's Team and Org plans are no longer available for new purchases". New customers choose between a free plan, per-project Basic plans and a per-seat Advanced plan.
Avocode, the tool many people compared with Zeplin, is gone. Its homepage says Avocode "was sunset on October 1st, 2023" along with all its other products. The seven picks below start with handoff built into design tools, which is what most teams moved to, then cover code generation and component documentation. If you are also leaving the design tool itself, our Adobe XD alternatives page covers the design side.
Prices below are as of November 8, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Figma Dev Mode | Teams whose designers already use Figma | Dev seat $12/month billed yearly, $15 monthly | Browser, Windows, Mac |
| Sketch | Mac design teams that want handoff included | $12/editor/month billed yearly; viewers free | Mac (design), any browser (handoff) |
| Penpot | Free, self-hostable design with code inspect | Free up to 8 members; $7/editor/month | Browser, self-hosted |
| Storybook | Documenting coded components | Free, open source (MIT) | Any OS with Node.js |
| Anima | Turning Figma frames into React or HTML code | Free tier; Enterprise from $500/month billed yearly | Figma plugin, browser |
| Builder.io | AI code generation inside your repo | Free; Pro $24/user/month | Browser, Figma plugin, VS Code |
| Sympli | Native app teams that want specs in Xcode and Android Studio | $5/seat/month, 5-seat minimum | Browser, Xcode, Android Studio |
Figma Dev Mode
Dev Mode is the reason most Figma teams cancelled Zeplin. Developers open the same file the designers edit, switch to an inspect view with measurements, variables and code snippets, and see which frames are marked ready for development. There is no publish step, so specs are never a version behind the design.
Developers do not need a full design seat. A Dev seat on Professional costs $12 a month billed yearly or $15 billed monthly, against $16 or $20 for a Full seat. On Organization it is $25 a month and on Enterprise $35, both billed yearly. Dev Mode and Code Connect are part of every paid plan, and the seat-based prices applied from each team's first renewal on or after March 11, 2025, per the Figma help centre.
Best for: A team that designs in Figma and wants developers in the same file.
Pricing:
- Starter: free, no Dev Mode
- Professional Dev seat: $12 per month billed yearly, $15 billed monthly
- Organization Dev seat: $25 per month, billed yearly
- Enterprise Dev seat: $35 per month, billed yearly
Watch out for:
- The free Starter plan does not include Dev Mode or Code Connect, per the plans page, so you need a paid plan for the whole team.
- It only covers Figma files. Designs from Sketch, XD or Photoshop stay out of reach, which Zeplin handled.
Official site: Figma Dev Mode.
Sketch
Sketch has built handoff into its own web app. Developers open a shared document in any browser to inspect specs and download assets, and viewers do not take a paid seat. Design itself still happens in the Mac app.
Handoff comes with every plan. The pricing page lists Standard at $12 per editor a month billed yearly, with free viewers, free developer handoff and a free MCP server for AI coding tools. A Mac-only licence costs $120 per seat with one year of updates, but it covers the Mac app only, not the web handoff.
Best for: A Mac-based design team that wants handoff without a second subscription.
Pricing:
- Standard: $12 per editor per month, billed yearly; viewers and handoff free
- Professional: $24 per editor per month, billed yearly
- Enterprise: $44 per editor per month, billed yearly
- Mac-only licence: $120 per seat (no web features)
- 30-day trial
Watch out for:
- Designers need Macs. Developers on Windows or Linux are fine in the browser, but nobody on Windows can edit.
- The MCP server works only with the Mac app downloaded from Sketch's site, not the Mac App Store version, per the pricing page.
Official site: Sketch.
Penpot
Penpot is an open source design tool that runs in the browser, and it has its own handoff view. In Inspect mode a developer selects any object and gets distances, properties, asset export and SVG, HTML and CSS code. Because it can run on your own server, it suits teams that cannot put client designs on someone else's cloud.
The Professional plan is free for up to 8 team members with unlimited viewers. Unlimited costs $7 per editor a month and stops rising at $175 a month, and Enterprise is $25 per member a month. Locofy, one of the code-generation tools, also accepts Penpot files.
Best for: Small teams that want design and handoff in one free, open source tool.
Pricing:
- Professional: free, up to 8 team members
- Unlimited: $7 per editor per month, capped at $175 per month
- Enterprise: $25 per member per month
- Self-hosted open source: free
Watch out for:
- Moving to Penpot means moving the designers too. It does not pull specs from Figma or Sketch files the way Zeplin did.
- A ninth team member on the free plan forces an upgrade, per the pricing page.
Official site: Penpot.
Storybook
Zeplin's style guides describe components as designed. Storybook describes them as built: each component lives in isolation, next to its states, props and docs, so designers review the real thing instead of a picture. It pairs well with Figma Dev Mode: one shows the intent, the other the shipped code.
It is free and MIT licensed. The npm package shows version 10.6.6 published on November 5, 2026, with an 11.0 beta already out. It works with React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, web components and other frameworks, and runs anywhere Node.js does.
Best for: Front-end teams who want one source of truth for components in code.
Pricing:
- Free and open source under the MIT licence
- Hosting your Storybook is up to you; any static host works
Watch out for:
- It does not read design files. Someone still has to write the stories, so it documents what exists rather than handing off new screens.
- Major versions arrive often: 10.x is current and 11.0 is already in beta, so plan time for upgrades.
Official site: Storybook.
Anima
Anima skips the spec stage. Its Figma plugin turns frames into React or HTML code, and its AI playground can clone a website or rebuild a design from a prompt. For a startup without a front-end developer, that can replace both Zeplin and the first draft of the code.
The pricing page describes a free plan with 5 chat messages, 5 Figma imports or website clones and 5 code generations in the plugin. Pro adds 5,000 code exports a month and unlimited Figma inspects, but its price is not published. Enterprise starts at $500 a month, paid annually, with SSO and SLAs. Plans bill monthly or yearly.
Best for: Small teams that want working front-end code generated from Figma.
Pricing:
- Free: 5 chat messages, 5 imports, 5 plugin code generations
- Pro: price not published; 5,000 code exports per month
- Enterprise: from $500 per month, paid annually
Watch out for:
- Generated code needs review. It follows the layers in the Figma file, so a messy file produces messy markup.
- The free tier's 5 generations are a demo, per the pricing page.
Official site: Anima.
Builder.io
Builder.io comes at handoff from the code side. It connects to your GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket repo, reads your design system, and an AI agent turns designs or prompts into code that uses your own components. It also ships a Figma plugin and a VS Code extension, so designers and developers both have an entry point.
The pricing page lists a free plan with 60 agent credits a month (at most 15 a day) and one design system. Pro is $24 per user a month with 500 credits, and Team is $40 per user a month for up to 20 users. Enterprise is custom.
Best for: Engineering-led teams that want generated code to reuse existing components.
Pricing:
- Free: 60 credits per month, 15 per day, 1 design system
- Pro: $24 per user per month, 500 credits
- Team: $40 per user per month, up to 20 users
- Enterprise: custom
Watch out for:
- Credits run out. Free accounts get no rollover and no on-demand top-ups, per the pricing page.
- It is a code tool first. Designers who just want a spec view will find it heavier than Zeplin.
Official site: Builder.io.
Sympli
Sympli is the most Zeplin-like tool still around. Designers publish from Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD or Photoshop with a free plugin, and developers get specs, assets and colours in a web app or directly in Xcode and Android Studio. Sympli Versions adds design version tracking and visual diffs.
The pricing page lists Handoff Startup at $5 per seat a month with a minimum of 5 seats, unlimited projects and Slack and Teams integration. Annual billing saves 10%. Enterprise, with SSO, private cloud and on-premise options, is priced on request. A 30-day trial needs no credit card.
Best for: Native iOS and Android teams that want design specs inside their IDE.
Pricing:
- Handoff Startup: $5 per seat per month, minimum 5 seats
- Annual billing: 10% off
- Enterprise: price on request
- 30-day free trial
Watch out for:
- There is no free plan, and the 5-seat minimum makes it $25 a month even for one developer.
Official site: Sympli.
How to choose
| If you need | Pick |
|---|---|
| Designers in Figma and developers who want the same file | Figma Dev Mode |
| Handoff included in the design subscription on Mac | Sketch |
| No cost, or designs that must stay on your own server | Penpot |
| A living catalogue of the components you already built | Storybook |
| Front-end code generated from Figma frames | Anima |
| AI-generated code that reuses your repo's components | Builder.io |
| Specs inside Xcode and Android Studio | Sympli |
When to stay with Zeplin
Stay with Zeplin if your designers work in more than one tool and developers want a single, curated place for approved screens, not the messy working file. Its free plan still covers one project with 100 screens, and the pricing page lists Advanced at $12 per seat a month billed yearly with free reviewers and permanent version history. Per-project Basic plans, from $13.75 a month for one project, also suit agencies that bill per client.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zeplin still free?
Yes, with limits. The free plan allows 1 project, 100 screens, 1 style guide, up to 100 components and 30 days of version history, and only owners can publish. AI Design Review is limited to 3 screens a week on it.
Does Figma Dev Mode replace Zeplin?
For teams that design only in Figma, mostly yes: developers inspect the live file, copy code and track ready-for-dev frames with a cheaper Dev seat. Zeplin still has the edge for curated, versioned screen sets and for teams mixing Figma with Sketch or Photoshop.
Is Avocode still available?
No. Avocode and all its products were sunset on October 1, 2023, according to the notice on avocode.com.
What is the best free Zeplin alternative?
Penpot, if you can move the designers too: its free plan covers 8 team members and includes code inspect. If you only need to document components that already exist in code, Storybook is free and open source.
