Penpot's tokens system grows up as a Figma rival

A 2026 comparison piece flags that Penpot now ships a proper design tokens system plus improved component management — a real signal open-source tooling can handle token-based design systems, not just static styles.

According to the comparison, Penpot's redesigned interface adds a genuine design tokens system, better component management, and meaningfully improved performance on large files — closing a gap that used to be a hard blocker for design systems work specifically (tokens, not just components, are the backbone of most modern systems). Figma still has the bigger plugin ecosystem and is the default at most UK studios, so this isn't a replacement story yet. But if your team ever debates self-hosting or vendor lock-in, this is the concrete feature that changes the conversation from "nice open-source idea" to "can actually run our system." Labelled adoption, not hype: it's a real feature shipped and reviewed, not a roadmap promise.

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