# Design — software compared by an AI panel As of 16 Oct 2026, the panel rates [Penpot (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/penpot), [Sketch (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/sketch) and [Frontify (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/frontify) highest in Design, out of 14 products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European option is [Penpot](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/penpot) (EU-Made). Of the products whose own pages state a free plan, the panel rates [Penpot](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/penpot) highest. Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). - Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/design - Data as of: 2026-10-20 **AI-generated.** Every rating here is the opinion of a panel of AI judges, formed from public evidence against a published rubric — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Listed alphabetically; no placement is for sale. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology ## Products | Product | Vendor | Provenance | Panel rating | Sovereignty | Markdown | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | [Brandfolder](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/brandfolder) | Smartsheet Inc. | Rest of world | 1.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/brandfolder.md) | | [CELUM](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/celum) | CELUM GmbH | EU-Made | 1.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/celum.md) | | [Collaboard](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/collaboard) | IBV Informatik, Beratungs und Vertriebs AG | UK / wider Europe | 2/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/collaboard.md) | | [Conceptboard](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/conceptboard) | Conceptboard Cloud Service GmbH | EU-Made | 1.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/conceptboard.md) | | [Figma](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/figma) | Figma, Inc. | Rest of world | 2.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/figma.md) | | [Framer](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/framer) | Framer B.V. | EU-Made | 2/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/framer.md) | | [Frontify](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/frontify) | Frontify AG | UK / wider Europe | 2.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/frontify.md) | | [Kittl](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/kittl) | Kittl Technologies GmbH | EU-Made | 2/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/kittl.md) | | [Lucidspark](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/lucidspark) | Lucid Software Inc. | Rest of world | 1.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/lucidspark.md) | | [Miro](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/miro) | RealtimeBoard Inc. dba Miro | Rest of world | 2/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/miro.md) | | [Mural](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/mural) | Tactivos, Inc. dba Mural | Rest of world | 1.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/mural.md) | | [Penpot](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/penpot) | Kaleidos Subsidiary S.L. | EU-Made | 2.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/penpot.md) | | [Sketch](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/sketch) | Sketch B.V. | EU-Made | 2.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/sketch.md) | | [UXPin](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/uxpin) | UXPin Inc. | Rest of world | 2.5/5 | not determined | [md](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/uxpin.md) | Ratings are out of 5 (the panel's mean, half steps). Sovereignty is scored only when all four dimensions (legal entity, ownership, data residency, subprocessors) are proven from the vendor's own pages. ## Questions ### What is the best Design software? As of 16 Oct 2026, the panel rates [Penpot (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/penpot), [Sketch (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/sketch) and [Frontify (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/frontify) highest of the 14 Design products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence. Each judge weighs the criteria differently, so read the scores for the criteria that matter to you. ### Which Design software is European? As of 16 Oct 2026, 8 of the 14 Design products evaluated are European by provenance: [Penpot](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/penpot), [Sketch](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/sketch), [Frontify](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/frontify), [Framer](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/framer), [Collaboard](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/collaboard), [Kittl](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/kittl), [CELUM](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/celum) and [Conceptboard](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/conceptboard). The highest-rated of them is [Penpot](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/penpot) (EU-Made). ### Which Design tools have a free plan? As of 16 Oct 2026, the vendors’ own pages state a free plan for [Penpot](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/penpot), [Figma](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/figma), [Miro](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/miro), [Framer](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/framer), [Collaboard](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/collaboard), [Kittl](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/kittl), [Lucidspark](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/lucidspark) and [Mural](https://whats-best.ai/software/design/mural). Each product page links the pricing page it was read from. ### How were these Design tools evaluated? Each product is scored by a bench of 6 AI judges built for this category, against the same published rubric of 7 criteria, using public evidence captured from the vendor’s own pages. Every score is AI-generated; nobody tested the products hands-on, and no score can be bought. The full method is on the [methodology page](https://whats-best.ai/methodology). ## The bench 6 AI judges built for this category, each versioned and scoring independently; disagreement is printed, not averaged away. - **The Product Designer** (v1.0): Owns the design system of a B2B software product. Wants components with variants, tokens with modes, prototypes that test a real flow, and library releases that are versioned and reviewable — a design system is a product, not a page of nicely arranged buttons. - **The Frontend Engineer** (v1.0): Turns the designs into code and gets the ticket when they disagree. Wants an inspect mode without a paid seat, tokens exported in a documented format, components mapped to the code ones, and an API that reads the whole file rather than a screenshot of it. - **The Brand Marketer** (v1.0): Keeps the brand consistent across twelve sales offices that make their own flyers. Wants locked templates non-designers can use, guidelines inside the tool, licence and expiry dates on every stock image, and a clear answer on whether a generated image may go on a trade-fair stand. - **The Agency Owner** (v1.0): Runs a design agency of fifteen and hands every project over to the client at the end. Wants files that export with layers and components intact, guests who are not billed as editors, and terms that say the client owns the work — and what happens to it after a cancellation. - **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): Reviews every tool where unreleased products, customer screenshots and employee photos end up. Wants the contracting entity and hosting region named, the AI providers on the subprocessor list, and training on customer files excluded for the whole organisation in the terms — not behind a toggle each user has to find. - **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has read "free for viewers", "commercially safe AI" and "export anytime" on every page in this category. Reads instead for the click that turns a reviewer into a billed editor, the plan the IP indemnity actually covers, and whether the export keeps a single component. --- Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Design", AI panel comparison, as of 2026-10-20. https://whats-best.ai/software/design