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Design

Framer

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Panel rating · 6 judges · How to read the stars

Category median

Sovereignty: not determined

0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.

by Framer B.V. · www.framer.com

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Framer: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai Framer: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai (dark)

Add ?theme=dark to the image address for dark backgrounds. The badge shows the category and the month of the latest evaluation, and EU-Made where that is the product’s provenance. It never shows a score.

Framer at a glance

Vendor
Framer B.V.
Headquarters
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
Data hosting
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
Free plan
Yes, per the vendor’s own page source, captured 1 Oct 2026
Panel verdict
The AI panel rates Framer 2/5, the mean of 6 judges. Framer B.V., an Amsterdam design tool that publishes production websites, scores highest on design and prototyping (6 to 7) and collaboration and handoff (6 to 7), where judges cite documented component variants with resettable overrides, libraries whose updates propagate to every project, free commenting viewers, branching with a documented merge API, and a staging environment. how scores are made
As of
Vendor pages captured 1 Oct 2026 to 13 Oct 2026; evaluated by the panel 15 Oct 2026. all sources

Framer alternatives, European ones first →

Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.

The Agency Owner

Weighted verdict

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.

Same scores as the panel view — this lens weights them the way this judge cares.

Scored by The Agency Owner

Panel median The Agency Owner This judge’s scores over the panel median. Each label opens its reasoning below.
Scores per criterion, in stars out of 5
Criterion Panel median The Agency Owner
Design, prototyping & design systems 3 of 5 3 of 5
Collaboration, review & developer handoff 3 of 5 3 of 5
Brand assets & governance 2 of 5 1.5 of 5
Files, formats & portability 1 of 5 1 of 5
AI features & rights to the work 2 of 5 1 of 5
European sovereignty 1.5 of 5 1.5 of 5
Pricing transparency 2 of 5 1 of 5

Design, prototyping & design systems

How this is scored

The making itself: vector and layout tools, interactive prototypes, and the shared components, styles and tokens that keep a company's products and materials consistent — judged on what the feature and help pages document, not on showcase images.

0 — A single-purpose editor with no reusable components, no shared styles and no prototyping.

3 — Templates and basic shapes or layouts, with styles saved per file only and prototyping limited to linking screens.

5 — Reusable components and shared styles across files, responsive or auto layout, clickable prototypes with transitions, and team libraries that update where they are used.

8 — A design system managed in the tool: variables or tokens for colour, type and spacing with modes or themes, component variants and properties, prototypes with conditional logic, and library change notes with versions.

10 — The design system is a governed product: library releases versioned and reviewable, token export in a documented format for development, usage analytics per component, and accessibility checks such as contrast built into the editor.

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The Agency Owner

Component variants with per-variant overrides and hover states that animate in preview, breakpoint-driven Desktop/Tablet/Phone variants, and component libraries whose updates reach every project through an Update button — that is the shared-system level I need before handing a brand system to a client. I found no public information on tokens with themes or modes, prototype conditional logic, or versioned library release notes, which is what separates a managed design system from a good component set. 5 6 9

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Collaboration, review & developer handoff

How this is scored

Working on the same files with colleagues, clients and developers: comments and review, permissions for internal and external people, and the handoff that gives engineering measurements, assets and code rather than screenshots.

0 — Files shared as exports or links with no comments, no permissions beyond view or edit, and no developer view.

3 — Real-time co-editing and comments, but external reviewers need a paid seat or full access, and developers get only exported images.

5 — Comments with mentions and resolution, view-only and comment-only access for guests without a paid seat, permissions per file and project, and an inspect mode with measurements, styles and asset export.

8 — Branching or review of changes before they reach the main file, version history with restore, a developer mode that links components to code, an API and plugins documented, and named integrations with issue trackers and code tools.

10 — Handoff is a contract between design and code: component properties mapped to code components, token and asset export automated through the API, an audit log of access and sharing, and external access governed by domain, expiry and admin policy.

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The Agency Owner

Free viewers who can comment, roles that split view, content, design and deploy, branching with previews and a documented branch-merge API, plus named connections to GitHub, Slack and external agents — my clients' reviewers cost nothing and developers get real tooling. I found no public information on an inspect mode with measurements and style readouts, on restoring past versions, or on an access audit log, so handoff still leans on the published site rather than a design-to-code contract. 2 2 8 7

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Brand assets & governance

How this is scored

Keeping a brand usable and correct across a company: a central library for logos, images and templates, brand guidelines people can find, locked templates that let non-designers produce material, and rights and expiry metadata on every licensed asset.

0 — No shared asset library; logos and images are uploaded per file by whoever needs them.

3 — A shared folder of assets and some templates, but no guidelines, no locking of brand elements and no metadata beyond file names.

5 — A central brand library with logos, colours and fonts, templates with locked elements for non-designers, brand guidelines published in the tool, and tagging and search across assets.

8 — Rights, usage and expiry metadata on assets with warnings or automatic withdrawal on expiry, approval workflows for new assets and template output, version control on assets, and access per team, market or partner.

10 — Brand governance is auditable: every asset carries its licence, owner and permitted use, usage of each asset is tracked across files and channels, distribution to external partners is logged, and the whole library with metadata is exportable in a documented format.

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The Agency Owner

The brand story here is marketplace plugins: BrandGuard scans frames, text and asset styles against approved palettes, approved fonts, spacing multiples and banned terminology with severity levels, and Styleguide generates semantically tagged text styles. I found no public information on a first-party central library for logos and licensed assets, locked templates for non-designers, brand guidelines published in the tool, or rights and expiry metadata on assets. 10 9 1

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Files, formats & portability

How this is scored

Whether the work can leave: open or documented file formats, export that keeps layers, vectors and components, offline or self-hosted options, and what happens to files after a downgrade, a removed seat or a cancelled contract.

0 — Files exist only in the vendor's cloud in a proprietary format, export is a flat image, and nothing is said about files after cancellation.

3 — Export to PNG, PDF and SVG per frame, but no export of whole files with structure, and files after a downgrade or cancellation addressed only in general terms.

5 — Whole files exportable to a local or documented format, vector and layered export (SVG, PDF) with text kept as text, bulk export of a team's files, and a stated period during which files remain accessible after cancellation.

8 — An open or publicly documented file format, export and import with other tools documented, an API that reads full file structure, files of removed users transferred to the organisation by policy, and a stated deletion timeline after the contract ends.

10 — Portability is built in: an open-source or openly specified format, self-hosting or a local-first option, round-trip export without loss of components and prototypes, and the customer's ownership of all files and their export rights written into the terms.

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The Agency Owner

The documented export is assets and pages as PNG or JPG from the desktop app — flat images, nothing with layers or components intact. I found no public information on whole-file or structured export, on a documented file format, or on any stated period during which client files remain accessible after cancellation; the terms only promise irreversible deletion of content upon written request, which is the opposite of what I need when winding down a project. 12 4

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AI features & rights to the work

How this is scored

What the vendor's AI does with the customer's files and what the customer may do with the AI's output: training on customer content and the opt-out, the models and where they run, commercial use of generated images, stock licences and indemnity.

0 — Generative features with no statement on training on customer files, no named models, and no word on whether output may be used commercially.

3 — An AI page that promises responsibility but leaves open whether customer files train models, and output rights are stated only for some features or only in community terms.

5 — Training on customer content excluded or opt-out documented, AI features switchable by an admin for the organisation, model providers named, and commercial use of generated output permitted in the terms.

8 — Training excluded by default for business plans, the processing location of AI features stated, generated content labelled or carrying content credentials, stock and template licences stated per asset type, and an IP indemnity for generated output on a named plan.

10 — AI is governed in writing: a per-feature list of models, providers and locations, admin controls per team and feature, a log of AI use, training exclusion and output ownership in the contract terms, and indemnity and licence limits published in full.

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The Agency Owner

The AI notice reserves Framer's rights in its AI features and resulting usage data, and the privacy statement keeps customer personal data out of third-party model training "unless expressly disclosed otherwise" — but that leaves non-personal design content and output rights unaddressed. I found no public information on commercial-use rights to generated output, named model providers or processing locations, admin switches for AI features, or indemnity; the credit metering (1,000 or 3,000 per month) says nothing about who owns what the agents produce. 13 3 2

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European sovereignty

How this is scored

Who the contracting entity is, where design files, brand assets and AI prompts are stored and processed, and which subprocessors touch them. Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline.

0 — Non-EU contracting entity, no statement on where files are hosted, and subprocessors unnamed.

3 — EU data residency available only on an enterprise plan or not at all, or the subprocessor list is absent, or AI features send files outside the EU without an explained safeguard.

5 — EU hosting stated for files, a DPA available, but the contracting entity or significant parts of the chain (AI, rendering, support) are non-EU without a stated safeguard.

8 — EU contracting entity, files, assets and backups stored in the EU on named infrastructure, subprocessor list published with locations and purposes, and AI processing location stated.

10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, EU entity, every hosting, AI and support subprocessor European or optional, self-hosting or a European cloud offered, and certifications published.

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The Agency Owner

The vendor is presented as Framer B.V. of Amsterdam, which is a start, but the captured pages say nothing about where design files, backups or AI prompts are stored and processed — hosting is described only as a global delivery network with 20 or 300+ locations. A sub-processor list is referenced as living in a Trust Center, yet we found no public information on its contents, locations or purposes, nor on a data processing agreement. 4 2

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Pricing transparency

How this is scored

Whether a buyer can compute the annual cost for their team from public pages alone — which seat types exist and what each may do, how viewers and guests are billed, how seats are added and trued up, AI credits, and the plan where SSO, admin controls and brand features begin.

0 — No public prices at all; every plan is a sales conversation.

3 — A per-seat price for an entry plan, but the seat types, the billing of guests and reviewers, and the plan needed for business features are unclear.

5 — Plans priced per seat type with their main features, but at least one commonly incurred cost (seat upgrades on request, AI credits, storage, brand or SSO add-ons) is missing or "on request".

8 — Every plan and seat type priced, free viewers and guests stated with their limits, how and when added seats are billed explained, AI credits and storage priced or included explicitly, and the plan that unlocks SSO and admin controls named.

10 — Complete cost computability: annual cost derivable for a given mix of editors, viewers and guests, true-up and auto-upgrade rules published, every add-on priced publicly, and contract term, renewal and downgrade conditions stated.

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The Agency Owner

The pricing pages are unusually clear on mechanics — editors capped at ten on Basic and Pro, free viewers who comment at no cost, credits shared across the workspace, added editors charged within 24 hours, and a 14-day refund in the EU and Turkey — but we found no public information on a currency figure for any plan, add-on or credit pack. Without per-seat prices I cannot compute an annual cost for a client team, and single sign-on appears only at an Enterprise tier with custom billing. 2 2

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European sovereignty — proven facts

0 of 4 dimensions proven

Built only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.

Ownership Not determined — uncited Report an error
Data residency Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error
Subprocessors Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error

Questions about Framer

Is Framer European?

Yes. whats-best.ai classifies Framer as EU-Made.

Where does Framer store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

Does Framer have a free plan?

Yes. Framer has a free plan, per the vendor’s page captured 1 Oct 2026.

What are the best alternatives to Framer?

As of 16 Oct 2026, the panel rates Penpot (2.5/5), Sketch (2.5/5) and Frontify (2.5/5) highest among the other 13 Design products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is Penpot (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: Framer alternatives.

Where this could be wrong

What we left out

A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.

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Sources (14)

The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.

  1. 1 Vendor homepage www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 +1 earlier capture: 1 Oct 2026 Details →
  2. 2 Pricing page www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 +1 earlier capture: 1 Oct 2026 Details →
  3. 3 Privacy policy www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  4. 4 Terms of service www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  5. 5 Design, prototyping & design systems — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  6. 6 Design, prototyping & design systems — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  7. 7 Collaboration, review & developer handoff — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 +1 earlier capture: 1 Oct 2026 Details →
  8. 8 Collaboration, review & developer handoff — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  9. 9 Brand assets & governance — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 +1 earlier capture: 1 Oct 2026 Details →
  10. 10 Brand assets & governance — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  11. 11 Files, formats & portability — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 +1 earlier capture: 1 Oct 2026 Details →
  12. 12 Files, formats & portability — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  13. 13 AI features & rights to the work — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  14. 14 AI features & rights to the work — found from sitemap www.framer.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →