Figma alternatives.For teams whose agents design in the file.
You already have Figma files. You want Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor drawing in the canvas, beside the team, without a second AI bill. Kite is a design tool built on real HTML and CSS, for the agents you already use: Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor design in your file in the language they know, follow your design system and take jobs from comments. Figma keeps designs in its own format, gives outside agents 20 calls a month on free seats, and lets them draw only on paid plans. Kite is free to start, $20 per editor a month for Pro, with no AI credits.
Stay with Figma
Your files already live there and agents are not part of the work. It is the editor most teams know.
- Free seats get 20 calls a month, and can't draw.
- Drawing is in beta, on paid plans, for approved clients only.
- Designs stay in Figma's own format. AI credits are a separate meter.
Move the work to Kite
Agents draw part of the design. Paste frames both ways, or import a whole file by its link, and keep editing with your team.
- Up to 1,500 agent actions an hour. Free includes 200 a day, and agents can draw.
- Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex or any MCP client. Hosted, with OAuth, or local in Kite for Mac.
- No AI credits. A design is real HTML and CSS, so agents read and write it directly.
Bring the files across.
Paste a few frames, or import the whole file. Send any frame back.
1. Connect Figma
In Settings → Integrations, choose Connect Figma and approve it. Kite reads only files you can already open, and it cannot change them. Pictures in a paste, and a file imported by link, use that connection.
2. Paste the frames you need
In Figma, copy the frames. In a Kite file, paste. Frames, groups, auto layout, text, shapes, vectors, fills, strokes and shadows come in as layers. Components you copy come across. An instance copied without its main component comes in as plain layers. The first paste with pictures asks you to connect, or it leaves grey placeholders.
3. Or import the whole file by its link
Copy the file's link in Figma. In Kite, open a new tab, choose Import from Figma, and paste the link. Every page comes in as a page of one new file, with its pictures. A big file can take several minutes. An import brings layers and pictures, not Figma's variables. A file with too many pages, or past 2,000 pictures an hour, leaves the rest as placeholders you can paste later.
4. Send a frame back with Copy to Figma
Select the frames, right-click, and choose Copy/Paste as → Copy to Figma. Paste in Figma. Frames, auto layout, text, shapes and pictures arrive as layers. Components arrive as ordinary frames, and colours from your design system as plain colours.
Kite and Figma, side by side.
Agent, MCP and credit rows first, then every other row both tools document. Kite's side is marked where it is ahead.
| Feature | Kite | Figma |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted MCP server | Any agent connects from anywhere, signing in with OAuth | Yes |
| Local MCP server | Built into Kite for Mac, for agents on your machine | Yes, in Dev Mode |
| What agents can do | 43 tools: agents read, draw, edit and check their own work | Draws in beta, on paid plans |
| Which agents | Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex or any MCP client | Yes, approved clients only |
| Agent limits | Up to 1,500 agent actions an hour | 20 calls a month on free seats |
| AI credits | None: your agent runs on the plan you already pay for | Yes, AI credits |
| What a design is | Real HTML and CSS, the language agents already read and write | Its own format, translated to code |
| Vector editing | Pen tool, point editing and boolean operations | Yes |
| Components | Components with variants, properties and instance swap | Yes, with variants |
| Variables | Variables with modes, like light and dark, set per frame | Yes, with modes |
| Auto layout | Rows, columns and grids that grow with their content | Yes |
| Where files live | In the cloud, open in any browser or in Kite for Mac | Yes |
| Version history | Autosaves every 10 minutes, plus named versions to go back to | Yes; branching on Organization |
| Export | PNG, JPG, WebP, AVIF, SVG and PDF, or copy as HTML, React or Tailwind | PNG, JPG, SVG, PDF, MP4, GIF |
| Live cursors | Live cursors and selections for everyone in the file | Yes |
| Comments | Comment threads pinned to the design, with email notifications | Yes |
| Workspaces and roles | Workspaces with owner, editor and viewer roles | Yes |
| Share links | One link per file, and guests comment with just a name | Yes |
| Free plan | Unlimited editors and viewers, and 3 files, free | Yes, 20 MCP calls a month |
Free on Kite is 200 agent actions a day. Pro lists unlimited agent actions. The agent-limits row is the ceiling on the compare pages: up to 1,500 an hour. The longer page is Kite vs Figma. Other tools, including paper.design, are on Figma alternatives.
Before you switch.
The objections that stop a team, answered from what both tools actually do.
The team already knows Figma
Keep Figma for the work that stays there. Copy to Figma sends a frame back as layers you can edit in Figma. Paste the other way when a frame should be edited in Kite, or import the whole file by its link. You do not have to move every file on day one.
The learning curve
Kite is a vector editor: a pen tool, point editing, boolean operations, components with variants and instance swap, variables with modes such as light and dark, and rows, columns and grids that grow with their content. The part Figma does not match is the file itself. A design is real HTML and CSS, which is what your agents already read and write.
Our design system
Agents read the file's design system, its variables, styles and skills, before they draw. A paste can bring the variables and styles Figma's copy includes, and they join the file's system by name. An import of a whole file does not bring Figma's variables: right-click a frame and choose Make a design system from this frame, or pick a system you already have in Assets.
Multiplayer
People in the file get live cursors and selections. Comment threads pin to the design, with email notifications, and a guest can comment with just a name. Workspaces have owner, editor and viewer roles. One link shares the file. Figma has multiplayer and comments too. Moving a frame does not mean reviewing it in a doc.
Questions.
About leaving Figma, or using both.
What is a good Figma alternative for AI agents?
Kite, when the agents should draw in the file. They connect over MCP from anywhere, get up to 1,500 actions an hour, and can draw. Figma's free seats get 20 calls a month and can't draw. Drawing there is in beta, on paid plans, for approved clients. Kite has no AI credits. Your agent runs on the plan you already pay for.
Can I bring my Figma files into Kite?
Yes. Copy frames in Figma and paste them into Kite as layers, or import a whole file by its link. Every page of that file becomes a page of one new Kite file. Connect Figma so the pictures come with it. The walkthrough is Move a Figma file to Kite.
Can I send a frame back to Figma?
Yes. Select it, choose Copy/Paste as → Copy to Figma, and paste in Figma. It arrives as frames, auto layout, text, shapes and pictures. Components arrive as ordinary frames, and design-system colours as plain colours.
Do free Figma seats let agents draw?
No. Free seats get 20 calls a month and can't draw. Drawing is in beta, on paid plans, and only for approved clients. On Kite, free includes 200 agent actions a day and agents can draw. Pro lists unlimited agent actions. Kite also documents a ceiling of 1,500 actions an hour, and charges no AI credits.
Will we lose multiplayer and comments?
No. Kite has live cursors and selections, comment threads pinned to the design with email notifications, and guest comments with just a name. Owner, editor and viewer roles are on the workspace. Someone can review in the file.
What happens to our design system?
Agents read variables, styles and skills before they draw, and write var(--name), including modes such as light and dark. A paste can carry the variables Figma included. Importing a whole file does not bring Figma's variables, so you make a design system from a frame, or choose one the workspace already has.
Which apps are like Figma?
Figma, Kite, paper.design, pen.dev and the others on the alternatives page. They differ in who edits: a person only, the tool's own AI, or the agents you already use. Kite is the last of those, and the file is HTML and CSS rather than a closed format.
Is there a Figma alternative with MCP?
Yes. Kite's hosted MCP server works with any client that supports streamable HTTP and OAuth, and Kite for Mac adds a local one. Figma has both a hosted server and a local one in Dev Mode. The longer side-by-side is Kite vs Figma.
How much does Kite cost?
Free to start: unlimited editors and viewers, one workspace with 3 files, and 200 agent actions a day. Pro is $20 per editor a month, or $16 billed yearly. Team is $35, or $28 billed yearly. No AI credits: your agent runs on the plan you already pay for.
You and your agents,on one board.
In your browser, or in Kite for Mac. Bring the agent you already use.