Penpot
✓ Verified by EU AltsOpen-source design and prototyping platform — a European alternative to Figma.
Overview
Penpot is a Madrid, Spain-based European company building design tools, open source, and saas software since 2021. Despite its EU base, EU Alts has verified that Penpot is owned by Kaleidos Inc (legal structure suggests US/Delaware incorporation; operates via a Spanish branch) (Spain (operational HQ); legal parent entity appears to be a foreign 'Inc.' holding company), so it may still fall under the reach of the US CLOUD Act — worth weighing against Figma on this specific point.
Why European teams pick Penpot
Teams in Europe still consider Penpot for its design tools product and Spain presence, operating since 2021, but unlike a fully EU-owned provider, Penpot is owned by Kaleidos Inc (legal structure suggests US/Delaware incorporation; operates via a Spanish branch) (Spain (operational HQ); legal parent entity appears to be a foreign 'Inc.' holding company) — so it does not fully avoid US CLOUD Act exposure the way some other alternatives to Figma do.
See more EU design tools tools or browse other startups from Spain.
About
Penpot is an open-source design and prototyping platform developed by Kaleidos, a Spanish company based in Madrid. It is the only major open-source alternative to Figma, built on open web standards (SVG, CSS, HTML) and licensed under the EUPL (European Union Public Licence). Penpot can be self-hosted on any EU server using Docker, giving design teams complete data sovereignty over their design files — no intellectual property leaves the organisation. The hosted cloud version (penpot.app) is also available. Penpot supports real-time collaboration, components, design systems, and interactive prototypes. It is actively maintained by the Penpot team and a growing community of European contributors, and is gaining adoption among EU public sector organisations that cannot use US-hosted SaaS design tools.
Details
- Founded
- 2021
- Headquarters
- Madrid, Spain
- Ownership
- Owned by Kaleidos Inc (legal structure suggests US/Delaware incorporation; operates via a Spanish branch) (Spain (operational HQ); legal parent entity appears to be a foreign 'Inc.' holding company)
- CLOUD Act
- Exposed
- Verified
- 2026-07-31
- Last checked
- 2026-07-31
Categories
Compare with the US product you may be replacing
Penpot is listed in a category that our US-product comparison pages cover. See every EU option side by side:
Other EU startups like Penpot
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- Taiga ✓ Verified by EU AltsSpain — Open-source agile project management for distributed teams — a Spanish alternative to Jira.
- Typeform Spain — Conversational forms and surveys — a Spanish alternative to Google Forms and SurveyMonkey.
- Factorial ✓ Verified by EU AltsSpain — All-in-one HR software for SMEs — a Spanish alternative to BambooHR.
- Kenjo ✓ Verified by EU AltsSpain — Intuitive HR software for people management — a European alternative to BambooHR.
Frequently asked questions
What does Penpot do?
Penpot is open-source design and prototyping platform — a european alternative to figma. It is listed under design tools, open source, and saas on EU Alts because its core functionality serves teams looking for a European design tools tool with EU data residency, typically as a switch away from Figma.
Is Penpot GDPR compliant?
Penpot is headquartered in Madrid, Spain and processes user data under the GDPR by default. Customer data processing is supervised by Spain's data protection authority, the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD). However, EU Alts has verified that Penpot is owned by Kaleidos Inc (legal structure suggests US/Delaware incorporation; operates via a Spanish branch) (Spain (operational HQ); legal parent entity appears to be a foreign 'Inc.' holding company), which means — unlike a fully EU-owned provider — it may still be reachable under the US CLOUD Act, similar to Figma in that respect.
How do teams switch from Figma to Penpot?
Teams evaluating a move from Figma to Penpot should note: Penpot is owned by Kaleidos Inc (legal structure suggests US/Delaware incorporation; operates via a Spanish branch) (Spain (operational HQ); legal parent entity appears to be a foreign 'Inc.' holding company), so this switch narrows but may not fully close the US CLOUD Act gap. Weigh that against the design tools workflow fit before treating it as a complete Schrems II fix.
Where is Penpot based?
Penpot is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. The company was founded in 2021. Its main website is https://penpot.app.