Subframe vs Figma

Design and ship with real code, not pixels.

Subframe is a visual UI builder for designing with real components, not mockups, so engineers export pixel-perfect React code.

The design to dev hand-off process is broken. We built Subframe to fix it.

Finally – a UI design tool to bridge the gap between design and code.

Design with real components, not mockups.Finally, a visual UI editor loved by designers & developers alike. Drag-and-drop on an intuitive, responsive canvas and get pixel-perfect UI, every time.

Real components under-the-hood → code your developers will use.Subframe lets you visually design with React components & Tailwind CSS in real-time based on front-end best practices. No plugins required.

Hundreds of beautiful UI examples – built with your design system.Get access to hundreds of templates, UI snippets, and components – all using your custom theme and design system. Dark mode included.

Why choose Subframe over Figma?

Perfect code export every time.

Unlike Figma's dev mode, Subframe exports clean, production-ready React and Tailwind CSS code that your developers actually want to use.

Custom design system included.

Stop reinventing the wheel with every project. Customize prebuilt components visually, create variants with ease, and add interaction states—all without writing a line of code.

Theme your UI instantly.

Subframe's theming system lets you apply pre-made themes with a click, or fully customize colors, fonts, text styles, borders to perfectly match your brand identity.

100's of templates & snippets.

Get started with an extensive collection of page templates and UI snippets. These aren't just static mockups—they're code-ready examples built on your design system.

Auto-layout that just works.

No more pixel-pushing and broken layouts. Subframe is built on actual CSS code so your designs always behave as expected. Create responsive layouts effortlessly.

Collaborate with your team.

Subframe brings familiar workflows you are used to with your team, only better. Your entire team can collaborate on designs in real-time, just like in Figma.

Join thousands of designers building with code.

Subframe is reshaping what it means to “design” software. Designers are not just drawing interfaces anymore, they’re building products.

Varun AhirSenior Product Designer @ R1 RCM

One thing I think Subframe gets right—and most prompt-to-UI tools completely miss—is divergence. Subframe brings that back. If AI tools want to support real design workflows, they need to mirror how we actually think.

Ran LiuHead of Design @ Gable

Subframe customer here, highly recommend this custom design & component library that just ✨works✨

Arvind SubramanianCo-Founder @ Contour (YC S23)

Highly recommend it for backend-heavy teams that need to ship quality UI quickly.

Felipe AragãoFounder @ Fiber (YC W23)

I ran an AI-powered design sprint using Subframe. By the middle of Day 1, we had generated MULTIPLE concepts that looked and felt real.

Ji Su HiattSenior Product Designer @ NMI

Tools like Subframe are blurring these boundaries by creating a shared language — code—that all team members can understand and contribute to.

Greg PetroffChief Design Officer & Advisor @ Paddle

Subframe feels like a game changer. Instead of handing off static mocks, you’re designing with real structure, real components, and real code - so what you make is what gets built.

Rashi BihaniDesign Director @ AI Student Collective

As AI transforms tech, a designer's judgement, taste and influence will matter more than ever. Subframe is one of my favorite new AI tools to visually build your product UI in minutes.

Joey PrimianiSenior Product Designer @ LinkedIn

Subframe feels like a designers take. It feels like it's there to care about and work on the design.

Micke AlmStaff Product Designer & Design Lead

I've been using this for months and it's easily the best level of abstraction for building UI of any tool I've used (and I've tried a bunch).

Hansen QianFounder @ Lightski (YC W23)

Subframe is an interesting approach to building apps grounded in strong design systems. Any tool that helps raise the bar on quality is a win for users.

Patrice CalligarisFounder & Director of Product Design @ BestOfDesign

Subframe was a game changer for us. We went from design/UI being our Achilles' heel to it becoming one of the strengths of our product.

Fawad KhaliqCTO @ Chkk

With Subframe, 80% of the things I’m likely to need on a page are there at my fingertips. I don’t need to think about organisation and layout, just about what the ideal UX would be.

Tom WeaverFounder @ Chainmaker

It feels as though my creativity has been unburdened of the previous worry of a “hand-off gone bad.” Instead, I am more confident than ever that I can design, build and ship great products much more consistently.

Jorge ReynaPrincipal Designer

The visual and design quality of Subframe just blows many other AI tools out of the market, which ins’t a surprise given it really is a design tool.

Rabi AlamFounder @ Stealth

Subframe’s Ask AI mode drafted four options in under a minute, turning an outdated form into something much more user-friendly.

Roger WongHead of Design @ BuildOps

Quick comparison.

Discover why thousands of product teams have been choosing Subframe over traditional tools like Figma.

Feature

Figma

Subframe

Drag-and-drop editor

Real-time collaboration

Auto-layout

Custom components & variants

Custom design tokens

Prototyping mode

AI design using your components

Production-ready code export

Pre-built reusable UI components

Responsive breakpoints

Design system documentation

100s of templates & UI examples

Built-in spacing scale

Navigation layouts

Interactive text inputs & form controls

FAQ

What is Subframe?

Who is Subframe for?

Can I export my Subframe designs into Figma?

Does Subframe replace Figma?

Can I design marketing pages in Subframe?

Do I need to know how to code to use Subframe?

Go from design-to-code today.

Discover why Subframe is purpose-built for building UI, with all the features of your favorite design tool

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