Open-Source InVision Alternatives for Prototyping, Design Handoff, Whiteboards and Design Systems
InVision no longer exists as a product. The company shut down its design collaboration services, including prototypes, Inspect specs, Freehand whiteboards and the DSM design system manager, on 31 December 2024, and invisionapp.com now redirects to Miro. If your team used InVision to click through prototypes, hand designs to developers, collect comments or run whiteboard workshops, you need a new home for each of those jobs. This guide lists the open-source tools that replace them, so you are not locked into another closed platform that can disappear. We checked each one on its official website and GitHub in October 2026: the exact licence, the latest release, what it costs and whether you can host it yourself.
Quick answer: the closest open-source replacement for InVision is Penpot: design, clickable prototypes, comments and an Inspect tab for developers, free in the cloud or on your own server. Add Quant-UX if you tested prototypes with users, Excalidraw or AFFiNE to replace Freehand whiteboards, and Storybook to replace InVision DSM for your design system. For quick wireframes, use Pencil Project or Wireflow.
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What Happened to InVision?
On 4 January 2024, InVision's CEO Michael Shenkman announced that the company would discontinue its design collaboration services, including prototypes and DSM, at the end of 2024, and stopped selling annual subscriptions. InVision's support FAQ named 31 December 2024 as the last day: all documents, including prototypes, Freehands, specs, boards, DSM and assets, were deleted at 11:59 PM EST that night, with no extensions. The Freehand whiteboard was sold to Miro. In its own announcement of the same day, Miro said the current version of Freehand would no longer be available from 31 December 2024 and that it would honour Freehand subscriptions with Miro access at no additional cost. When we checked on 29 October 2026, invisionapp.com and its old pages redirected to miro.com. There is no InVision account left to log into, and InVision cannot recover files that were not exported before the shutdown.
InVision did four jobs, and no single open-source tool does all of them. Here is what replaces what:
- Prototypes, Inspect specs and comments: Penpot (closest match) or Quant-UX (prototypes plus user testing).
- Freehand whiteboards: Excalidraw, AFFiNE or draw.io for flowcharts. Miro, the paid tool that bought Freehand, is not open source.
- DSM (design system manager): Storybook for component documentation, plus design tokens and components in Penpot.
- Quick wireframes and user flows: Pencil Project or Wireflow.
Open-Source InVision Alternatives Compared
Sources: each project's official website, pricing page and GitHub repository, checked 29 October 2026. Self-hosting is free, but you pay for the server and your own time.
The Best Open-Source InVision Alternatives in 2027
1. Penpot: the closest replacement for InVision prototypes and Inspect
Penpot is an open-source design and prototyping platform (MPL-2.0) that runs in the browser. It covers what most teams used InVision for. In Prototype mode you connect boards with triggers (on click, mouse enter, mouse leave, after delay) and actions such as navigate, open or close overlays and open a URL, with dissolve, slide and push animations. Each flow gets its own share link that works without a Penpot account, and you decide per link whether outsiders can comment and inspect code, much like InVision's share links. Developers get an Inspect tab with measurements, design specs and code snippets in SVG, HTML and CSS, plus asset export. On the Penpot pricing page, the Professional plan costs $0 and is described as free and fully featured; Unlimited is $7 per editor per month (capped at $175 a month) and Enterprise $25 per member per month. You can also self-host it with Docker or Kubernetes. Version 2.18.5 came out in October 2026.
2. Quant-UX: prototypes plus user testing and analytics
Quant-UX describes itself as a research, usability and prototyping tool, which makes it a good fit if you used InVision prototypes for user tests. You draw screens in a visual editor, add logic, animations and form validation, and work with design tokens and components. Then you give testers tasks and get automatic screen recordings, A/B tests, heatmaps of clicks, success rates, drop-off analysis and built-in surveys; share links and QR codes let people test on their phones. The Quant-UX front end is GPL-3.0 and the Java back end is MIT-licensed, and the repository includes a Docker Compose setup for self-hosting. The hosted version says it is free to start, and the site showed version 5.0.24 in October 2026.
3. Pencil Project: free desktop wireframes, now with AI
Pencil Project is a GPL-2.0 desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux for quick mockups. It comes with stencils for desktop, web, Android and iOS interfaces and flowchart shapes with connectors, and you can link elements to other pages to make a simple clickable prototype. It exports to PNG, a web page, PDF, Inkscape SVG and OpenOffice documents. After a long pause (version 3.1.1 dates from January 2023), version 4.0.0 came out in October 2026 with a built-in MCP server, so AI assistants can create and edit mockups on the canvas. There is no real-time collaboration, so share exported files or web pages for feedback.
4. Wireflow: user flows in the browser, no account needed
Wireflow is a free, MIT-licensed tool for sketching user flows, the screen-to-screen maps many teams drew in InVision Freehand. You drag wireframe screens from 125 templates in 12 categories onto a canvas, connect them, group them and export the result as PNG or JPG, or save a JSON file to open later. It runs in your browser without an account and stores your work locally; an optional AI assistant edits the diagram if you add your own Anthropic API key. The Wireflow code was rewritten and updated in October 2026.
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5. Excalidraw: the open-source whiteboard to replace Freehand
Excalidraw is an MIT-licensed virtual whiteboard with a hand-drawn look, good for workshops, flows and rough wireframes. It has real-time collaboration with end-to-end encryption, shape libraries and offline use as a PWA, and the Excalidraw repository includes a Dockerfile for self-hosting. The free plan allows unlimited collaborators. Excalidraw+, the paid cloud version, costs $6 per user per month after a 14-day trial and adds unlimited scenes, cloud saving, comments and presentations. The code is updated almost daily (October 2026).
6. AFFiNE: whiteboards and docs in one workspace
AFFiNE combines documents and an infinite whiteboard (its Edgeless mode) in one app, with real-time collaboration in the browser or on desktop. Its licence is MIT outside the server packages, which have their own licence. The Self-Hosted FOSS edition is free; in the cloud, the free plan includes 10 GB and up to 3 members, Pro costs $6.75 a month and AFFiNE AI is $8.90 a month billed annually. Choose it if your Freehand boards were really planning documents.
7. draw.io: flowcharts, sitemaps and user flows
draw.io is the Apache 2.0 diagram editor behind diagrams.net, with a browser app, desktop apps and a Docker image. It is ideal for sitemaps, user flows and architecture diagrams. Two limits: the README says the open-source version does not support real-time collaborative editing, and the team does not accept pull requests. Version 32.6.1 came out in October 2026. We compare more options in our open-source draw.io alternatives and free draw.io alternatives.
8. Storybook: the open-source replacement for InVision DSM
Storybook is an MIT-licensed frontend workshop for building UI components and pages in isolation. It replaces InVision DSM where it matters most: a living catalogue of your real coded components. Autodocs generates documentation pages from your component stories, and interaction and visual tests catch broken UI. You can publish it as a static website on any host, such as GitHub Pages, Netlify or AWS S3, so designers, developers and clients see the same components. Version 10.6.5 came out in October 2026. Pair it with Penpot's design tokens and components on the design side.
InVision Alternatives That Are Discontinued, Not Open Source or Not a Fit
The 2025 version of this article listed several tools that do not belong on an open-source InVision shortlist:
- Miro and Figma: good paid tools with free plans, and Miro now owns Freehand, but neither is open source. See our open-source Miro alternatives, free Miro alternatives and open-source Figma alternatives.
- Lunacy: a free design app from Icons8 for Windows, macOS and Linux, but not open source.
- Avocado by IDEO: its GitHub repository has not changed since May 2015, and it needs Apple's Quartz Composer and Facebook's Origami, so it is effectively abandoned.
- Blender and GIMP: excellent open-source software, but for 3D and photo editing, not prototyping. See our open-source Blender alternatives and open-source Photoshop alternatives.
- Humaaans and Open Peeps: free illustration libraries by Pablo Stanley under the CC0 public domain licence. They are assets you can use in Penpot, not design tools.
Which Open-Source InVision Alternative Should You Choose?
- You want one tool for design, prototypes, comments and handoff: Penpot, free in the cloud or self-hosted.
- You used InVision prototypes for user research: Quant-UX, for tasks, recordings and heatmaps.
- You miss Freehand: Excalidraw for quick shared sketches, AFFiNE if your boards sit next to documents.
- You need flowcharts, sitemaps or user flows: draw.io or Wireflow.
- You need fast wireframes offline: Pencil Project.
- You used InVision DSM: Storybook for coded components, with design tokens in Penpot.
For a design team, a common open-source stack is Penpot for design and prototypes, Excalidraw for workshops and Storybook for the component library. Need more design tools? See our free Illustrator alternatives, free Canva Pro alternatives, open-source Affinity Photo alternatives and LottieFiles alternatives for animations.
How Founders Use Open-Source Prototyping Tools
For a startup, a clickable prototype is the cheapest way to test an idea before you write code. Sketch the user flow in Wireflow or Excalidraw, build five to ten key screens in Penpot, and put the prototype link in front of real users; Quant-UX shows you where they get stuck. Our MVP user acquisition SOP explains how to find your first testers. If you want to go from prototype to a working app faster, read about rapid prototyping with AI, compare the best AI prototyping tools and the vibe coding tools for designers.
Once your landing page is live, check it with a free landing page analyzer and turn what you learn into articles with the F/MS AI SEO Tool so customers find you in Google and AI assistants. Open-source tools keep your design files and prototypes yours, so a vendor shutdown like InVision's cannot take your work away.
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FAQ About Open-Source InVision Alternatives
Is InVision still available?
No. InVision shut down its design collaboration services, including prototypes, Freehand, specs and DSM, on 31 December 2024 and deleted all documents that night. In October 2026, invisionapp.com redirected to miro.com.
What happened to InVision Freehand?
Miro acquired Freehand. Miro said the old Freehand would no longer be available from 31 December 2024 and offered Freehand customers Miro access at no additional cost for the rest of their subscription.
Can I still export my InVision prototypes?
No. InVision's support FAQ said all documents would be deleted at 11:59 PM EST on 31 December 2024 and could not be recovered afterwards. Rebuild important screens in Penpot or Quant-UX.
What is the best open-source alternative to InVision?
Penpot. It covers design, clickable prototypes with share links, comments and an Inspect tab with CSS, SVG and HTML for developers. It is MPL-2.0, free in the cloud on the Professional plan and can be self-hosted.
Is Penpot really free?
Yes. Penpot's Professional plan costs $0 and its pricing page calls it free and fully featured. Paid plans (Unlimited at $7 per editor per month, Enterprise at $25 per member per month) add team and admin features, and self-hosting is free.
Which open-source tool replaces InVision for user testing?
Quant-UX. You build a prototype, give testers tasks and get screen recordings, heatmaps, A/B tests, drop-off analysis and surveys. It can be self-hosted with Docker.
What replaces InVision DSM?
Storybook, an MIT-licensed workshop for UI components with Autodocs documentation pages that you can publish as a static website. On the design side, Penpot handles design tokens and components.
Is there an open-source alternative to Freehand whiteboards?
Yes. Excalidraw (MIT) offers end-to-end encrypted real-time collaboration in the browser and can be self-hosted, and AFFiNE combines whiteboards with documents and has a free Self-Hosted FOSS edition.
Is Figma an open-source InVision alternative?
No. Figma has a free Starter plan, but its code is closed. Penpot is the open-source tool most similar to Figma; see our open-source Figma alternatives list for more.
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About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
