Figma: mockups, prototypes and collaborative design

Figma is the reference interface design tool. You draw website and app mockups, turn them into clickable prototypes, build your design system and hand everything to developers through Dev Mode. It all runs in the browser or the desktop app, and several people can work on the same file at the same time. Around pure design, Figma has added FigJam for workshops and whiteboards, Slides for presentations, Sites to publish web pages and AI features that use monthly credits.

Freelance UI/UX designers, obviously, but also developers and product builders who want to mock up before coding, and consultants who need a clean prototype to sell an idea. The real advantage for a freelancer is the client relationship: you share a link, your client comments directly on the mockup, and you never send a "v3 final" PDF again. If your work is mostly marketing visuals, Canva will be faster. If you want to design and publish a website in the same tool, look at Framer or Webflow.

• Mock up: components, auto layout, variables and styles for clean, consistent interfaces.
• Prototype: link your screens, add interactions and animations, share a test link with the client.
• Build a design system: libraries shared across files and projects (Professional plan).
• Hand off to developers: Dev Mode to inspect measurements, export assets and grab the code, with an MCP server for AI coding tools.
• Run workshops: FigJam for whiteboards, empathy maps and user journeys.
• Go further: plugins, UI kits and community files, presentations, social media visuals, illustrations, and even websites published straight from Figma.

Figma bills per seat, with four seat types: Full (complete access), Dev (for developers), Collab (comments and FigJam) and View (viewing, free).

• Starter: free. Unlimited files in your drafts, sharing with unlimited viewers, co-editing on up to 3 files (3 pages per file), 500 AI credits per month.
• Professional: $16 per month per Full seat (price shown, the page offers monthly or annual billing), $12 per Dev seat, $3 per Collab seat. Unlimited files and projects, team libraries, advanced Dev Mode and MCP server, 3,000 AI credits per month per Full seat.
• Organization: $55 per month per Full seat, $25 Dev, $5 Collab, billed annually.
• Enterprise: $90 per month per Full seat, $35 Dev, $5 Collab, billed annually.

Additional AI credits can be purchased as an option. The Education plan includes the Professional features for free for students and educators. Prices checked on figma.com in November 2026.

At FreelanceKit, we picked Figma because it is the industry standard: your clients, their developers and the other freelancers you work with already use it, and a Figma file travels without friction. The Starter plan is enough to start solo, prototype a project and present it, and the Professional seat stays reasonable for a freelancer who makes a living from design.

The weak point to know: the 3 co-edited files limit on the free plan comes fast as soon as you work with a client or a developer on several projects. Beyond that, per-seat billing in dollars climbs quickly if you need to invite collaborators as editors, and AI features are capped by monthly credits.

If you are hesitating between Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud or Framer, see our page on alternatives to Figma.