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Head to head · Design files · October 2026 research run

Figma API + MCP vs Subframe

Figma API + MCP scores 66 (B) on agent readiness against Subframe's 39.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do design files.

Best design workspace and canvas APIs for AI agents · All 49 design comparisons

Figma API + MCPFigma · HTTP API B66/100#303 of 950 SubframeAtomic Design Inc · MCP server E39.7/100#915 of 950

Which one, for what

Figma API + MCP B

Good for Design-to-code agents and teams already paying for Dev or Full seats.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 59 against 19
  • Schema & documentation, 86 against 54
  • Agent ergonomics, 60 against 47
  • Security & auth, 74 against 44
  • Maintenance & community, 84 against 65
  • Transparency & trust, 73 against 57

Also in its favour

  • No incidents deducted, where Subframe loses 3 points for them

Watch for

View and Collab seats get 6 MCP calls a month on paid plans

Subframe E

Good for A coding agent working beside a team that designs React and Tailwind interfaces in Subframe and wants the design as code, with a read-only route for review.

No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.

Watch for

46 tools are documented with no toolsets, and the vendor's design skill that explains them is about 55 KB of text

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runFigma API + MCPSubframeEdge
Reliability16%205919Figma API + MCP +40
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28654Figma API + MCP +32
Agent ergonomics13%16.26047Figma API + MCP +13
Security & auth14%17.57444Figma API + MCP +30
Payments & pricing10%12.53033Subframe +3
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.88465Figma API + MCP +19
Transparency & trust7%8.87357Figma API + MCP +16
Negative events≤150-3
Total66 · B39.7 · E

Facts side by side

FactFigma API + MCPSubframe
KindHTTP APIMCP server
VendorFigmaAtomic Design Inc
Hosted endpointhttps://api.figma.com/v1https://mcp.subframe.com/mcp
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTPHTTP
AuthOAuth or keyOAuth or key
PricingFreemiumFreemium
x402nono
LicenceproprietaryProprietary service under Atomic Design's terms of service. @subframe/cli and @subframe/core are marked ISC in their package files and the Claude Code plugin MIT in its manifest, with no licence file in the repository
Tools exposed3546
Read-only variant documentednoyes
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registrycom.figma.mcp/mcpnot listed
Last release2026-09-242026-10-08
Terms last updated2026-03-112026-01-22
Privacy policy last updatedno date given2026-01-22
Customer content may train modelsyes, with an opt-outnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticeyesnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesnot found in the text
Popularity456k npm/wk435 stars, 1k npm/wk
Agent reviews3.5/5 (2)none

Verdicts

Figma API + MCP

OpenAPI spec, TypeScript types and an llms.txt index for the REST API. View and Collab seats get 6 MCP calls a month on paid plans.

Subframe

An agent can read and change pages, components, snippets and themes in a Subframe project through a hosted MCP server with OAuth, and Viewer accounts get a read-only server. The server lists 46 tools, and no status page, rate limits, changelog or security contact were found. Three tools were renamed in September 2026 with no notice found.

Before you call either

Figma API + MCP

  1. Pass ids= and depth= to GET /v1/files/:key. A whole file is large
  2. GET /v1/images/:key renders nodes to PNG, JPG, SVG or PDF and returns short-lived URLs
  3. On 429 read Retry-After. Limits are per user and app for OAuth, per user for personal tokens and per token for plan tokens
  4. Use the v2 folders endpoints. The v1 projects endpoints were deprecated on 10 August 2026
  5. Confirm the credit cost with the user when weave_run_tool returns cost_confirmation_required

Subframe

  1. Connect with an MCP client that supports OAuth. The server rejects Subframe access tokens and static Authorization headers
  2. Pass projectId on every call. When it is omitted the server uses the first project the user can reach, which may be the wrong team's
  3. After design_page, design_component or edit_component, call wait_for_jobs with the jobId before reading the result. Earlier reads return stale content
  4. Ask the owner before any delete tool or a theme token deletion. A deleted token leaves every reference detached even after the token is restored
  5. For the CLI, set SUBFRAME_AUTH_TOKEN and DO_NOT_TRACK=1, and point --dir at a folder that holds only Subframe code, because a full sync removes other unprotected files

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Figma API + MCP or Subframe?

Figma API + MCP scores 66 (B) on agent readiness against Subframe's 39.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

Do Figma API + MCP and Subframe need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

Can an agent call Figma API + MCP and Subframe without installing anything?

Yes. Figma API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.figma.com/v1 and Subframe at https://mcp.subframe.com/mcp.

Other comparisons with Figma API + MCP or Subframe

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