# Framer Server API vs Penpot API + MCP

> Framer Server API has a score of 52.8 (D) against Penpot API + MCP's 43.8 (E). Both do design files. The largest gap is security & auth, 17 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framer-vs-penpot
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framer-vs-penpot.md (~1,250 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framer-vs-penpot.min.md (~330 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framer-vs-penpot.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-05

Framer Server API has a score of 52.8 (D) against Penpot API + MCP's 43.8 (E). Both do design files. The largest gap is security & auth, 17 points.

- Framer Server API: grade D, 52.8/100, rank #340 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/framer.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/framer.json
- Penpot API + MCP: grade E, 43.8/100, rank #408 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/penpot.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/penpot.json

## Which one, for what

Pick Framer Server API for agent ergonomics (+6), security & auth (+17), transparency & trust (+8).

Pick Penpot API + MCP for payments & pricing (+5).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Framer Server API | Penpot API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 43 | 46 | Penpot API + MCP +3 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 66 | Framer Server API +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 47 | 41 | Framer Server API +6 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 50 | 33 | Framer Server API +17 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 30 | Penpot API + MCP +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 76 | Framer Server API +1 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 69 | Framer Server API +8 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -5 | |
| **Total** | | **52.8 · D** | **43.8 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Framer Server API | Penpot API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Framer | Penpot (Kaleidos) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://design.penpot.app/api/rpc/command` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | Token |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | proprietary | MPL-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | none | 5 |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-09-24 | 2026-10-01 |
| Popularity | 336k npm/wk | 61k stars, 1.3k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 2.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Framer Server API.** Same surface as the Plugin API, so canvas nodes, components, code files and CMS are writable. No REST endpoints and no official MCP server. You need Node 22 and the `framer-api` package.

**Penpot API + MCP.** MPL-2.0 and self-hostable, with API, webhooks and MCP on the free cloud plan. Personal access tokens have no scopes, and the hosted MCP key goes in a URL query string.

## Before you call either

### Framer Server API

1. `connect(projectUrl, process.env.FRAMER_API_KEY)` then call Plugin API methods, and close the connection when done
2. Publish creates a preview deployment. Promote it with `deploy()` only after checking it
3. Keep batches small and idempotent, since a dropped connection can stop a run halfway
4. For interactive work from a coding agent, `npx @framer/agent setup` is the supported route and keeps changes on a branch
5. Check the changelog before upgrading. v5.0.0 changed CMS array fields and requires stable `id` values

### Penpot API + MCP

1. Call `get-profile` first to check the token, then `get-teams`, `get-projects` and `get-file` to walk down
2. Ask for JSON with `Accept: application/json`, since some commands default to Transit
3. Call `high_level_overview` and `penpot_api_info` before `execute_code`. They tell the model what the plugin API can do
4. Keep the Penpot tab in the foreground. A backgrounded or frozen tab stalls MCP calls
5. Give tokens an expiry. They carry full account access

## Other comparisons with Framer Server API or Penpot API + MCP

- [Figma API + MCP vs Framer Server API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/figma-mcp-vs-framer.md)
- [Figma API + MCP vs Penpot API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/figma-mcp-vs-penpot.md)
- [Framer Server API vs Miro API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framer-vs-miro.md)
- [Miro API + MCP vs Penpot API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/miro-vs-penpot.md)