# Kite vs pen.dev (slim)

> pen.dev and Kite score within a point of each other for design files, 47.7 and 47 out of 100. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kite-new-vs-pen-dev.md (~4,950 tokens) · this version ~3,130 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kite-new-vs-pen-dev.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kite-new-vs-pen-dev
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-02
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

pen.dev and Kite score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 47.7 (D) and 47 (D). Kite leads on security & auth and maintenance & community. Both do design files.

- Kite: D 47, rank #1039 of 1268 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kite-new.min.md
- pen.dev: D 47.7, rank #1026 of 1268 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pen-dev.min.md
- Kite, good for Agents that make banners, social posts, landing pages and screens for a team that will edit and comment on them in a shared file, drawing in HTML and CSS against the team's design system and picking up changes from @-mention comments, without a desktop app or browser tab kept open. Ahead on Security & auth, 50 against 33; Maintenance & community, 78 against 59. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install; Free to start without a card.
- pen.dev, good for A coding agent that designs screens beside the code and keeps them in Git, including in CI. Ahead on Agent ergonomics, 66 against 44; Payments & pricing, 38 against 30; Transparency & trust, 55 against 44. Also Runs on your own machine.

| Category | Kite | pen.dev |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 33 | 33 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 62 | 61 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 44 | 66 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 50 | 33 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 30 | 38 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 78 | 59 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 44 | 55 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Kite | pen.dev |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Platform | MCP server |
| Vendor | Kite | High Agency, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://kite.new/api/mcp` | no (local only) |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP | stdio |
| Licence | Proprietary hosted service under Kite's terms of use (updated 8 September 2026). No source is published; the only public code is an MIT plugin manifest repository (itsloukman/kite-agent-plugins) that points agents at the hosted server | Proprietary. The CLI package on npm carries a proprietary licence file, and the apps fall under the vendor's EULA |
| Tools exposed | 59 | 6 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | `new.kite/kite` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-08 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-10-06 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-06 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Popularity | none | 3.5k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.8/5 (4) |

Why the edge:
- Agent ergonomics, pen.dev +22: Kite 44 (MCP reading. 59 tools (61 through the Mac app) with no toolsets, read-only subset or dynamic loading; guide_read moves the long instructions out of tool descriptions into on-demand reads, but tools/list still carries 59 definitions (5 of 25). Output is sized by asking for one page in file_outline, one node in layer_source and layer_render, layer_search by name, words or type, file_search over content, comment_list with unread_only and include_resolved, request_list per file; file_list is newest-first with no documented paging (14 of 20). OAuth errors are documented with recovery steps, web_capture says when a page was cut short and an unknown shader base is refused, but a picture Kite cannot fetch is left out silently and no tool error shape is documented (9 of 20). No readOnlyHint or destructiveHint documented and no idempotency keys; version_save before a big change and version_restore undoable both ways, file_archive reversible and no permanent delete, layer_draw's replace argument for swapping a node (7 of 20). Few required parameters (file_new takes a title, layer_draw a file and HTML, finish_working a file), defaults in the drawing guide, and an MIT plugin repository for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Grok Bot; no SDK, since the vendor points at the official MCP SDKs (9 of 15). 5+14+9+7+9 = 44.); pen.dev 66 (Four standard tools with short definitions and two conditional ones, though the model must load skill files before `execute` is usable (22 of 25). Output size is in the agent's hands through `Get` callbacks with `skipChildren` and `Print`, and screenshots of chosen nodes, with no documented paging (12 of 20). A failed `execute` returns an `editId` so the agent patches the snippet with `edits`, and `--verbose-mcp` prints full tool errors, but the docs warn that an export failure can exit with status 0 (10 of 20). All tools carry readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint and openWorldHint annotations in the 0.3.11 package, and `--in` with a separate `--out` leaves the source untouched. No idempotency keys (14 of 20). Few required parameters and a one-line headless command. No SDK in any language (8 of 15).)
- Maintenance & community, Kite +19: Kite 78 (Closed service with a dated changelog. The latest entry is 1 November 2026 (30). 15 dated entries between 6 October and 1 November 2026, including Pro on 18 October, Windows, shaders and website design systems on 23 October and the agent page, version, comment and export tools on 25 October (20). Support is hello@kite.new, a Support link in the docs, 'your feedback first in line' on Pro and dedicated support on Team; no community channel, forum or issue tracker, and the plugin repository has no issues (8 of 15). new.kite/kite 1.0.0 is in the official MCP registry under a DNS-verified namespace since 21 October 2026 (15). No packages to judge; the MIT plugin repository was pushed once on 7 October 2026 and the desktop apps update themselves (5 of 10). 30+20+8+15+5 = 78.); pen.dev 59 (`@pen.dev/cli` 0.3.11, desktop v1.2.16 and extension 0.6.75 were all published on 8 October 2026 (30). The CLI had 13 versions between 9 July and 8 October (20). None of the 14 issues in the current tracker has a reply, and one of 25 in the older pencil-desktop-releases tracker was closed. The site links a Discord server, which we did not read (4 of 25). A search of the official MCP registry for 'pencil' and 'pen.dev' returned no entry from the vendor (0). Dependencies in 0.3.11 are current major versions, with no public CI (5 of 10).)
- Security & auth, Kite +17: Kite 50 (OAuth 2.1 with the authorization code flow, PKCE S256, dynamic registration of public clients, 7-day access tokens, 90-day refresh tokens that rotate on every use and revoke the connection if replayed, a revocation endpoint, bearer in the header only, and per-connection disconnect in Settings; one scope, pages, with the agent working under the user's full rights, and API keys that are per tool and revocable but unscoped (24 of 30). Least privilege comes from the file, not the token. A file shared view-only lets an agent read and comment but not draw, comment and download settings apply to agents, an agent cannot delete a file for good or touch the account, workspace or people, and each Mac-run request reaches only its file; no read-only mode on the hosted server and no confirmation for layer_remove, page_remove or version_restore (12 of 20). Comments, skills written by any editor, captured web pages and Figma pastes reach the model. The skill says a file's skills apply to that file only and never to sharing or people, and the Mac docs keep Agents Run Any Tool off by default because an agent reads comments and web pages and one could try to trick it; no guidance for the hosted server's own tools (8 of 15). Settings, Agents lists each connected app and key with when it connected and was last used, the board shows the agent's name while it works, and version history records agent saves; no per-call log for the operator (6 of 15). No security.txt (404), disclosure policy, bug bounty, SOC 2 or ISO 27001; SSO and SAML on Team (0 of 20). 24+12+8+6+0 = 50.); pen.dev 33 (The CLI uses a stored session token or an organisation-scoped CLI key that the npm README says can be created and revoked in Developer Keys. No scopes, expiry or rotation are documented (18 of 30). The MCP server has no read-only mode, and `execute` is annotated destructive. The integrated agent asks permission for file and command actions, with a 'Dangerously skip permissions' switch, and an owner enables each external client by hand (6 of 20). The `browser` tool and web import bring live page content to the model, and we found no prompt-injection guidance (2 of 15). The Agent tab lists tool activity, `--usage` writes token use to JSON and Pro adds usage tracking, with no audit log documented (5 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification was found. The privacy policy says stored data is encrypted in transit and at rest (2 of 20).)
- Transparency & trust, pen.dev +11: Kite 44 (Closed service. The terms of use (8 September 2026) run to about 200 words on content, prohibited use, links, availability and changes and name no legal entity, address or governing law, so the contracting party is unknown (8 of 30). The privacy policy (14 October 2026) names eight services, says files are not read, trained on or sold, discloses masked session replays and error replays, gives the agent token's 7-day life renewable to 90 days (matching auth.md and the integration page), the 30-day purge of deleted pages and the one-month deletion of a closed account's files, and the Figma token's handling; no DPA and no retention period for logs beyond the providers' own (20 of 30). No deprecation policy or dated notices; the terms promise email or in-app notice of changes that matter and the changelog dates additions, not removals (4 of 20). Telemetry (PostHog, Sentry) is disclosed with what it excludes and no opt-out beyond product-news emails; service locations are given only for PostHog and Sentry (US) (10 of 20). 8+20+4+10 = 42.); pen.dev 55 (Closed source with clear terms, an EULA and a proprietary licence file in the npm package (15 of 30). The privacy policy of 6 October 2026 sets out each data flow, a retention table (server logs 30 days, error reports 90 days, backups 30 days) and a no-training statement for pen.dev Pro models, and it agrees with the terms, the EULA and the sub-processor list. A DPA is on request only (24 of 30). The old `@pencil.dev/cli` package carries a deprecation notice pointing to the new one. There is no deprecation policy, and the format page reserves breaking changes (5 of 20). PostHog and Sentry are disclosed with what they exclude. Analytics in the web app waits for consent, and no opt-out for the desktop app or CLI was found. Sub-processors are named without locations (10 of 20).)
- Payments & pricing, pen.dev +8: Kite 30 (No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, llms.txt, auth.md, the pricing pages or the terms (0). Plan prices are public and machine-readable at pricing.md, Free, Pro $20 per editor a month or $16 yearly, Team $35 or $28, with no per-call or per-action price since agent actions are counted on Free and unlimited on Pro (10 of 20). Free plan with 3 files and 200 agent actions a day, sign-up by emailed link or Google, no card mentioned anywhere (20). An agent can register itself as an OAuth client, but a person must sign up in a browser and click Allow, or make an API key in Settings (0). 0+10+20+0 = 30.); pen.dev 38 (Read with the hosted lines, because the software is free to install but needs a pen.dev account and paid plans lift its limits. No machine payment protocol (0). Plan prices are public, Pro $16 and Ultra $48 a user a month, with no per-call price (10 of 20). The Free plan includes the CLI, MCP access and personal developer keys, and sign-up takes an email address, a name and a username with no card step in the documented flow (20). The npm README documents `pen signup` with flags and `pen login --email --code`, so no browser is needed, but someone must open the verification email and read the code, and organisation keys for CI start at Pro (8 of 20).)