# pen.dev vs Penpot API + MCP (slim)

> pen.dev scores 47.6 (D) on agent readiness against Penpot API + MCP's 43.5 (E), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Penpot API + MCP leads on reliability, schema & documentation, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do design files. Category scores, facts…

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-penpot.md (~2,100 tokens) · this version ~730 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-penpot.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-penpot
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-09

pen.dev scores 47.6 (D) on agent readiness against Penpot API + MCP's 43.5 (E), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Penpot API + MCP leads on reliability, schema & documentation, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do design files.

- pen.dev: D 47.6, rank #740 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pen-dev.min.md
- Penpot API + MCP: E 43.5, rank #783 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/penpot.min.md
- 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 41; Payments & pricing, 38 against 30. Also Runs on your own machine; No incidents deducted, where Penpot API + MCP loses 5 points for them.
- Penpot API + MCP, good for Teams that want design files on their own servers and an agent working alongside a person in the editor. Ahead on Reliability, 46 against 33; Schema & documentation, 66 against 61; Maintenance & community, 76 against 59; Transparency & trust, 66 against 53. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install; Free to start without a card; Open source.

| Category | pen.dev | Penpot API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 33 | 46 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 61 | 66 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 66 | 41 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 33 | 33 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 38 | 30 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 59 | 76 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 53 | 66 |

| Fact (where they differ) | pen.dev | Penpot API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | High Agency, Inc. | Penpot (Kaleidos) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://design.penpot.app/api/rpc/command` |
| Transports | stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | Token |
| Licence | Proprietary. The CLI package on npm carries a proprietary licence file, and the apps fall under the vendor's EULA | MPL-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 6 | 5 |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-01 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-06 | 2025-08-05 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-06 | 2025-08-05 |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 3.5k npm/wk | 61k stars, 1.3k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (2) |