# pen.dev vs Zeplin (slim)

> pen.dev and Zeplin score within a point of each other for design files, 47.6 and 47.5 out of 100. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-zeplin.md (~2,200 tokens) · this version ~630 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-zeplin.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-zeplin
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-09

pen.dev and Zeplin score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 47.6 (D) and 47.5 (D). Zeplin leads on schema & documentation, security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do design files.

- pen.dev: D 47.6, rank #832 of 950 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pen-dev.min.md
- Zeplin: D 47.5, rank #834 of 950 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/zeplin.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 55; Payments & pricing, 38 against 30; Maintenance & community, 59 against 33.
- Zeplin, good for Teams that already publish designs to Zeplin and want an agent to read screens, components, tokens and notes, or turn a screen into code through the MCP server. Ahead on Schema & documentation, 70 against 61; Security & auth, 47 against 33; Transparency & trust, 58 against 53.

| Category | pen.dev | Zeplin |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 33 | 36 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 61 | 70 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 66 | 55 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 33 | 47 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 38 | 30 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 59 | 33 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 53 | 58 |

| Fact (where they differ) | pen.dev | Zeplin |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | High Agency, Inc. | Zeplin, Inc. |
| Transports | stdio | HTTP, stdio |
| Licence | Proprietary. The CLI package on npm carries a proprietary licence file, and the apps fall under the vendor's EULA | Proprietary hosted service under Zeplin's Terms of Service and Developer Terms. The JavaScript SDK and the MCP server on GitHub are MIT |
| Tools exposed | 6 | 4 |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-08-03 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-06 | 2026-01-12 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-06 | 2025-08-29 |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 3.5k npm/wk | 10 stars, 8.9k npm/wk |