Figma just raised prices again. The $12/month "Professional" plan is now $15, the $45 "Organization" plan is $55, and if you're on a team of 5 designers, you're looking at $275/month before Dev Mode seats.
I got tired of the pricing treadmill and went looking for alternatives. Not the usual suspects — Penpot, Sketch, Lunacy — those are already well-covered. I went deeper.
I spent two weeks testing three Chinese design tools that barely have English documentation. Here's what I found.
The contenders
| Tool | Description | Free tier |
|---|---|---|
| JsDesign (即时设计) | Full Figma alternative, web-based | Unlimited files |
| Mockplus (墨刀) | Prototyping-focused, simpler | 3 projects |
| Lanhu (蓝湖) | Design handoff + collaboration | 10 projects |
JsDesign — The Figma clone that's 90% of the way there
JsDesign is the most ambitious of the three. It's a web-based collaborative design tool that looks and feels remarkably like Figma. Same left toolbar, same right panel, same layers panel.
What's good:
- Real-time collaboration works. Multiple designers in one file, seeing each other's cursors, no lag. I tested with 3 people simultaneously — it held up.
-
Figma file import. Drag a
.figfile directly in and it converts most layouts correctly. Auto-layout, components, and text styles all survived in my testing. - Component variants. Property overrides, boolean properties, instance swapping — all there.
- Unlimited free files. No page limit, no viewer restrictions, no "free tier cap" modals. This alone is a massive differentiator vs Figma's 3-file free tier.
- ~200 plugins available. Essentials covered: icons, stock photos, content generators.
What's missing:
- No FigJam equivalent
- Dev Mode is basic — CSS/iOS/Android snippets, but no polished inspect panel
- English UI is 85% translated — occasional Chinese text remains
- No desktop app — browser only
Price: Free for individuals. Team: ¥29/user/month (~$4). Figma Professional: $15/user/month. 73% cheaper.
Mockplus — The prototyping specialist
Mockplus is less about pixel-perfect UI and more about rapid prototyping and wireframing. Think Balsamiq speed with Figma-like polish.
What's good:
- 3,000+ pre-built components for iOS, Android, and web. Assemble a prototype in under an hour.
- Interaction designer is genuinely faster than Figma's. Fewer options, less cognitive load.
- Built-in user testing analytics — click heatmaps, drop-off points, session time. Figma doesn't have this natively.
- Native desktop app for Mac/Windows.
What's missing:
- Vector editing is basic
- No auto-layout equivalent
- Limited design system features
- Import limited to Sketch files
Price: Free for 3 projects. Pro: ¥199/year (~$28/year). Figma Professional: $180/year. 94% cheaper.
Lanhu — The handoff tool designers need
Lanhu isn't a design tool — it bridges design and development. Upload Figma/Sketch/PS files, developers get organized specs with measurements, CSS, assets, and version diffs.
What's good:
- Automatic spec extraction — dimensions, spacing, colors, typography, multi-res assets
- Version comparison — highlight diffs between design versions
- Coordinate-specific comments — click a pixel to comment there
- Auto-generated style guides from your designs
What's missing:
- Not a design tool — you still need Figma/Sketch
- English UI is rough (~60%, machine-translation quality)
Price: Free for 10 projects. Team: ¥25/user/month (~$3.50). Figma Dev Mode: $25/seat/month on Organization. 86% cheaper.
Comparison table
| Feature | Figma | JsDesign | Mockplus | Lanhu |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vector design | Excellent | Very Good | Basic | N/A |
| Prototyping | Good | Good | Excellent | N/A |
| Dev handoff | Good | Basic | N/A | Excellent |
| Collaboration | Excellent | Very Good | N/A | Good |
| Plugins | 2,000+ | ~200 | N/A | N/A |
| Desktop app | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Free tier | 3 files | Unlimited | 3 projects | 10 projects |
| Paid/seat/mo | $15 | ~$4 | ~$2.30 | ~$3.50 |
Who should switch?
Try JsDesign if: You're a solo designer or small team tired of Figma's pricing. You do standard UI work and can tolerate occasional Chinese UI text. 73% savings for 90% feature match.
Add Mockplus if: You prototype heavily and need user testing. Not a Figma replacement — an addition. At $28/year it's practically free.
Add Lanhu if: Design-to-dev handoff is your bottleneck. Developers asking "what font?" on Slack constantly. Solves this better than Figma Dev Mode at 1/10th the price.
Stay with Figma if: You need the plugin ecosystem or work on large teams with established workflows. Figma is still the best overall product — these win on price and specific workflows.
I'm documenting Chinese software tools that deserve global attention at ToolBridge. No hype, no affiliate reviews — just honest comparisons with real pricing.
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