Carbon Design System vs Dashboard UI Kit
Carbon Design System
carbondesignsystem.com
Dashboard UI Kit
dashboarduikit.comSide by side
| Figure | Carbon Design System | Dashboard UI Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · UI Kit Libraries | 8.4 (#3) | 7.5 (#16) |
| Audience | Carbon provides code, design, and documentation for designers and developers working across areas including App Modernization, Data and AI, IT Automation, Security, and Finance and Operations. | Version 1.0 describes itself as a kit for digital product designers. |
| Design tools | Carbon design kits are maintained in Figma and receive library updates automatically. | Version 2.0 includes designs made for Sketch and Figma. |
| Purpose | Carbon provides reusable assets to help teams build consistent digital experiences faster. | Dashboard UI Kit 2.0 provides design assets for building app interfaces, including Sketch and Figma files and HTML, CSS and Sass files. |
Plans
Dashboard UI Kit
- Dashboard UI Kit 1.0$59, paid once
- Dashboard UI Kit 2.0$59, paid once
In their own words
Carbon Design System
Carbon Design System is IBM’s open-source design system for digital products, shaped by the IBM Design Language. Carbon Core provides foundations, components, patterns, code, and guidance for teams building consistent digital experiences. Carbon for Products adds product-oriented components, styling, and guidance, with components built using React. The wider ecosystem includes Carbon for AI guidelines and reusable elements, Carbon Charts, and integrations such as Carbon for Cloud, Carbon for AEM, and Carbon React Native. Design kits maintained in Figma receive library updates automatically. Carbon MCP lets AI applications or agents query colors, typography, component details, and usage guidance. Web components are available as ES modules or through a CDN and can be used with frameworks such as Angular or Ember. Developer resources include GitHub repositories, Storybooks, tutorials, Carbon Devtools, a color-contrast checker, and UI Builder. The builder can export presentation images, demo apps, or frontend code. Components follow accessibility checks based on IBM’s checklist. Carbon is free to use and contribute to, with no paid tiers stated. Its patterns cannot include code for every possible implementation.
Dashboard UI Kit
Dashboard UI Kit has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.