Carbon Design System vs Figkit
Carbon Design System
carbondesignsystem.comFigkit
figkit.comSide by side
| Figure | Carbon Design System | Figkit |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $8.25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · UI Kit Libraries | 8.4 (#3) | 7.6 (#13) |
| Charts | Carbon Charts provides chart types ranging from bar and line charts to alluvial diagrams and geospatial overlays. | Charts are built with variants that let users toggle a tooltip, change the number of columns, or add a header with actions. |
| Components | Carbon components are designed and coded to solve specific UI problems and work together as parts of a larger system. | The maker says the library includes 80% of the components needed to build a modern web app. |
| Product | Carbon is IBM’s enterprise-ready, open-source design system, shaped by the IBM Design Language. | Figkit is a wireframe library for Figma for designing desktop and mobile user interfaces. |
| Purpose | Carbon provides reusable assets to help teams build consistent digital experiences faster. | The maker says Figkit helps users work out design, layout, and UX and spend less time pushing pixels. |
| Support | Carbon directs users to GitHub issues and provides support by email at [email protected]. | The Figkit site links to UI/UX Assets support, but the linked support page could not be opened. |
Plans
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.