Figma Wireframe Kit vs U.S. Web Design System
Figma Wireframe Kit
figma.com
U.S. Web Design System
designsystem.digital.govSide by side
| Figure | Figma Wireframe Kit | U.S. Web Design System |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $3/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 10 | 1 |
| Spec score · UI Kit Libraries | 9.2 (#1) | 7.1 (#24) |
| Integrations | The official integration help center lists Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chat, Jira, Asana, UserTesting, Maze, Mixpanel and other integrations. | The recommended developer setup uses Node and npm, and the system can be installed as a project dependency through npm. |
| Purpose | The component-based wireframe kit is designed to help validate ideas and speed up website design. | USWDS is a toolkit of principles, guidance, and code for building accessible, mobile-friendly government websites. |
| Security | Figma says it has SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 3 reports and product certifications including ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO/IEC 27018:2019. | The team reports using Snyk for dependency vulnerability checks and GitHub CodeQL for JavaScript static analysis on pull requests. |
| Support | Figma directs users to its Support Hub for product or account support. | Users can ask questions in GitHub Discussions or email the USWDS team at [email protected]. |
Plans
Figma Wireframe Kit
- StarterFree
- Professional Collab seat$3 a month
- Enterprise Collab seat$5 a month
- Organization Collab seat$5 a month
- Professional Dev seat$12 a month
- Professional Full seat$16 a month
- Organization Dev seat$25 a month
- Enterprise Dev seat$35 a month
- Organization Full seat$55 a month
- Enterprise Full seat$90 a month
In their own words
Figma Wireframe Kit
Figma Wireframe Kit is a browser-based set of components for turning early ideas into website wireframes, mockups, and clickable prototypes. Drag-and-drop tools let users assemble screens from ready-made elements such as navigation bars, headers, features, and buttons. The kit can also be used to wireframe mobile apps. Wireframes can become interactive prototypes without code, and comments remain with the design files to keep feedback in context. Files can be shared by link and opened in a browser for collaboration. The templates run in the browser without additional software downloads. Figma lists integrations with Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Confluence, Zapier, and Notion. Starter costs nothing and includes limited access to Figma products, unlimited drafts, UI kits, and templates. Listed platforms include Android, extension, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows. Figma describes the software as approachable for people who are not designers.
U.S. Web Design System
U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) is an open-source toolkit for government teams creating accessible, mobile-friendly websites. It combines principles, guidance, and code with components that include user-experience, accessibility, and implementation guidance. Teams get patterns, design tokens, utilities, and page templates, then install and compile the system to customize projects. Node and npm are the recommended setup, and USWDS can be added as an npm dependency. Downloadable design kits support Figma and Sketch. USWDS says its guidance and code address Section 508 and 21st Century IDEA requirements from the outset. Version 3.0 supports Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, but not Internet Explorer 11. Security practices include Snyk dependency checks, CodeQL analysis, release vulnerability reports, and patches for 1.x and 2.x branches. It is free to download and self-host.