Paper vs Starry

Paper is a connected design canvas for teams working with agents, code, and data. Its HTML/CSS canvas exports designs as code and supports a workflow between the canvas and code. Agents can read and write the canvas to work on responsive layouts, style variations, and consistency checks. Paper MCP also lets agents generate layouts, use real content, and convert selected frames into code, with setup paths for Claude, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity, GitHub Copilot, VS Code, and others. The Snapshot extension copies web components into Paper as editable layers. Figma selections can also be copied as editable layers, though components, variables, masks, and rich text are not fully supported. The Free plan includes unlimited viewers and editors and 100 MCP tool calls per week. Pro is listed at $2,016 a month, billed yearly; paid plans keep viewer seats free. Paper is available on the web and Linux, macOS, and Windows, with an extension. Its DPA describes security controls and restricts specified categories of customer data.

Starry is an AI design editor that turns natural-language prompts into editable interface layers and exports code and design assets. Its canvas AI, powered by ACP, can create and modify auto-layout designs. Export formats include React JSX, HTML, SVG, design tokens, PNG, JPG, and WEBP. Starry reads native Figma.fig files and supports copying and pasting selections between the two editors. Users provide their own key for supported AI providers, and can use custom OpenAI- or Anthropic-format endpoints. Starry says keys are stored locally and prompts go directly to the selected provider. Designs are saved as local.pen and.fig files that can be committed to Git. Peer-to-peer collaboration runs over WebRTC without a server or account, and a headless CLI can export documents and automate design operations, including in CI workflows. Starry supports macOS 12 or later, Windows 10 or later, and Linux, with about 150 MB of free disk space required. The free plan requires users to supply an AI provider key for AI chat; Pro is listed at $29 a month.