Singapore Government Design System vs U.S. Web Design System
Singapore Government Design System
designsystem.tech.gov.sg
U.S. Web Design System
designsystem.digital.govSide by side
| Figure | Singapore Government Design System | U.S. Web Design System |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · UI Kit Libraries | 8.0 (#7) | 7.1 (#24) |
| Components | SGDS provides reusable interface components for common interaction needs. | The system includes components with user experience, accessibility, and implementation guidance. |
| Purpose | SGDS provides a shared foundation of colour, typography, and components to help teams create consistent, accessible, and reliable government services. | USWDS is a toolkit of principles, guidance, and code for building accessible, mobile-friendly government websites. |
| Support | The component documentation directs feedback to the SGDS Slack channel and bug reports to GitHub issues. | Users can ask questions in GitHub Discussions or email the USWDS team at [email protected]. |
Plans
Singapore Government Design System
- Singapore Government Design SystemFree
In their own words
Singapore Government Design System
Singapore Government Design System (SGDS) is a shared toolkit for teams creating digital services for Singapore government. Its foundations cover colour, typography, spacing, and design tokens, alongside interface components such as buttons, tabs, forms, cards, and tables. Templates combine foundations, components, and utilities into reusable page layouts; blocks are reusable sections that teams can compose into templates and product experiences. SGDS v3 supports sub-brands and agency-specific requirements while retaining a shared government identity. Developers can install the web component package with npm, pnpm, yarn, or bun. The guide includes integration instructions for React, Vue, Angular, and Next.js, but utility classes require Tailwind CSS v4. GovTech Figma Enterprise users can enable SGDS v3 libraries, while agencies outside GovTech and partners can access the UI Kit through Figma Community. Components are designed to meet government accessibility standards by default. The system also provides guidance and agent skills for AI tools. All .gov.sg digital services must adopt the Official Government Banner and Global Footer. SGDS is free and open source.
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.