Navigating Figma’s New Pricing Landscape
Does Figma’s price change reflect value, or is it time to explore alternatives?
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This week, Figma announced changes to their pricing structure, seats, and billing experience, giving admins more control over approving users and managing billing. These changes will take effect in March 2025.
While Figma claims this will improve the user experience, it has sparked controversy among avid users, with many expressing dissatisfaction.
Here’s what this means for you, according to the press release:
Increase In Figma Pricing
Figma has introduced a new seat structure for users, which includes Full Seat, Dev Seat, and Collab Seat. Previously, the Professional plan cost $15/month, with a 20% discount when billed annually, totaling $144/year.
Now, the Organization plan costs $55/month, up from $45, and the Enterprise plan costs $75/month, up from $90. The pricing now depends on the seat type.
A Full Seat includes FigJam, FigSlides, and Dev Mode, costing $20/month or $16/month billed annually, which totals $192/year, a 22% increase from the previous $144/year. Dev Seat and Collab Seat plans do not include Figma Design, forcing users to purchase a Full Seat if they need it.
This sudden price increase has frustrated users, as it contradicts Figma's promise of accessibility for all. For smaller teams, the changes feel excessive, and many are comparing Figma’s direction to Adobe's pricing model. There is also a growing demand for regional pricing to help users who cannot afford the new structure.
https://x.com/hckmstrrahul/status/1866508911848648740?s=46
For instance, a small team of 10, with a developer and two designers, is now forced to pay $192/year just to have design and collaboration abilities, including Figma and FigSlides, which were never part of my workflow before.
Re-architecture Of Billing Models
One of the most frustrating aspects is the approval request for adding developers in the billing process, which is not sleek. While this new experience is meant to improve the flow, the cost is added to your billing immediately after approval, even before the next bill, unless you remove it.
Once an admin approves the request, even if the user is removed, the cost still adds to the billing. I don’t think this is cool, as it might add unnecessary layers to the billing structure. This is what their press release highlights.
Moving Forward
Let’s see how this pans out before then; maybe they’ll make changes, but it’s definitely not looking good. There has been backlash to the new pricing plans, with many pushing for regional pricing based on location. While Figma has become the go-to tool for designers, there are alternatives in the market, including Sketch and Penpot. We’ll see how it all turns out, and I’m looking forward to what happens next.
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