Design and diagrams decision
MakeUI Design
A capable developer can build a useful prompt→HTML/CSS→Figma export workflow in a multi-week effort, but reproducing the full paid product (multi-model tuning, credit UX, polish, and support) is larger than a solo short-term project.
Visit website↗Built by Mehroz Sheikh, who ships 4 products in this index
$9.99/mo
$120/yr
Read off the official pricing page.
$100one-off52 h to build
$50/mo6 h/mo upkeep
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 6 seats.
Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need - the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship. All MakeUI Design alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- User enters a text prompt → call LLM to produce UI spec → render HTML/CSS templates and preview → allow edits → export code or push frames to Figma.
What it still won’t have
- Polished multi-model tuning / comparison UI and preset modes
- Built-in credit marketplace and UI for purchasing add-on credit packs
- Priority support and any proprietary prompt/model tweaks maintained by vendor
- Large set of curated templates and UX examples
What remains hard
- Product polish and ongoing maintenance
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 6 seats.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a self-hosted minimal MakeUI replacement using Next.js + React for frontend, Node.js/Express for backend, PostgreSQL for project storage, and the OpenAI (or chosen) LLM API for generation. Core features: (1) a prompt editor that validates input and records project metadata; (2) an LLM integration that returns a structured UI JSON spec; (3) a renderer that converts the JSON spec into mobile-first HTML/CSS templates with a live preview; (4) an export-to-Figma feature using the Figma REST API to create editable frames; (5) simple auth (email/password or OAuth), project listing, and per-project usage accounting. Out of scope: a commercial credit-purchase/payment gateway (provide hooks only), multi-model price-optimization UI, and a polished marketplace of templates. Include error handling for failed API calls, retry/backoff, input validation, and unit/integration tests covering generation, rendering, and Figma export.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 3 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- Evidence score63
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time - so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 3
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official pricingMakeUI — AI Mobile UI Generator for Figma & Code
- open sourceonlook-dev/onlook
- open sourceZSeven-W/openpencil
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.