Compare Pencil Project and Kittl on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both Graphic Design tools, Open Source vs Freemium pricing to decide which…
At a Glance
Pencil Project
Kittl
Primary category
Graphic Design
Graphic Design
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Open Source
Freemium
Starting price
Free
Free (paid plans from $10/month billed annually)
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Mac, Windows
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Yes
Public API
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Pencil Project
Open Source — Free N/A
Kittl
Free — $0 N/A
Pro — $10/month Billed annually ($15/month billed monthly)
Completely free with no subscription or account required
Works fully offline as a native desktop application
Simple, low-fidelity sketch style is fast for early-stage wireframing
Open source under GPL, so the code can be inspected or modified
Lightweight compared to full cloud design suites
Cons
No real-time multiplayer collaboration found in modern tools like Figma or Penpot
Development pace has historically been slow, with long gaps between releases
Lacks design tokens, component variants and advanced prototyping interactions
Interface and stencil library feel dated compared with current design tools
No official cloud sync, version history or team management features
Kittl
Pros
Vector-native AI output better suited for print and merchandise than raster-only competitors
Large template and mockup library tailored to apparel, packaging and print-on-demand use cases
Well-funded company (~$61.5M raised) investing heavily in AI design features
Commercial licensing bundled directly into paid subscription tiers
Affordable entry-level Pro plan compared to full Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions
Cons
Free plan is limited to personal, non-commercial use
AI generation credits are capped by plan and can run out with heavy use
Less established brand recognition and template breadth than Canva
Business/team pricing requires contacting sales rather than transparent self-serve rates
Primarily optimized for merch/print use cases rather than general marketing design like social media suites
Use Cases
Pencil Project
Early-stage wireframing — Designers and developers use Pencil to quickly rough out screen layouts before moving to higher-fidelity tools.
Student and academic projects — Students use Pencil's free, offline tool to create UI mockups and diagrams for coursework without needing paid software.
Lightweight diagramming — Small teams use Pencil's general shape libraries to sketch flowcharts and simple process diagrams.
Kittl
Print-on-Demand Merchandise Design — Sellers create t-shirt, apparel and packaging artwork using vector-native templates and mockups for print production.
Brand Identity Design — Small businesses and freelancers build logos, brand kits and marketing collateral without a dedicated design team.
AI-Assisted Artwork Creation — Designers generate original artwork and text effects with AI tools to speed up creative concepting.