Zeplin vs Figma Dev Mode: Do You Still Need Zeplin?

Zeplin used to be the answer to a real problem: how do designers get accurate specs to developers without developers breaking things in Figma? Then Figma added Dev Mode, and the answer changed.

What changed with Figma Dev Mode

Figma Dev Mode launched in 2023 and is included in Professional ($15/editor/mo) and Organization ($45/editor/mo) plans. It gives developers a read-only inspection interface with:

• CSS, iOS (SwiftUI/UIKit), and Android code snippets for any element
• Spacing and sizing measurements
• Color and typography values from your design tokens
• Component variants and properties
• Exportable assets

This is exactly what Zeplin was built for. Not a similar feature — the same feature. Before Dev Mode, teams ran Figma for design and exported to Zeplin for handoff. That workflow now has an obvious alternative: stay in Figma.

Where Figma Dev Mode is enough

For the majority of product teams — a design team working in Figma and a development team building in React or native — Figma Dev Mode covers the handoff need. Developers can open any Figma file in Dev Mode, inspect spacing, grab component code, and export assets. They don't need a Figma editor seat (they get viewer access) and they never need to leave the design source of truth.

The integration with Figma's component library means that when a designer updates a component, developers see the updated specs immediately. There's no export step, no sync delay, no "which version is in Zeplin?" confusion.

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Where Zeplin still has an edge

Zeplin's annotation tools are more mature. Adding callouts, notes, and documentation to specific screens is faster in Zeplin than in Figma. If your team annotates designs heavily for developers, that workflow is smoother in Zeplin.

Zeplin also works with Sketch exports. If any part of your organization is still on Sketch, Zeplin is the bridge to developer handoff. Figma Dev Mode obviously only reads Figma files.

And Zeplin has standalone documentation features — you can create documented screen flows and attach specs to them in a way that's easier to navigate than raw Figma frames. For large projects with hundreds of screens, Zeplin's organizational structure helps.

The pricing reality

Zeplin: Free for 1 project. Starter plan is $12/editor/month. Growing Business is $17/editor/month.

Figma Dev Mode: Included in Figma Professional at $15/editor/month.

If your team is already on Figma Professional, you're paying $0 extra for Dev Mode. Adding Zeplin means paying another $12-17/editor/month for overlapping functionality. The case for Zeplin has to justify that delta specifically — not Zeplin in general, but Zeplin in addition to what you're already paying for.

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Who should keep Zeplin

Keep Zeplin if:

• Your team has Sketch files that need developer handoff
• You rely heavily on manual annotations and screen documentation
• You have an existing Zeplin workflow and no pressing reason to migrate

Drop Zeplin if:

• Your entire design workflow lives in Figma
• You're on Figma Professional or Org tier already
• Your team is paying for two tools with significant feature overlap

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