Framer vs Figment: Which Should Publish Your Figma Design?
Fair warning that we make a competing product, so here's the honest version: Framer is genuinely good. If you want scroll effects, CMS-driven pages, and a polished hosted platform, and you're happy to make Framer your new home, it's a strong choice.
"Make Framer your new home" is the actual price, though. The Figma-to-Framer path is a migration. You copy your design over, then re-learn layout the Framer way with its own breakpoints, stacks, and components that behave almost but not quite like Figma's. From that day on your website's source of truth lives in Framer, not Figma. Your design file and your website drift apart again, which is the problem you were trying to solve.
What the Figma import actually does
Framer's official workflow uses its Figma plugin. You select layers in Figma, copy them with the plugin, paste them onto the Framer canvas, and run the plugin again for each additional selection. The pasted elements are editable in Framer. See Framer's import lesson.
That workflow is an import, not a live connection. A later Figma change does not update the pasted Framer project automatically. Plan for Framer to become the working source after the move, or keep a manual process for matching later changes across both files.
Two different philosophies
Framer wants you to import your Figma design once and then live in Framer. Powerful, and sticky by design.
Figment keeps Figma as the source of truth. Design there, publish from a plugin, update by editing the same file forever. No second tool, no drift.
A rough rule: if your site needs a CMS and an animation engine, use Framer. If your site is a designed site, a portfolio or business site or product landing page, publishing the Figma file directly is the shorter path, and every future edit stays a Figma edit.
| Keep or choose Framer when | Consider a Figma-first publisher when |
|---|---|
| The site depends on Framer's CMS, animation, or interaction tools | The Figma file should remain the working source of truth |
| The team already edits the production site in Framer | The site is a designed portfolio, business site, or landing page |
| A one-time Figma import is acceptable | Future design changes should publish from the same Figma file |
Pricing reality check
Framer's free tier carries its branding on a framer.website subdomain. Custom domains start at a monthly per-site fee, and CMS pages climb the tiers from there. Nothing wrong with that pricing, but if all you need is your design on your domain, you're paying for an engine you don't drive. Our pricing is built around that simpler job.
Migrating a Figma-first site
If your design already lives in Figma, including the case where you imported it into Framer but still have the original file:
Open the original Figma file. That's most of the migration right there, no copying between tools. Check that you have a desktop and mobile frame per page, and tidy anything you only changed on the Framer side. Install the Figment plugin, select frames, publish, review the live URL. Point your domain's DNS at the new site, then wind down the Framer subscription.
If the design only exists inside Framer, screenshot each page and rebuild the frames in Figma once. After that you're drift-proof.
Where both are heading
Both products are racing toward AI, and the difference is where the AI operates. Framer's works inside Framer's world. Figment's AI editor is public now and works on a separate static copy of your site — describe a change, review it, and approve what gets published, with the underlying design still a file you own outright.
Weighing the two for a real project? Describe it on Discord and we'll tell you honestly if Framer fits better.
Or book a demo and we'll publish one of your frames live on the call, so you can judge it on your own design instead of ours.
