Figma

Our verdict on Figma

Figma is a great product, and in Jordan's words still the number one web-based design tool for web and mobile. But neither of us is a designer, and since AI tools learned to design interfaces from a prompt, we use it less every year. This is a review from occasional users, not a design team.

What we built with Figma

Nothing on the show. We have never demoed a Figma build. What we do have is a usage story:

• July 2025: Sam said we hold about 10 Figma licenses across the organization, if not more, and that he can whip things up in it pretty quickly. He also called it a lot more cost effective than other solutions. Both of us said our daily and weekly use had dropped.
• April 2026: Sam's internal web app redesign skipped Figma entirely. He designed it in Claude Design, handed it to Claude Code, and the new design was live in about 30 minutes (see the build).
• April 2026: for our offsite business, client presentations used to be built in Canva or Figma and took days to perfect. The Offsiteio estimator now generates a presentation website from the estimates instead.

I think, like, we've seen our own Figma consumption go down. I don't think it's gone to zero, but it's definitely gone down over the last year or so with the ability to use different AI tools like you mentioned

— Jordan Metzner, Episode 2

How we use Figma

Our current workflow puts Figma later in the process, or skips it:

1. Prompt the first interface. Jordan's point at 29:16 in Episode 2: go into Cursor or Bolt and ask for a beautiful interface that does what you need. It is way faster than drawing it yourself. Lovable and v0 work too.
2. Redesign existing apps by chat. Sam starts a chat in Claude Design, reviews the page-by-page options, then clicks hand off to Claude Code.
3. Generate repeat documents from data. If you rebuild the same presentation for every client, build a tool that fills it in, as we did for offsite quotes.
4. Keep Figma for quick manual mockups. Sam still gets around it fine when he needs to sketch something by hand.
5. Treat Figma files as input. Adir Ben-Yehuda showed that Autonomy AI accepts a screenshot, a Figma file or a Claude Design file and builds on your existing code.

I would say my Figma skills are pretty awful, and this is incredibly easy.

— Sam Nadler on Claude Design, Episode 40

Where Figma falls short

• Slow on AI. In July 2025 Jordan said Figma had launched an AI tool about a year earlier that got in trouble because its UI looked like other apps, and that "it seems like they haven't picked up the AI baton yet."
• A learning curve for non-designers. Sam's skills are "pretty awful" by his own account; chatting with an AI designer is easier for him.
• Customer frustration. Adir said the thing that surprised him most was how unhappy people are with Figma today, even as revenue grows (Episode 43, at 15:54).

They think Figma is not relevant anymore and what we saw across the board, and not what we've intended, is when companies are starting to use us, they're using less and less Figma from that perspective.

— Adir Ben-Yehuda, Episode 43

We would not write Figma off. In Episode 11 Jordan guessed it is growing in enterprise, where AI adoption is slow, and has the capital to buy AI tools. Hooman Radfar noted in Episode 14 that Figma is moving into app building too.

Figma compared

• Claude Design vs Figma: Jordan called Claude Design "a little bit of a Figma killer"; Sam finds it far easier, though Figma will have its place.
• Bolt vs Figma: AI app builders design a working interface faster, while Figma remains the top pure design tool.

Episodes featuring Figma

• Episode 2: our Figma licenses, and why we open it less.
• Episode 6: Figma's IPO day; "a great product" we use less since AI.
• Episode 11: Figma's earnings and its enterprise growth.
• Episode 40: Claude Design as a possible Figma killer.
• Episode 43: Autonomy AI customers use less Figma.

FAQ

Is Figma still worth it?

For design teams, Jordan still calls it the number one web-based design tool, with Adobe not close. For non-designers like us, AI tools such as Bolt, Lovable and Claude Design now cover a lot of what we used Figma for.

Claude Design vs Figma: which is easier?

For Sam, Claude Design. He says his Figma skills are pretty awful, while Claude Design is as easy as chatting with any AI. Jordan called it a bit of a Figma killer, though Sam thinks Figma will still have its place.

Are companies moving away from Figma?

Adir Ben-Yehuda of Autonomy AI told us younger companies want to get rid of Figma, and his customers use less of it once they edit design directly on the code. He said enterprise agreements are still in place.

Does Figma have AI features?

In July 2025 Jordan said Figma had launched an AI tool about a year earlier that got into trouble for looking like other apps, and that it had not yet picked up the AI baton. We have not tested Figma's AI features on the show.