Google Stitchhosted canvasRiviera landingscreen in the Stitch projectBrandre-prompt the hex codes each timeEdit: calmer headlineone more generation
Google Stitch 
OpenDesign Google Stitch Alternative Without the Monthly Cap: OpenDesign
OpenDesign is a free, open-source, local-first Google Stitch alternative: the same prompt-to-UI job, done by your own coding agent with your own key, with no Google account, no generation cap and a portable DESIGN.md that every render follows. This page says what OpenDesign takes over after Stitch's first draft, what Stitch still does better, and how to run both.
Verdict, by task07 / Google Stitch
OpenDesign vs Google Stitch, three different needs
Start in the Right Place
This page · choosing
OpenDesign or Google Stitch?
A verdict by situation, one brief run in both tools, a dated feature comparison and the conditions that flip the answer.
Read the verdict Already on StitchContinue a Stitch Draft as Files
What migrates from a Stitch export, what stays in the Google Labs canvas, and the four steps to keep iterating without a cap.
See what moves A different questionLearning Vibe Design with Stitch?
The Stitch tutorial covers the tool itself; this page is a comparison.
Read the Stitch tutorialOn this page Overview
What each one is
Google Stitch vs OpenDesign: What Each Tool Is
Stitch and OpenDesign overlap on the first draft: a prompt becomes a screen. They differ on everything after it — where the work lives, how many times you can iterate, and whether a brand is enforced. OpenDesign writes this comparison about its own product and is not affiliated with Google.
Short answer. OpenDesign is a free, open-source (Apache-2.0), local-first Google Stitch alternative: your own coding agent renders and revises UI from a brief and a portable DESIGN.md, saved as files in your repo, with no account, no monthly generation cap and no vendor cloud. If a free, zero-setup first draft in two minutes is all you need, keep Stitch.
Google Stitch
Google Stitch (stitch.withgoogle.com) is a Google Labs tool that turns a prompt, image, sketch or screenshot into a high-fidelity web or mobile UI, with Gemini doing the design work as you direct it by conversation. It runs in the browser, requires a Google account, is free, and began life as Galileo AI, relaunched at Google I/O in May 2025.
- RunsCloud-only, Google account required
- ModelGemini (Flash standard, Pro experimental)
- OutputHTML/CSS and React export, paste-to-Figma
- CostFree; roughly 350 standard generations a month, no paid tiercap reported to shift
OpenDesign
OpenDesign is a local-first, open-source design agent you point your own coding agent at. Skills and a portable brand live as files in your repo; the desktop app renders and reviews the result.
- RunsDesktop app and local daemon on your machine
- AgentYours: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini, OpenCode, Qwen and more
- OutputFiles in your project directory
- CostApache-2.0; you pay your own provider for API usage
Where they overlap
The first draft: a prompt or a screenshot becomes a screen. That is the only part of Stitch the rest of the page compares OpenDesign with.
What this page does not claim
That OpenDesign is free of model cost (you pay your provider), that it pastes into Figma with layers intact, or that it is as fast to a first concept as a hosted canvas. If that first draft is the whole job, the verdict below says keep Stitch.
Verdict
Google Stitch or OpenDesign? The Verdict by Situation
Pick Google Stitch if…
- You want a free, zero-setup first draft in two minutes with nothing installed.
- You want to paste a concept straight into Figma with layers and auto-layout to refine.
- You stay well under the monthly generation cap and a Google account is fine.
Pick OpenDesign if…
- You iterate heavily and a monthly cap gets in the way.
- You want one DESIGN.md enforced across every render instead of re-prompting hex codes.
- You want your UI, code and design system as files in git, with your own agent and key.
- You want open source you can self-host, fork or run in CI, with no account.
Run both if…
- Stitch is your sketchpad for concepts; OpenDesign is where the accepted one becomes a project.
- Some teammates want the hosted canvas; engineers want files in the repo.
- You export from Stitch anyway and want a brand enforced on what comes next.
Same brief, two results
The Same Brief in Google Stitch and OpenDesign
A comparison is only as honest as its inputs. The same brief and the same brand go into Stitch and into OpenDesign; what comes back, how it is edited and where it ends up is what you compare. The panels below are illustrations, not screenshots; the 20-minute test lets you run the brief yourself.
Brief · identical in both tools
Design a landing page for a small studio that books slow-travel stays. One hero with a strong headline, three featured places, a short note on how booking works, and a final call to action. Desktop and phone.
- Brand
- Paper background, Albert Sans, one green accent, 8px radius
- Breakpoints
- 1440 desktop, 390 mobile; no horizontal scroll
- Edit test
- After the first result: "make the headline calmer, swap the second place"
- Record
- Model, date, time to first result, edits needed, export format
Google Stitchhosted canvasOpenDesign + your agentfiles in the reporiviera-landing.htmlnew · v2DESIGN.mdboundEdit: calmer headlinepoint at the element, agent revises
IllustrativeBoth panels are illustrations drawn for this page, not screenshots of either tool, and the verdict does not rest on them. Run the brief yourself with the 20-minute test below and note the points listed here so the two results can be compared fairly.
What to note · both tools
Model and version, run date, time to first usable result, number of edits to reach "done", what the export contained.
What to note · Google Stitch
Generations spent, whether the second screen kept the first one's brand, what the HTML/React export contained, what the Figma paste preserved.
What to note · OpenDesign
Agent and key used, whether DESIGN.md was respected without re-prompting, both breakpoints checked, versions kept as files.
Feature by feature
OpenDesign vs Google Stitch, Feature by Feature
Nine dimensions where OpenDesign and Google Stitch differ in practice: license, runtime, account, limits, model, output, design system, ownership and automation. Stitch facts were checked against public sources on 2026-09-06; the generation cap has been reported to change.
| Dimension | OpenDesign | Google Stitch |
|---|---|---|
| License | Apache-2.0, full source on GitHub | Closed-source Google Labs experiment |
| Runtime | Desktop app and local daemon on your machine | Cloud-only at stitch.withgoogle.com |
| Account | None required | Google account sign-in required |
| Limits | No app-level cap; your own model spend | Free; roughly 350 standard generations a month, no paid tierreported to shift |
| Model | Bring your own: Claude, Codex, Gemini, Qwen and others | Gemini (Flash standard, Pro experimental) |
| Output | Real files: HTML/CSS, React, decks, DESIGN.md | HTML/CSS and React export, paste-to-Figma |
| Design system | Portable DESIGN.md every skill enforces | No enforceable brand kit; re-prompt each time |
| Code ownership | Lands in your repo from the first render | Exported snapshot; the tool is not in your codebase |
| CLI / CI / API | od CLI and local HTTP daemon | Web canvas only; no public API |
Where Google Stitch wins
A free, zero-setup first draft in two minutes, and a paste into Figma that keeps auto-layout, named layers and editable text. For a quick concept to refine on a canvas, Stitch is hard to beat.
Where OpenDesign wins
Everything after the draft: unlimited iteration by your own agent, one brand enforced, code in your repo, no account and nothing you cannot fork.
Decision
When OpenDesign Is the Right Google Stitch Alternative
Quick concept
One screen to show in a meeting this afternoon
Google StitchFree, hosted and two minutes from prompt to screen. Installing a desktop app for that is a cost this page will not pretend away.
Not a fit when the screen has to match a brand exactly.
Product team iterating daily
Twenty screens, a hundred revisions, one brand
OpenDesignNo cap, DESIGN.md enforced on every render, each revision a file you can diff and review.
Not a fit when nobody on the team runs a coding agent.
Designer who starts in Stitch
Concept in Stitch, finish as code
Run bothExport the accepted Stitch draft, extract its brand into DESIGN.md and let your agent build the rest of the project from it.
Not a fit when you expect the Stitch project and the repo to stay in sync; they do not.
Team with data policies
No Google account, no vendor cloud
OpenDesignLocal-first, self-hostable, your own key: only the prompt goes to the provider you chose.
Not a fit when the model provider you bring has the same restriction.
Move a design across, or run both
How to Move a Design from Google Stitch to OpenDesign
There is no automatic import from Stitch into OpenDesign today. What moves is the brand, the brief and an exported draft as a reference; the Stitch project stays in the Google Labs canvas.
| Moves across | |
|---|---|
| The brand | Point your agent at an exported Stitch screen; it extracts colours, type, spacing and voice into DESIGN.md. |
| Prompts | Plain text. Paste the prompts that produced the Stitch draft into an OpenDesign project as-is. |
| Exported HTML/CSS or React | Stitch's export can serve as a structural reference; the agent re-renders under DESIGN.md rather than patching it. |
| Stays in Google Stitch | |
| The Stitch project | Screens and prototype flows in the canvas do not convert; OpenDesign starts its own version trail as files. |
| Figma paste | If a teammate refines on a Figma canvas, that step stays outside OpenDesign. |
| The free tier | OpenDesign is free software, but your agent's provider bills for model usage. |
-
Install OpenDesign and open a project
Download the desktop app and create a project in the repo where the design should live. The quickstart covers the source-build path separately.
-
Export one Stitch screen as a reference
Export the draft whose look you want to keep (HTML or a screenshot) and add it to the project.
-
Ask the agent to extract the brand into DESIGN.md
Review the file by hand: one accent, the right fonts, the right radius. This is the only migration step that needs judgment.
-
Render the original brief against the new brand
Pick a skill and render; from here every skill renders in your brand without re-prompting, without a cap, and each version is a file.
Running both
Keep Stitch as a free sketchpad for concepts; move the accepted concept into OpenDesign for the project. Extract the brand once. Nothing syncs automatically.
Fallback and loss
Stitch is free, so nothing is lost by exporting early. If an OpenDesign render fails, the last version stays on disk and the brief is unchanged; retry with the same agent or a different one.
A 20-minute test
Try OpenDesign on a Draft You Already Made in Google Stitch
Take a screen you generated in Stitch and continue it in OpenDesign with your own agent. If the result is not usable in twenty minutes, this comparison has told you something worth knowing.
1The task
Here is an export of a screen I generated in Google Stitch. Extract its brand into DESIGN.md, then rebuild the same screen from this brief using my design rules and add one more screen in the same brand. Check both at desktop and mobile widths.
- 01Draft inAn HTML export or screenshot of the Stitch screen you want to continue.
- 02DESIGN.md outThe draft's brand extracted into a file in the repo — review it by hand.
- 03Two screens, renderedThe original and a second one in the same brand, then one edit made by pointing at an element.
2It worked if…
- DESIGN.md exists in the repo and you would sign off on its tokens.
- Both screens render at 1440 and 390 with no horizontal scroll and share one brand.
- One edit ("calmer headline") applied by pointing at the element, not by rewriting the brief.
- Two versions sit side by side as files; nothing counted against a cap.
If it did not work: check that your agent is connected and authenticated for your chosen mode, then retry with a smaller brief before judging the tool.
Other options
Other Google Stitch Alternatives
FAQ
Google Stitch Alternative: FAQ
What are Google Stitch's generation limits?
Stitch's free tier runs roughly 350 standard generations a month on Gemini Flash plus a smaller experimental pool on Gemini Pro; reports through 2026 show the cap shifting. There is no paid tier. OpenDesign imposes no app-level cap; you pay your own provider for model usage.
Is Google Stitch free?
Yes. Stitch is a free Google Labs experiment with no subscription, but it requires a Google account and the work lives in Google's cloud. OpenDesign is also free and open source (Apache-2.0); you bring your own agent key.
Can I self-host an alternative to Google Stitch?
Stitch is cloud-only and closed-source. OpenDesign runs locally and self-hosts anywhere Node 24 runs, with full source on GitHub under Apache-2.0.
How does export compare?
Stitch exports HTML/CSS and React and supports paste-into-Figma with auto-layout, named layers and editable text. OpenDesign writes real files into your repo — HTML/CSS, React, decks and a portable DESIGN.md — that you own and version directly.
Can I keep using Stitch alongside OpenDesign?
Yes. Use Stitch for quick concepts and OpenDesign for the project that follows. Migration is manual today; see what moves and what stays.
Is OpenDesign really open source?
Yes. It lives at github.com/nexu-io/open-design under Apache-2.0 and is self-hostable. Google Stitch is a closed-source Google Labs product.
Is OpenDesign affiliated with Google or Stitch?
No. OpenDesign is an independent open-source project. Google Stitch is a product of Google Labs; this is an unaffiliated comparison written by the OpenDesign team.
Try OpenDesign on One Real Draft
Continue a Stitch draft with your own coding agent, judge the round trip, then decide. Choose the situation that matches you; the page does not detect your setup.