OY.Surf vs Figma
Figma is a cloud design tool for UI and collaboration. OY.Surf is the local-first, on-device, free alternative — here's the honest comparison.
TL;DR
- Figma is a cloud design tool for UI and collaboration.
- OY.Surf is a local file workbench with on-device AI — and it bridges to Figma: push frames in, pull images + palette back, locally.
- They work together rather than compete.
Figma is where you design; OY.Surf is where your visual files live and get AI'd. The OY.Surf Figma bridge pushes selected frames into your library and pulls images plus their palette back onto the Figma canvas — over localhost, no shared account.
Quick comparison
| Design tool (cloud) | OY.Surf | Figma |
|---|---|---|
| File workbench over your folders | ✓ | — |
| On-device image gen + edit | ✓ | ~ |
| Local Figma bridge (push/pull) | ✓ | — |
| Works offline | ✓ | — |
| Price | Free | Per-seat |
What is Figma?
Figma is a collaborative, cloud-based interface design tool. It's the standard for UI design, prototyping, and design systems with real-time collaboration. It's not a general file workbench for your renders and references, and its AI is cloud-based.
What is OY.Surf?
OY.Surf is a local-first visual workbench for macOS. It opens any folder you already have — Dropbox, Downloads, a render output directory — and indexes it in place, so nothing is uploaded. On top of your files it runs on-device AI: descriptions and semantic search, instruction-based image editing (Qwen-Image-Edit), generation (Z-Image Turbo), an Air-style canvas with smart-resize and skills, plus screen recording (Studio) and voice dictation (Flow). The default is free and offline; cloud is opt-in with your own key.
OY.Surf vs Figma, point by point
Do they compete?
Not really. Figma designs UI; OY.Surf manages and AI-processes your visual files. The bridge connects them.
How does the Figma bridge work?
A local-only MCP-style bridge on 127.0.0.1: export frames from Figma straight into your OY.Surf library, or "Send to Figma" to drop images and a color palette onto the canvas — nothing leaves your Mac.
AI
OY.Surf generates and edits images on-device; Figma's generative features are cloud-based.
Price
OY.Surf is free; Figma is per-seat.
When Figma is the better choice
Figma is the better — and necessary — tool for actual UI design and team collaboration. OY.Surf complements it, it doesn't replace it.
Bottom line
Design in Figma, manage and generate your visuals in OY.Surf, and bridge between them locally.
FAQ
- Does OY.Surf integrate with Figma?
- Yes, via a local bridge — push frames into your library, pull images and palette back onto the Figma canvas.
- Is the Figma bridge cloud-based?
- No, it runs on 127.0.0.1 (localhost); nothing leaves your Mac.
- Is OY.Surf a Figma replacement?
- No — it's a file/AI workbench, not a UI design tool.
- Is it free?
- Yes, free while in beta.
- Can it generate images for my designs?
- Yes, on-device, then send them to Figma via the bridge.