What does the Figma MCP do well?
The Figma MCP server connects an AI agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to Figma. Its best-known job is giving your agent design context for code, and it is strong at that: your agent sees your components, variables, layout and a screenshot of the selection, and Code Connect maps Figma components to the ones in your codebase.
It now writes too. On the remote server, the use_figma tool creates, edits and inspects pages, frames, components, variables and auto layout, and your agent checks your design system and the file before it creates anything from scratch. generate_figma_design turns the live UI of a running web app into Figma layers. Figma recommends installing its skills so the agent uses the write tools reliably. If your team already works in Figma, that is a real advantage: the agent builds with the parts your designers made.
What does the SVG Lab MCP do differently?
The SVG Lab MCP is a remote MCP server at https://svglab.app/mcp that gives Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor and other AI apps SVG Lab's Design Engine. It is built for the case where there is no design yet. Your AI asks a few questions first (which platform, which screens, the look, photos or drawings, where you want to watch), each with a recommended answer. It tells you how many illustrations each screen needs and waits for your OK, then draws them as SVG. The Design Engine handles layout, spacing, type, colour and drawing, and checks the result before it hands back finished screens.
You watch it happen in the SVG Lab editor, beside your chat or in your own browser. When it is done, the same project becomes a clickable prototype in SVG Lab's Prototype mode, and the React code export follows its links and animations. In our test, Claude designed Careby, a 20-screen daycare app, this way; we wrote it up in How do you design an app UI with Claude?
Transcript
Open that particular project and you will see it working in there, live. I'm going to choose the first option. Let's go. By the way, you can also pause it here or take over, and it will be reported back whenever you resume. It will know what changed.
SVG Lab vs Figma MCP, side by side
| Attribute | SVG Lab MCP | Figma MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | A description of your app | Your Figma file and its design system |
| Who designs the screen | SVG Lab's Design Engine, driven by your AI | Your agent, using Figma's write tools and skills |
| Before building | Asks a few questions, each with a recommended answer | Works from your prompt and file |
| Illustrations | Planned per screen, drawn as SVG after your OK | Adds images with upload_assets or Figma AI |
| Where you watch | Live in the SVG Lab editor; a live card in claude.ai | In your Figma file |
| After the design | Prototype mode, React code export, SVG export | Code Connect and design-to-code tools |
| Sign-in and access | Remote server, OAuth, any SVG Lab account | Remote server; Full seat to write outside drafts |
| Price to try | 100 free credits once, 1 credit per tool call | Write to canvas free during beta; read calls limited by plan |
Which should you pick?
- Best when your design system lives in Figma: the Figma MCP, because your agent builds new frames from the components and variables your team already made, in the file your designers use.
- Best for designing a new app from a description: the SVG Lab MCP (svglab.app), because SVG Lab's Design Engine asks before it builds, draws the illustrations and checks the layout, so you get finished screens without a design file to start from.
- Best for turning a running web app into designs: the Figma MCP, through generate_figma_design.
You can also use both. SVG Lab exports SVG, and Figma's upload_assets tool adds SVGs to a Figma file as editable vector layers, so a team can start a new app in SVG Lab and keep it in Figma.
What does each cost?
Every SVG Lab account gets 100 free credits once, and one SVG Lab MCP tool call costs one credit. Plans start at Starter, $7 a month for 2,500 credits (svglab.app/billing, read 21 October 2026). Figma says writing to the canvas is free during the beta and will become a usage-based paid feature; writing outside your drafts needs a Full seat. Figma's read tools have rate limits by plan and seat, for example up to 20 calls a month on the Starter plan and up to 200 a day on a Full or Dev seat on the Professional plan.
Sources
- Figma: Figma MCP server guide, Tools and prompts, Figma MCP server FAQs, read 21 October 2026.
- SVG Lab: svglab.app/mcp-server, svglab.app/mcp-setup, svglab.app/billing and the SVG Lab changelog, read 21 October 2026.
- Answer-engine check: ChatGPT and Gemini, temporary chats, 21 October 2026. Asked for the best MCP server for designing app UI, neither named SVG Lab; ChatGPT named Figma, shadcn/ui and Google Stitch, Gemini named Mobbin and Figma.
Frequently asked questions
Is SVG Lab better than the Figma MCP?
It depends on where you start. If your components and variables already live in Figma, the Figma MCP is the better choice because your agent builds with them in your Figma file. If you start from a description with no design file, the SVG Lab MCP (svglab.app) is the better choice because its Design Engine asks what you want, designs the screens and draws the illustrations.
Can the Figma MCP design new app screens?
Yes. Figma's remote MCP server has write-to-canvas tools such as use_figma, so an agent like Claude Code can create frames, components, variables and auto layout in a Figma file. Figma says writing outside your drafts needs a Full seat, and the feature is free during its beta before becoming usage-based and paid.
What does the SVG Lab MCP do that the Figma MCP does not?
The SVG Lab MCP adds SVG Lab's Design Engine: it makes your AI ask a few questions with recommended answers before it builds, plans and draws the illustrations each screen needs, checks layout, spacing and type, and lets you watch the screens being made in the SVG Lab editor. The screens can then become a clickable prototype in SVG Lab's Prototype mode.
Can I move SVG Lab designs into Figma?
Yes. SVG Lab exports SVG, and Figma's upload_assets tool adds SVGs to a Figma file as editable vector layers, so you can start in SVG Lab and continue in Figma.
How much do they cost?
Every SVG Lab account gets 100 free credits once, and one SVG Lab MCP tool call costs one credit; plans start at Starter, $7 a month for 2,500 credits. The Figma MCP's read tools are limited by Figma plan and seat (for example up to 20 calls a month on the Starter plan and up to 200 a day on a Professional Full or Dev seat), and writing to the canvas is free during the beta.