Figma Make vs v0: Prompt to Prototype
Figma Make is the natural pick when your design already lives in Figma and you want a code-backed prototype you can still edit visually. v0 is the better pick when the output should become a real React front end in a GitHub repo, deployed on Vercel. Make stays close to design; v0 stays close to engineering.
Use Figma Make to bring Figma frames to life and test ideas inside your design workflow. Use v0 when the prototype is meant to grow into production front-end code.
Figma Make vs v0: side by side
| Figma Make | v0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lives in | Figma | Vercel's v0 |
| Start from | Figma frames, PDFs, codebase or scratch | Prompts, screenshots or Figma files |
| Output | Code-backed, visually editable prototypes | React front ends you deploy |
| Backend | Built-in CMS powered by Payload | Bring your own |
| GitHub | Not the focus | Sync with GitHub |
| Deploy | Share from Figma | Deploy to Vercel |
| Pricing | Full seat on Figma plans (from $16/mo), AI credits per seat | Free 7 messages a day, Plus $30 per user/mo |
| Best for | Designers testing ideas | Teams heading to production |
Why designers reach for Figma Make
Make sits where the design already is. You can attach Figma frames and start from your design assets, and what comes out is code-backed but still editable on the canvas. For a product designer who wants a realistic prototype for a usability test without leaving Figma, that is the shortest path.
Access comes with Figma's Full seat, and usage draws on the AI credits each seat gets per month.
Why teams reach for v0
v0 is built for code that lives on: GitHub sync and deploy to Vercel are on every plan, and Design Mode lets you adjust visually. If engineering will keep the code, starting in v0 avoids a throwaway prototype.
Common traps with prompt-to-prototype tools
The first trap is testing polish instead of the idea. A generated prototype can look finished in minutes, so stakeholders comment on colours instead of whether the flow solves the problem. Decide what you are testing before you share it.
The second trap is losing the design system. Generated code often invents its own spacing, colours and components. In Figma Make, starting from your own frames and assets keeps you closer to the system; in v0, giving it your components and tokens up front helps.
The third is assuming the code is production-ready. Both tools can produce useful code, but someone still has to own accessibility, data, security and edge cases before real users rely on it.
Which one should you pick?
- Your design system and frames are in Figma
- You need a realistic prototype for testing
- The prototype will not be kept as production code
- You already pay for Figma Full seats
- Engineering works in React and Vercel
- You want the code in GitHub from day one
- The prototype should grow into the product
- You want a free plan to try it
How I use them
My own path from Figma to working build goes through Claude and the Figma MCP rather than either tool, which is how most of my 17 AI experiments were made, from Say More to Essence.
Whichever you pick, test the result with users before you polish it. A prototype that looks finished invites the wrong kind of feedback.
FAQ
Is Figma Make the same as v0?
No. Both turn prompts into working interfaces, but Figma Make stays inside Figma and starts from your designs, while v0 produces React front ends you deploy on Vercel.
Is Figma Make free?
Figma's Full seat includes Make. The free Starter plan has limited AI credits, so expect limits.
Can v0 import Figma designs?
v0's docs list cloning pages from screenshots or Figma files as a designer use case. Figma Make and the Figma MCP still sit closer to the source file.
Which should a product designer learn first?
Figma Make, if your work is in Figma today. Learn v0 when you start shipping front-end code with engineers.
The bottom line
Reach for Figma Make when the goal is a believable prototype from your designs. Reach for v0 when the goal is front-end code that will live on in a repo.
Need a product designer or design engineer for your product? I work remotely with teams worldwide, from research to shipped code.