Stitch MCP vs Figma MCP — Which Design-to-Code MCP Should You Use?

Stitch MCP vs Figma MCP — Which Design-to-Code MCP Should You Use?

Google Stitch MCP and Figma MCP both connect design tools to AI coding agents via the Model Context Protocol. But they solve fundamentally different problems.

Stitch MCP generates new UI designs from text prompts and outputs HTML/CSS. Figma MCP reads existing Figma designs and feeds structured data to your coding agent for code generation.

This comparison covers tools, pricing, platform support, output quality, and the real decision: when to use which.

TL;DR — Quick Decision Table

If you have Figma designs already, use Figma MCP. If you're starting from zero and want AI to design for you, use Stitch MCP. They're complementary, not competing.

What Each Tool Actually Does

Stitch MCP — AI Generates the Design

Stitch is an experimental tool from Google Labs. You describe a UI in text, Stitch generates both a visual design and the HTML/CSS code.

The MCP server (@_davideast/stitch-mcp) wraps the Stitch API so AI agents can call it as a tool. In practice:

You: "Build a SaaS pricing page with 3 tiers"
Agent → calls Stitch MCP → generates design + HTML/CSS
Agent → returns the code to your project

There's no Figma file, no designer involved. The AI creates the design from scratch.

Available MCP tools:

The official SDK (@google/stitch-sdk) adds edit() for iterative changes and variants() for generating 1-5 design variations with configurable creative range.

Figma MCP (Official) — Reads Your Figma Files

Figma's first-party MCP server connects your existing Figma designs to AI coding agents. The agent reads your design, understands the layout, tokens, and components, then generates code that matches.

You: "Implement this Figma design" + paste Figma URL
Agent → calls Figma MCP → reads design structure, variables, screenshots
Agent → generates React/Vue/HTML code matching the design

Available MCP tools (14 total):

The official server is remote-hosted at https://mcp.figma.com/mcp — no local installation needed. Authentication is OAuth through your browser.

Framelink (Community) — Lightweight Figma Reader

Framelink is a community-built alternative with 14,000+ GitHub stars. It predates the official Figma MCP by 6 months and was originally built for Cursor.

Only 2 tools, but they're focused:

It's read-only, free, and MIT-licensed. Uses a personal access token instead of OAuth.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Authentication & Setup

Stitch MCP has the most complex setup — you need a Google Cloud project with billing enabled, gcloud authentication, and the Stitch API enabled. The init wizard automates most of it, but it's still more steps than Figma MCP's OAuth-and-go approach.

Figma MCP (official) is the simplest: point your editor at the remote URL and authenticate through your browser.

Pricing

Key points:

• Stitch MCP is generous during preview — 350 standard generations per month is a lot. But it's experimental with no guaranteed future pricing.
• Figma MCP (official) free tier is practically unusable at 6 calls/month. You need a Dev or Full seat ($25/mo) for real usage. Plus, write-to-canvas features (use_figma) will become paid after beta.
• Framelink is completely free with no artificial limits beyond Figma's standard API rate limits.

Platform Support

All three support the major AI coding platforms:

Output Format

Stitch MCP outputs raw HTML/CSS — not React components, not Vue, just static HTML with embedded CSS. Your agent can then convert this to framework-specific code, but the initial output is always vanilla HTML/CSS.

Figma MCP (official) defaults to React + Tailwind but can be prompted to generate any framework's code representation. The output quality depends heavily on how well the Figma file is structured.

Framelink doesn't generate code at all — it provides simplified design data that your LLM interprets and converts to code. This is surprisingly effective because modern LLMs are good at translating structured layout data into framework code.

Write Capability

Known Issues (March 2026)

Stitch MCP:

• Critical proxy bug — process.exit(0) kills the stdio MCP transport immediately. Multiple open issues (#161-170). This specifically affects Claude Code integration.
• .env file conflicts can break the proxy
• No design memory between screens — each generation is independent
• API key auth doesn't work for the MCP proxy (OAuth only)

Figma MCP (Official):

• Beta status — features may change
• Large selections can cause timeouts or incomplete responses
• Write features (use_figma) will become paid
• 6 calls/month on free tier is essentially unusable

Framelink:

• Read-only — can't write back to Figma
• Only 2 tools (vs 14+ in official)
• No screenshot capability
• Large files may be slow to process

Real-World Use Cases

Use Stitch MCP When:

1. You're prototyping from scratch — no designer, no Figma files, just an idea
2. You need quick UI mockups — "show me 3 variations of a pricing page"
3. You're building MVP landing pages — generate and iterate fast
4. Design consistency matters across screens — use extract_design_context to maintain a design system

Example workflow:

"Create a project called SaaS Dashboard"
→ "Generate a login page with email, password, and Google OAuth"
→ "Generate a dashboard with sidebar navigation and 4 stat cards"
→ "Extract design context from the login page"
→ "Generate a settings page matching the extracted design context"
→ "Build a site with login at /, dashboard at /dashboard, settings at /settings"

Use Figma MCP (Official) When:

1. You have Figma designs from a designer — implement them pixel-perfect
2. You need design token extraction — colors, spacing, typography as code variables
3. You use Code Connect — map Figma components to your React/Vue components
4. You need write-back capability — generate designs from web pages into Figma

Example workflow:

"Here's the Figma URL for the new checkout flow"
→ Agent reads design context, variables, screenshots
→ Agent generates React + Tailwind components matching the design
→ Agent uses Code Connect to map to existing component library

Use Framelink When:

1. Budget is a concern — free with no call limits
2. You're on Cursor — it was built for Cursor specifically
3. You need to download image assets — Framelink saves directly to your project
4. You want simplicity — 2 tools, personal access token, done

Use Stitch + Figma Together:

The most powerful setup is using both:

1. Stitch MCP → generate initial designs from text prompts
2. Export or recreate in Figma for refinement
3. Figma MCP → read the refined designs and generate production code

Or use Stitch for rapid prototyping and Figma MCP for production implementation.

Comparison Summary

Bottom Line

Stitch MCP and Figma MCP aren't competing — they solve different problems.

• No design exists yet? → Stitch MCP. Let AI generate the design and code.
• Design exists in Figma? → Figma MCP (official for full features, Framelink for free).
• Building a full product? → Use both. Stitch for rapid prototyping, Figma MCP for production implementation.

The "which MCP should I use?" question really comes down to: do you already have a design, or do you need one created?

Links & Resources

• Stitch MCP (CLI): github.com/davideast/stitch-mcp
• Stitch SDK: github.com/google-labs-code/stitch-sdk
• Stitch Platform: stitch.withgoogle.com
• Figma MCP (Official): github.com/figma/mcp-server-guide
• Framelink MCP: github.com/GLips/Figma-Context-MCP
• Stitch MCP Setup Guide: sotaaz.com/post/stitch-mcp-guide-en