# blog / comparison

Figma dev-mode vs Locofy Pro: five concrete differences.

Both promise design-to-code. Both ship. Only one of them is worth wiring into a paid workflow, and which one depends on what you’re shipping. Five points, each with a code sample.

Read on

Split-screen: Figma dev-mode's code panel next to Locofy's export panel, showing different HTML output for the same frame.

Dev-to-dev.

We use both on paid work. Figma dev-mode is the always-on assistant baked into the file. Locofy Pro is the paid plugin ($30 to $80 a month) that generates whole React or HTML files. The correct answer isn’t ‘one is better,’ it’s ‘here’s where each earns its keep.’

1. Semantic HTML output.

Figma dev-mode’s CSS panel is honest: it shows the styles applied to the selected element, and it doesn’t pretend to know the semantic tag. Locofy tries to guess, and gets it wrong maybe 40 percent of the time (<section> becomes <div>, headings get flattened).

Winner for semantics: dev-mode, because at least it doesn’t lie. Winner for scaffolding: Locofy, because it saves keystrokes even after you rewrite the tags.

Locofy raw output vs shipped code. Same frame.

<!-- Locofy Pro export (unedited) -->
<div class="hero">
  <div class="title">Design to code, hand-audited.</div>
  <div class="lede">Send a Figma link.</div>
</div>

<!-- What we ship after the semantic pass -->
<section class="hero" aria-labelledby="hero-title">
  <h1 id="hero-title" class="hero__title">Design to code, hand-audited.</h1>
  <p class="hero__lede">Send a Figma link.</p>
</section>

2. Design token round-tripping.

Figma variables (introduced 2023, mature by 2026) are a proper token system. Dev-mode surfaces the variable name (color/ink) instead of the hex value when you have variables set up. Locofy sees the resolved hex and stamps it into your CSS as #0E1116, or worse, text-[#0E1116] in Tailwind arbitrary-value hell.

Winner: dev-mode, by a mile. Locofy loses the variable connection.

3. React vs static output.

Dev-mode gives you CSS + HTML. That’s it. Locofy generates .tsx, .jsx, .vue, or .html, with prop scaffolding based on Figma component variants. On a component library with 10+ variants that’s a genuine time-saver.

Winner: Locofy, if your target is React or Vue components.

4. Auto-layout to Flexbox fidelity.

Both do this well when the Figma file is disciplined. On messy files, dev-mode fails silently (shows CSS that doesn’t reproduce the layout) and Locofy fails loudly (nested wrappers with hard-coded widths).

Winner: tie. Both need the input to be clean.

5. Cost + lock-in.

Dev-mode is $12/editor/month on top of a Figma seat, so most teams already have it. Locofy Pro is $30 to $80/month per user with limits on export count. If Locofy dies (VC-backed, 2021 seed round), the exported .tsx files still work, but the plugin integration disappears.

Winner: dev-mode on cost. Locofy is only worth it if you export a lot.

Tool used: This post ships with Locofy Pro output and hand-corrected shipped code side by side. Both examples are real, not curated.

Related.

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