Figma

Ripping you off Stage 3

Figma reset expectations for real-time design and handoff. The surplus is still tangible for many teams. Lock-in arrives through shared libraries, design systems, and plugin ecosystems—assets and permissions accrete in one canvas. In 2025 it raised seat prices by 20–33% and began metering AI credits. Lock-in plus rising prices: stage 3.

Since
2016
Category
Creative tools
VC-backed
Yes
Public
Since 2025 (NYSE: FIG)
Website
figma.com
X
@figma

The promise

Its first promise, and how much is kept · Scoring

80% kept

“Design, meet the internet. Finally you can do design work online, the way it should have been all along.”
Figma homepage, 2016 1 extraction criterion met.

Why it’s rated 3

The criteria it meets, with sources · Method

Alignment 0 of 3
None
Lock-in 1 of 4
  • L3 Hardware or workflow
Extraction 1 of 7
Decline 0 of 3
None

Result Two or more extraction criteria, or lock-in plus at least one, so stage 3.

Rating history

Oct 6, 2026
Downgraded 2 Watch out → 3 Ripping you off

Rescored under Method 2.1. Stage 3 test met by lock-in (L3 Hardware or workflow) plus a documented extraction criterion (E1 Pay more for the same). No decline is documented, which stage 4 requires.

News signals

Sourced reporting, tagged by strategy

Mar 18, 2026
Figma begins enforcing AI credit limits, adds paid top-ups
AI upsellTier fragmentation
Jul 31, 2025
Figma surges in NYSE debut after pricing IPO at $33
Liquidity event
Dec 13, 2024
Figma announces seat price rises of up to 33% from March 2025
ARPU growthTier fragmentation
Dec 18, 2023
Adobe and Figma terminate $20 billion merger after regulatory block
Market consolidationRegulatory risk