Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Zeplin VS CSS Hero

Compare Zeplin VS CSS Hero and see what are their differences

Zeplin logo Zeplin

Collaboration app for UI designers & frontend developers

CSS Hero logo CSS Hero

plugin to design WordPress theme without writing a single line of code
  • Zeplin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-19
  • CSS Hero Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18

Zeplin features and specs

  • Ease of Collaboration
    Zeplin facilitates seamless collaboration between designers and developers by providing a shared space where they can access design specifications, assets, and resources.
  • Design Consistency
    By offering detailed design specifications and exportable assets, Zeplin ensures consistency across different development platforms and helps maintain a unified design system.
  • Automated Asset Export
    Zeplin automatically generates assets in various formats and resolutions, which saves time and reduces the likelihood of errors during the handoff process.
  • Integration with Design Tools
    Zeplin integrates seamlessly with popular design tools like Sketch, Adobe XD, Figma, and Photoshop, making it easy for designers to upload and manage their projects.
  • Version Control
    The platform offers version control for design projects, enabling teams to track changes, revert to previous versions, and ensure they're always working with the most up-to-date designs.

Possible disadvantages of Zeplin

  • Pricing
    Zeplin's subscription model can be costly for smaller teams or individual freelancers, especially when compared to other design handoff tools available in the market.
  • Limited Prototyping Features
    Unlike some other design collaboration tools, Zeplin lacks advanced prototyping features, which might necessitate the use of additional tools for complete design validation.
  • Learning Curve
    New users may require some time to learn Zeplinโ€™s interface and features, which could be a challenge for teams that need to quickly onboard and get up to speed.
  • Dependency on Design Tools
    Zeplin relies heavily on imported designs from other tools rather than allowing for direct design creation within its platform. This dependency could be a limitation for teams looking for an all-in-one solution.
  • Limited Free Tier
    The free version of Zeplin is quite limited in terms of the number of projects and collaborators, which might not be sufficient for larger teams or complex projects.

CSS Hero features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    CSS Hero provides a user-friendly point-and-click interface that simplifies the process of customizing WordPress themes, making it accessible even for users without extensive CSS knowledge.
  • Real-Time Editing
    The tool allows for real-time editing of CSS styles, which means changes can be viewed immediately, facilitating faster design iteration and visual adjustment.
  • Responsive Design
    CSS Hero includes advanced options to tweak the design for different devices, ensuring that websites are responsive and perform well on various screen sizes.
  • Integration with Page Builders
    The plugin integrates seamlessly with popular WordPress page builders like Elementor, giving users more flexibility in designing their websites.
  • No Coding Required
    Users can make extensive design changes without writing a single line of code, which is ideal for those who want to focus on design rather than technical details.

Possible disadvantages of CSS Hero

  • Limited to WordPress
    CSS Hero is specifically designed for WordPress, meaning users who are managing websites on other platforms will not be able to utilize this tool.
  • Subscription Cost
    The tool is not free and requires a subscription, which might be a barrier for hobbyists or small site owners with limited budgets.
  • Learning Curve for Complex Designs
    Although it simplifies many tasks, there may still be a learning curve for users wishing to implement highly complex or specific design customizations.
  • Browser Compatibility
    Some users report browser compatibility issues which can occasionally lead to unexpected behavior or limitations in style application.

Analysis of Zeplin

Overall verdict

  • Zeplin is generally considered a good tool, especially for teams seeking better collaboration between designers and developers. Its features are highly appreciated for accuracy and efficiency in implementing design visions. However, its usefulness might depend on specific team needs and workflows.

Why this product is good

  • Zeplin is a popular tool among designers and developers for its ability to bridge the gap between design and development processes. It excels in organizing design files, annotations, and specifications, making it easier for development teams to implement designs accurately. It integrates seamlessly with design tools like Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD, and provides features like automated design specs, style guides, and assets that streamline the workflow. Its collaborative features allow for efficient communication and feedback loops between team members.

Recommended for

    Zeplin is best suited for designers and developers working in teams where clear design specifications and organized collaboration are critical. It's particularly beneficial for teams using Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD who want to ensure precise design implementation and reduce misunderstandings between design and development departments.

Zeplin videos

Zeplin Basics: Design Systems

More videos:

  • Demo - Zeplin Demo: What is Zeplin? (Video)

CSS Hero videos

CSS Hero Review WordPress Design Customization Made Easy

More videos:

  • Tutorial - CSS Hero 4 Review & Tutorial WordPress Theme Editor
  • Review - CSS Hero WordPress Plugin - Version 4 Overview!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Zeplin and CSS Hero)
Design Tools
96 96%
4% 4
Prototyping
100 100%
0% 0
Website Design
0 0%
100% 100
Design Collaboration
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Zeplin and CSS Hero

Zeplin Reviews

Top 5 Zeplin Alternative
As aforementioned, Zeplin suffers some inherent drawbacks that may dent designersโ€™ hopes for faster, easy, and reliable UI design. To avert such scenarios, you donโ€™t have to get stuck with Zeplin as there are numerous other top-notch Zeplin alternatives. The following are some of the top 5 Zeplin alternatives.
Top 6 Figma Alternatives: Prototyping and UI/UX Tools
Zeplin is super affordable. It offers 2 plans: Team, which costs $8.00 per user per month, and Establishment, which costs $16.00 monthly. Zeplin also provides a feature-limited Free Plan and Enterprise Plan.
Source: fronty.com
9 Best InVision Alternatives to Switch to in 2024
Zeplin is a workspace collaboration tool to document what to build and how designs should behave in a central collaborative place for the entire dev team.
Source: designmodo.com
10 Best Adobe XD Alternatives (Free & Paid)
Zeplin is a smart Adobe XD alternative for code lovers. It is a code-based design app where you can source all your components from Storybook, Github, Bitbucket, SourceForge, and other repositories, so they are always code-ready. The app also integrates seamlessly with team collaboration and project management tools like Trello, Proofhub, Monday, Jira, and Slack, offering...
Top 10 Free Adobe XD Alternatives in 2021
One of the top alternatives to Adobe XD is Zeplin, a code-based design tool where your components can be sourced from GitHub, Storybook, and other repositories so they're always code-ready. You can view summaries of your components within your designs and easily see code snippets for how to initialize them. There are also extensive integrations with project management and...

CSS Hero Reviews

We have no reviews of CSS Hero yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Zeplin seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 22 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Zeplin mentions (22)

  • 20 AI tools every UI/UX designer should be using in 2024
    Zeplin.io AI-powered design-to-dev handoff. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Storybook 8
    Additionally, thank you to all our community launch partners across the frontend ecosystem for helping us bring Storybook 8 to the world! Thanks to Chromatic, Figma, ViteConf, Omlet, DivRiots, story.to.design, StackBlitz, UXpin, Nx, Mock Service Worker, Anima, Zeplin, zeroheight, kickstartDS, and Kendo UI. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Why is Figma better for developers?
    Designers would often use separate tools like Zeplin or Invision to handoff the designs to developers.๐Ÿšฎ. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • A list of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS offerings that have free tiers of interest to devops and infradev
    Zeplin โ€” Designer and developer collaboration platform. Show designs, assets, and style guides. Free for one project. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • What do you think about the new Figma developer mode?
    I'd suggest if you're going to use a tool to collaborate on finalized designs. One that doesn't rely on which design tool you use, why not use zeplin.io? There are free plans and paid plans, and it was purpose built for design delivery. Over 5 million users--over 3 million developers using it. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

CSS Hero mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of CSS Hero yet. Tracking of CSS Hero recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Zeplin and CSS Hero, you can also consider the following products

Invision - Prototyping and collaboration for design teams

InTab.io - Visually style any website in your browser without writing CSS!

Figma - Team-based interface design, Figma lets you collaborate on designs in real time.

Sizzy - The browser for designers and developers

Adobe XD - Adobe XD is an all-in-one UX/UI solution for designing websites, mobile apps and more.ย 

CSS Scan Pro - The easiest way to get and edit the CSS of any website, live