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Curio vs. FigJam

FigJam is a whiteboard for design teams to brainstorm together and hand off into Figma. Curio is a personal Mac project notebook for organizing your own work. Different tools for different jobs. Here’s the honest comparison.

What is Curio?

Curio is a native Mac notebook built around freeform idea spaces — canvases where notes, mind maps, lists, tables, kanban boards, images, and documents all live side by side. Your projects are files on your Mac, not pages in someone else’s cloud.

What is FigJam?

FigJam is Figma’s collaborative online whiteboard, now part of the Figma platform. Teams use it for live brainstorms with sticky notes, voting, cursor chat, and templates, then carry ideas straight into Figma design files. It runs in the browser with a free tier, and is bundled into paid Figma seats.

Choose Curio if…

  • You’re organizing your own work, not facilitating a team’s live session.
  • You want native Mac speed and full offline use with local files you control.
  • You want deeper content: real documents, notes, and tasks — not just stickies and shapes.
  • You want a project notebook with structure: sections, an Organizer, and tasks with dates and statuses.
  • You write rich text or Markdown with wikilinks and spreadsheet-style table formulas.
  • You’d rather buy once than pay per seat, and you want a CLI and MCP for AI agents.

Choose FigJam if…

  • You run live team brainstorms and workshops.
  • You want stickies, voting, timers, and cursor chat for group energy.
  • You hand ideas off seamlessly into Figma design files.
  • You rely on a template library for team activities.
  • You need everyone in the browser on any platform, starting from a free tier.

At a glance

Curio FigJam
Platform Native macOS app Web, with desktop & mobile apps
Where your work lives Local files on your Mac Figma’s cloud
Freeform canvas ✓ ✓
Built-in mind maps ✓ —
Kanban boards ✓ —
Figma design handoff — ✓
Real-time team collaboration — ✓
Rich text & Markdown Both native, with wikilinks & table formulas Text on stickies & shapes
Works offline Always Limited
AI agent access CLI + MCP server Read access via Figma MCP
Pricing Free 2-week trial, then one-time license or subscription Free tier, then bundled into paid Figma seats

See your ideas, not just your notes

Curio has helped Mac users brainstorm, organize, and manage projects visually for over 25 years. Take the tour, or just try it — every feature is unlocked for 2 weeks.

Learn More About Curio or download the free 2-week trial
A Curio idea space with markdown notes, a mind map, images, and a kanban board arranged on a freeform canvas.

FigJam and Figma are trademarks of Figma, Inc. Zengobi is not affiliated with or endorsed by Figma, Inc. This comparison reflects our honest understanding as of July 2026 — see figma.com for their current features and pricing. Spot something out of date? Let us know.