The DesignerBox Figma plugin puts AI image and video generation, background removal, and product photography on the Figma canvas. Sign in with your DesignerBox account, run a tool from the Apps tab, and the result lands as an editable Figma frame. No export, no round trip to another app. Six tools cover generation, cutouts, outpainting, product ads, and new camera angles.
You have a layout open, eight placements to fill, and a folder of grey boxes where the imagery goes. The usual fix is a second tab, a third login, a download, a drag back into Figma, and a filename you will never find again.
Every one of those steps happens because the picture gets made somewhere the layout is not.
This covers the six tools in the plugin, the job each one is good at, what they cost in credits, and where Figma’s own AI already does the work for free.
Key Takeaways
- Six tools ship in the Apps tab: generate image, generate video, remove background, expand, product ad, and photo angles.
- Output is a Figma layer, not a file. Results land on the canvas as frames you can move, mask, and restyle, so there is nothing to re-import.
- An image costs 5 credits. The free plan starts with 112, which is roughly 22 images before you pay anything.
- Video is priced per second and is by far the most expensive operation. A Veo 3.1 clip at 8 seconds with audio runs 6,400 credits, more than the Premium plan’s entire 2,500 monthly allocation.
- Figma already removes backgrounds natively. Isolate, Expand, Erase, Boost resolution, Remove background and Edit with prompt all run on canvas (figma.com, July 2026). Use those before you spend a credit.
- One account carries across surfaces. The same login and credit balance work in the plugin, the browser extension, on mobile, and through the DesignerBox MCP server.
- AI video and try-on need Premium. Commercial licensing starts at Pro. Check the tier before you brief the work.
What the plugin does
Add DesignerBox from the Figma Community, open it from the Plugins menu, and sign in with your DesignerBox account.
Figma runs plugins from the File menu under Plugins, from a right-click on the canvas, or from the Plugins panel in the right sidebar, and they work in Figma Design, Dev Mode, FigJam, Figma Slides and Figma Buzz (help.figma.com, July 2026).
Installing is free. Generation spends DesignerBox credits against your plan, managed in your account rather than through Figma.
The six tools in the Apps tab
| Tool | What you give it | What comes back |
|---|---|---|
| Generate image | A prompt, a model, an aspect ratio | A text-to-image result placed on canvas |
| Generate video | A prompt, or a selected layer as the first frame | A poster on canvas, the MP4 in a tab |
| Remove background | A selected layer | A clean cutout, ready to composite |
| Expand | A frame and a wider or taller ratio | An outpainted scene that continues past the original edge |
| Product ad | A product photo | Campaign-ready shots built from your real product |
| Photo angles | A product photo | The same product from a different viewpoint |
Generate image and generate video are the open-ended pair. The other four are narrow on purpose: each one does a single job that used to cost a tab switch.
Generate image
Describe the shot, pick the model, pick the aspect ratio, and the result places itself on the canvas. Model choice matters more than prompt length here, and the 13 models in the catalog cover different jobs. Nano Banana Pro holds editing fidelity. Seedream 5 renders text natively.
Generate video
Two routes. Text-to-video from a prompt, or image-to-video using a selected layer as the opening frame, which is the one that matters when the video has to start from a product you already have.
The poster frame lands on the canvas so the layout stays readable. The MP4 opens in a tab.
Remove background
Select a layer, get a cutout back. This is the highest-frequency tool in the set and the one you will reach for without thinking.
Read the Figma section below before you build a habit around it. Figma removes backgrounds natively now, and native is free.
Expand
Outpaint a frame wider or taller and the scene continues rather than stretching. A square packshot becomes a 16:9 banner. A portrait crop becomes a full-bleed background.
This is the tool that solves the recurring format problem: one shot, six placements, six aspect ratios, and a photographer who framed for none of them.
Product ad and photo angles
Both start from a product photo instead of a prompt, which is the difference that matters. Product ad returns campaign-ready shots. Photo angles re-shoots the same object from a viewpoint that was never captured.
That second one is worth sitting with. You cannot crop your way to a top-down when the only file you have is a three-quarter front. We covered the mechanics separately in turning one product photo into every angle.
Four jobs it handles well
Hero and landing-page imagery. Generate directly into the frame that needs filling, at the ratio the frame already is, then expand it when the breakpoint changes.
Ecommerce product and catalog photos. One accurate product photo goes in. Angles, backgrounds and lifestyle scenes come out, without booking a studio day per drop. Catalogue work is where the credit math gets interesting, and where what a product photoshoot costs sets the real comparison.
Ad and social creative in multiple sizes. Build the 1:1, expand to 16:9 and 9:16, keep all three in the same file with the same source. Brand drift usually enters when assets get rebuilt in different tools, which is the problem keeping AI output on brand is really about.
Quick cutouts for mockups and decks. Select, cut out, composite, move on.
The sweet spot is narrow and worth naming: filling a layout with real-looking content instead of grey boxes. If the picture is the deliverable, work in the Video Studio. If the picture exists to make a layout real, work in Figma.
What it costs
| Operation | Credits |
|---|---|
| Generate image or edit image | 5 |
| Create avatar (9 images) | 25 |
| Video | Credits per second multiplied by duration |
Video examples make the gap concrete. Seedance Pro Fast at 720p for 5 seconds is 150 credits. Sora 2 at 720p for 8 seconds is 1,600. Veo 3 with audio at 8 seconds is 6,400.
That last number is larger than the entire monthly allocation on Premium, which is 2,500. Budget video separately from image work or it will eat the month in an afternoon. The full breakdown of AI video cost runs the math per clip.
Plan allocations are 112 credits on Free, 500 on Basic at $15 a month, 1,000 on Pro at $35, 2,500 on Premium at $75, and 8,000 on Ultra at $200. Full detail sits on the pricing page.
Two gates worth knowing before you brief the work: AI video and try-on need Premium or higher, and the commercial license starts at Pro.
When you do not need a plugin at all
Figma got good at images, and the honest answer is that some of this work no longer needs an external tool.
The published on-canvas list is Isolate, Expand, Erase, Boost resolution, Remove background, and Edit with prompt (figma.com, July 2026). Weave tools add Replace background and Change lighting, rolling out from 24 June 2026 to Professional plans and above with Full seats. They are in open beta and consume no Figma AI credits until general availability, at which point credit usage applies (help.figma.com, July 2026).
So: if the job is removing a background, erasing an object, or boosting resolution on an image you already have, use Figma. It is on canvas and it costs you nothing during the beta.
What Figma’s published tool list does not describe is work that depends on your physical product. A new camera angle of the same object. A garment on a model. Product video. Those need a model that starts from your actual product photo, which is the line the plugin sits on.
That division holds up in practice. DesignerBox produces shots that do not exist yet. Figma finishes the ones you have. The longer version of that argument is in AI product photography in Figma.
One account across four surfaces
The plugin is one door into the same account. The DesignerBox login and credit balance work identically in the browser extension, on mobile, and through the MCP server, which exposes 43 tools to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT and any other MCP client. History and plan follow you across all of them.
That matters for a specific failure mode. A designer generates in Figma, a marketer generates in the browser, and neither can find what the other made. Same account, same library, one search.
The chat surface is worth understanding on its own terms, since briefing an assistant is a different skill from working a canvas. We cover it in agentic AI for content creation.
On network access, the plugin talks only to DesignerBox for sign-in, generation, and the CDN that serves your results. No third-party analytics, no trackers.
How to run your first generation
- Install. Add the plugin from the Figma Community listing.
- Open it. Plugins menu, then DesignerBox. Sign in with your DesignerBox account.
- Pick a tool from the Apps grid. Generate image is the fastest way to see whether the output fits your brand.
- Add a prompt or select a layer. Prompt-led tools take text. Product ad, photo angles, remove background and expand take a selected layer.
- Place the result. It arrives as an editable frame. Move it, mask it, restyle it like any other layer.
- Finish on canvas. Expand to each placement’s ratio, boost resolution, erase what the layout does not need.
Step 6 is the point. The plugin is not trying to replace Figma’s image tools, it feeds them.
Once the plugin is open, the product photography prompts library covers the prompts worth starting from.
FAQ
Is the DesignerBox Figma plugin free?
Installing is free from the Figma Community. Generation spends DesignerBox credits against your plan. The free DesignerBox plan includes 112 credits with no credit card, which covers roughly 22 images at 5 credits each.
Can I generate video inside Figma?
Yes. The plugin runs text-to-video from a prompt, or image-to-video using a selected layer as the opening frame. The poster lands on the canvas and the MP4 opens in a tab. AI video requires the Premium plan or higher.
Does the plugin work on the free Figma plan?
Figma plugins run in Figma Design, Dev Mode, FigJam, Figma Slides and Figma Buzz, from the File menu, a right-click, or the Plugins panel in the right sidebar (help.figma.com, July 2026). Figma’s own Weave tools are the feature restricted to Professional plans and above with Full seats.
How is this different from Figma’s built-in AI image tools?
Figma’s published on-canvas tools edit an image you already have: Isolate, Expand, Erase, Boost resolution, Remove background, Edit with prompt (figma.com, July 2026). The plugin generates images and video that do not exist yet, including new camera angles of your real product and shots built from a product photo.
Do the results stay editable in Figma?
Yes. Output arrives as Figma layers, so you can move, mask, crop and restyle them like any other frame. There is no export step and no re-import.
Which models can I pick from?
The catalog is 13 models across six providers, 7 image and 6 video, including Nano Banana Pro, Seedream 5, FLUX 2 Flex, Veo 3.1, Sora 2 Pro and Kling 2.6 Pro. You choose the model per generation rather than being handed one house style.
Can I use the output in paid ads?
The commercial license starts on the Pro plan at $35 a month. Confirm the current terms on the pricing page before shipping client work.
Does it work with my existing DesignerBox account?
Yes. The same login, credits, plan and asset history work in the plugin, the browser extension, on mobile, and through the MCP server. Nothing is scoped to Figma alone.
Sources
All accessed July 2026.
- Figma’s on-canvas AI tool list: Isolate, Expand, Erase, Boost resolution, Remove background and Edit with prompt (figma.com, July 2026)
- Where Figma plugins run (Figma Design, Dev Mode, FigJam, Slides, Buzz) and Weave tool availability, the 24 June 2026 rollout, plan requirements and beta credit treatment: (help.figma.com, July 2026)
- The plugin listing itself: DesignerBox on the Figma Community
- DesignerBox pricing, credit costs, plan allocations, model catalogue, MCP tool count and feature gating verified against live product configuration, July 2026
Figma plugin behaviour, AI tool lists and Weave availability verified from Figma’s Help Center and product pages as of July 2026. DesignerBox pricing, credit costs and model catalog current as of July 2026. Model specifications in this category change monthly. Individual results vary.
