Surprise! Figma is changing its pricing strategyagain.But this time, theyre forcing you to buy products you probably dont need. In 2024, we saw Figma enact its new seat structure to accommodate the launch of Dev Mode, which allowed Figma to begin charging for developers accessing design specs. But going into 2025, we have a new seat structure and pricing strategy to re-learn.Figmas December 10th announcement was a mixed bag of bummers and small victories for users. Although the price increase for the full seat is a huge disappointment, Figma actually listened to some feedback and is making changes to unintentional billing as well as a new workflow for external collaboration.Figma Slides user interface, image via FigmaLearnLets get into the Figma changes to expect in 2025 by reviewing the new seat structure and pricing, why there even is a price increase, and updates to billing for admins and freelancers.New Figma seat structure &pricingIf you havent seen the new Figma prices and seat terminology, I got you. But dont freak out yet; these prices wont take effect until March 11, 2025. So if you want to search for an alternative design tool, you have several months to find the right fit for you. And of course, if you have a free plan, the price increases wont affect you (hey, they didnt take thataway!).Before we get into the new prices, lets review the new seat structure. Earlier this year, Figma announced the 4 seats: full, dev mode, viewer, and viewer-restricted. Now the seats have changed to: full, dev, collab, and view. In summary, theyve added the collab seat, and merged viewer and viewer-restricted seats (the only difference was that viewers could self-upgrade to full; more on that in the Admin must approve seat upgrades section).Figmas new pricing strategy taking effect in March 2025, image viaFigmaBut heres the kickerthe price increasesthere are as follows for each Figma plan permonth:Full seatEnterprise: $75 to $90 (20% increase)Organization: $45 to $55 (22.2% increase)*Professional: $15 to $20 (33.3% increase)Dev seatEnterprise: $35 (no increase)Organization: $25 (no increase)*Professional: $15 (Dev seats were not included in this plan in2024)Collab seat (new seat type in2025)Enterprise: $5Organization: $5*Professional: $5View seatEnterprise: FreeOrganization: FreeProfessional: Free*Note: Professional plan prices vary depending on if you pay monthly or annually. I took the prices for paying monthly for the above values and percentages.If youre just NOT ok with the new prices, youre not the only one. The design community is pissed to say the least. The company I work for pays for my Figma account, but Im still shocked. And I truly feel for those who freelance and pay for their own tools; theyre the ones taking the biggest hit with a 33% price jump (I hope you get that tax deduction).You may be wondering, WHYYY?! Well, Figma has their reason and you probably wont likeit.Mandatory upgrade to Figma products you dontneedFigmas full seat will include access to Figma Design, Dev Mode, Figma Slides, and FigJam starting in March 2025, which is how theyre validating the significant price increase. As of today, Figma Slides has been free (since its in beta), and FigJam has been an add-on product. In 2025, youll have no choice but to pay extra for these secondary products. But will you actually use all these bells and whistles included?Personally, I have never used Figma Slides (Flides) or FigJam. For slide decks, I must use a company-branded template in Microsoft Powerpoint (not ideal, but it gets the job done). And for brainstorming workspaces, my company uses Miro (I love Miroits very intuitive).Example of a FigJam board, image viaFigmaMaybe you are like me or maybe you do use Figma Slides and/or FigJam. Regardless, most companies already have tools to cover these communication and collaboration needs. Most of us dont need a second solution forcefully thrown in ourlaps.Not only will this surge your monthly Figma bill, it will disrupt team collaboration. For instance, if a designer with a full seat decides to use FigJam (since theyll be able to), their project manager with a view seat will not be able to edit the FigJam board. So, theyll have to be upgraded to a collabseat.This all sounds pretty intentional to me. Im guessing Figma Slides and FigJam arent performing as expected, so theyre bundling all the products into one subscription (kind of like Adobes subscription model). As said before, there are many other tools already embedded in product teams processes that theyre trying to override. Figma Design is fantastic, but I just dont need these other products.Do you think Figma will build another product? Maybe Figma Project Management? Might I suggest, Figma Kanban or FigBan for thename.Admins will have to approve seatupgradesOver the last couple years, Figma received backlash from users who received higher bills than anticipatedcaused by users with a view seat unintentionally upgrading their accounts to full seats. One great thing that came from Figmas December 10th announcement was that they are allowing admins to approve or reject all user attempts toupgrade.Previously, admins could only prevent users from self-upgrading by giving users a viewer-restricted seat. But users with a view seat could still upgrade their account by simply making an edit to a file they were given Can edit permissions to or by clicking an Edit file button. To make matters worse, admins wouldnt be notified of the upgrades (no wonder they were surprised by their Figmabill).Users could have viewer or viewer-restricted seats, images via FigmaForumSoon, instead of upgrades being controlled by user actions, admins will have to approve every upgrade request before a user receives a paid seat (and it shows up on the bill). Even better, the user who requests the upgrade will be given temporary access to the seat they requested for 3days.This was a frustrating and deceptive UX pattern, so this is a huge win for admins of organization and enterprise plans, and will prevent errors and bills from skyrocketing.Connected Projects for freelancers &agenciesThough this was initially announced at the 2024 Config, Figma also mentioned the Connected Projects in the December 10th update. Figma has been a horrible experience for freelancers and agencies because they havent been able to collaborate without paying extra. If a freelancer, with their own Figma license, needed to access an agencys Figma file, the agency would have to add the freelancer as a full seat to their plan (multiplying licenses and burning money). So, Connected Projects is a means to alleviate this duplication and annoyance.Agencies have to add freelancers to their license in order to share Figma files, image via FigmaLearnConnected Projects will create a shared workspace between freelancers and agencies so they can collaborate with each other without requiring one freelancer to be added to multiple plans (like if they work with several agencies). Figma hasnt mentioned much else about this new feature, but they have allowed projects to be transferred across enterprise, organization, and professional plans.Though there isnt a set date for this to roll out other than coming later in 2025, we can be optimistic that Figma is at least addressing this major userneed.I know, a Figma price increase is not what anyone wanted going into 2025. On top of that, Figma is adopting a subscription model very similar to Adobes (the merger fell through, but the inspiration is strong). And though the new prices and reason for doing so suck, Figma has taken feedback to make change for thebetter.Dont get me wrong; I LOVE Figma Design. It will be my go-to UX/UI tool for years to come (or until another tool disrupts the UX industry). But the annual revision of its pricing strategy is getting a little out of hand. It changes every year, and its clearly taking advantage of product teams by making them pay for products they probably dontneed.Who knows? Maybe if enough people give their feedback and constructive criticism on the new subscription model (via the Figma Community Forum), well see another change nextyear.Another year, another Figma pricing update was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.