How to comment on a design
To comment on a design, you can use Figma's built-in comment tool (C key) if everyone has an account, or export the design as a PNG and share it via a review link your client annotates in their browser without signing up. The second path is the one most designers end up using — because clients rarely have Figma access.
In Figma with the comment tool (team-only)
Press C to enter comment mode, click the element you want to flag, and type. Figma pins a numbered marker to that exact spot. Your teammates — anyone with view or edit access — can reply in a thread. This works cleanly inside a design team. It breaks down the moment you involve a client: Figma requires them to sign in before they can leave a single comment. That wall is not a setting you can turn off. The 'Anyone with the link can view' share option lets clients see the design, but commenting still requires a Figma account. Designers on the Figma forum have called this out since at least 2021: 'I can't expect sales reps, account managers, warehouse staff to create a Figma account. C'mon.' The workaround everyone lands on is exporting and sharing elsewhere.
On a PDF export (Adobe Acrobat, Preview, or browser)
Export the frame from Figma as a PDF (File → Export, choose PDF). On Mac, open it in Preview and press Shift ⌘ A for the Markup Toolbar — sticky notes, highlights, text boxes. On Windows, open in Edge or Adobe Acrobat Reader, both of which have a comment panel. The gotcha: PDF comments are baked into separate annotation layers. When you share the PDF back, your client downloads a file, adds their notes, saves it, and emails the result. You now have a V2 with embedded comments you can't reply to or track — and if two stakeholders both annotated it, you're reconciling two separate files manually.
On a PNG screenshot in a Google Doc or Notion page
Paste the design export into a Google Doc or Notion page. Collaborators can leave comments — in Google Docs, select text near the image and hit Ctrl/⌘ + Alt + M; in Notion, highlight a block and click the comment icon. The catch is that neither tool pins comments to a pixel on the image. 'Make the button on the left bigger' in a Google Doc margin comment is still a text note that doesn't point at anything. Clients end up describing their location ('the blue one, near the top, not the big one') instead of pointing at it. For a single round of light feedback this is fine. For anything iterative, it compounds quickly.
Via a shared review link (works for every client)
The pattern that survives contact with real clients: export the design (PNG or PDF), upload it to a review tool, and send a URL. The client opens it in their browser, clicks the exact element they mean, and types a note pinned right there — no account, no extension, no downloaded file. You see a thread anchored to the spot. Most designers who've shipped client work at scale converge on this because the alternative (any path that involves the client downloading, annotating in their own software, and re-uploading) reliably produces screenshots-of-screenshots and emails that say 'the bit on the right' with no attachment.
If your client needs to comment — not just view — the fastest setup is a public link they open in any browser. Drop the design export into Drafty, share the URL, and they click the exact element and pin a note right there. No Figma account, no downloaded file, no emailed screenshot. Every comment lands in one thread on the same artifact. When you push a revised version to the same link, the thread stays intact — you're not starting over.
Open a live demoQuestions
- Can a client comment on a Figma design without a Figma account?
- No — Figma requires an account to leave comments, even on files set to 'Anyone with the link can view.' Clients can open the file and see the design, but the comment tool is blocked behind a login wall. The standard workaround is to export the design and share it via a review link outside of Figma.
- How do I get feedback on a design from someone who doesn't use design tools?
- Export the design as a PNG or PDF and share it via a URL they can open in their browser. The key is not sending an attachment — an email attachment forces them into their own software, which means you get a circled screenshot back. A link they annotate in place keeps all feedback on the same artifact, pinned to the exact element.
- What is the best way to comment on a design for client approval?
- Share a review link rather than a Figma URL or a file. Figma URLs hit login walls for clients without accounts; file attachments produce separate annotated copies you have to reconcile. A single review URL means one version, one thread, one place where every stakeholder's note lands — and you can reply and mark items resolved as you go.
- How do I add comments to a design mockup?
- If you're the designer: Figma's comment tool (C key) pins notes to the exact element. If you're the client or a stakeholder: you'll need either a Figma account to comment in the file, or a review link that lets you annotate in your browser. Most designer-client workflows use the review link path specifically to avoid requiring clients to sign up.
- Why can't my client leave comments on my Figma file?
- Figma requires a signed-in account to post comments. Sharing a 'view only' link lets clients see the design but not comment. This is a long-standing Figma limitation — the feature forum request for guest commenting has hundreds of upvotes. The practical fix most designers use is exporting the design and sharing it via a tool that allows comment-on-link without an account.
- How do I collect design feedback from multiple clients in one place?
- Share a single URL that all reviewers annotate together. When everyone comments on the same link, you see all notes in one thread — no reconciling separate PDFs or emails. If you send the file as an attachment, each reviewer returns their own annotated copy and you're doing the merging manually.
Keep exploring
Stop emailing files back and forth.
Share one link. They comment on the exact spot — no account, always the current version.