Design System Starter Kit vs Complete Kit: Which Do You Need?

Design systems don’t have to start big.
But they do have to start right.

If you’re building or adopting a design system, you’ve likely seen two common options:

• A starter kit

• A complete kit

But which one do you actually need?
Let’s break down the difference — and help you choose what’s best for your product, team, and stage.

🧩 What Is a Design System Starter Kit?

A starter kit is a minimal set of foundational components and tokens, meant to help teams begin fast without overcommitting.

Includes:

• Basic components (buttons, inputs, cards)

• Style tokens (colors, spacing, typography)

• Figma libraries and documentation templates

• Enough to build an MVP or early product

💬 Think: lightweight, flexible, and quick to implement.

🧩 What Is a Complete Design System Kit?

A complete kit includes everything in the starter — and much more.

Includes:

• Advanced components (modals, tables, navs, toasts)

• Full token systems (dark mode, themes, brand variants)

• Documentation site or live docs

• Dev-ready code (React, Vue, etc.)

💬 Think: fully loaded, scalable, and production-ready.

🔍 Side-by-Side Comparison

🎯 How to Choose the Right One

✅ Choose a Starter Kit if:

• You’re early-stage or solo

• You need to ship fast

• You want flexibility without overhead

• You don’t have a large dev/design team yet

✅ Choose a Complete Kit if:

• You’re scaling multiple products

• You have cross-functional design/dev teams

• You need tokens, docs, and dev handoff built-in

• You want long-term structure

🧘 Still Not Sure?

Start small. Grow smart.

Many great systems (including Sigma) began as starter kits — and matured into robust, documented systems over time.

💬 The right system is the one your team will actually use.

📘 Want Both Options?

Sigma Design System comes in two tiers:

• Starter — Lightweight, fast to implement

• Complete — Full documentation, dev specs, and scalable tokens

Pick what fits now — and upgrade when you're ready.