Widgets vs Plugins

If you’re a developer who has built Figma or FigJam plugins before, there are a few key differences to understand between plugins and widgets.

Plugins	Widgets
Needs to be installed by each user in a file.	Anyone in a file can insert it onto the canvas, then it’s available for use by all users.
Users primarily interact with them outside of the canvas, via off-canvas iframes.	Users primarily interact with them directly on the canvas, like any other native object. Widgets can create off-canvas iframes, but the entry points for these are on the widget itself.
Run specifically for the user who is running it.	Widgets are collaborative and multiplayer——everyone in a file sees the same instance of a widget.
Only one per user can be open at a time.	An unlimited number of widgets can be in a file and ready to be interacted with, like any other object on the canvas.

Widgets are better for: collaborative use cases (e.g. voting) or single-player use cases that require on-canvas interactions (e.g. diagramming). Plugins are better for: single-player automation use cases, use cases related to setting up the activities in a file, or single-player import/export (e.g. using content libraries).