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Design
Prototyping
Graphical User Interface
What are the best prototyping tools?
23
Options
Considered
65
User
Recs.
Jun 28, 2023
Last
Updated
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23
Options
Considered
Best prototyping tools
Price
Platforms
Pricing
--
Moqups
$12-39/mo
Web
-
--
Pencil Project
Free / paid
Windows Linux Mac
-
--
Figma
Free / paid
-
-
--
ProtoPie
129
macOS, Windows, iOS & Android
-
--
Balsamiq
$12-249/m
-
-
See Full List
--
Moqups
My Rec
ommendation
for
Moqups
My Recommendation for
Moqups
All
7
Experiences
1
Pros
5
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Fast and doesn't require any plugins
Moqups is built in HTML5 and standard Javascript, so it doesn't require any plugins to use. The application is very fast to use.
See More
PoisedProphasis's Experience
Used since 2012 for designing over 22 applications, collaborating with teams, clients and handing over designs to dev for building. Simple and powerful.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Web
Top
Pro
•••
Clean design and very intuitive
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Modern Material elements
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy for non-programmers/coders
Allows UI/UX designers to focus on their skill sets rather than get cluttered in unnecessary learning just to do their job.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Keyboard shortcuts
Moqups has an extensive list of keyboard shortcuts. Simply type some A-Z letters to search for components. F1 for an overlay help screen.
See More
Hide
See All
$12-39/mo
Recommend
2
--
Pencil Project
My Rec
ommendation
for
Pencil Project
My Recommendation for
Pencil Project
All
5
Experiences
1
Pros
3
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
GUI prototyping
Can be used for GUI (Graphical User Interface) prototyping.
See More
RickZeeland's Experience
Pencil is powered by Electron, a Nodejs-based environment. Although aimed at GUI prototyping, Pencil can also be used to create diagrams.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows Linux Mac
Top
Pro
•••
Export to SVG and PDF
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Inter-page linking
See More
Hide
See All
Free / paid
Recommend
3
--
Figma
My Rec
ommendation
for
Figma
My Recommendation for
Figma
All
6
Pros
4
Cons
2
Top
Pro
•••
Provides a free version
Does not require a paid subscription for use. Can be used freely with a lot of features. The free use allows very limited collaboration.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Too much scrolling around to see what you want
Open up a design and it is scaled to 6%. So you then have to zoom in and scroll around to find what you need. Then there is no easy way to navigate page by page/screen by screen. Just more scrolling!
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Has all the core functionality you'd expect from something like Sketch
See More
Top
Con
•••
Lack of advanced prototyping features
Limited features compared to alternatives such as Adobe XD.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Allows for real time collaboration
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Works in the browser
See More
Hide
See All
Free / paid
Recommend
4
2
--
ProtoPie
My Rec
ommendation
for
ProtoPie
My Recommendation for
ProtoPie
All
8
Pros
7
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
IoT, Interactions across devices
Create prototypes e.g. chat platforms, payment apps etc. and deploy them on multiple devices and have them communicate with each other.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
macOS, Windows, iOS & Android
Top
Pro
•••
Native prototyping
Deploy prototypes on any device right away. What's the point of prototyping mobile apps if you cannot deploy it on your mobile devices easily?
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Runs on Mac and Windows
It offers the same features on both MacOS and Windows. Plus, you can switch machines as long as you are logged in to ProtoPie Studio.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Fast and easy sharing
Sharing is very easy via the cloud. Open the prototype in desktop or mobile browser, or deploy the prototype on the ProtoPie Player app. All is possible.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Utilizes sensors very easily
Easily control the sensors of smart devices in your prototype, such as tilt, sound, compass, proximity sensor, vibration motor and 3D Touch sensors.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Code Free
No coding needed to do interactions for your prototypes. You just choose the objects and link them with the triggers and responses you want to based on your preferred interactions.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Smooth and gradual learning curve
As the interface is very clean and simple, it enables you to create interactions by combining objects, triggers and responses just like that. No need for wireframing or shitty mockups, just get to hi-fi prototyping right away.
See More
Hide
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129
Recommend
3
--
Balsamiq
My Rec
ommendation
for
Balsamiq
My Recommendation for
Balsamiq
All
12
Experiences
1
Pros
7
Cons
4
Top
Con
•••
Built on dead technologies
The desktop application is built on Adobe Air (Flash) which has since been discontinued and there are no signs of moving away from this platform.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
30-day trial available
See More
crankhouse's Experience
I like the low fidelity idea, but Balsamiq Cloud is looking quite poor compared to other competing solutions - Moqups for example.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Stifling innovation
Doing anything that is not directly supported by Balsamiq's conservative component library is next to impossible. User is forced to think within the corset of yesterday's standards.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Clean and easy to use interface
Balsamiq has a very easy to use drag and drop interface that lets you quickly build and adjust your mockups. The UI is centered around low-fidelity wireframes that help focus the reviews on the core layout and functionality instead of getting hung-up on visual design.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No search
At least in Balsamiq Cloud you can't search your wireframes by title - which seems an omission.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Keyboard shortcuts
You can use common keyboard shortcuts like Shift to select multiple elements or to resize while maintaing proportions, F2 for renaming labels etc.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No easy way to quickly play with the product
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Awesome team collaboration features
myBalsamiq has been built with teams in mind and has a variety of featured to support collaborating on the mockups: Notifications - Real-time notifications to enable you to keep track of team member actions Revision Control - All mockups have a revision history to enable reverting to previous versions and keeping track of design decisions. Skype Integration - Easy to use Skype integration to host design reviews. Access Control - Access controls allow sharing projects with team members as well as allowing external reviewers to leave comments on the designs.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Usability testing features
You can link together pages to create shareable user demos
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Low-fidelity UI elements
All the Balsamiq UI elements are drawn by hand and have a really nice low-fidelity design.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Large & extensible UI element library
Balsamiq has a built in library of over 75 built-in user interface components and 187 icons, as well as community generated plug-ins.
See More
Hide
See All
$12-249/m
Recommend
4
4
--
Adobe XD
My Rec
ommendation
for
Adobe XD
My Recommendation for
Adobe XD
All
7
Pros
6
Cons
1
Top
Pro
•••
Repeat grid is a timesaver
Creating a list of items is simple with "repeat grid." Just create one and use repeat grid to duplicate that item vertically or horizontally. Then drag and drop text or images to create unique entries for each repeated item.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Not available for Linux
Only available on Windows or macOS
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Interactive mockups
XD allows you to wire any object to any destination page so that clicking a button asset will take you to a page that you specify. Mockups can also simulate a scrolling page or window.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Share online and gather feedback
Allows mockups to be pushed to the web where collaborators can try the mockup and leave feedback.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
UI Kits are available for iOS, Material Design, and more
Includes: iOS Google Material Design Windows UWP Wireframes
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Cross platform
It's available on both macOS and Windows.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use interface
It's easy to be productive immediately with XD but it also includes a demo so that you can learn about some of the more powerful features.
See More
Hide
See All
Free or Subscription
Recommend
4
--
Antetype: Advanced Design & Prototyping
My Rec
ommendation
for
Antetype: Advanced Design & Prototyping
My Recommendation for
Antetype: Advanced Design & Prototyping
All
9
Experiences
1
Pros
5
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Quick prototyping
See More
Top
Con
•••
No real-time multiplayer (only sharing)
See More
LuckyEndovelicus's Experience
I like how you create UIs that adapt to changing content, not just absolute positioned graphics like other tools
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Mac, iOS (Creating prototypes) + Web/Offline (Exported prototypes)
Pricing:
Free or 5$/month if you want hosting from them
Top
Pro
•••
Free version without any restrictions
They only charge if you want them to host prototypes (you can easily host them yourself for free).
See More
Top
Con
•••
No pen tool
You have to use external vector editors (but they auto-update inside your prototype).
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Open web technology
Exported prototypes are pure HTML/CSS/JavaScript. Works offline and you can use any CSS and code you want (to e.g. embed Google Maps or YouTube videos in your prototypes).
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Interactions per element
Not needed to duplicate art boards, it's on the same screen.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Responsive layouts
For resizing device and new content. Also includes breakpoints.
See More
Hide
See All
Freemium
Recommend
3
--
Sketch
My Rec
ommendation
for
Sketch
My Recommendation for
Sketch
All
15
Pros
10
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Clean UI
Reactive panels keep the UI for Sketch clean from the sort of clutter the panel system in Photoshop suffers from. The panels in Sketch change based on the object in question, saving you from having to have a multiple separate panels.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No Windows support
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Mac
Top
Pro
•••
"Artboards" are great for working on multiple views simultaneously
Artboards let you easily work on multiple views side by side. Great for having a separate artboard on each page for the various responsive sizes.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Limited compatibility with Photoshop and Illustrator
Although it is possible to export certain Adobe file types in Sketch, compatibility is mostly hit and miss. For example, some elements seem a little offset in Adobe products.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easily align layers with smart guides
Holding down alt will show the smart guides that show the distances between any layer you hover over to nearby layers or the edges of the artboard. Very useful for checking your spacing or aligning layers.
See More
Top
Con
•••
License based payment model
Sketch has recently decided to cease development of major version (2.0, 3.0, 4.0) with free updates in between, and has switched to a license based subscription model. A yearly license costs $99 and includes the latest version of the Sketch software, plus a year of free updates. After this license expires, you can renew for another year of updates - or continue to use the current software without updates.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
"Mirror" makes it really easy to test designs on multiple devices
Mirror lets you connect your iPhone to sketch and see how your current artboard looks on mobile. It's really useful as you can live check changes which lets you rapidly iterate mobile design.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No Linux version
Sketch is currently only available on Mac, which can make it hard to collaborate if you have teammates using Linux.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Symbols and shared styles
Sketch lets you re-use the same design in multiple places, with changes synced throughout the various places it is used. You can also create text styles to sync typography changes.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Built-in grid system
You can set the square grid to whatever dimensions you like as well as set thicker lines every x blocks. You can also configure the color of the lines to make them as obvious or subtle as you wish and toggle the grid with a keyboard shortcut (crtl+g).
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Makes it easy to export assets
Sketch has a built in exporter that supports PDF, JPG and PNG.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Designed specifically for web and mobile UI design & workflows
Sketch is essentially a version of Photoshop built from the ground up to suit the workflow of web designers.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Active community with a lot of resources
Sketch is hugely popular among designers so there are a lot of well maintained community resources for everything from iPhone frames to iOS/Android UI elements & icons.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Vector based yet pixel aware
You can rescale assets without quality loss, easily export x2 assets for retina designs and design high quality icons & artwork. Being pixel aware lets you set a grid and snap objects to it as well as round to the nearest pixel edge to clean up your layers.
See More
Hide
See All
Paid
Recommend
3
1
--
Mockplus
My Rec
ommendation
for
Mockplus
My Recommendation for
Mockplus
All
2
Experiences
1
Specs
Grace-120's Experience
Great tool for ux design
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web
Hide
Free / paid
Recommend
3
--
Axure
My Rec
ommendation
for
Axure
My Recommendation for
Axure
All
9
Experiences
1
Pros
6
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Resuable components
You can create a component (widget) that you can use over and over again.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Expensive [$289-$589] 
There is a free trial to work with Axure, but there is a hefty price for the standard edition at $289. Even more so, the Pro edition will cost $589.
See More
ReverentManannanMacLir's Experience
Covers all the needs : lo-fi wireframes, hi-fi wireframes, advanced prototyping with drag and drop javascript, prototype are in html and visible inside the browser
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac
Top
Pro
•••
Supports web and mobile prototyping 
Allows creation of interactive HTML mock-ups which is accessible for both websites and mobile applications.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Offers resources to help you get proficient with the software
There is a wealth of online training including videos for getting the basics down, a great community to mine, and support team to help assist with more technical details.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Lots of options for sharing your work
Great web options, but you can also save your wire frames out to Word and convert the notes to annotations.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Allows real data to be passed on
User can enter data that is "remembered"
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Cross-platform 
Available for use on Windows and Mac.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
4
--
Invision Studio
My Rec
ommendation
for
Invision Studio
My Recommendation for
Invision Studio
All
9
Experiences
2
Pros
4
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Integration with invision cloud
Being a Invision product, it tightly knits with Invision's own cloud services. You can upload prototypes from Invision Studio to Invision Cloud.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Requires Invision login
You'll be required to login to Invision to use Studio for now. But after logging in, you should be able to access Studio without any hiccups.
See More
SNM's Experience
in my experience in the university i'd prefer this invision studio.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac
Exports:
.png, .jpg, .studio
Real-time collaboration:
Yes
Imports:
.sketch, .svg, .png, .jpg, .studio
See All Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Built-in marketplace
Going beyond tradition, Invision Studio includes a Marketplace in the application itself to install icon toolkits, design toolkits, whenever, whatever you want to.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No Linux support
Despite its amazing portfolio, Invision Studio lacks Linux support - a boon for some people but Invision has openly said they will support it when there's demand.
See More
RickZeeland's Experience
Invision Studio is a Design and Prototype Application that combines the vector capabilities of Sketch with the flexibility of Adobe Xd in one nifty package.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Offline support
Invision Studio allows offline use, and you can save files offline, even without logging in to an Invision account.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Sketch imports
Unlike most tools, Invision Studio openly allows imports from sketch files, allowing you to use Sketch with Invision Studio
See More
Hide
See All
Free / paid
Recommend
2
--
Vectr
My Rec
ommendation
for
Vectr
My Recommendation for
Vectr
All
8
Pros
6
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Cross-platform
You may download Vectr for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebook.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Requires an Internet connection to work
Must be tethered to an Internet connection at all times, so forget working on planes or other places where you're not online.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, Web
Top
Pro
•••
Free
The app is going to remain free forever.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Designing offline
Vectr's desktop app works offline for up to 100 edits, and then once you get online it automatically synchronizes all of the projects with your online account. So you can work whenever you want without fearing for your projects.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Low learning curve
Vectr has a very low learning curve and would be perfect for beginners. However, it’s absolutely easy to use no matter what your background is. Professional designers will also find a great number of useful tools which may change their designs completely.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Supports collaboration
You can send the unique URL to your Vectr project to your friends and colleagues for collaboration.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Intuitive
Vectr is simpler than other web design or vector graphics design tools, and has all the features needed to make your designs beautiful.
See More
Hide
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Free
Recommend
1
--
NinjaMock
My Rec
ommendation
for
NinjaMock
My Recommendation for
NinjaMock
All
4
Pros
3
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Multiple platform support (web, mobile, etc.)
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac, Web
Top
Pro
•••
Online collaboration
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use
See More
Hide
See All
Free / paid
Recommend
2
--
Framer Studio
My Rec
ommendation
for
Framer Studio
My Recommendation for
Framer Studio
All
3
Pros
3
Top
Pro
•••
Instant visual feedback
Framer Studio offers and instant preview of the animation that is currently being made.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Multiple device support
Framer supports animation and interaction prototyping for multiple devices, ranging from desktop apps to web apps and mobile platforms. There are already 8 pre-installed devices to choose from, or developers can create their own setup quickly.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
CoffeeScript integration to define animations
Framer uses coffeescript for defining animations. CoffeeScript has a low learning curve and as such it can be learned easily even by non-programmers.
See More
Hide
See All
$144/yr
Recommend
1
--
UXPin
My Rec
ommendation
for
UXPin
My Recommendation for
UXPin
All
6
Pros
5
Cons
1
Top
Pro
•••
Merge Feature
UXPin Merge allows to connect design and development (take components from Git repo, or Storybook) so that designers and developers can use the same building blocks.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Steep learning curve
UXPin is one of the more complex prototyping tools. Combined with a lack of documentation, it can be discouraging for first time users.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Extensive library of elements and patterns
UXPin offers elements from a wide range libraries. This includes responsive frameworks such as Bootstrap and Foundation, and libraries specific to mobile prototyping.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
UXPin has great advanced features for prototyping
Integration of this, then dop that and custom Javascript functionality.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Import from PhotoShop and Sketch
A pro UXPin account will allow you to import existing projects from PhotoShop or Sketch.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Actively developed
UXPin is constantly being updated with new features.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
5
--
Justinmind
My Rec
ommendation
for
Justinmind
My Recommendation for
Justinmind
All
3
Pros
3
Top
Pro
•••
Lots of online tutorials
The free Getting Started area has plenty of advice for getting started with Justinmind.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Functional prototypes
You can create HTML prototypes with full interactions.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Adaptive and responsive designs
You can create adaptive and responsive designs that will react to the viewport/screen size of the user.
See More
Hide
See All
$0-$29/mo
Recommend
2
--
Penpot
My Rec
ommendation
for
Penpot
My Recommendation for
Penpot
All
5
Experiences
1
Pros
3
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Free
See More
RickZeeland's Experience
Penpot is open-source, web based, uses SVG, and is written in Clojure.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Web, Self-Hosted, Docker
Technology:
Clojure
Top
Pro
•••
Collaboration
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Docker
For installing in a local environment the recommended approach is using docker and docker-compose.
See More
Hide
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Free
Recommend
1
--
Presentator
My Rec
ommendation
for
Presentator
My Recommendation for
Presentator
All
1
Specs
Specs
Platforms:
Web, Self-Hosted
Hide
Free
Recommend
1
--
Wireflow
My Rec
ommendation
for
Wireflow
My Recommendation for
Wireflow
All
1
Specs
Specs
Platforms:
Web
Technology:
Javascript
Hide
Free
Recommend
1
--
Wikifactory
My Rec
ommendation
for
Wikifactory
My Recommendation for
Wikifactory
All
2
Experiences
1
Pros
1
Top
Pro
•••
It is possible to manufacture prototypes and final parts, directly from the platform
Users can get quotes in 24 hours for 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication and/or injection molding.
See More
ProfessionalShalim's Experience
For hardware prototypes and on-demand manufacturing
See More
Hide
$0-45/MONTH
Recommend
1
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