When comparing Balsamiq vs Adobe XD, the Slant community recommends Adobe XD for most people. In the question“What are the best tools for webapp UX/UI prototyping?” Adobe XD is ranked 2nd while Balsamiq is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose Adobe XD is:
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.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Low-fidelity UI elements
All the Balsamiq UI elements are drawn by hand and have a really nice low-fidelity design.
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.
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.
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.
Pro Usability testing features
You can link together pages to create shareable user demos
Pro 30-day trial available
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.
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.
Pro Cross platform
It's available on both macOS and Windows.
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.
Pro UI Kits are available for iOS, Material Design, and more
Includes:
- iOS
- Google Material Design
- Windows UWP
- Wireframes
Pro Share online and gather feedback
Allows mockups to be pushed to the web where collaborators can try the mockup and leave feedback.
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.
Cons
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.
Con No easy way to quickly play with the product
Con No tools for animation
It is possible to create transitions, but this feature is very limited.
Con Only good for mockups
XD is not a multi-purpose tool like Sketch. It is not a good tool for logos, icons, or other design assets.