15 Best Prototyping Tools for UI/UX Designers in 2024

Read this article about the top Prototyping Tools, their features, compatibility, comparison, etc to pick the best software for your business:

What is Prototyping?

Prototyping is the art of building the draft version of a product. It allows the users to check what the final product will look like so that they can point out any shortcomings and give genuine reviews about the product beforehand.

Prototyping is a modern technique of presenting the experimental model of your product so that the stakeholders can calculate the amount of risk involved, potential benefits, and estimated costs.

Prototyping Tools – Complete Review

Prototypes can be of two types:

• Low Fidelity prototypes
• High Fidelity prototypes

Low Fidelity prototypes are the ones that do not represent the minute details of the product, while High Fidelity ones give a clear vision of the final product, by showing all the aspects and small details.

While low-fidelity prototypes are cheap and can be built quickly, they lack realism. High Fidelity digital prototypes, built with the help of a prototyping tool, represent the real picture of the final product and give you realistic estimates of the final costs and other aspects of the product.

Automotive, Aerospace, Healthcare, Consumer electronics, and Telecom are the main industries that contribute to having the largest share of the prototyping software market.

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In this article, you will get a list of the top best Prototyping Tools, FAQs, comparisons, expert advice, market trends, and detailed reviews of the top shortlisted tools for prototyping so that you can get an idea of the one tool that suits your requirements the most.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q #1) What do you mean by prototyping?

Answer: Prototyping refers to bringing the idea of a product to life, or creating a draft version of a product to see its usability, get feedback, and estimate the final costs, benefits, and risks involved.

Q #2) What are the two types of prototyping?

Answer: The two types of prototyping are Low-fidelity as well as High-fidelity prototyping.

Low-fidelity prototypes, as the name suggests, represent a lesser degree of exactness than the final product, while high-fidelity prototypes look more or less like the final product.

The digital platforms that offer features for prototyping usually come under High-fidelity tools, the reason that they offer advanced tools for designing, building interactions, and more so that you can create an exact model of your ideas.

Q #3) Which is the best prototyping tool?

Answer: There are a number of software that offer you advanced tools for prototyping and turning your static designs into interactions and animations.

The top 5 best prototyping tools are Figma, InVision, Adobe XD, Sketch, and Framer.

Q #4) How to choose the right prototyping tool?

Answer: Advanced prototyping tools can cost you a lot. So you should do proper research on which one suits you the most, before settling down for one.

The features that need to be looked upon while choosing the right prototyping tool are as follows:

• If a free trial is offered, it would be the best thing, as you can give the software a try before paying for it.
• Advanced interactions, animations, etc.
• Standard security features should be offered to keep your sensitive business ideas safe.
• The final prototypes should be compatible with maximum devices so that users/stakeholders can review them and give feedback easily.

List of the Best Prototyping Tools

Popular and impressive prototyping software:

1. Figma
2. InVision
3. Adobe XD
4. Sketch
5. Framer
6. Webflow
7. UXPin
8. Justinmind
9. Axure RP 9
10. Proto.io
11. Mockplus
12. Balsamiq
13. Marvel
14. Origami
15. Zeplin

Comparing Top Best Prototyping Tools

Detailed reviews:

#1) Figma

Best for being a powerful yet easy-to-use prototyping tool.

Figma is an all-in-one, one of the best prototyping tools. Figma offers you an intuitive platform that beginners can use even without the knowledge of coding, which makes it recommended for everyone who wants to do prototyping.

The software lets you build prototypes, integrate with third-party applications, access your prototypes through a mobile, and much more.

The platform offers utmost data security through SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 3, ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27018/2019, and Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Star: Level 1 certifications and GDPR, CCPA compliance.

Features:

• Tools to build interactive prototypes.
• Mobile applications that allow you to design, anywhere, at any time.
• Advanced tools to insert transitions and smart animate.
• Create dynamic overlays.
• Share a link of your prototype so that it can be viewed from anywhere, using the internet.

Pros:

• Standard data security.
• Compatibility with all devices.
• Easy to use.
• Affordable pricing.
• Several useful integrations.

Cons:

• The software is highly recommended. Customer support has some scope for improvement.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac/Windows desktop, Android/iOS mobile, iPad.

How Figma works as a prototyping tool: Figma offers easy-to-use tools that let you turn your static designs into interactions and animations. Interactions can be defined as on click, while hovering, etc.

Plus, you can animate similar objects, create detailed transitions, use GIFs and video elements, share links of your prototype, comment on a prototype, and much more.

Verdict: Figma is a powerful, all-in-one design application. One of the many plus points of this software is the free version that it offers. Plus, with Figma, you can integrate with other third-party applications, interact with live prototypes in Notion or Dropbox, and much more.

Price: Price plans offered by Figma are:

• Starter: Free forever
• Figma Professional: $12 per editor per month (Free for students and educators).
• Figma Organization: $45 per editor per month
• Figma Enterprise: $75 per editor per month

Website: Figma

#2) InVision

Best for the free version and a highly useful set of features.

Founded in 2011, InVision is a powerful application for designing, prototyping, and animation. InVision is trusted by more than 7 million clients from all over the world. It is an award-winning, cloud-based company.

The platform offers you standard data security and privacy features including multi-factor authentication, Single-Sign-On (SSO) and IP whitelisting, SOC 2, SOC 3, PCI DSS, ISO 2700x, and CSA certifications.

Features:

• All your data is encrypted.
• Pre-built and custom templates are available with each plan.
• Integration with Adobe XD, Asana, Azure DevOps, Coda, Figma, Google Docs, Jira, and many more applications.
• Point-and-shoot prototyping, mobile device mirroring, and instant playback features.

Pros:

• Highly useful integrations.
• Saves time.
• Scalable platform.
• Free version.
• Data security features.

Cons:

• You need to go through a bit of a learning curve.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Android/iOS mobile, iPad.

How InVision works as a prototyping tool: InVision allows you to create interactive designs within minutes. The application has tools for point-and-shoot prototyping, mobile device mirroring, instant playback, screen animations, and much more.

Verdict: Most Fortune 100 companies trust InVision. We researched the reviews of InVision and found that the clients of InVision have seen an average of 475% returns on their investment with InVision.

The free version offered by the application provides you with pre-made templates, data exporting, useful integrations, and more.

Price: InVision offers a free version. Price plans are:

• Pro: $4 per user per month
• Enterprise: Custom Pricing

Website: InVision

#3) Adobe XD

Best for highly useful, advanced prototyping tools.

Adobe XD is built to empower your workflow. The platform is loaded with some cool features that let you create content that stands out. The main features of the software are smart, yet easy-to-use tools for the digital creation of designs, animations, and prototypes.

Founded in 1982 by Charles Geschke and John Warnock, the annual revenue of Adobe is more than $15 Billion. This prototyping software is suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Features:

• Tools for rendering animations and playable videos into prototypes.
• Tools for building micro-interactions and putting eye-catching motion effects.
• Voice prototyping tools include adding voice to website and app designs, previewing prototypes on real devices, and more.
• Make lists and menus loop, create scroll-to-top interactions, and more.

Pros:

• Advanced prototyping features.
• Free trial.
• Good for beginners.
• User-friendly tools for quick prototyping.
• Mobile applications for Android as well as iOS users.

Cons:

• Exporting and conversion into other file-type features needs to be improved.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac/Windows desktop, iOS/Android mobile.

How Adobe XD works as a prototyping tool:

Adobe XD lets you add user flows, interactions, and motion, all without the knowledge of coding. The application allows you to create wires, triggers, overlays, insert audio playback, and much more.

Verdict: Adobe is undoubtedly a popular name in the field of art and design. We found the software to be easy to use and user-friendly, which is the reason for its popularity.

With Adobe XD, you can design and preview prototypes on your iOS or Android mobile device.

Price: Adobe XD offers a free trial for 7 days. Price plans are as follows:

• Adobe XD: $9.99 per month
• XD for teams: $22.99 per month

Website: Adobe XD

#4) Sketch

Best for being an all-in-one platform for prototyping, collaborating, and designing.

Trusted by more than a million people, Sketch is used by freelancers as well as well-established product teams, including Google, Facebook, Porsche, and Stripe.

Founded in 2010 by Pieter Omvlee and Emanuel Sá to provide better designing tools to the creators, Sketch is today a fully featured design platform. The sketch is of a team of 100 people from 25 countries. The only drawback is the lack of mobile applications for Android phones. But the web app compensates for that.

Features:

• Create static designs and prototypes.
• Tools for collaborative design.
• Sketch Workspace lets you store files, share ideas, get feedback, manage your team, and more.
• Get access to over 700 extensions, created by the development team of Sketch.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac desktop, iPhone.

How Sketch works as a prototyping tool: With Sketch, you can create static designs, using its editing tools. The prototyping tool will help you in previewing your designs and in navigation within screens or artboards, with animated interactions.

Sketch lets you turn your static files into interactive prototypes by adding links between two Artboards. Then you can create clickable areas (or Hubspot’s) and place an order in which they occur.

We can preview the prototypes through the Sketch app for Mac, the Sketch Mirror app for iOS devices, or the Web application.

>> To know more about Sketch’s prototyping tools, click here.

Verdict: Sketch is an award-winning prototyping tool that offers you live chat support, a dedicated customer success manager, collaboration tools, easy-to-use prototyping and testing tools, and much more.

The web application allows users to use the application from any browser. Plus, there are tools for commenting and discussing within each artboard.

Price: Sketch offers a free trial for 30 days. Price plans offered by Sketch are as follows:

• Standard: $9 per editor per month
• Business: Contact directly for prices.

Website: Sketch

#5) Framer

Best for easy-to-use drag-and-drop editing tools.

Framer is a web design platform, built to offer tools for creating attractive sites, quickly. Founded in 2015, Framer is a cloud-based platform, which is one of the best prototyping tools and has several faithful users.

Apart from prototyping, you get a custom domain, 1-500 GB bandwidth, visitors to your site, and many more beneficial tools. The software is highly useful for website building.

Features:

• Pre-built drag-and-drop, customizable interactions.
• Highly useful integrations are available.
• Publish your site and get visitors to your web page.
• Get a custom domain, password protection for the security of your data and many more features.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web

How Framer works as a prototyping tool: Framer offers you easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools that let you create animations and transitions, with the help of pre-made interactive components. When you make your designs with Framer, you get prototypes generated by the platform that acts like a real application or a website.

Adaptive layouts offered by the platform can be used to build the foundation of your design, plus you get customizable interactive components and many more features. The prototyping tools offered by Framer are user-friendly and time savvy. Pre-built tools allow you to do fast prototyping.

Verdict: The free plan offered by this software is very nice. You can design, prototype, publish and get many other useful tools with the free version. Plus, this prototyping software is fast, powerful, and affordable. The set of features offered is also nice.

Price: Price plans offered by Framer are:

• Free: $0 per month
• Basic: $15 per month
• Pro: $25 per month
• Premium: $75 per month

Website: Framer

#6) Webflow

Best for pre-built interactions and several cool animation effects.

Trusted by over 3,500,000 designers and teams to create, collaborate, and scale attractive websites without the need for knowledge of coding, Webflow is undoubtedly a recommended platform for prototyping.

The platform provides standard data security through ISO 27001 and CIS Critical Security Controls, SOC 2 Type II Report, and CCPA, GDPR compliance.

Features:

• Some pre-built interactions to help you build prototypes within seconds.
• Offers several tools to give effects and controls to your prototype, for example, move, scale, rotate, skew, loop, and more.
• Insert elements and triggers like scroll progress, scroll into and out of view, dropdown open, slider panel change, and more.
• Appealing to animation tools like crafting animations as you scroll, micro-interactions, and more.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac/Windows/Linux/Chromebook desktop.

How Webflow works as a prototyping tool: Webflow offers you extremely easy-to-use tools for building attractive animations and interactions. With Webflow, you get the power of CSS and JavaScript, without the need for coding.

Webflow offers tools for creating animations like scroll-based, parallax animations, hover animations, and more. You can also develop micro-interactions and link your created animations with motions, to make them look appealing.

You can also access tools for redirecting visitors to content, by clicking. For example, a click can reveal modals, panels, and much more. Some pre-built interactions are offered that let you build prototypes within seconds.

Verdict: Having Dell, Lattice, Getaround, Zendesk, Petal and many more trusted names as its users, Webflow is an all-in-one design, CMS, eCommerce, prototyping, editing, SEO, and hosting platform.

With Webflow, you get 24/7 customer support. The platform is suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Price: Starts at $16 per month.

Website: Webflow

#7) UXPin

Best for being a powerful, all-in-one prototyping platform.

UXPin is an all-in-one prototyping tool. They offer easy-to-use tools to build prototypes with minute details.

Being trusted by the names which are trusted by billions of people, like Sony, PayPal, Microsoft, Netflix, HBO, and many more, UXPin is undoubtedly a popular platform. This powerful prototyping platform even lets you create an account and start prototyping for free.

Features:

• Drag and drop tools to bring your designs made from Sketch, into UXPin.
• Share prototypes with a single click, password-protect your files and allow your teammates and your clients to preview and review the files.
• Lets you put micro-interactions and hover effects between different elements and inputs
• Access the built-in data offered by UXPin, which let you fill your prototypes with auto-generated names, cities, and images.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac/Windows desktop, Android/iOS mobile, iPad.

Verdict: Suitable for businesses of all sizes, UXPin is a highly recommended and one of the best prototyping tools. The features offered for designing and interactions are praiseworthy.

The powerful features offered for prototyping give you some exceptionally good results. You can create prototypes that look like end products.

Price: UXPin offers a free trial. Price plans are as follows:

• Basic: $19 per editor per month
• Advanced: $29 per editor per month
• Professional: $69 per editor per month
• Enterprise: Custom Pricing.

Website: UXPin

#8) Justinmind

Best for being an all-in-one platform with a highly useful free version.

Founded in 2008, Justinmind is a globally renowned prototyping tool. The platform is currently delivering its services in more than 180 countries.

This all-in-one platform offers highly useful integrations, and lets you create clickable prototypes, fully functional simulations, and much more, without having to write any codes.

The UI designing tools are available for free, that too without any restriction on the number of projects. Advanced interactions, animations, transitions, and interactive UI elements can be created easily with the help of Justinmind.

Features:

• Let’s you put advanced interactions into your prototypes.
• Get unlimited cloud storage (with paid plans).
• Integration with Jira, AzureDevops, and more.
• Prototype files can be experienced on any Android/iOS mobile device.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Windows/Linux desktop, iOS/Android devices, iPad.

Verdict: The free version offered by Justinmind lets you build unlimited projects. The intuitive interface they offer. This prototyping tool is easy to use and powerful at the same time.

The learning tutorials they offer are of great benefit.

Price: Justinmind offers you a free version. Paid plans are as follows:

• Standard: $9 per user per month
• Professional: $19 per user per month
• Enterprise: Contact directly to get a price quote.

Website: Justinmind

#9) Axure RP 10

Best for offering without code and advanced prototyping solutions.

Axure RP 10 is a UX tool that allows you to build unlimited, advanced prototypes. The RP in Axure RP 10 stands for Rapid Prototyping, thus giving you the idea of the best part of Axure RP 10.

The integration and collaboration tools are worth appreciating. Plus, powerful prototyping tools make the software one of the most preferred ones, even for Fortune 100 companies.

Features:

• Tools for creating UX prototypes with unlimited combinations of event triggers, conditions, and actions.
• Monitor who is working on what and share prototypes with a live URL and more useful features.
• Smooth integrations with Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Sketch, Adobe XD, and more platforms.
• AES-256 encryption, PCI compliance, multi-factor authentication, and many more security features.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac/Windows desktop, Windows/Linux premises, Android/iOS mobile, iPad.

Verdict: Axure RP 10 is a trusted prototyping tool. Amazon, Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft are some of its clients. Plus, they offer a 60% discount to nonprofits and educational institutions, and a 25% discount is offered to government agencies.

My research says that customer support needs to get a little better. The software becomes a bit complicated when building complex integrations.

Price: Axure RP 10 offers a free trial for 30 days. Price plans are as follows:

• Axure RP Pro: $25 per month per user
• Axure RP Team: $42 per month per user
• Axure for enterprise: Contact directly to get a price quote.

Website: Axure RP 10

#10) Proto.io

Best for offering a vast library of usable templates, icons, animations, and more.

Proto.io is one of the best prototyping tools in the industry. The drag-and-drop building tools are praiseworthy.

Different interactions, animations, previews, collaborations, integrations, and export options make the software a highly recommended one for businesses of all sizes.

Features:

• Choose from hundreds of interactive and customizable UI items.
• Readymade, customizable templates that help in creating your prototypes and wireframes within minutes.
• A library of icons, animated icons, patterns, sound effects, and more.
• Create your own library of effects.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Android/iOS mobile, iPad.

Verdict: Proto.io is easy to use but a bit expensive. The number of prototypes you can create is also limited. But the results you get in the end are worthwhile.

The huge library of effects and templates makes it easy and time savvy for you to create prototypes.

Price: There is a free trial for 15 days. Price plans for annual billing are:

• Freelancer: $24 per month for 1 user.
• Startup: $40 per month for 2 users.
• Agency: $80 per month for 5 users.
• Corporate: $160 per month for 10 users
• Enterprise: Contact directly for a tailored price quote.

Website: Proto.io

#11) Mockplus

Best for offering a highly useful set of features at comparatively lower prices.

Mockplus is an all-in-one platform for prototyping, collaboration, and designing. Over 2,000,000 users and 200,000 teams from all over the world trust Mockplus for designing and prototyping tools.

Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Siemens, and Samsung are some of the names that use Mockplus. We would recommend a platform for individuals as well as businesses of all sizes.

Features:

• Co-designing in real-time.
• Prototyping tools include vector editing, interactions and gestures, version history, and more.
• Collaboration features include reviews and comments, role-based user and access control, and more.
• Powerful icon libraries, quick searching tools.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac/Windows desktop, Android/iOS mobile, iPad.

Verdict: Mockplus is a scalable, fast, easy-to-use, and powerful platform for prototyping. They offer 24/7 customer support. Plus, a free version is also offered that allows you to create 3 prototypes having up to 10 pages each.

The paid plans allow you to create unlimited prototypes with an unlimited number of pages. I must say the collaboration and security features are also commendable.

Price: Mockplus offers a free trial.

Price plans for individual use are as follows:

• Free: $0
• Annual: $99
• Perpetual: $399

The price plans offered for Teams are as follows:

• Free: $0
• Ultimate: $10.95 per user per month
• Enterprise: Custom Pricing

Website: Mockplus

#12) Balsamiq

Best for flexible pricing and is easy to use.

Balsamiq was founded in 2008, with the mission of helping people in creating software and websites, which are easy to use.

They offer their software free of cost, to nonprofits. Breadline Africa, Cancer Research UK, Climate Change Central, Amnesty International, and many more organizations use Balsamiq for free.

Features:

• Get access to hundreds of built-in UI components and icons.
• Create a library of reusable templates, masters, and customizable components.
• Lets you build simple and interactive prototypes.
• Integration with Google Drive, Confluence, and Jira.
• Easy to use with no learning curve.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac/Windows/Linux desktop.

Verdict: We found the software to be easy to use. The customer service is also nice. Cisco, Testa, Skype, and eBay are some of its clients. We found the software to be fast. Plus, there is little or no learning curve, which is why it is highly recommended for beginners.

Price: Balsamiq offers a free trial for 30 days. Price plans are:

• 2 Projects: $9 per month
• 20 Projects: $49 per month
• 200 Projects: $199 per month

Website: Balsamiq

#13) Marvel

Best for being a scalable, intuitive design platform.

Marvel is a popular prototyping tool with more than 2 million customers. This modern, advanced and scalable prototyping platform allows you to design, prototype, test, handoff and collaborate.

Plus you get to integrate with many other third-party apps including Ballpark, Jira, Confluence, Sketch, YouTube, and more.

Features:

• Tools to create realistic prototypes within minutes.
• User testing tools that allow you to get design feedback from your targeted audience.
• Quick URL sharing tool.
• Supports desktop, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and Android devices.
• Allows offline download of prototypes.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Android/iOS mobile, iPad

Verdict: I would highly recommend Marvel to individuals and small to mid-sized businesses. They offer up to 70% discount to students and nonprofits. The free version lets you test the software for its uses.

The tools offered by the software for prototyping are easy to use and save much of your time.

Price: Marvel offers a free version. Paid plans are as follows:

• Pro: $10 per month
• Team: $30 per month (A free trial is available for 7 days).
• Enterprise: Contact directly to get a price quote.

Website: Marvel

#14) Origami

Best for being easy to use.

Origami is an all-in-one platform for designing, animation, and prototyping. Using Origami, you can easily edit dynamic layouts, create interactions quickly, build interactive components, import, share files, and do much more.

Features:

• Freeform drawing tools, text editing, visual components, built-in animations and interactions, and more.
• Easy integration with Sketch and Figma
• Capture, trim, and export videos of your prototypes.
• Origami Live allows you to share prototypes in real-time and get reviews
• Pull in images from your device’s camera roll.

Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Android devices.

Verdict: Origami offers several highly useful tools including interactions like adding logic, horizontal scrolling, screen transitions, and more. Plus, I found the platform to be easy to use and intuitive, though it can be a bit difficult at the beginning. We would recommend the software for small to mid-sized teams.

Price: Contact directly to get a price quote.

Website: Origami

#15) Zeplin

Best for flexible pricing and user-friendly features.

Zeplin is a user-friendly and feature-rich prototyping tool, which is trusted by hundreds and thousands of product teams from all across the globe.

The set of features offered by the platform are nice. The sharing and collaboration tools play an important role in making the software a highly popular one.

Features:

• Integrations with Slack, Jira, Teams, Trello, Photoshop, Sketch, Adobe XD, and VS Code, for designing and collaboration tools.
• A single view board that shows your design and the code base.
• Allows you to add links for more context, including Storybook, GitHub, and more.
• Access Control Features.

Compatibility: Cloud, SaaS, Web, Mac/Windows desktop, Android/iOS mobile, iPad.

Verdict: HSBC, Salesforce, Pinterest, Autodesk, Starbucks, and Box are some of the highly popular companies that trust Zeplin for prototyping.

The software even offers a free version that allows up to 6 project members and 1 project. Flexible pricing plans allow users to adopt the one that suits them the most. We would recommend the software to teams of all sizes.

Price: Price plans offered by Zeplin are as follows:

• Free: $0
• Team: $6 per seat per month
• Organization: $12 per seat per month
• Enterprise: Custom Pricing

Website: Zeplin

Conclusion

Prototyping tools help in reducing the risks involved in launching a product or its updates. Using these tools, you can create realistic models and get real-time feedback from users, stakeholders, etc.

The best prototyping tools available in the industry are Figma, InVision, Adobe XD, Sketch, Framer, Webflow, UXPin, and more.

We found Figma to be the best among all. It offers high security to your prototypes, advanced tools, a highly useful free version, a mobile application, and easy-to-use tools that allow even beginners to start prototyping.

InVision, Sketch, Justinmind, Balsamiq, Origami, and Marvel are affordable platforms with advanced prototyping solutions.

Also Read =>> What is Prototype testing 

Research Process:

• Time is taken to research this article: We spent 15 hours researching and writing this article so you can get a useful summarized list of tools with a comparison of each for your quick review.
• Total tools researched online: 22
• Top tools shortlisted for review: 15