- In this post today, we have listed down 3 of the best design tools for mockups and wireframes. Also See: 5 Free Online Design Tools for Floors & Interiors.
- Using Balsamiq Wireframes feels like drawing, but because it's digital, you can tweak and rearrange easily. Teams can come up with a design and iterate over it in real-time in the course of a meeting. Product managers, designers, developers, and even clients can now work together in the same tool to quickly iterate over wireframes, before writing code.
- Whether you desire the easy-to-use and simplistic functionalities of Wireframe, or the professional-level capabilities of UXPin – there truly is an option to keep everyone happy when attempting to decide on the best app mockup tool to use. Whether you're an app entrepreneur, coder or simply an 'idea guy' – mocking up your next app's.
23 Mar 5 Wireframe & Mockup Tools For The Best Mobile App Design
That being said, feel free to take a look at our top 15 favourite Mobile App Wireframing & Mockup Tools and see which one works best for you. Justinmind is an all-in-one tool capable of creating high-fidelity wireframes and prototypes for apps.
It's been a long time since the code of a mobile app isn't the main factor for the success of an app. Now, app owners understand that other elements describe great ideas. Perfect development processes do matter especially for the functionality of the app and for removing bugs and errors. But users' impressions come from different routes which mirror the entire ecosystem created by the most innovative methods which rise every day. An essential part of the whole process of building a mobile app is to decide the way it looks and feels. But how can you know what design elements complement the core functionality of your app? Creating a prototype for your app is the best way to obtain the best results when it comes to complete your app.
Image Source: https://brainhub.eu/blog/difference-between-wireframe-mockup-prototype/
What Should Be Considered When Choosing The Best One?
When choosing the best tool for wireframe and mockup tools is important to read the official guidelines provided by Google and Apple, and after that to consider some essential characteristics which will make your work easier.
Image Source: http://www.vandelaydesign.com/ui-ux-wireframe-examples/
Handiness
Knowing the fact that you are looking for tools which will help you with your mobile app, you need to choose between the ones which provide features for Android apps and the ones that offer solutions for iOS apps. Some of them satisfy both platforms. Next, you have to figure out if your prototype should describe only the design or it needs to support other actions.
Learnability
You also need to consider the time you need to allocate for studying the platform and how long it will take you to create your project. Airmail 3 3 01. If you choose a more intuitive tool your work will be more smoothly and the results will be according to expectations.
Collaboration Support
The main purpose of creating a prototype is to test the opinions of the other members involved in the creation process. In this case you need to select a platform which offers you the possibility to send messages to your team or your clients.
Price
Always, the price matters the most. If you are a startup owner with a small budget, it is very hard to find resources for accomplishing all of the above. But if you prioritize your options you will be able to find the right tool for creating a mockup for your app. Of course, if you have enough money to invest in this stage, then the cost shouldn't be a problem.
5 Of The Best Wireframe And Mockup Tools
Let's see how the evolution of technology can help us in this situation as in any other stage of creating an amazing app.
Sketch
Sketch is known as an alternative for Adobe Photoshop. For utilizing Sketch you need to have MAC OS 10.11 or higher. It is recommendable to sign up for a free trial to test your computer's performances. It is very intuitive and it is almost impossible not to learn Sketch since the platform provides a plethora of tutorials and courses. Sketch also allows you to reuse the elements you created before and it also provides live update so you can collaborate with other designers. If you have a question related to Sketch you can search in the FAQ page or you can contact the team. To buy License for 1 year you will pay $99 dollars for a user. If you have multiple team members you will have to extend the contract.
InVision
Image Source: https://www.invisionapp.com/
InVision is a platform which not only helps you in prototyping but it also offers the right environment for working with your team because of 'LiveShare' feature. It is easy to use and it's compatible with Sketch, Illustrator and Photoshop. You can integrate your project with Dropbox, GitHub, Google Drive, Slack, etc for collaborating with the other members. There is an entire page for Customer Support and you can contact them for any problem you have. About the prices, you should know that it is free for just one prototype, but for 3 prototypes you will pay $15 per month. For a professional plan you need to have at least $25 per month. For more information check their website.
Affinity Designer
Image Source: https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/designer/
Affinity Designer practically hypnotizes you in the minute you enter their site. Among the benefits of using Affinity the best one is that it is accessible even for beginners. For learning how to work with it, you can buy the official Workbook for $49.99, but it also provides free video tutorials. You can export your creations in any format for sending it to your coworkers. The negative element is the lack of customer support. The price of license is also $49.99 and you can choose between MAC and Windows.
Marvel
Marvel provides a design tool, named Canvas which will help you create your mockups inside the browser. You can also add your images from Photoshop or Sketch and you can sync your work to the cloud. It is easy to work with Marvel. You just need to drag and drop elements and you can add gestures and transitions. For learning how to work with it you can check Styleguide. A great advantage is that Marvel experts concentrated a great part of their efforts in creating the right environment for team collaboration. The Help Center is available for any of your problems. Everything is free for one user with two projects. If you want to use this tool for unlimited number of projects you will have to pay $14 per month just for yourself. For companies the prices start from $56 per month.
Proto.io
Image Source: https://proto.io/
![App App](https://i0.wp.com/www.macbed.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/48652.png?fit=256%2C256&ssl=1)
Proto.io helps you create your design without requiring any code. For the prototype of your app you can add events and screen transitions. For learning how to use this tool, it offers user guides and video tutorials. If you have any questions you can ask the community. With Proto.io you can create public links for sharing your prototypes with other designers or clients. You can try Proto.io for free for 15 days but if you want more, the prices start from $29 per month for one user with 5 projects. If you select an annual billing instead of a monthly system, you will receive a discount.
Design Means How It Works
After you decided what tool fits your needs it is time to see the requirements for a successful work.
Know Your Audience
This is absolutely mandatory in every situation. You have to create your buyer persona before starting to design your app. Keep in mind that mobile users have their own behavior and you need to build your app according to their needs.
Consider Battery Life
With any feature you add, you need to keep your eye on the battery consummation. You have to find the right balance between amazing interface and battery draining.
One Size Does Not Fit All!
The main challenge when you create a mobile app is to design it for all screen sizes and to consider all dimensions for offering the same interface for every user.
Better UX
For mobile customers it is important to keep in mind their environment and the way they access the app. Maybe they are in the comfort of their home or they are in a crowded place waiting for the bus. Your app should be perfectly operable with just one hand.
High Quality Prototyping
Prototyping is essential in the process of creating your app, especially when you work with other team members or you want to present your ideas to clients. Before investing a lot of resources you need to create a high quality prototype that can describe the app you are about to create.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It is a great thing that app owners concentrate their attention on providing the best possible experience for their users. A smart choice for saving time and money is to create a prototype for the app to discover possible flaws that can throw their plan apart. Luckily, today there are many platforms which provide impressive tools for making everybody's work easier and more effective than drawing using a pen and a piece of paper. We presented you 5 of the most popular along with the best practices when you consider using them. Now, you have the power to choose the one that fits your budget and your requirements.
Sketching up the frames of your app is a great way to make it a bit more realistic. This is a step that can't be avoided when building any kind of application.
But, you can take this to the next level.
Using some of the mockup tools mentioned below, you can create even interactive mockups that can be exported and run on any device working like a real application.
This is an efficient way to test your assumptions about your app; it also provides detailed instructions for developers, making their job much easier and faster. Mockups are also extremely important when you work with an external software development company.
We collected 20 paid and free mockup tools you can use when working on your next mobile or web application.
Here is an extensive list of 20 mockup tools:
Moqups
Moqups is a full ecosystem of tools within a single design environment. It allows you to create diagrams, wireframes and prototypes without switching apps or updating across platforms.
Main features:
- Wireframing and prototyping in one tool
- Mobile and web app design
- Team collaboration
- Built-in library with thousands of popular icon sets, fonts and styling options
Pricing:
- Basic: 19 EUR/mo
- Creative Team: 39 EUR/mo
- Enterprise plan available
Free trial: Yes
Mockplus
A simple drag-and-drop prototyping tool for creating interactive prototypes of desktop, mobile and web apps in a faster way.
Main features:
- Fast drag and drop editor
- Interactive prototypes
- Pre-designed components
- Testing on native devices
- Team collaboration
Pricing:
- Individual: $199/user/year
- Team: $1999/team/year
- Enterprise: $9999/enterprise/year
Bonus: Mockplus iDoc is a powerful product design collaboration tool for designers and engineers. It helps connect the entire product design workflow. It facilitates handoff by taking designs from PS, Sketch, Adobe XD and exporting into a format that can generate code snippets, specs, and assets.
Main features:
- Export designs in one click from Sketch, XD and PS
- Generate accurate specs, assets, code snippets automatically
- Show design tasks and workflow in full-view storyboard
- Comment right on designs to give instant feedback
- Build hi-fi interactive prototypes with real design files
Pricing: Free
Balsamiq
Balsamiq Wireframes is the industry standard low-fidelity wireframing software that reproduces the experience of sketching on a whiteboard but using a computer. It's more like a tool to boost creativity to generate more ideas.
Main features:
- Hundreds of built-in and community-generated UI controls and icons.
- Drag and drop Simplicity
- Interactive Prototypes
- Team collaboration
Pricing:
- For solo developers: $9/mo
- For teams and companies: $49/mo
- For Big teams: $199/mo
Free trial: Yes
Mockingbird
A web-based mockup app designed for rapid prototyping. Mockingbird lets you create interfaces quickly with its drag-and-drop editor.
Main features:
- Team collaboration
- Link multiple mockups together
- Interactive mockups for demo and usability tests
Pricing:
- 3 projects: $12/mo
- 10 projects: $20/mo
- 25 projects: $40/mo
- Unlimited projects: $85/mo
Free trial: yes
👉 Read this:The Ultimate Guide for Creating Kickass User Stories (With Templates)📗📘📙
Mockup Builder
Mockup builder is a prototyping, mockup and wireframing tool that makes it easy to share your work with your clients or coworkers. You can create prototypes for mobile (iOS, Android) and web applications.
Main features:
- Diverse library of design elements
- Project sharing, PNG and PDF export
- Free wireframe templates
Pricing:
- Solo: $7/mo
- Premium Light: $14/mo
- Premium Pro: $27/mo
- Team Pro: $99/mo
Mockflow
Enables you to create and collaborate on complex interactive wireframes and UI prototypes for your websites and applications. Mockflow offers a complete solution for prototyping design.
Main features:
- Team collaboration
- Visually plan the architecture of your app
- Craft brand pages and create design guidelines
Pricing:
- Basic: Free
- Premium: $19/mo
- Team pack: $39/mo
- Business: $89/mo
HotGloo
HotGloo is a wireframing and prototyping tool designed to build wireframes for web, mobile and wearables. It helps visualize planning processes, build and test drive interactions very easily.
Main features:
- Compatible with any mobile device
- Team collaboration
- Over 2000 elements, icons and UI widgets
- Interactive prototypes
Pricing:
- Group: $13/mo
- Team: $27/mo
- Agency: $54/mo
- Enterprise: Custom
Free trial: Yes
NinjaMock
NinjaMock is more like a digital canvas for prototyping that imitates hand-drawn images by offering icons, stencils and vector graphics.
Main features:
- Mobile, web app and free hand design
- Team collaboration in real-time
- Graphic elements
- HTML/PDF/PNG export
Pricing:
- Personal: $14/mo
- Group: $28/mo
- Team: $56/mo
- Enterprise plan available
Free version with limited functionality is available.
Invision
Invision is a prototyping tool, that facilitates collaboration between your team to transform your ideas into clickable prototypes.
Main features:
- Interactive, clickable prototypes
- Team collaboration
- Built-in layouts
- Version control system
- Integrations with project management tools
Pricing:
- Starter: $15/mo
- Professional: $25/mo
- Team: $99/mo
- Enterprise plan available
Free plan available.
UXPin
UXPin is a full-stack UX design platform. You can easily create interactive wireframes and user flows and build static or interactive designs.
Main features:
- Interactive design and prototyping
- Logic and code components
- Team collaboration
Pricing:
- Free: $0/mo
- Professional: $25/mo
- Team: $99/mo
- Enterprise plan available
Proto.io
With Proto.io mockup software, you can create fully-interactive prototypes that look and work exactly like your app should. You can share your prototypes with anyone.
Main features:
- Team collaboration
- Exporting UI assets
- Built-in design components
Pricing:
- Freelancer: $29/mo
- Startup: $49/mo
- Agency: $99/mo
- Corporate: $199/mo
Free trial: Yes Mailtab pro for gmail v5 6.
Fluid UI
Fluid helps you create web and mobile prototypes, making it easy to communicate look, feel, interactivity and animations.
Main features:
- Built-in libraries for Android, iOS, web, desktop and more
- Add interactions and animations
- Team collaboration
- Export project
Pricing:
- Free
- Solo: $15/mo
- Pro: $25/mo
- Team: $65/mo
Axure RP
Axure is a wireframing and prototyping tool, making it easy to share your prototypes with your team members.
Main features:
- Animation
- Team collaboration
- Dynamic content and conditional logic
Pricing:
- Pro: $29/mo
- Team: $49/mo
Free trial: No
Pidoco
Pidoco lets you quickly create click-through wireframes and fully interactive UX prototypes.
Main features:
- Interactive prototypes
- Team collaboration
- Mobile simulation
- Export project
Pricing:
- Free
- Basic: $19/mo
- Pro: $59/mo
- Unlimited: $199/mo
Mockup.io
Mockup.io is a mockup tool that handles the complexity of creating mockups and prototypes in a single tool.
Main features:
- Showcase mockups in realistic device frames
- Interactive mockups
- Team collaboration
- Custom animations
Pricing: Free forever
Justinmind
Justinmind is an all-in-one prototyping tool for web and mobile apps. It allows you to share and test designs that run on real devices and make your mobile wireframe look and feel like the finished application.
Main features:
- Fully functional prototypes
- Sharing design with project members
- Test on device
Pricing:
- Free
- Professional: $19/user/mo
- Enterprise: $39/user/mo
iPhone mockup
A really simple mockup tool for iPhone applications that lets you create black and white app UI sketches.
Pricing: Free
Savahapp
Savahapp is a prototyping tool, that lets you build quick interactive high-fidelity prototypes for any device without writing a single line of code.
Main features:
- One tool for all kind of devices
- Interactive prototypes
- Team collaboration
- Third-party integrations
Pricing:
- Free
- Solo: $8/mo
- Team: $40/mo
- Company: $120/mo
- Enterprise plan available
Free trial: Yes
PowerMockup
A mockup and wireframe toolkit for PowerPoint, providing a large collection of user interface elements and icons made entirely out of PowerPoint shapes.
Main features:
- 800+ user interface elements
- Built entirely on PowerPoint
- Storyboard
- Team collaboration
Pricing:
- Individual: $59.9
- Small Team $269.9
- Team: $479.9
- Enterprise: $2099.5
Keynotopia
Keynotopia is not a mockup software but a mockup toolkit for PowerPoint. The website offers different design bundles depending on what platforms you're building and what presentation software (PowerPoint or Keynote) you use.
Main features:
- 3000+ pixel-perfect vector user interface components
- 200+ icons for PowerPoint and Keynote
- Icons are editable and fully customizable
Pricing:
- Templates: $39-$49
- Bundles: around $97
Bonus tools
Creating even a basic mockup involves some design work. Years ago you asked your designer to do this for you or you installed Photoshop and watched Youtube tutorials to perform even the simplest design modifications. Luckily, we have plenty of tools that are able to perform mockup-saving design actions within a couple of seconds. Here is our growing list of life-saving tools:
Trace - instantly remove the background from any images.
Upscale - Increase the resolution of any graphic or photo.
Redraw - Upgrade any image to a high resolution.
Conclusion
This is it. 20 cool mockup tools you can use right away to design your next app or website. Creating a mockup is a great way to test an early version of your app and also helps developers when it comes to coding. Now, you have an updated list of mockup tools you can choose from.
If you have any tool suggestions, feel free to shoot us a mail and I will add it to the post. ;-)
Further reading 📗📘📙:
👉 Comprehensive Guide to Code Quality: Best Practices and Tools
Mockups 3 5 3 – Collaborative Wireframing For App Development Tool
👉 App Engagement: How to Create Habit-forming Apps
👉 10 Essential Tools for Offshore Software Development