This article was updated in March 2019 to reflect the current state of the prototyping tools market. TL DR-here’s a swift comparison of prototyping tools. Many of these tools appear to be converging on a feature set that defines the role of the modern user experience designer.

Plus, there’s now a clear divide between desktop tools with cloud sharing (Adobe XD, Axure, Balsamiq, Sketch+InVision) and collaborative online tools (Figma, UXPin, Fluid UI, Proto.io). Some apps like UXPin are also taking care of the wireframing stages, whereas others like InVision App are bridging the gap between designer and developer by offering design handoff tools. Clients want to be involved, and email isn’t cutting it anymore. Stakeholder feedback and user testing is now taking a far greater role in UI design and this new generation of tools aims to connect these two previously separate stages of the design process. Since we first wrote this article back in 2015, countless design apps have dominated (and changed) the prototyping space. Join now for just $14.99/month.Īs the number and variety of prototyping tools continues to grow, it’s becoming harder and harder to figure out which tools meet what needs, and who they’re suitable for. Want to learn UX from the ground up? Get an entire collection of UX books covering fundamentals, projects, tips and tools & more with SitePoint Premium.

Wireframe prototype mockup cover letter