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As a new or experienced UX designer, you know that creating a quality prototype is an important part of the UX design process. That said, if you don't have the right tool, it can be a time consuming and costly endeavor. Having the right prototyping tool is key—but how do you find the one that's right for the way you work or the demands of a particular project?
Some prototyping tools are designed to support early user testing and a basic demonstration of user flows. Others are full-stack which allow you to design your prototypes or wireframes, simulate realistic and rich user interactions, collaborate with your team, and generate code that is ready to handoff to developers. Which tool you'll select will depend on the goals of your prototype, how quickly you need it available for user testing, who will be working on it, and how it needs to integrate into your workflow.
So many things to consider! That's why we've created this list of our top 11 prototyping tools for UX designers—to help you decide which one is best for you, your team, or your next project. For each tool we'll cover the cost (USD), system requirements, how easy it is to get up and running, what it's like to actually use the tool (it's UX), and the fidelity of the final product. Let's get into it!
Whether you bring over designs from Figma, Sketch, or decide to start from scratch, Framer is the best tool for interactive prototyping. Sign up for free Framer. .and turn them interactive Get started with Framer. Whether you bring over designs from Figma, Sketch or decide to start from scratch, Framer is the best tool for interactive prototyping.
The 11 prototyping tools we're going to guide you through are:
1. Adobe XD
Adobe XD would be considered a full-stack prototyping tool, meaning you can create designs from scratch, link pages together in a clickable prototype, and share your work easily—all in one tool.
Price
- $9.99 per month
- $52.99 per month as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud which gives you access to all Adobe apps.
Getting started
XD is laid out similar to other design editors (e.g. Sketch and Framer) and if you've used an Adobe product before it should be familiar to you. XD has built-in tutorials with downloadable resource files which are really great to get you up and running.
System requirements
- Available for macOS or Windows10
Deliverables
Prototypes created with XD can be built for mobile, tablet, or desktop, and I would classify them as mid-fidelity. You can create some advanced experiences with their new voice prototyping commands and audio playback features—but the finished interactions will be visually basic.
What it's like to use Adobe XD
If you're familiar with other Adobe products, this might be a no brainer for you. You can easily create your wireframes in the design tab, then easily switch to prototype and add start linking your components together.
You'll be able to specify triggers as either tap, drag, key click, or voice command—simply hold down your space bar to activate your microphone, speak the command word you specified and watch your prototype respond! There's even a built-in preview that allows you to record your prototype in action.
Collaboration capabilities
XD seamlessly works with other Adobe apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, and supports importing from Sketch. All Adobe products work in the Creative Cloud which saves all of your files in one place where you can grant access to your entire team. Further, XD is beta-testing a coediting feature where multiple people can work on the same document live!
2. InVision
InVision is a tool that takes your pre-existing designs and quickly transforms them into a clickable prototype by applying hotspots to your wireframes.
Price
- Free for one prototype
- $13 per month on a yearly plan for up to three prototypes
- $22 per month on a yearly plan for unlimited prototypes
Ease of learning
Since you aren't designing any wireframes in InVision, the platform is simple to navigate. This was the first prototyping tool I'd ever used, and I was up and running very quickly. If you're already a Sketch user, the Craft plugin makes things even easier as you import your artboards seamlessly into the project area.
System requirements
- Web-based tool for your browser & all files are saved on the InVision cloud server
Collaboration capabilities
InVision is really great for soliciting early feedback on your user flows. It's simple and quick for others to follow a link to your prototype, create an Invision account, and insert their comments as they click through your prototype on their own devices.
The UX of InVision
InVision's layout makes it easy to import wireframes and organize them in your respective user flows. Once you import your screens it won't take long to understand how to drag over an element of your wireframe, apply a hotspot, and add a transition to another screen in your library.
Deliverables
InVision is best for early stage designing and user testing, and produces a low/mid-fidelity prototype for mobile or desktop. The animations are more basic than others on the market, so the actual user testing done with your prototypes will be basic as well. Worth noting that Invision Studio is a new tool that can bring your prototypes to a greater level of fidelity, so if you enjoy using their basic tool and want more—check it out.
3. Sketch
Sketch was built with the designer in mind and supports you in creating vector-based designs and quickly viewing them as a clickable prototype.
Price
- $99 per year for a one-time license which you can use for a year with free updates, and after that if you would like to renew your license to receive further updates its $79 per year.
Ease of learning
Sketch is a beginner friendly application—and it may sound cliche—but its interface is really intuitive. The prototyping features available for your Sketch designs are pretty basic, as you can see from the highlighted portion of the panel above.
System requirements
- Available only on MacOS
Collaboration capabilities
- Share your prototype with others simply with a link they can view in their browser
- Sketch has its own cloud storage system which you can grant your team full access to
- Developers can view your designs in a browser, inspect elements, and export assets for free
Where Sketch belongs in your toolkit
Sketch definitely isn't the first program people think of when it comes to prototyping, and while it's a dream to design wireframes, it really shines as a companion to other prototyping tools.
Deliverables
Your Sketch prototype will be clickable and simple. It has fewer transition customizations than Adobe XD or InVision, but they all similarly show how your screens flow with one another. Finally, you can view your prototype on your desktop browser or with the Mirror (iOS) app directly on your mobile device.
4. Figma
Figma is another full-stack design tool that has really sophisticated collaboration to support the design process from wireframing and prototyping all the way to developer handoff.
Price
- Free for two editors and three projects
- $12/month (on yearly plan) for unlimited projects and editors
Ease of learning
With a familiar looking interface, Figma is known to be an easy tool for designers to pick up and figure out—especially if you‘ve used Sketch before. There is no coding knowledge required to add interactivity to your designs in Figma.
System requirements
- Available on the web, MacOS, or Windows
Deliverables
Figma prototypes are basic and will present similar to the other click-through mid-fidelity prototypes we've discussed so far.
Collaboration capabilities
With real-time editing capabilities that mirror a multi-editor Google doc experience—your team will love working together with Figma.
The UX of Figma
Figma has all of the essential design tools you'd want from Sketch, and is equally intuitive to use. It's easy to stitch wireframes into your prototype so you don't need to worry about importing your designs as you continue your design process in a single tool.
5. Balsamiq
Balsamiq is a rapid wireframing and prototyping tool that allows you to link your screens together to demonstrate simple user flows.
Price
- $9 per month for two projects at a time
- $49 per month for up to 20 projects
Ease of learning
Balsamiq is simple to use and produces a product you would show your team early on to refine your user flows and content strategy—this tool will help you to layout your app and collect feedback before the designs go through any iterations.
System requirements
- Available as a web app for any browser
- Desktop app compatible with MacOS and Windows
Deliverables
These prototypes are a step above low-fidelity, as look like a digitized-paper prototype. Linking elements in a wireframe here works as a simple clickable prototype, with the only action available being a transition to another screen (no overlay, animations, or custom transitions). One neat thing to note—if you export your Balsamiq prototype as a PDF, the links you embed will still work!
Collaboration capabilities
You can invite peers to view your designs right from the platform via email, and collect feedback that is focused on the layout of content and interactions instead of small details.
The UX of Balsamiq
Balsamiq may be the lowest-fidelity prototyping tool we'll discuss today, but it certainly has personality! Don't let the sketch aesthetic fool you into thinking Balsamiq's platform isn't well designed. While it may not be your first choice for dynamic prototypes, it is a great tool meant to start big picture UX/content conversations.
6. UXPin
UXPin is another full stack UX platform which supports you from end-to-end in your design process, and specializes in creating high-fidelity interactive prototypes.
Price
- $19/month billed yearly for unlimited prototypes with animations, interactions and states
- $29/month billed yearly for unlimited advanced prototypes with variables, expressions, and logic
Ease of learning
Although UXPin designs are code equipped, it does not require the same steep learning curve of a few of our other prototyping tools which require some coding knowledge (e.g. Webflow and Axure). The platform for editing your wireframes is similar to other popular tools in terms of layout, layers, and property editing panes.
System requirements
- Cloud-based web tool that works from your browser
- Also available as a desktop app for PC or Mac
Deliverables
Wow! UXPin delivers high-fidelity prototypes that I personally can't differentiate from the real thing. Elaborate animations and conditional interactions which add logic to your design, really set the bar high. For example, during user testing your participant can enter their name in a text field, and when they submit their data—their name will appear in a greeting message on the next page. Conditional interactions are things like setting up password parameters that must be met in order for the user to continue to the next page in the prototype.
Collaboration capabilities
The platform is really built to support big teams and projects with its advanced project management and collaborative sharing features. There is also a way to categorize the input given by your team so you can clearly differentiate the source of technical and non-technical comments.
What it's like to use UXPin
The upgraded version of UXPin allows for live screen sharing, commenting and importing from Sketch and Photoshop. Importing from Sketch and Photoshop is great because it keeps your sketch layers and assets intact, making it easier to add custom animations and interactions.
To help you in making your decision, UXPin actually has listed at the bottom of their site navigation, ‘UXPin vs. ____', which compares their tool with almost every other prototyping tool we've mentioned in our list.
Although there are extra features to navigate with UXPin, there are hundreds of tutorials online and the end product is so impressive that it's worth taking the time to learn.
7. Flinto
Flinto is the prototyping tool designed for Mac users to create high-fidelity interactive experiences.
Price
- $99 for a license with one year of free updates
Ease of learning
Flinto is pretty easy to pick up, and looks similar to Sketch's layout. You don't have to know any code to use Flinto, and they have a Youtube channel with tutorials—though it hasn't been updated in almost a year. Other tools seem to be iterating and upgrading more often. Keep that in mind if you are planning to use it as your go-to tool.
System requirements
- Only available for Mac, and it's preview app is made specifically for iOS
Deliverables
Despite it not being one of the most popular tools I've come across, Flinto is great for presenting advanced animations, transitions, and gestures. The prototype you'll come away with is high-fidelity and viewable on a mobile iOS device or your Mac desktop.
Collaboration capabilities
Flinto is able to import designs from both Sketch and Figma, but also gives you the tools to mockup your own designs or make changes to imported files. Others can view your prototype from a link once they download the previewing app for an iOS device.
The UX of Flinto
Flinto is really focused on interaction design and presenting sophisticated animations, however, it isn't as complete of a solution as other tools have become. It lacks collaborative capabilities and isn't going to help with your developer handoff as much as others.
Some notable features include adding UI sound effects to your prototype, unique scrolling, and the ability to design your own animated transitions and micro-interactions.
8. Origami
This unique prototyping tool was created by Facebook designers and has helped build products like Instagram and Messenger. Itubedownloader 6 3 6 – video downloader download.
Web Prototyping Tool
Price
- Completely free!
Ease of learning
If you're a beginner and haven't used any prototyping/design applications before, this may be tricky to learn. There is an active support group on Facebook (obviously), but the tool could use some built-in onboarding. The Origami product page does offer tailored tutorials for people with a programming background and those from a design background—but you should still give yourself extra time to learn this tool.
System requirements
At this time, Origami is only available for Mac, however the prototyping preview app they offer is available for iOS and Android so you can user test on any mobile device.
Deliverables
Origami can create prototypes with intricate interactions for your watch, mobile device, desktop or tablet. You can expect a high-fidelity prototype with some pretty sophisticated interactions to showcase. For example, Instagram's image straightening feature, where the user can watch as the image and the degrees adjust while they drag their finger along a scale—the prototype exactly mimics the experience you get using the app.
Collaboration capabilities
Origami supports sharing your prototype or viewing it on a device with the application installed, but there aren't any commenting or co-editing features at this time. However, Origami does collaborate with other tools like Sketch and Figma to help you import your design layers.
What it's like to use Origami
Origami's platform is set up a bit different than our other tools. Although the layer organization is similar to Sketch, to add interactivity you will be creating ‘patches' which show up on your canvas next to the prototype viewer. You'll specify your interaction in one patch, connect that to a transition patch, and specify your destination in a third patch (as shown in the image above).
Opening up Origami for the first time was a bit intimidating, especially after being ‘taken by the hand' by many of the other tools with their onboarding and built-in tutorial videos. There are videos on Origami's website you can walk through, and a few on Youtube. This is a free tool, so I wouldn't expect the same kind of attention to the beginner UX as other tools.
9. Framer
Framer focuses on smooth team collaboration and rich interactive prototyping.
Price
- Free up to 3 projects with 2 editors
- $16/month billed yearly
Ease of learning
While some have complained that Framer has a bit of a learning curve—the creators claim you can be up and running with basic knowledge in five minutes due to their new comprehensive onboarding. If you've used any Adobe tool you'll recognize the mixture of coach marks and video onboarding. The tutorials actually play and pause automatically in your workspace each time you're given a new step to try.
System requirements
- Web application that runs best on Chrome
- Desktop app is for MacOS and only available for Pro users ($33/month)
- Framer Preview allows you to check out your design on any mobile device and is compatible with both Android and iOS.
Deliverables
You can expect high-fidelity interactive prototypes with Framer, for an experience that's as close to your final product as possible.
Collaboration capabilities
From multiplayer editing, inline commenting, to sharing your prototype in one click—Framer really delivers a great collaborative experience for teams.
The UX of Framer
The Framer platform is familiar to Sketch and Adobe XD with its editing panels and layer organization. Framer is great for learning how a developer will receive your design work—for example, the platform allows you to organize similar components into ‘stacks' that you can edit as a set—which is similar to how a design would be implemented with code.
10. Axure
The all-in-one UX platform that creates rich prototypes and supports quality developer handoff.
Price
- $29/month per user for basic that include unlimited prototypes
- $49/month per user for the team version equipped with coediting, cloud services, and revision history
Ease of learning
Axure's platform is pretty intuitive and reminiscent of other visual design tools we've discussed here. You definitely don't need to know how to code to create your prototype, but it would help you to know some basic front-end coding so you can understand the language used within the tool.
System requirements
- Available for Windows or MacOS
Deliverables
Axure can produce some of the high quality prototypes for mobile, desktop, or tablet.
Collaboration capabilities
- Team version of Axure has co-editing capabilities, team access to files saved in their cloud server, and history of design revisions made
- Notifications are integrated with Slack for great workflow continuity
The UX of Axure
Axure's platform is drag and drop, and is reminiscent of Sketch. This tool is great for developer handoff and is regarded for the quality of the code it generates.
Creating your prototypes seems pretty simple, and can get more complex when you implement conditional logic on different triggers (i.e. play animation when page loads). You can also apply advanced animations to your components like show/hide or toggle states.
11. Webflow
A very powerful prototyping tool that your development team will thank you for!
Price
- $35/month
Ease of learning
This is a tool that is designed for someone with basic development knowledge. While anyone can use it, you need to have a basic understanding of HTML5 and CSS. If you were a developer before a designer—Webflow will feel like home.
Deliverables
Webflow produces high-fidelity prototypes for websites or mobile experiences that generate all of the code necessary for your development team to implement your design seamlessly.
Collaboration capabilities
Webflow is set up with a shared dashboard for your whole team to access your prototypes and design files. Designed specifically for collaborative harmony with your dev team—Webflow automatically generates code that your developers can access as you build.
What it's like to use Webflow
This platform was designed with developers in mind, so although you won't have to write any code, you will need to understand basic HTML and CSS to understand the language used in the platform. For example, you can drag and drop design elements into your prototype, but they are all labeled as HTML tags (e.g. div block, column, container). Finally, you'll want to understand how tags and classes work so you can change the styling of multiple elements at a time.
Your interaction panel contains trigger selection, which lets you specify what your trigger will be (e.g. click, scroll, or page loading). It also contains the animation timeline which specifies what will occur during those triggers at what time(e.g. scroll animation that follows the speed of your scroll).
Choosing the best tool for you
While all of these tools will help you create a working prototype, there is bound to be one that suits your needs better. As we've seen, the type of prototyping tool you'll use depends on the goals of your prototype, what kind of team you're working with, and what skills you already possess. Here are a few statements that summarize the main differences we tackled in the article:
- If you are comfortable working with code, and want to showcase the highest fidelity prototypes—choose something like Axure or Webflow.
- If you regularly handoff your prototypes and designs to developers but don't know much about code—try UXPin or Framer.
- If you're in the early stages of your design process and need something quick and content-focused—Balsamiq or Invision might be best.
- If you want to present a polished prototype and primarily use MacOS—use Flinto or Origami.
- If most of your time will be spent designing the wireframes to perfection with a little prototyping—check out Sketch, Adobe XD, Figma.
If you've settled on a tool and are interested in learning more about prototyping, check out these articles from our blog:
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Spoiler alert: There is no 'best' because it all depends on what you need at the moment! This article presents some insights into what to consider when you need to pick up a prototyping solution.
I've always wanted to stay up to date on the latest design and prototyping tools, testing them shortly after they launch, just to see if any of them might improve my workflow and enable me to achieve better results. In the beginning, a few years ago, I think it was easier than it is now to decide whether a new tool was useful. Nowadays, apps are being released every day, and it's kind of difficult to give them all a proper try.
In a desperate attempt to become more conscious about each prototyping tool's features and characteristics, and to better decide which to try next, I started to compile a short list of prototyping tools. Gradually, as I added more and more items to the list, it got out of control — a reliable sign that too many solutions exist.
Perhaps it's because of this situation that, quite often, after having presented at a conference or taught a class, some of the attendees would ask for my advice, wanting to know which is the best tool out there. Honestly, I don't feel capable of giving a straight answer, because, as with choosing a pair of running shoes, the 'best' often depends on your needs at that particular moment and on what outcome you want to achieve.
I guess after a while, I have developed a kind of sixth sense for design — an ability to understand (or, at least, believe — I'm not Superman, after all) whether a given tool is worth trying just by giving it a quick look.
Luckily for you, you don't need a sixth sense or any other superpowers in order to choose a prototyping tool. There are other, more objective means of choosing one. It all depends on your current priorities, so let's start there.
1. Learning Curve
The most effective methods of learning take advantage of previous knowledge, so that we don't have to start from scratch. This is what we call 'knowledge transfer': applying previously acquired knowledge to a new situation. It is also useful when you're learning how to use a new prototyping tool: The ones with a familiar interface and a familiar set of tools will probably be easier to learn than ones that are new in every aspect.
This is especially true for Adobe's suite, in which every app is designed to resemble the others. You know where the panels and dialogs will be, and the similarities make it easier to learn new apps within the suite or to switch between apps — for example, from Illustrator to Photoshop.
But also compare how much time you expect to invest in learning a new tool with how much time you expect to actually be using that tool in your design process. The ideal situation would be to dedicate a little time to learning a tool that you will use frequently or even every day.
2. Support For Teamwork
I need my prototyping tool to consolidate feedback from clients about my designs, so that I can use the information to improve my work and then share a new, better version.
To achieve this, I'll usually upload my design screens to InVision, where the client can add comments about a particular feature in the exact spot they're referring to. Then, I'll have a chance to reply to the comment or close it if the issue has been resolved.
But if you work in a company, then not only should the client feel like a part of the team, so should your fellow designers. It's important to have a tool that enables your workmates to share and upload their own versions of your design screens, so that that everybody stays on the same page while contributing to the project. Tools such as InVision present the general activity of a project in a kind of timeline view, so that you can stay up to date and keep track of all changes.
3. Level Of Fidelity
From day one, when we have only a basic idea of what a product will be, our prototype starts to evolve, fueled by learning. That's why we design in iterations, and in each phase we test different things according to our priorities.
For example, at the very beginning, when we don't know whether an idea is valid, it is not advisable to focus on design details, such as color palette or grid system. Instead, we should be prototyping. And the prototyping tool we choose will depend on the fidelity we're aiming for (i.e. how close the prototype should be to the intended final product).
Fidelity can build incrementally: low when we simply want to test the idea (the tool should allow navigation from one screen to another), medium when we're focusing on layout, information and interaction design (the tool should be capable of more precise design), and high when the most important things are visual design, animation and micro-interactions (the tool should be capable of adding motion and transitions).
Each tool should help us to achieve the prototype we need — and perhaps not much more — and then enable us to move quickly to the next stage, where that tool might not be needed anymore.
Low Fidelity
When I merely want to test the idea for a digital product, an app that gives me a lot of control over the design is not convenient, because I will easily get distracted by details that are not relevant during that stage. More important is being able to navigate from one screen to another, without wondering about whether elements of the interface have the proper size or layout. (Yes, I know it's difficult to resist the temptation to align elements, but believe me, it's not crucial at this point.)
When I have just come up with an idea and go straight to the computer, I often find myself asking questions such as what size should the design document be or what colors should I choose — when I don't even know whether the concept is on the right track. That's why, in moments like these, I prefer to use the oldest and most basic option: pen and paper.
The idea is not new:
'But why should we start with sketching?' you might ask. The reason is because getting caught up in pixel-precision this early on in a project by going straight to digital is just too easy, and it'll cost a bit of time in the long run.[…] Dropping back to pencil and paper is both a fast and easy way to get your ideas out so that you can start iterating.
Using pen and paper, I won't be worried about any of the design-specific details that I mentioned before. Instead, I can focus on the idea.
I can quickly draw a design to commit what I have in mind, and then, using a tool such as Marvel or POP, take pictures of it to build a working prototype that includes gestures and transitions, in order to test some basic flows. The good thing about prototyping in this way is that if the concept fails (but you have to continue working on that million-dollar idea), you won't feel attached to your work, and restarting with a different approach will be very easy.
Tip: If you are designing temporary views, such as alerts, tooltips or short feedback messages, you can draw them separate from the main interface. Then, cut one of the messages with scissors, and put the little piece of paper on top of the main design. This way, you can take one picture with the message, and another without. You'll have two screens for the price of one and without having to draw the two versions by hand!
Medium Fidelity
Pen and paper are fine, but there comes a point in the design process when they're not enough. When I'm sure about the app's core concept and I have already made some basic prototypes on paper, I need a different tool to move forward. Normally, when we talk about medium-fidelity prototypes, we are referring to wireframes whose primary purpose is to convey interaction and information.
When I design wireframes, I try to use real information as much as possible. However, I don't always have all of the data at my disposal at this stage. So, I usually have to approximate the final text, graphics and colors, because these are tied to branding. (Don't blame me: Those guys are always late!). At least I can focus on achieving a convincing layout and interaction.
During this stage, I normally use Sketch. This tool is relatively easy to use and helps me take my paper design concept to the next level. Using Sketch, I can easily reuse UI elements, so that I don't have to start from scratch, and I can benefit from many standard UI components. There are also plenty of additional interface components that you can use to build layouts, like the ones found on Sketch App Sources. As my process keeps going, I can also control the degree of customization of those elements and decide where to pause for user testing.
Using these design components is also good idea if you want to align with expectations and not over-design. Normally, designing everything from scratch will take a lot more time (and developers will take more time, too, when they implement your design). That's why it's better to reuse common UI elements, such as lists, dialogs, forms and tabs.
But (yes, there's always a 'but') Sketch is a Mac-only tool; so, if you are using Windows, you'll have to rely on something else. Balsamiq and Omnigraffle are well known and have been available for a while. A couple of new UI design tools are web-based (and so don't need any setup or installation): Gravit and Figma.
High Fidelity
When your prototype grows and get closer to being a viable product, you will need to design components that were less relevant before, like infrequent dialogs, some feedback messages (error messages and messages that show the result of an action), empty states, disabled buttons and so on.
Basically, during the earlier stages of low- and medium-fidelity prototyping, we were focused on structure, information and flow and on a small set of core use cases. As the design matures, we need to consider more:
- additional use cases (often, less frequent ones);
- edge cases and contingencies (for example, what happens in a check-out flow if a credit card is rejected?);
- error prevention and handling.
All of these use cases are important to consider for a good UX, but they shouldn't be the first things we design. We start with the core use cases and focus on the most relevant and salient aspects of the design. Then, we include the edge conditions in order to complete and validate the design.
At this stage, then, it becomes increasingly important to choose a tool that gives you granular control over the components of the design, so that you can determine the aspect and behavior of each one of the elements of the UI.
A while ago, I used Axure for these types of tasks. In fact, in one of my first job interviews in Barcelona, they asked me if I knew how to use it, because it was being used widely across that company. Of course, I said yes in order to get the job, and in the days before starting work, I learned it from the inside out. It was then when I discovered its full potential, using features such as conditionals, which enable you to show and hide dialogs, banners and other temporary blocks of information, depending on the user's interaction. This might come in handy because it minimizes the number of screens to be designed completely from scratch.
If you have been reading carefully, you have probably realized by now that I have been focused mostly on static designs. What about animation? This is becoming more and more important, not only because animation can be found everywhere in modern interfaces, but also because it is very hard to communicate with the rest of the team how you want something to move or fly without showing a sample.
File juicer file extraction tool 4 81. When it comes to prototyping animations, micro-interactions and transitions, I divide prototyping tools into two groups:
- tools that have familiar UIs and that don't require you to learn any code;
- tools with which you get your hands dirty with at least a few lines of code.
In the first group, a few new tools have appeared, such as Pixate, Principle and Flinto. In many situations, you would use these tools to prototype not the whole app, but only a subset of screens, to see how different elements will be displayed or how to transition from one state (or screen) to another.
If you want to go a step further, you might opt for the second group. This set of apps might look less familiar to designers, but you will have more precise control over animations. Also, in many cases, you can use native components to achieve a more realistic outcome, thereby making the move from prototype to final code easier. If you'd like to go even further, I would suggest trying Framer (which is based on JavaScript) or Facebook Origami, whose accompanying Origami Studio will be released later this year, allowing you to export code snippets that can be sent to developers.
For iOS, you could use Interface Builder, which enables you to design interfaces using native iOS components in a visual environment. (This solution is completely code-free — yay!). For Android, there's Android Studio.
4. Integration With Your Workflow
Another point to consider when choosing a prototyping tool is how well it fits your design process and other tools you regularly use. Prototyping is part of a much broader process that includes researching users, testing, gathering metrics, communicating the idea to stakeholders, and sharing designs with developers for final implementation.
You probably won't find one tool that does everything (more on this later), but prototyping tools should at least help you move through the process smoothly, especially when you are expected to iterate under tight deadlines.
For example, if you are designing in Photoshop, Illustrator or Sketch, it would be great if your prototyping software could directly use the files produced by these apps without requiring you to export assets separately and then build everything from scratch to create the interactions.
Personally, I'm pretty satisfied with Sketch (again). I can export images and even use the original, editable Sketch file and upload it to a different tool to complete my prototype. When I want to add interactions, I upload files to Marvel, and when I need to animate, to Framer or Flinto.
One of the last (and most important) steps when building a prototype is testing it and gathering information (gestures, taps and responses) from real users so that you can improve the product. Tools such as InVision and Marvel connect with Lookback, enabling you to test the app and record video at the same time, so that you can analyze the data with the rest of the team.
5. Ease Of Use And Comfort
Finally, how you feel with a prototyping tool is important! If you are going to be using it every day — and sometimes even on Saturdays and Sundays if your are a freelancer, like me — it should feel good, right?
This is personal, so my advice here is limited. Look for a tool that satisfies you, not one that makes your work harder, puts hurdles in your way, slows you down, adds extra steps or forces you to find workarounds.
Conclusion
Given that so many design and prototyping tools are out there today (and I didn't even mention them all), you might feel intimidated. Perhaps that's why we are starting to expect the appearance of 'one tool to rule them all' — an app that enables us to create all kinds of designs and even make prototypes.
In a way, we are starting to see this with Adobe Experience Design CC (a new design tool that allows you to link between design screens) and Sketch (when used with plugins such as Craft Prototype for interactions and AnimateMate for animations).
Prototyping Tools Free Online
What does the future of design and prototyping tools hold? I'm not sure, but I think that if we go in this direction, we might end up with an overly complex tool, like a Swiss Army knife that has plenty of little tools, but none of which are truly useful. Also, other professionals, including surgeons and mechanics, use different tools depending on the occasion. Why should we designers be any different? One of the most important things is to identify which tool is most suitable for the given job.
In any case, don't obsess about the tools so much. They are supposed to help us shape our ideas; they should not determine or constrain how our products look or behave.
Free Prototyping Tools
I also understand that the guidelines above will be pretty useless if your corporation forces you to use a particular tool (as did mine once). If that is the case, you could try to persuade your team to at least try something different, if your reasoning is clear and logical. Perhaps some of the points above would support your argument.
Lastly, be wary when someone tells you that a certain tool is 'the best' or 'the easiest to learn.' This is highly subjective, and you should discover it on your own. In the end, you, like me and everybody else, are different.
Useful Resources
- 'The Right Tool for the Job: Picking the Best Prototyping Software for Your Project,' Fabricio Teixeira, Smashing Magazine
- 'Quick UX Prototyping With Adobe XD Shortcuts (PDF Cheat Sheet),' Cosima Mielke, Smashing Magazine
- 'Faster Web Design With Rapid Paper Prototyping,' Lauren Johnson, Creative Bloq
- 'A Year Using Sketch: An Honest Review,' Sagi Shrieber, Hacking UI
- Prototyping Tools (beta) A website that helps you to compare design prototyping tools for apps and websites.
- 'Get Started,' Framer A collection of examples for you to learn the basics of Framer right away.
- 'Design + Sketch App,' Medium An excellent collection of articles, tips, tutorials and stories on designing and prototyping with Sketch and beyond.
- 'Learn Sketch 3,' Meng To A comprehensive overview of the main aspects that you need to know about Sketch.
- 'Tutorials,' Origami, Facebook A series of step-by-step videos explaining how to create prototypes with Origami.
- 'Mobile App Prototyping: Designing Custom Interactions,' Noah Levin, Skillshare This class teaches you how to design a high-fidelity prototype using Framer.
Interactive Prototyping Tools
Further Reading on SmashingMag:
