Best Wireframing Software Shortlist
Here’s the shortlist of the best wireframing software that I’ll cover in this article, with detailed summaries below:
Wireframing software is critical in nailing the design blueprint for digital products like websites and mobile apps. With wireframes, your designers and stakeholders can visualize the overall structure, layout, and functionality before the development begins.
Additionally, wireframing helps reduce design iteration time and costs as you can identify usability issues right at the inception of the product-building journey. Think of wireframing as a building plan where you define a home’s layout and room sizes. Instead of using bricks or wood, you can visualize the look and feel of a home on paper or software.
If you have general questions about how wireframing software works or how to pick the best option for your organization, check out my People Also Ask section below. Or, if you’re curious about how I prepared this list, see How I Selected the Best Wireframing Software below.
Overviews of the 10 Best Wireframing Software
Here’s a brief description of each wireframing software that showcases each vendor’s best use case, their noteworthy features, and some pros and cons. I’ve also included screenshots to give you a snapshot of their user interface.
Mockplus
Best for creating and reusing brand-specific wireframing assets
Mockplus specializes in building software for rapid prototyping and effective design collaboration. With over 2 million users worldwide, Mockplus is steadily evolving into a reliable and comprehensive design platform.
Why I picked Mockplus: I’m enthralled that Mockplus enables you to reuse wireframing assets. While creating subproducts belonging to a primary parent product category, you can build upon previously designed wireframing assets. As a result, you can implement potent brand-specific design consistency.
Mockplus features “co-wireframing,” which is essentially a real-time collaboration between various stakeholders. Additionally, you can add some zing to your wireframes by implementing interaction elements like tap, swipe and slide.
Mockplus Standout Features and Integrations
Features include rapid wireframing, wireframe annotation, real-time collaboration, responsive design, several free wireframing starter kits, animations, transitions, vector UI designing, and Mockplus Cloud, that saves all your precious wireframes in a centralized cloud-based platform.
Integrations include Adobe Photoshop, Adobe XD, Axure, Confluence, Figma, Jira, Lark, Sketch, Slack and others.
Pros
- Great developer handoff features
- Extensive learning resources
- Generous free plan for wireframing
Cons
- Bandwidth intensive
- Design uploading requires you to compress files into ZIP
Balsamiq
Best for rapid wireframing with effective keyboard shortcuts
Balsamiq has been in the design industry for over a decade now. Since its inception in 2008, Balsamiq has perfected the craft of creating an effective low-fidelity wireframing software. The company has some unique differentiating features, such as effective keyboard wireframing shortcuts and a great UI component repository.
Why I picked Balsamiq: I love the sheer simplicity that Balsamiq offers for rapid wireframing. With Balsamiq, you focus on the bare-bone essentials of a digital product like the content and structure. Additionally, with an extremely easy-to-use interface, Balsamiq promises an almost non-existant learning curve.
The quick add tool features several effective keyboard shortcuts to quickly add UI elements into your wireframes. Use the shortcut “/” or “+” and type in UI elements like a button bar or round button, and hit Enter. Once you get the hang of this quick add feature, you can create wireframes in minutes. I also love the project style feature that allows you to toggle your wireframe look and feel between “sketch” (which resembles a hand-drawn design) and “clean” (which is better suited for presentations).
Balsamiq Standout Features and Integrations
Features include a drag-and-drop interface, hierarchical arrangement of wireframes, context menu actions, great keyboard shortcuts, interactive prototyping, reusable assets, and 100s of UI icons and components.
Integrations include Confluence, Google Drive, Jira, Slack, Trello, and others.
Pros
- Linking between wireframing pages
- Export wireframes into PDF and PNG
- Extensive library of UI elements for wireframing
Cons
- PDF export doesn’t have a high resolution
- Revision histories are a little complicated
UXPin
Best wireframing software for imparting organization-wide design consistency
UXPin specializes in the interactive prototyping of websites and applications. It’s a real gem in the designing space because the tool allows you to implement a code-driven design process; for instance, UXPin generates appropriate CSS code for your “drawing” or “sketching” input.
Why I picked UXPin: I’m thrilled with UXPin’s design consistency feature. The tool allows you to create UX patterns and custom components which you can reuse across multiple projects. For instance, design consistency could be as simple as using light gray for all pop-up buttons on your website.
Although design and branding elements are typically part of the prototyping process, ensuring a consistent design can streamline your transition from low-fidelity designs to high-fidelity prototypes.
UXPin Standout Features and Integrations
Features include wireframing, a drag-and-drop interface, design consistency, interactive prototyping, real-time collaboration, mockups, design handoff, UI/UX design and accessibility features like compliance with WCAG 2.0 standards.
Integrations include Asana, Google Sheets, Microsoft Dynamics 365, NPM, Salesforce, Storybook, Zendesk, and others.
Pros
- Great version branching features
- Extensive learning tutorials
- Bulk editing features
Cons
- Lots of marketing spam emails
- Slightly steep learning curve
MockFlow
Best wireframing software for charting a well-defined user journey
Mockflow is an end-to-end design platform that enables you to create wireframes, sketch UI layouts, build design systems and evaluate your UI flows. Mockplus also offers exciting features via “power-ups” that you can install from the “MockStore.”
Why I picked Mockflow: I love the concept of power-ups - which essentially enhances your wireframing workflow. For instance, I found a power-up called “UX Storyboarding” that lets you create a storyboard and visually chart a user’s journey on your application or website. Another similar power-up is the “Customer Journey” that allows you to create a Customer Journey Map.
Collaboration is a breeze with Mockflow, as you can invite various team members to get approvals and sign-offs on your wireframing drafts. Once you complete your wireframe brainstorming, you can quickly use elements from free UI kits to convert your wireframes into high-fidelity designs for devices running various OSs like an iOS 16 or a macOS Big Sur.
Mockflow Standout Features and Integrations
Features include rapid wireframing, free UI kits, 20+ power-ups for additional wireframing tools, file versioning, style guides for promoting design consistency, user testing for UI designs, and a nifty DesignSpace feature that allows you to create separate projects for each of your distinct products.
Integrations include Adobe Photoshop, Confluence, Google Drive, GSuite, Jira, Okta, Slack, Trello, and others.
Pros
- Frequent product updates
- Easy to export wireframes
- Several free pre-built UI templates
Cons
- Requires an Adobe Flash plugin to operate
- UI is monochromatic and bland
Justinmind
Best for building interactive wireframes
Justinmind’s tagline is “Design memorable user experiences,” and the tool doesn’t fail to impress. With Justinmind, you can effortlessly create interactive prototypes, wireframes, and UI/UX design for your digital products.
Why I picked Justinmind: Many consider wireframes bland and clunky sketches. Justinmind helps change that notion by assisting you to create interactive and clickable wireframes. Justinmind features an amazing drag-and-drop interface, and handy tools like a grid, rulers, and guides to create great wireframes.
Additionally, the UI library receives frequent updates so that you have the best elements at your disposal. Lastly, Justinmind also offers powerful mobile and web emulators to test wireframes against various devices.
Justinmind Standout Features and Integrations
Features include rapid wireframing, an extensive library of UI elements, a drag-and-drop interface, custom effects & animations, conditional navigation, and several web interactions like hide, resize, and rotate elements.
Integrations include Adobe Photoshop, Adobe XD, Azure DevOps, Clicktale, Figma, Jira, Sketch, UserZoom, and others.
Pros
- Great responsive prototyping
- The free version allows unlimited wireframing
- Wireframe sharing via links
Cons
- The search function is occasionally slow
- Export bugs
Uizard
Best for AI-powered transformation of hand-drawn wireframes into UI designs
Uizard’s mission is to democratize the power of design so that non-technical folks like myself can create interactive digital designs. Uizard began as a machine learning project before evolving into a full-fledged web design platform. The team at Uizard embraces AI to offer features that allow you to effortlessly create designs from text inputs.
Why I picked Uizard: I’m fascinated by the entire AI revolution. With tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney, anybody can contribute to complex designing tasks that would have previously required specialized expertise. Uizard has been quick to jump onto the AI bandwagon. Uizard features a nifty auto-designer that generates designs from text.
Moreover, Uizard leverages AI to transform your hand-drawn wireframes into digital designs. Imagine you’re designing a home page for a music application, and you’ve drawn squiggly lines for the buttons and the sign-up fields. Uizard scans your sketch and transforms it into a professional and editable design.
Uizard Standout Features and Integrations
Features include AI-powered design, a drag-and-drop interface, collaborative wireframing, UI/UX design, rapid prototyping, user journey testing, and a well-categorized library of templates.
Integration details are currently not available.
Pros
- Easy screen linking
- You can upload screenshots of other website designs to draw inspiration
- AI features help with rapid wireframing
Cons
- Bugs with individual clicking and dragging of elements
- Occasional glitches with editing text
Adobe XD
Best wireframing software for a smooth design to prototype workflow
No design tool shortlist can be complete without the mighty Adobe inclusion. Adobe XD is a vector design software that helps with wireframing and responsive prototyping. Adobe XD has amazing artboard presets and intelligent guides for rapid wireframing.
Why I picked Adobe XD: I love Adobe XD’s repeat grid feature that boosts your wireframing process, especially if your digital product involves an image gallery or repetitive elements. For instance, if you attempt creating a wireframe resembling Instagram’s image grid carousel, you can use the grid feature to easily sync changes like color and layout across the “blocks.”
Consequently, you will experience a smooth transition while shifting from a low-fidelity wireframe into a more detailed high-fidelity prototype. Adobe XD also offers unique wireframe UI kits topped with several out-of-the-box elements to draw inspiration from.
Adobe XD Standout Features and Integrations
Features include responsive prototyping, content-aware dynamic layouts, voice design, 3D transforms, transitions, and animations.
Integrations include Dropbox Paper, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zeplin, and others.
Pros
- Robust auto animate features
- Great layering features
- Creative Cloud (CC) integration is useful for syncing assets across the Adobe product suite
Cons
- Limited collaboration features
- Glitches with responsive design for mobile devices
Cacoo
Best for an extensive library of pre-made wireframing templates
Nulab is the parent company offering the Cacoo product. Nulab’s mission is to “make creating simple and enjoyable,” and the software creators endeavor to stick to their promise. The backstory behind Nulab involves a combination of “null” and “laboratory,” - signifying that you can create great ideas from scratch.
Why I picked Cacoo: Cacoo’s wireframing capabilities are an absolute joy. With neatly organized libraries of templates for Android devices, websites, and page-specific instances, Cacoo helps you get off the blocks quickly.
I played around with Cacoo’s landing page wireframe and created a comprehensive design with customized elements. Cacoo also allows you to add placeholder shapes to nail the page structure. Additionally, Cacoo’s collaboration features are impressive with an in-app chat and video offering.
Cacoo Standout Features and Integrations
Features include a drag-and-drop interface, a vast template collection, multi-user and real-time collaboration, and wireframe export to SVG, PDF, and other formats.
Integrations include Atlassian Confluence, AWS, Dropbox, Google Docs, Google Drive, Slack, Typetalk, and others.
Pros
- Templates for mind mapping, flowcharts, and a decision tree
- Great customer support
- Intuitive and easy-to-navigate UI
Cons
- Occasional bugs with the line tool
- Connector flexibility needs improvement
Axure RP
Best for annotating wireframes to document critical information
Axure RP is so niche-oriented in rapid prototyping that the creators decided to embed the term into their brand. RP stands for rapid prototyping; however, Axure RP also provides robust wireframing features too.
Why I picked Axure RP: I’m fascinated by the wireframing annotation feature that Axure RP offers. Although annotation isn’t the fanciest feature, proper documentation at specific points in a wireframe can help you store critical project information.
Axure RP also allows you to create high-fidelity and fully functional prototypes without writing any code. Furthermore, you can add some fancy bells and whistles to your prototypes through conditional logic, math functions, and dynamic content.
Axure RP Standout Features and Integrations
Features include wireframing, rapid and functional prototyping, flow diagrams, conditional logic, data interfaces, interaction events, dynamic panels, and adaptive views.
Integrations include Adobe XD, Figma, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Sketch, Slack, and others.
Pros
- Customizable widgets
- Extensive options for implementing conditional logic
- Vast online learning resources
Cons
- No live chat customer service
- Steep learning curve
Moqups
Best wireframing software for ecommerce digital products
Moqups is a veteran in the visual collaboration industry, with the tool offering several features like wireframing, prototyping, mockup designing, diagramming, and flowchart design. Moqups features several comprehensive templates for various digital products like ecommerce websites, blogs, mobile applications, and webinar websites.
Why I picked Moqups: I’m impressed with the level of detail that Moqups’ templates have. For instance, the ecommerce website wireframe template includes all the critical information you’d want on key pages like the home, product, shipping, cart, and payment.
Additionally, Moqups also features a nifty sitemap template for helping you create a proper website design structure that serves your business needs. Some other helpful wireframe templates that Moqups offers include landing pages for ebooks, online courses, workshops, and affiliate marketing.
Moqups Standout Features and Integrations
Features include comprehensive and pre-defined templates, an extensive font range, a library of UI elements, intuitive object editing, real-time collaboration on wireframes, and powerful page management.
Integrations include Box, Confluence Cloud, Dropbox, Google Chrome, Google Drive, Jira, Mattermost, Microsoft Azure AD, and others.
Pros
- Auto-save feature
- Very easy to learn
- Snappy Chrome extension
Cons
- Limited hotspot features
- Choppy customer service at times
The 10 Best Wireframing Software Comparison Chart
Here’s a comparison chart that summarizes basic details about each of my top wireframing software selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.
Tool | Free Option | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mockplus Best for creating and reusing brand-specific wireframing assets | Free plan available | From $5.95/user/month | Visit Website |
2 | Balsamiq Best for rapid wireframing with effective keyboard shortcuts | 30-day free trial | From $9/month | Visit Website |
3 | UXPin Best wireframing software for imparting organization-wide design consistency | 14-day free trial + free plan available | From $24/user/month | Visit Website |
4 | MockFlow Best wireframing software for charting a well-defined user journey | Free plan available | From $14/user/month | Visit Website |
5 | Justinmind Best for building interactive wireframes | Free plan available | From $19/user/month | Visit Website |
6 | Uizard Best for AI-powered transformation of hand-drawn wireframes into UI designs | Free plan available | From $12/user/month | Visit Website |
7 | Adobe XD Best wireframing software for a smooth design to prototype workflow | 7-day free trial | From $9.99/user/month | Visit Website |
8 | Cacoo Best for an extensive library of pre-made wireframing templates | 14-day free trial | From $6/user/month | Visit Website |
9 | Axure RP Best for annotating wireframes to document critical information | 30-day free trial | From $29/user/month | Visit Website |
10 | Moqups Best wireframing software for ecommerce digital products | Free version for up to 2 projects | From $13/user/month | Visit Website |
Other Options
Here are a few more worthwhile options that didn’t make the best wireframing software list:
- Figma
Best wireframing software for real-time collaboration
- Sketch
Best wireframing software with a native macOS application
- Miro
Best wireframing software for brainstorming flowcharts and mind maps
- Lucidchart
Best wireframing software for integrating hotspots and links
- Invision
Best wireframing software with a collaborative design whiteboard
- Wondershare Mockitt
Best open-source wireframing software
- Wireframe.cc
Best if your objective is creating only low-fidelity and basic wireframes
- Pencil Project
Best wireframing software with a clipart browser tool
- NinjaMock
Best wireframing software for an old-school “sketchy” UI
- FluidUI
Best wireframing software with a reviewer mode for enhanced collaboration
How I Selected the Best Wireframing Software
Perhaps you're wondering how I selected the best wireframing software for this list. To build this top 10 list, I evaluated and compared a wide range of wireframing tools with positive user ratings.
After determining my list of top choices, I further honed my list by using the selection criteria below to see how each wireframe app stacked up against the next. I also drew on my years of designing customer experience to pinpoint beginner-friendly and effective features.
Selection Criteria
Here’s a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best wireframing software for this article:
User Interface
A clean UI is essential for streamlining your wireframing workflow. That’s why I’ve emphasized how effective each tool’s UI would be in aiding your wireframing journey.
Usability
I’ve analyzed each software creator’s efforts in offering online tutorials or webinars for you to master the wireframing platform quickly. Furthermore, I’ve also indicated if certain tools offer a drag-and-drop feature, as that will greatly simplify your wireframing workflow.
Template Collection
Wireframing software with an extensive template collection can help you draw inspiration and create wireframe drafts with ease. I’ve considered the different kinds of templates each tool offers while making my shortlist.
Software Integrations
Having software integrations with your favorite design and collaboration software can go a long way in boosting your productivity. To save you time, I’ve listed the various tools that each wireframing software integrates with.
Pricing
Lastly, cost is an important factor before zeroing in on a wireframing software. I’ve indicated each tool’s pricing details and whether or not the software creators offer a free trial.
People Also Ask
Welcome to the FAQ section, where I attempt to untangle some common wireframing queries that might be looming over your head.
What is wireframing software?
What main features are included in wireframing software?
What’s the difference between wireframing and prototyping?
What’s the best wireframing process?
Unlock Your Wireframe Wizardry
Wireframing is critical in nailing your product expectations to avoid unnecessary friction and redundant efforts during your eventual design and development phases. As a customer experience professional, utilizing the right wireframe tool can go a long way in helping you better serve your customers.
I hope my lineup of the best wireframe tools helps you elevate your wireframing game to a whole new level.
UI/UX is constantly evolving, and here are some insightful articles for you to gain some new perspectives:
- User Experience and Interaction Design: The Art of Making Contact
- 15 UX Designer Career Facts: Salary, Job Description, and More
- Best UX Software for Designing and Prototyping
- Best UI/UX Design Software
Lastly, subscribe to our CX Lead newsletter to stay ahead of the curve and bask in the glory of our carefully curated articles on customer experience strategies and tips.