Top 5 Best Free App Prototyping Tools

David
Peter Martinez updated on 2024-06-06 13:45:54

When designing an app, prototyping is a vital element. This enables your clients to know what you are building and how it feels. It helps you save several hours on explaining features and gathering feedback. And with the right app prototyping tools, you can quickly create an interactive mockup of a mobile app.

Established designers use paid prototyping tools, but if you are just getting started and cash flow is a problem you might be reluctant to spend money. Fortunately, there are some great free app prototyping tools out there you can try.

The Best Mobile App Prototyping Tool for UI/UX Designer

Wondershare Mockitt is a professional collaborative prototyping tool for UI/UX designers helping create interactive prototypes for mobile apps faster and better. This online mobile prototyping tool has various features that empower your design journey, present your ideas, validate your concept, and implement the design. It is one of the best prototyping tools for mobile apps.

app prototyping tools

Asset Library

It has abundant widgets and icons which can be customized and saved. Even a person with zero design experience can make prototypes.

Design

Drag and import images directly and add gestures and transition effects for interactive prototypes.

Presentation & Review

Frame your prototype with the device shell for a real interactive experience. Share the prototype with others by sharing a link or QR code securely to get feedback.

Cloud Editing - No need to install this mobile prototyping tool. Just log in and use online as well as say goodbye to manual file transfers.

Multi-member Collaboration - Easily and seamlessly co-edit and co-manage projects with your team members.

Now let's look at how to use the tool to create mobile app prototypes.

Step 1: Sign up and Create Mobile Projects

Visit the official Wondershare Mockitt website and sign up. Then click on Create New Project. This app prototyping tool allows you to create prototypes for iOS and Android and various other screens. Select Blank Project and then mobiles. Choose your phone type.

free app prototyping tools

Step 2: Add Widgets and Icons for Your Mobile App Prototypes

Once you have selected the device, next add widgets and icons. On the left of the screen, there are Fast Widgets. Double click the widgets, drag them, or press the hotkeys and draw.

On the right side, there are Build-in Widgets, My Widgets, and Icons. Add them by either double-clicking or drag and drop. Also, edit the widgets and save them for future reuse.

mobile app prototyping tools

Step 3: Add Links Add Notes to Design

Next, add links for screens. Choose one widget, go to Link Panel and click on New Link. Set the gesture, action, target screen, and animation for the widget. Alternatively, drag the link icon to the target screen.

You can adds notes to explain your design. Click on the Sticky in Built-in Widget Library and add text.

mobile prototyping tool

Step 4: Use Screen, Widgets from Templates

Wondershare Mockitt has various in-built templates to make the process easier. Click Use Demo and then to Screen List and click on Move To, the screen will move to the target project.

best app prototyping tools

Step 5: Preview and Share Your App Prototype

Once you are done with prototyping, click on the Share button to get a link or QR code, then open the link on your mobile or scan the code to preview.

This best prototyping tools for mobile apps allows collaboration with team members to review or test the created prototype. Create an enterprise or team and then share the link.

free mobile app prototyping tools


Top 5 Free App Prototyping Tools

Here we are sharing the other top 5 best free mobile app prototyping tools you can use.

1.InVision

It is one of the most popular mobile app prototyping tools in the world. It enables you to organize design components into the status workflow, set columns for to-do, drag and drop design components in an appropriate column, add interactions and animations, and upload multiple file types. InVision simplifies every aspect of workflow enabling you to design better, faster, and more collaboratively in real-time.

 free app prototyping tools

Pros

Seamless collaboration

Simple and easy to use

Various features

Cons

Feature-set a bit difficult to use

Compatibility

macOS and Windows

Adobe XD

Adobe XD is another one of the best app prototyping tools available on the market. It allows you to draw, reuse, and remix vector and build artwork to create interactive prototypes. One can easily switch from design to prototype, add interactions and transitions, and share with teammates to test the look and feel of the design. It allows integrations with several other Adobe products like Photoshop and After Effects.

mobile app prototyping tools

Pros

Everything you need is available

Integration with other Adobe products

Cons

Plug-in workflow non-existent

Compatibility

macOS and Windows

Sketch

The sketch is quite like Photoshop allowing you to edit and manipulate photos. It is a best prototyping tools for mobile apps. The vector shapes easily adapting to changing styles, sizes, and layouts. The vector-based workflow makes it easy to create beautiful and high-quality prototypes from start to finish. It has a broad choice of design symbols that can be reused and shared with the others.

  mobile app prototyping tools

Pros

Creates smaller files

Built-in grids and easy to use tool

All elements are vectors

Autosaves work

Cons

Limited illustration abilities

Compatibility

OS X, iOS, and Web

Axure

It provides powerful prototyping without the need for coding. It has features such as dynamic content, conditional flow statements, match functions, data-driven sorting, adaptive views, interactive prototypes, and animations. Also, you can share a mobile app prototype with your team or client easily with just a click of a button. It also publishes your prototypes and diagrams to Axure Share on the cloud or on-premises.

  best app prototyping tools

Pros

Adaptive view

Powerful functionality

Easy to use

Cons

Poor transferability

No templates

Compatibility

OS X and Windows

Balsamiq

Balsamiq is another most popular mobile app prototyping tools available. It is easy to use thanks to its drag-and-drop functionality. The tool has a sketch mode for brainstorming and a clean prototype mode for presentation and you can easily switch between the two. Balsamiq is easy to use and enables designers to create prototypes very quickly. If you are looking for a flexible, convenient, quick app prototype tool, this is it.

 free mobile app prototyping tools

Pros

30-day free trial

Easy to use

Quickly create beautiful prototypes

Share your prototypes with team and clients

Cons

Limited canvas size

No support on interactive prototyping

Compatibility

Web, OS X, and Windows

How to Choose the Best App Prototyping Tool

Choosing the app prototyping tool is the key to describing your thoughts and collaborating better with your clients. There are various tools available each different from each other. So, to choose the best mobile app prototyping tool, there are few things to consider.

Interface

The first thing to look at is how easy is the tool to adopt. You can say it a learning curve, i.e., how long it takes you to get hold of the tool. If the interface is not well designed, it would consume a lot of time to learn how to use the tool.

Ease of Use

The next thing to look at is the ease of use. A tool that is easy to use saves time and helps increase output. It should reduce the number of steps required for you to complete a task rather than increasing it.

Fidelity

It depends on your prototype requirement. There are different requirements for projects which are classified as low, medium, and high fidelity. Low fidelity is when you just want to test the idea. Medium fidelity would be used when you are focusing on layout, information, and interactive design while High fidelity is important for visual design, animation, and micro-interactions.

Compatibility

Another aspect to look at is the compatibility of the mobile app prototype tool. Choose a tool that is compatible with a variety of platforms.

Among the various tools, one of the best app prototyping tools to use is Wondershare Mockitt as it is easy to use, offers high fidelity, and is compatible with all the platforms.