Top 15 UI Design Software in 2024
UI design software refers to a set of software applications that form the first few stages of developing a digital product. A good UI design software should help you navigate the course of a project through the initial sketches and drawings to the wireframes to the actual UI design to prototyping, In other words, it should be able to handle one, several, or all the stages that lay between the initial PRD or product requirements document and the actual coding at the development end and subsequent testing.
As such, some user interface design software tools focus purely on functional aspects like wireframing and lo-fi prototypes. There are also those that provide an end-to-end solution, all the way from basic wireframes to hi-fi prototyping. Depending on your needs, choose from this list of 2023's top 15 UI design software applications for desktop and online use.
15 of the Best UI Design Software
1 - Wondershare Mockitt
One of the emerging forces in UI design software is Wondershare Mockitt, an intuitive and highly collaborative platform available as an online service as well as downloadable applications for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
The best part of Mockitt is that it combines UI design and UX design together. You can create vector-based UI design with the design tool and you can also create interactive prototypes in the prototype tool.
Key Features:
- Advanced vector editing tool to draw bezier curves. Supports Boolean to make perfect logos and icons.
- Comprehensive templates library, numerous gestures, transitions, and animation effects, easy linking between artboards, preset canvas options, real-time feedback and commenting, dynamic widgets, easy page-state creation, and automatic code style generation for multiple platforms.
- A real-time environment allows working closely with project managers, developers, and other stakeholders to deliver stunning and realistic hi-fi prototypes.
Mockitt also comes with ready templates to get you started faster and done designs quickly. From basic wireframes, advanced prototypes, and high-fi UI design, Mockitt delivers end-to-end capabilities to suit design teams of all sizes. Apart from the free plan designed for individual users, teams can opt for premium plans.
Watch a Video Tutorial to Learn How to Design UI with Mockitt for Free
2 - Sketch
If you work in a Mac environment, then Sketch is a must-try UI design application. Sketch allows you to leverage its vast component repositories and third-party libraries to gain more control over your designs. The learning curve is not that steep, and designers can jump into a project mid-design and hit the ground running. The plug-in ecosystem is of note as it opens up a wide range of design possibilities. You can learn Sketch design system from here.
Key Features:
- No contractual obligation to renew once your license expires, and you can continue to use the app for as long as you like, albeit without any new updates.
- Only available for Mac users.
- $99 per user per year with free updates during the licensing period.
3 - Adobe XD
Adobe XD is one of the most well-known UI UX design software applications for desktops. On the collaboration side, it utilizes the power of Creative Cloud to make your designs available on any device where the app is installed. The mobile apps can be used to preview designs and save them for offline viewing, while the desktop apps for Mac and PC offer the full-fledged design editor and prototyping tool.
Key Features:
- Free download numerous UI kits.
- Online and offline coediting, adding objects in a stack, links with flexible permissions, folder organization for cloud documents.
- $9.99 a month on a yearly contract.
4 - InVision
InVision - a hybrid UI design tool, is available as a browser-based prototyping tool and a powerful desktop utility in its Studio avatar. The online version is solely focused on prototyping existing designs, while Studio offers a comprehensive platform that includes vector drawing, advanced animation, shared libraries, synced workflows, smart-swipe transitions, point-and-shoot prototyping, and much more.
Key Features:
- Global sync and real-time updates ensure that all stakeholders are always on the same page.
- Extensive collaboration tools cut formal review times to a significant degree.
- Free plan to accommodate up to 3 documents and 10 active users, bulk of features can freely used.
5 - Figma
Figma is an online UI design software platform that has won the love and admiration of millions of users since it was introduced four short years ago. The company itself is now valued at over $2 billion, which speaks to the strength of the platform as a robust design and prototyping tool for UI and UX design. Figma's appeal comes as much from its collaborative nature as its design capabilities and a treasure-trove of assets.
Key Features:
- The rich interactions assure you of dynamically functional prototypes without the need to know any code.
- Real-time feedback loops for designers to move through multiple iterations without the inevitable delay caused by formal review meetings.
- $12 a month per user on an annual basis.
6 - Marvel App
Marvel offers an online workspace to create wireframes, designs, and prototypes. The prototypes are highly interactive and complemented by the Developer Handoff feature, which automatically generates all the specs, component code, and style codes for the developer to inspect. Marvel also integrates a user testing tool with options for feedback via voice and video, with an additional tool for analytical feedback, but this is only available in the Enterprise version.
Key Features:
- Numerous integrations including collaboration and project management tools like Jira, Dashboard, Microsoft Teams, Confluence, and many more.
- Starting Pro plan is $12 a month per user billed annually, and there's also a free version but with very limited capabilities.
Wondershare Mockitt
User Interface Design Software >>
7 - Webflow
Webflow is primarily a website design tool with advanced features but intended to target new users. There's no need to know HTML or CSS. Just drag and drop elements to create your design, add the page interactions and states, and what you have is a functional prototype that is developer-ready. In many ways, it's like Wondershare Mockitt because it offers a robust feature-set aimed at non-technical designers.
Key Features:
- Cuts a lot of the manual work involved in taking a draft prototype and converting it into a code-ready design for developers.
- Allows clients to see how the website will work and behave, and it generates the HTML and CSS code that developers need to start working on building the backend.
- Site-based / user-based plan: starting price is $16 a month billed annually.
8 - Axure RP
At the premium end of the spectrum is Axure RP, which is highly suitable for companies that require complex workflows with dynamic components, collaboration tools, and comprehensive design features for larger projects. As such, it's also more expensive than most at a starting subscription price of $29 a month charged annually. The tool itself is very flexible and can handle everything from simple wireframes to elaborate and highly articular interactive prototypes.
Key Features:
- The desktop utility is complemented by Axure Cloud.
- you can download assets, showcase imported designs, share prototypes, and even create a single file for multiple users to access.
- Designers who hate the code site of UI design will find this to be the perfect utility for them.
9 - MockFlow
MockFlow keeps it clean and simple at the front end but offers a power-packed feature-set underneath the surface. With advanced capabilities like revision tracking, MockFlow can speed up the wireframing and design process by leaps and bounds. There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of components in the library that are ready to use, and the intuitive UI of the app itself makes it a pleasure to work on.
Key Features:
- A cloud-based tool includes functions of design annotations in real-time, multi-user editing, cloud-sharing, and even an approval system for design iterations.
- Free version is not restricted from a feature standpoint but it is limited to 3 pages, 1 project, and 2 reviewers
- Premium plan starts at $15 a month per user billed annually
10 - Proto.io
One of the key features of Proto.io is its extensive libraries of templates, icons (including animated icons), and other UI components. It also comes with an audio library with sound effects and allows users to upload their own video and audio components to enrich the design and make it a multimedia experience.
Key Features:
- Plug-ins for importing from other design platforms like Sketch and Adobe XD.
- Leverages Dropbox to give users a powerful cloud-based environment for collaboration.
- The interface itself is web-based, which means you can work from virtually anywhere.
- Minimum of $24 a month per user if billed annually (offer15-day free trial).
If you are looking for a free UI design tool. Try Mockitt UI/UX Designer to use pre-made templates and edit by yourself!
11 - UXPin
UXPin is a popular tool for UX and UI design without coding skills. Its operation is quite close to Sketch and Photoshop and it is easy to follow up cause it possesses lots of pre-made components. Uxpin offers Windows, Mac, and online versions, you can choose one of these to use.
Key Features:
- Supports to drag components to create high-fidelity interactions.
- Huge libraries for designing iOS, Google Material, Bootstrap and User Flows.
- For further inclusion, it offers a built-in contrast checker and color blindness simulator.
12 - Balsamiq
Balsamiq is user-friendly to fresh wireframe design users. One of the biggest features is that it displays like paper sketches, viewers will put more concentration on the important point than the little details. Balsamiq makes easier to create low-fidelity wireframes.
Key Features:
- Enables users to link wireframes for a simple prototype creatation for your website or software application.
- Enablesb to demonstrate click-through prototypes or test usability.
13 - Origami Studio
Origami Studio came out first from Facebook and is specifically built for Facebook designers. Its comprehensive tools are loaded with sophisticated and paramount patch editors, in order to pack advanced functions to prototype projects.
Key Features:
- Supports to import projects from Sketch or Figma.
- Use patches to add interactions and animations.
- Can add new layers to prototype and add interactiosn to different layers by using 'Layer List'.
14 - Uizard
Uizard is well-known for digital products creation. With high compatibility to Google Slides, Keynote, or Powerpoint, you can show your UI design to others with ease.
Key Features:
- Supports importing hand-drawn wireframes and transforming into digital screens.
- Allows to render low-fidelity designs.
- Drag and drop features for quicker design.
15 - Zeplin
Zeplin, a cloud-based UI design software, breaks the barrier between UI/UX designers and Front-End developers. Designers and developers work closely through Zeplin and can smoothly let developers generate codes with the organized workspace.
Key Features:
- Integrations with Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, Photoshop, Slack, and more.
- Loaded with extensions for HTML, CSS, Swift, XML, React Native, and more.
- Global Styleguides can organize and update design in order.
Conclusion for Choosing the Best UI Design Software
All these UI design software tools are powerful feature sets, collaborative tools, time-saving functionality, and robust overall design and prototyping capabilities. However, your quest to find the best one shouldn't stop at mere features. It should also take into consideration the cost factor, the number of members on your team, their own skill sets, your client's requirements, and other factors.
Wondershare Mockitt, focus on making it easy to hand off designs to the development team. Similarly, InVision Studio has a powerful desktop interface to complement its cloud offering.
Now that you know the strength of each software, download the ones you've shortlisted and give them a try, that's the only way to really understand how a UI design software tool's performance can positively impact your business.
