This article takes a look at the best free wireframe tools for web design. It doesn’t focus on software or expensive wireframing tools, but rather cheap or free alternatives that will also do the job well.
Choosing a web design tool is easy, but the right choice is not always obvious. After several tests and experiments, we came up with a shortlist of best free wireframe tool for any designer or developer.
Wireframe.CC
A simple, minimalistic wireframing tool for mobile apps and websites that’s easy to learn.
Price breakdown
- Basic: free
- Premium: 7-day free trial, $16 per month (single-user)
What does Wireframe.cc offer?
If you need a quick and efficient tool for putting together some simple wireframes then Wireframe.cc is your best choice.
This web-based wireframe tool is super intuitive as the layout is a bit like drawing items on pencil and paper and cutting and pasting them on to your design. Wireframe.cc made it very easy to turn your mouse into a multipurpose tool. Simply draw your shape on a blank canvas and select what you want it to be from the 9 options on the appearing toolbar.
Wireframe.cc’s design templates are simple with the ability to choose from the mobile landscape, mobile vertical, and webpage. This focus on the basics makes Wireframe.cc a great option when you just need something rudimentary done quickly.
What doesn’t it offer?
Some see the simple nature of Wireframe.cc to be a downside—especially if you are looking to create anything mid-fidelity and up. No animation or interaction options are provided and it also lacks mockup creation, presentation tools, prototyping, screen capture, and feedback management.
It also doesn’t allow for the creation of more than one wireframe at a time so comparing various iterations side-by-side can be difficult. So while this wireframing tool is quick and easy to use, it is a bit limited in features and complexity.
What people are saying about Wireframe.cc
- “I suck at designing. This dead-simple tool allows me to get my web design ideas out.”
- “Quick to start. No installation needed. Minimalistic. Easy to understand for everyone.”
Pencil Project
An open-source graphical user interface tool great for wireframing, mockup creation, and prototyping by both solitary designers and big businesses alike.
Price breakdown
Totally free!
What is Pencil Project good for?
Pencil Project is a downloadable wireframing tool for both Mac and Windows and is also available as a Firefox add-on. Pencil Project has loads of templates to choose from for both mobile and web so you can create many different low-fidelity wires of your interface.
This diverse UX tool has a good amount of interactive elements and is especially noted for its diagramming capabilities. Linking shapes, wireflows, and other flowcharts is made quick and easy with Pencil Project’s “connector” tool and page linking.
Free of charge and intuitive to use, Pencil Project is a great choice for basic wires or beginner designers.
What does Pencil Project lack?
Pencil Project is not the best wireframing tool for big design teams as collaboration features are a bit limited. Users have also noted that the variety of available shapes is a bit light and many designers are left needing to hook up to a more extensive online shapes library.
Other users have noted that Pencil Project feels a bit out of date and could use better-looking features. Furthermore, designers looking for mid- to high-fidelity wireframing capabilities will most likely want to use a different software.
What users are saying
- “I love using Pencil for the initial mock-up of a project. I can work quickly and get the printout to all of my coworkers for input.”
- “Pencil is a little limited in what you can add to your design. They have great options, but sometimes you wish they had more to offer.”
FluidUI
An intuitive wireframing tool for supported on a wide variety of platforms including mobile Android and iOS.
Price breakdown
- Free version (one project, single-user, 10 pages max)
- Solo (three projects, single-user): monthly, $15/month; yearly, $8.25/month
How FluidUI can help you make great wireframes
FluidUI is all about making great-looking high-fidelity wireframes. The free version offers up to 10 pages of workspace and even allows transitions and gestures between them.
FluidUI is unique among most other wireframing softwares in that it offers a wide variety of interaction elements and animations. Not only that, but it also comes equipped with over 2000 icons, widgets, and design elements that you can customize and drag-and-drop onto your page. Fluid UI puts everything you need for an awesome wireframe right at your fingertips.
What’s not so great about FluidUI
Although FluidUI does its best to give you great wireframing tools for free, their unpaid version is still a bit limited and many designers feel the need to upgrade. Another frustrating aspect to FluidUI is that multiple image upload is not supported, leaving you uploading images one-by-one.
What are FluidUI users saying?
- “I haven’t actually used any other software other than FluidUI but I truly have no reason to! It’s got everything you’d possibly need.”
- “Sometimes it can be a little awkward to position things…although it does get easier with practice.”
Draw.io
User-review rating: 4.3/5
Type: Web-based, Open source
Overview: Draw.io is a completely free and open-source wireframing software that feels similar in UI to Google Docs. It’s a simple layout with powerful features. Simply put, it may be the most robust free offering of any of the free wireframing tools on this list.
Users can export designs to their Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, their desktop, or directly supported integrations including Gliffy, Lucidchart and more. An added benefit is it’s active open-source community that works to fix product bugs and issues, and add new features.
UXPin
The best wireframe tool overall
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Web browserFree trial: YesPrice: From $19 per editor per monthTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Intuitive interface+Reads Sketch and PS files+Top presentation tools
REASONS TO AVOID
-No free version
UXPin is a dedicated wireframing tool with a beautifully intuitive interface. It has clear icons, and a solid library of UI elements you can drag and drop into your wireframes, as well as components for Bootstrap, Foundation, iOS and Android. You can import and export files to Sketch and Photoshop, which gives you the option to develop your wireframes into full prototypes further down the line.
It also offers some great collaboration features for working on your wireframes with others, and top-notch live presentation tools for showing your designs to clients or other stakeholders. Easy to pick up for beginners, and packed with advanced tools for the more experienced, UXPin is our clear choice as the best wireframe tool overall.
Conclusion
The wireframe (or the wireframe tool) is an approach to web design, through which you can make your website minimalist and functional throughout. The wireframe is the skeleton on which you base the layout of your blog or website. Here are some of the best free wireframe tool/software that easy to use and help you create effective yet simple for both for end-user and also easier to build code.