Wireframing tools are basically meant to give you an idea about the look and feel of your user interface. These tools can help you to get started with your mobile app development work easily. They come with many great features that help the developers to create great mockups.
So, if you are looking to lay your hands on the best open source wireframe tool, you are at the right place!
Cacoo
Diagramming tool
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Product Type: Browser-based app
Free Tier Limitations: 6 sheets
Upgrade: Starts at $5 per user/month
Cacoo is a diagramming application that allows you to present your ideas visually. One of the few products that support unlimited users in its free plan, Cacoo offers templates, including wireframes, and integrates with several applications – Google docs, Adobe Creative Cloud, AWS, Slack and Dropbox, just to name a few. However, you can create only 6 sheets and export projects only in PNG format in the free forever plan. With the $5 / month Pro plans, you get multiple export options, unlimited sheets and revision history.
Jumpchart
Website planning and project management tool
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Product Type: Browser-based app
Free tier limitations: 1 project, 10 pages, 2 users & 10Mb storage
Upgrade: Starts at $5 per month
If you are planning a website, Jumpchart will help you create sitemaps, manage content and manage the project. One of the nice features is that you can export your project to WordPress, Drupal or HTML. Its free plan is rather limited, allowing 1 project (up to 10 pages), 2 users and 10 Mb storage. However, it has one of the most cost-effective premium plans. You can get 5 projects (up to 25 pages each), 5 users per project and 1Gb storage for just $5 per month.
Creately: Use a variety of templates for diagramming
Creately is an online diagramming and design tool that offers templates for different teams such as marketing, HR, product, engineering, etc. Its drag and drop functionality enables users to add templates, shapes, images, icons, and elements through Google search.
You can add emails of stakeholders to share your design copy with them or place a video call to show your design in real-time and collaborate with your teammates. Creately also allows you to download the design copy in PDF, PNG, JPG, and SVG format.
You can collaborate by adding comments on precise locations on the design copy to let designers know which part to alter. The free wireframe tool also allows threaded discussions for participants to grasp the overall conversation.MOST AFFORDABLECreately4.4 (147)Read reviewsVIEW PROFILE
Key Features:
- Desktop interface
- Diagramming
- Document management
- Drag & drop
- Feedback management
- Mind maps
Trial/Free Version:Free TrialFree VersionDevice Compatibility:
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Balsamiq
Balsamiq Wireframes is a popular wireframing tool for mobile apps that is easy to use thanks to its drag-and-drop functionality. It also has a sketch mode for brainstorming and a clean wireframe mode for presentation, and you can easily switch between them. Another great thing is that it offers a 30-day free trial for trying it out before committing. If you are looking for a flexible, convenient, quick wireframe tool, this might just be it.
Pricing: $9 (2 projects) / $49 (20 projects) / $199 (200 projects) per month
Website: www.balsamiq.com
InVision App: Design and develop on one platform
InVision App translates your design copies into detailed specs for easier development and allows developers to take measurements of each element from the design copy itself. The software solution shows developers the design elements that are already coded so that they can focus on elements that need to be built from scratch.
InVision App is also a mockup tool that can transform static prototypes into a realistic design by enabling users to move the screen in different directions, switch from one screen to another, and create overlays. Your team members and stakeholders can provide feedback through commenting directly on the prototype.
The wireframe design tool can also integrate with multiple collaboration, and task management software to streamline your design and development process.InVision App4.6 (653)Read reviewsVIEW PROFILE
Key Features:
- Desktop interface
- Digital canvas
- Feedback management
- Idea management
- Interactive management
- Mobile interface
Trial/Free Version:Free TrialFree VersionDevice Compatibility:
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Marvel: Receive user interaction insights
Marvel is a no-code prototyping tool that allows designing, testing, and developing on one platform. It provides all the functionalities required to create digital products. Apart from stock photos, and icons, Marvel provides a range of pre-made wireframing elements such as navigation bars, widgets, and buttons.
Marvel’s design handoff tool enables developers to get access to specs of each element added in the design copy. The tool generates CSS, Android XML, and Swift code for elements so that you can copy and expedite the development process.
The tool gives you an option to record how your users interact with your prototype. Get access to analytics that provide insights into how your users interact with your design in order to improve the overall prototype and experience.Marvel4.5 (80)Read reviewsVIEW PROFILE
Key Features:
- Collaboration tools
- Customizable templates
- Prototype creation
- Usability testing
- Software prototyping
- Offline access
Trial/Free Version:Free TrialFree VersionDevice Compatibility:
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Miro: Enables real-time and asynchronous collaboration
Miro offers a collaborative, online whiteboard platform that helps in brainstorming, design thinking, mapping, drawing, running team meetings, and more. The wireframe software allows users to build a roadmap starting from creating a buyer’s persona to designing web pages.
With Miro, you can perform scenario mapping that allows for you to think through goals you want to achieve in each page. Accordingly, create a user flow, and how you want users to interact with your page to achieve the set goal. At each stage of creation, your teammates and account managers can give real-time suggestions on what you should start, stop, and continue doing.
The software solution offers templates for each stage of creation and designing such as mind maps, sitemaps, service pages, registration pages, customer journey maps, etc. Miro also works as a task management tool as you can check which team member is handling which task of the designing process.BEST FUNCTIONALITYMiro4.7 (543)Read reviewsVIEW PROFILE
Key Features:
- Agile methodologies
- Asset library
- Backlog management
- Calendar management
- Change management
- Action management
Trial/Free Version:Free TrialFree VersionDevice Compatibility:
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Storyboard That: Provides templates for digital storytelling
Storyboard That offers a specialized version for teachers that enables educators to create stories, plot lines, templates, infographics, and posters. Teachers can give assignments to students to create stories through the tool. There is a business and individual-specific version along with the free version.
The drag and drop whiteboard allows users to add icons, wireframes on different devices, hand gestures, and emoticons. The tool provides templates for different pages such as settings, login, features, sign up, product page, etc.
You can start designing without creating an account on the software. The software application also offers enterprise-class file encryption for business editions to ensure secure designs. Storyboard That allows collaboration with multi-user accounts to share designs.Storyboard That4.4 (26)Read reviewsVIEW PROFILE
Key Features:
- Mockup creation
- Mobile interface
- Revision history
- Screen capture
- Wireframe creation
- Data linking
Trial/Free Version:Free TrialFree VersionDevice Compatibility:
Screenshot:
User flow creation in Storyboard That8
Whimsical: Create custom color themes across boards
Whimsical allows creation through five formats: flowcharts, wireframes, mind maps, sticky notes, and docs. You can leverage community templates to create designs. The tool gives an option to use color themes to match your brand requirements.
Whimsical gives a pre-built design system to create wireframes. The design system prevents you from creating icons that can be easily found in the template. You can also use shortcuts for frequently used options.
The tool lets you focus on content and page layout without worrying about the high-fidelity design. That’s why most of the icons are in grey and white. Only actionable items such as buttons and links are colored to display navigation.Whimsical4.6 (39)Read reviewsVIEW PROFILE
Key Features:
- Brainstorming
- Project management
- Real-time editing
- Wireframe creation
- Drag & drop editor
Trial/Free Version: Free TrialFree Version
Screenshot:
MockFlow
UI / screen design tool
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Product Type: Browser-based app (desktop apps for Mac and Windows available only with paid plans)
Free Tier Limitations: 1 project, 3 pages
Upgrade: Starts at $12 per editor/month
MockFlow allows you to collaboratively create user interfaces. Its free version is good for a single project and limited to 3 pages, so you are almost certainly going to have to upgrade to get all the functionality that you need. That starts at $12 per editor/month, in which you get access to UI templates and desktop applications for you to work offline, along with unlimited UI projects, team component libraries and business app integrations.
Wirefy
Functional wireframes
Product Type: Browser-based app
Free
Wirefy helps you build functional wireframes. Unlike the other tools here, you will need to download and install it from the GitHub repository. The philosophy behind Wirefy is to focus on content and speed up the development process. You will need to know basic HTML and CSS to create the wireframes. The advantage of this tool is that once you’ve settled on the wireframes, the journey to the final deliverable is much faster. Your base UI structure and content are ready for you to add the visual layer. Being an open-source project, it gets updated frequently.
More Tools
This list is by no means exhaustive. While we are certain that one of the tools above will fit your requirements, here are a few more that you can explore:
- Draw.io is an open-source, browser-based diagramming application. It has a large library of shapes and supports layers. You can save your files in XML format on Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or GitHub.
- Mydraft.cc is an open-source wireframing tool that runs in a browser and does not require you to create an account. Your files live online, and you will need to save the URL of your projects to retrieve them.
- Whimsical is a browser-based collaborative brainstorming application.
Conclusion
Wireframe tools help you to quickly create wireframes online. Wireframes are low fidelity visual designs, which are used to communicate the general design of a website or app. Creating wireframes is also known as wireframing. Wireframe is required at best wireframe tools tutorials stage of designing, before doing any kind of coding or development or prototyping.