For many developers out there, Figma is the go-to platform for creating software prototypes and wireframes. It is also the favorite of many engineers, artists, business analysts, visual designers, and many more, for the creation and editing of vector graphics.
Although there are certain reasons many professionals and amateur DIYers would rather choose Figma than any of its competitors (such as its collaborative and brainstorming features and functionalities), the platform has its problems too – pricing for example.
In fact, one or a couple of these downsides may well form part of the reasons you are looking for the best alternatives to this tool right now.
Which other apps are like Figma and can adequately replace it in your toolbox?
Depending on what you mean by a Figma alternative, whether in terms of UI/UX mockup creation, wireframing, or vector art, here are the top 15 that we selected.
Best Figma Alternatives
1. Adobe XD
Adobe Experience Designer (known as Adobe XD) is a great replacement for Figma for Windows and Mac OS devices.
It is especially so if your work involves UI/UX design. It is also for you if a tight budget is your major issue because this tool has a rich plan that is absolutely free.
The free plan (dubbed XD Starter) is endowed with the features for layout and design and for prototyping and creating animations.
It allows only a pair of designers to co-edit a project. Then, it is restricted to a single link-sharing capacity and four file export options (PNG, JPEG, SVG, and PDF). PDF export is limited to two though.
If you are a Mac OS user, you can also export video files using the free plan of Adobe XD, but this is limited to two.
Also, while the document history is limited to 10 days, the cloud storage allowance is 2 GB.
The free plan also sports creative cloud libraries. As for access to the font library, free users are only limited to the basic section.
Certain users consider this plan richly satisfactory despite being free. So, it’s most likely that only the top-level professional designers are going to ever need the paid plans at all.
Adobe XD remains a valid Figma alternative even for upgrades. The Figma upgrade plans start from $12/editor/month when billed annually (and $15 when billed on a per-month basis). Another more unlimited plan goes for $45/editor/month.
By comparison, Adobe XD’s premium plan starts from $9.99/month (the single-app plan). The price is not only lower than it is with Figma but also it does not per editor.
The next XD upgrade level (the all-apps plan), sells for $52.99 per month.
Other features that make Adobe XD a great alternative to Figma are:
- You can preview a design on a mobile device running on Android or iOS.
- It is vector-based.
- You can use it to create animated prototypes for a web or a mobile app.
- Adobe XD is also suited for efficient wireframing.
- It opens files in other Adobe programs such as Illustrator and Photoshop. This is actually a huge edge that XD maintains over Figma considering the popularity of the Adobe platform.
- You can execute app designs by voice commands.
- As it is with all vector-based programs, the projects are easily and effectively scalable.
- The designs are responsive, so they automatically adjust to different screen sizes.
Also Read: Bad Graphic Design Examples
2. InVision
InVision is a prototyping tool that is used for both the design and development of user interface/experience.
Although InVision is a membership-based platform, it allows both members and non-members to collaborate on a project.
Users can testify that InVision has efficient collaborative functionalities where designers working on a project can easily add and view comments and brainstorm visually, while the developers can also communicate their specifications with great ease.
Users also say that they like the platform’s ease of use and customization levels.
On the desktop (Windows and Mac OS), InVision has both a free plan and two paid plans.
The free plan allows up to 10 active users and up to three documents. An active user is a member or a guest who has joined up to two documents.
One reason we consider InVision as an excellent alternative to Figma is that its upgrade prices are more affordable and flexible. There are two upgrade levels: the first one costs $7.95 per user per month when billed annually and $9.95 when billed on a per-month basis.
The next level (known as Enterprise Plan) can be customized for organizations with advanced design needs. It is billed on a per-seat basis with a zero user limit.
By comparison, the Figma upgrade prices start from $12/editor/month when billed annually (and $15 when billed on a per-month basis) while the next level goes for $45/editor/month.
Explore: Best Open-Source Visio Alternatives
3. Balsamiq Mockups
Balsamiq is a suitable alternative to Figma based on its unique focus on wireframing.
It is available on the cloud, as a desktop app (for both Windows and Mac OS), and as an integration for Google Drive or for Atlassian’s Confluence and Jira.
Owned by Balsamiq Studios, a company founded by a former Adobe senior software engineer, this tool may have drawn a lot of inspiration from Adobe XD.
It is used to design websites, mobile apps, web apps, desktop software, and user interfaces.
One edge that this platform has over Figma is that it sports a dedicated ‘academy’ for anyone to learn to wireframe right from the beginner levels. This includes articles, videos, courses, and other learning resources.
Unlike Figma, Balsamiq does not have a free plan. But it has one of the most flexible pricing plans among the options we have sampled. It also has 30-day free-trial versions across boards.
They charge the cloud version on a per-space basis with three plans available: the first plan accommodates two projects and costs $9 per month or $90 per year.
The topmost plan accommodates up to 200 projects and is costs $199 per month or $1,990 per year. Each of these plans accommodates unlimited wireframes and unlimited users.
They charged the desktop version on a per-user basis. It goes for $89 per user for up to four users. Then, the per-user billing drops to $85, $84, $82, et cetera right up to $44 per user for 220 users, which amounts to $9,790.
As a Google Drive integration, Balsamiq Mockups is charged on a per-editor basis at $5 per editor per month or $50 per editor per year. It is available for up to 500 editors.
The charges for Confluence/Jira integrations are more complex because of offering a far wider range of options. They are charged on a per-editor basis and based on whether you are a commercial or academic user.
For example, a plan for three editors under a commercial license is $100 while it is $50 under an academic license. The price levels accommodate up to 2000 editors at $8000 (commercial) and $4000 (academic).
4. Pencil Project
Pencil Project is a tool for designing prototypes of graphical user interfaces for both desktop and mobile platforms.
Among other reasons, this tool has made this list is because it is open-source and free.
Apart from using it to design GUIs from scratch, Pencil Project includes pre-built shapes for various categories of design.
Again, other than Pencil Project’s open-source licensing (GPL2), it also offers a commercial license where individuals or organizations can gain the Source Code, change and integrate it into their commercial arsenal. But the commercial licenses may not be redistributed.
However, unlike Figma, Pencil Project is not vector-based. Instead, projects are exported either as PNG files, as web pages, or as SVG or PDF files.
5. Sketch
Sketch squares up as a top Figma alternative on many grounds. It is a vector-based graphics tool for UI/UX design for websites and mobile apps.
Like Figma, it is great for prototyping as well as for design collaboration and brainstorming. However, it is only available for Mac OS machines.
Other features of Sketch that merits it a place among the best Figma alternatives are:
- It is compatible with many popular programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop
- It supports a wide range of file formats such as PNG, JPG, PDF, WEBP, SVG, and many more.
Unlike Figma which costs between $12 to $15 per editor per month, the Sketch pricing plan starts from $9 per editor per month or $99 per editor per year.
It has no free plan. But, with the paid plans, you can accommodate an unlimited number of viewers for free. You can try Sketch for 30 days for free.
6. Lunacy
Lunacy is a local app for Windows machines. It is an excellent alternative to Figma in the sense that it has unique features for vector-based graphic design and yet it is absolutely free.
The app comes packaged with built-in design resources like icons, vector illustrations, and more. It is also fully compatible with Sketch.
Other outstanding features of Lunacy that make it one of the best alternatives to Figma are:
- It works offline.
- It is lightweight.
- It is AI-based.
- You can share files on the cloud.
- It is multilingual (offered in 16 languages).
- It doesn’t run in-app ads despite being free.
- It is community-supported (forum).
- Support is also available in form of tutorials, documentation, and feature requests.
7. Webflow
This is considered a suitable alternative to Figma because it combines UI design with the actual building of websites. It is a SaaS platform.
Perhaps the most outstanding advantage of Webflow over Figma is that you can use the platform to build responsive websites (not just UI mockups) with no codes.
As it is with Figma, you can also collaborate with several designers on the Webflow platform.
Webflow starts with a free plan. Then, the upgrades start from $12 a month when billed annually and $15 per month when billed monthly.
8. Gravit Designer
Gravit Designer makes our list of the best Figma alternatives especially because of its versatility.
Just like Figma, it is a vector-based graphic design tool. But unlike Figma, Gravit Designer supports almost any platform.
For instance, it is available both as a downloadable desktop app and as an online platform. Its operating system supports Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and Chrome OS.
Another example in which Gravit Designer is noted to be versatile is in its file export/import options. It supports PDF, SVG, EPS, Adobe Illustrator, and .sketch file formats.
There is an absolutely free version of Gravit Designer. But it is only available online. The paid plans start from $49 per year and it comes with a capacity for unlimited cloud storage and to work offline among other features.
9. Axure RP
Axure is yet another good option to consider when you are looking for alternatives to Figma. Among many reasons it made this list, Axure RP sports all the basic features of Figma especially in terms of UX prototyping and wireframing.
Like Figma also, it runs on Windows and Mac OS. Again, it packs a lot of collaborative functionalities and features on a drag-and-drop/WYSIWYG interface.
But users particularly testify about the realistic output of Axure RP’s UX prototypes relative to most of its competitors (Figma inclusive).
Axure’s UI outputs are also known for their responsiveness, being able to adapt to all kinds of screens from phone to tablet to PC.
Also, apart from being used to generate HTML-based website previews, Axure RP is also good at creating word documents for website and app development.
However, Axure RP is pricier than Figma. First, unlike Figma, it has no free plan, while Figma costs from $12 or $15 per user per month.
Axure RP’s three pricing plans start from $25 per user per month when billed annually and $29 when billed on a per-month cycle.
The next pricing level for Axure RP goes for $42 per user per month when billed annually, or $49 when billed on a per-month cycle. There is also an ‘enterprise’ plan that is available on request.
All these pricing plans come with the capacity to create unlimited prototypes and to add an unlimited number of reviewers. You can also try the first two levels for free for 30 days.
10. Moqups
Moqups can replace Figma as a prototyping, wireframing, and real-time collaboration tool. It is available on the cloud only just like Figma. Again, just like Figma, it is offered on freemium licensing.
Users particularly testify about Moqups’ ease of use and the flexibility of its collaborative features. Most users are quite satisfied with the features of the free plan.
Moqups is also a great Figma alternative when budgeting is a consideration. Unlike with Figma, the pricing plans are on per-month and per-year cycles only and never on a per-user basis.
The plans start at $16 per month (yearly cycle) and $23 on a monthly cycle. The next pricing level goes for $49 per month on an annual cycle and $69 on a monthly cycle.
All the plans include a capacity for unlimited projects and objects, real-time collaboration, prototype interactions, and more.
11. Fluid UI
Fluid UI is a prototyping and wireframing tool that is offered as a web app and as a browser-based platform. This means that it is neither a local app nor a cloud-based service.
Certain users testify that this service is faster than average. This is probably because it works based on pre-built UI kits that load faster.
Like Figma, Fluid UI supports real-time collaborative efforts. Remote team members can view projects and comment on them on the spot for other team members to see.
There is a unique feature offered by the Fluid UI platform that makes it stand out as a Figma alternative: It offers free player apps for testing your prototypes on any mobile device – whether it’s a phone or a tablet.
Also, using Fluid UI, several prototypes can interact with one another.
Fluid UI is billed on a per-month or per-year basis and never on any per-user consideration. So, it is also be considered a better Figma alternative on the account of having a better pricing offer. Even though it offers paid services, the prices are lower than it is with Figma.
The first plan goes for $8.25 per month or $99 per year. As for the second-level plan, it goes for $19.08 per month and $229 per year. Then, the last plan goes for $41.58 per month and $499 per year.
12. JustInMind
This prototyping cum wireframing tool deserves a favorable mention as a Figma alternative. That’s because it packs up some of the unique features the industry offers.
For example, it is famous for being able to output realistic versions of finished projects. Apart from being realistic, the UI/UX mockups are also responsive – they adapt to any device’s screen on which it is viewed.
These features are besides an array of other features for document interaction, team collaboration, and design projects.
JustInMind is offered as a local desktop app for Windows and Mac OS devices. These apps are available for free download. Then, you can gain the paid plans either based on subscriptions or by perpetual licensing.
But, based on your value orientation, JustinMind may be pricier than Figma. The subscription plans start from $19 per user per month (billed annually) or $29 if billed on a monthly cycle.
There are two other billing levels at $39 per user per month and on request. Perpetual licenses are available on three levels too – $455 per user, $795 per user, and on a request.
13. Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer can replace Figma in your arsenal for vector graphics. The tool runs on three operating systems – Windows, Mac OS, and iPad OS.
One feature that stands this tool out as a Figma alternative is its ability to switch between vector-based and raster-based workspaces.
Also, file formats remain the same across the three available operating systems.
The software is available on three perpetual licensing plan levels based on the three operating systems. For Mac and Windows, it goes for $60.54 while for iPad; it goes for $24.21.
14. Wondershare Mockitt
This is an online tool for UI/UX prototyping and design collaboration. It offers an all-in-one design workspace.
With this tool, you can create prototypes and flowcharts, mind maps, and handle a host of other design projects.
Collaborators can make real-time comments in a platform designed for prototypes and other graphical objects.
Wondershare Mockitt is offered on three main pricing plan levels. The first one is a limited free trial. The other two levels are offered at $79 per year and $99 per year, respectively.
15. Vectr
Vectr is a good Figma alternative on the ground of being a vector graphics editor.
As of June 2021, the software is still offered for free, with a plan to create a pro version in the future.
With Vectr, you can work on a project either online or on a downloaded app. You share a project with your collaborators through a URL.
Conclusion
We have selected the items from over 50 candidates, many of them donning very exclusive features. But, at last, these top performers stole the show.
There are several factors that will determine the items you will consider as being among the best, or even valid, Figma alternatives. And, in case you are wondering what our number one pick on the list is, it is already there: Adobe XD.
The software tops this list mainly because most users we sampled think that it offers the best free plan in the market. Added to this, it benefits a lot from the undisputed popularity of other Adobe graphics tools (such as Photoshop and Illustration) via integration.
