Fe/male Switch: Your Startup Facilitator & Incubator for Women

Top 10 Free Alternatives to Proto.io in 2025: A Detailed Overview

In 2025, numerous free alternatives to Proto.io have emerged, providing powerful features for prototyping, designing, and collaborative workflows. This article explores the top 10 free alternatives to Proto.io, comparing each on key data points such as pricing, ease of use, use cases, and target audience.

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1. Figma

Pricing: Free plan available with limitations; paid plans start at $12/month.
Ease of Use: Very user-friendly, especially for those familiar with other design tools.
Key Features:
Real-time collaboration
Interactive prototyping with animations
Extensive plugin ecosystem
Version history
Cross-platform compatibility (works in the browser)
Target User: Suitable for individual designers, small teams, and large organizations. Learn more about Figma

2. Adobe XD

Pricing: Free starter plan available; paid plans start at $9.99/month as part of Adobe Creative Cloud.
Ease of Use: Moderate learning curve; good for users already within the Adobe ecosystem.
Key Features:
Seamless integration with other Adobe products
Repeat grid for efficient design
Interactive prototyping with transitions
Collaboration and sharing capabilities
Voice prototyping
Target User: Suitable for individual designers and teams looking to integrate with Adobe's suite. Learn more about Adobe XD

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3. InVision

Pricing: Free plan with limitations; paid plans start at $4/month.
Ease of Use: Considered user-friendly, with a focus on ease of collaboration.
Key Features:
Interactive prototyping with animations and transitions
Real-time collaboration
User testing features
Developer handoff capabilities
Freehand tool for sketching and feedback
Target User: Good for design teams needing a robust platform for prototyping and collaboration. Learn more about InVision

4. Marvel

Pricing: Free plan offered, with paid plans starting at $12/month.
Ease of Use: Very easy to use, making it suitable for beginners.
Key Features:
Easy to use interface with a drag-and-drop approach
Collaboration tools
Custom animations and transitions
User testing and feedback features
Integration with other design tools
Target User: Ideal for designers looking for a straightforward prototyping tool, particularly for small teams or individuals. Learn more about Marvel

5. UXPin

Pricing: Free trial available; paid plans start at $29/month.
Ease of Use: Steeper learning curve, better suited for those comfortable with coding or web development concepts.
Key Features:
Code-based prototyping
Advanced interactions and logic
Component library
Collaboration tools
User testing features
Target User: Suited for advanced designers, developers, and larger teams who require very high-fidelity prototypes and the ability to work with code. Learn more about UXPin

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6. MockFlow

Pricing: Offers a free plan with limitations; paid plans start at $14/month.
Ease of Use: Known for its ease of use, which helps speed up the design process.
Key Features:
Extensive library of UI elements
Tools for product ideation and feedback
Wireframing and prototyping capabilities
Collaboration features
Suitable for both web and mobile designs
Target User: Good for designers who want to quickly create wireframes and basic prototypes, especially within teams. Learn more about MockFlow

7. Webflow

Pricing: Free plan offered for a limited number of projects; paid plans start at $12/month.
Ease of Use: Requires more learning, particularly for the visual website building aspect, but has a gentle learning curve for basic prototyping.
Key Features:
Visual web design environment
Ability to customize HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript
Responsive design capabilities
Interactions and animations
Can build fully functional websites
Target User: Best for web designers or developers who want a code-free way to create websites and complex prototypes. Learn more about Webflow

8. Origami Studio

Pricing: Completely free.
Ease of Use: Slightly more advanced interface, but powerful.
Key Features:
Specifically designed for mobile prototypes
Advanced animation capabilities
Patch-based visual programming
Integration with other tools like Figma and Sketch
Target User: Best for mobile UI/UX designers who need powerful features. Learn more about Origami Studio

9. Moqups

Pricing: Offers a free plan with limited projects; paid plans start at $19/month.
Ease of Use: Very easy to use, making it suitable for beginners.
Key Features:
Drag-and-drop interface
Large library of pre-built UI elements
Real-time collaboration
Suitable for low- and high-fidelity prototypes
Target User: Ideal for quickly creating wireframes and prototypes. Learn more about Moqups

10. Justinmind

Pricing: Offers a free plan; premium plans start at $19/month.
Ease of Use: Designed to be easy for beginners.
Key Features:
Simple layout for creating interactive prototypes
Good number of templates
Drag-and-drop interface
Allows sharing prototypes for feedback
Target User: Good for beginners who want to easily create simple prototypes using a lot of templates. Learn more about Justinmind

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FAQ

1. What are the main features of Figma?

Figma offers real-time collaboration, interactive prototyping with animations, an extensive plugin ecosystem, version history, and cross-platform compatibility. Learn more about Figma

2. Can Adobe XD integrate with other Adobe products?

Yes, Adobe XD seamlessly integrates with other Adobe products, making it a great choice for users within the Adobe ecosystem. Discover Adobe XD

3. What makes InVision user-friendly?

InVision is considered user-friendly due to its focus on ease of collaboration, including features such as interactive prototyping with animations, real-time collaboration, and user testing capabilities. Explore InVision

4. Is Marvel suitable for beginners?

Yes, Marvel is very easy to use, with a drag-and-drop interface, making it ideal for beginners and small teams. Discover Marvel

5. Who should use UXPin?

UXPin is suited for advanced designers, developers, and larger teams who require high-fidelity prototypes and the ability to work with code. Learn more about UXPin

6. What is MockFlow best used for?

MockFlow is ideal for quickly creating wireframes, mockups, and basic prototypes, making it a good choice for teams who need to speed up the design process. Explore MockFlow

7. Why is Webflow suitable for web designers?

Webflow is best for web designers as it offers a visual web design environment with the ability to customize HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, along with powerful responsive design capabilities. Learn more about Webflow

8. What is unique about Origami Studio?

Origami Studio is designed for creating mobile prototypes with advanced animation capabilities and patch-based visual programming, and it is free to use. Discover Origami Studio

9. How easy is Moqups to use?

Moqups features a drag-and-drop interface and a large library of pre-built UI elements, making it very easy to use, particularly for beginners. Explore Moqups

10. Who would benefit most from using Justinmind?

Justinmind is designed for beginners who want to create interactive prototypes using a variety of templates and a simple drag-and-drop interface. Learn more about Justinmind

References

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.

Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).

She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.

For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.

About the Publication

Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.

Mission and Purpose

Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.

Key Features

The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:

Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials

Impact and Growth

Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:

3,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
100+ startup tools built
5,000+ pieces of articles and news written

Partnerships

Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.

Recognition

Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.

Violetta Bonenkamp

2025-08-09 08:21 Top Alternatives