Top 10 Free Alternatives to Proto.io in 2025

As the design and prototyping landscape continues to evolve, many tools have emerged as powerful alternatives to Proto.io. Here, we explore the top 10 free alternatives available in 2025, each offering unique features and capabilities to cater to various design needs. These tools are evaluated based on key aspects like pricing, ease of use, and suitability for different design requirements.

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1. Figma

Pricing: Offers a free plan with limitations; paid plans start at $12 per editor/month.
Ease of Use: Known for its user-friendly interface, making it accessible to both beginners and experienced designers.
Features: Real-time collaboration, high-fidelity interactive prototypes, extensive plugin ecosystem, vector-based design, design systems, and component libraries.
Suitability: Both UI and UX design, collaborative projects, and creating detailed designs. Learn more about Figma

2. Adobe XD

Pricing: Offers a free starter plan; paid plans start at $9.99/month.
Ease of Use: User-friendly interface suitable for beginners.
Features: Interactive prototypes with transitions and animations, Repeat Grid, real-time collaboration, integration with Adobe Creative Suite, web and mobile prototypes.
Suitability: UI/UX design, interactive prototypes, and projects requiring Adobe integration. Explore Adobe XD

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3. Webflow

Pricing: Offers a free plan; paid plans start at $14/month for the CMS plan, $23 for the Business plan.
Ease of Use: User-friendly for those with basic web design knowledge.
Features: Visual customization of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, complex layouts, animations, responsive designs, drag and drop interface.
Suitability: Creating realistic web prototypes, responsive websites, and web applications. Discover Webflow

4. UXPin

Pricing: Offers a free trial; paid plans are available.
Ease of Use: Steeper learning curve due to its code-based approach, best for those with some coding experience.
Features: Code-based prototyping, component libraries, design systems, detailed documentation.
Suitability: Advanced prototyping needs and designers comfortable with or looking to learn coding. Learn more about UXPin

5. Marvel

Pricing: Offers a free plan; paid plans start at $12/month.
Ease of Use: Very intuitive, ideal for beginners.
Features: Rapid prototyping, mixing app and web prototypes, collaboration tools, user testing, custom animations and transitions.
Suitability: Simple to mid-fidelity prototypes for web and mobile apps. Explore Marvel

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6. MockFlow

Pricing: Offers a free plan; paid plans are available.
Ease of Use: Intuitive interface, suitable for beginners.
Features: Drag-and-drop functionality, pre-built components, UI flows, product graphics, sitemaps, collaboration features.
Suitability: Brainstorming product ideas, creating quick mockups for web and mobile. Discover MockFlow

7. Justinmind

Pricing: Offers a free plan with limitations; paid plans are available.
Ease of Use: Straightforward layout, ideal for beginners.
Features: Interactive prototypes with templates, good for simulating user flows, various device compatibility.
Suitability: Creating interactive prototypes for various devices with ease. Learn more about Justinmind

8. Origami Studio

Pricing: Free.
Ease of Use: Moderate to steep learning curve due to advanced capabilities.
Features: Advanced tools for complex prototypes, pre-built patches, customization options, on-device testing with Origami Live.
Suitability: Sophisticated interactions for both web and mobile app designs. Explore Origami Studio

9. Moqups

Pricing: Offers a free plan; paid plans are available.
Ease of Use: User-friendly, good for beginners.
Features: Drag and drop interface, basic to mid-fidelity prototypes, team collaboration and feedback.
Suitability: Creating quick prototypes for web and mobile projects. Discover Moqups

10. Balsamiq

Pricing: Offers a free trial; paid plans are available.
Ease of Use: Very easy to use for quick ideation.
Features: Low-fidelity wireframes, over 500 premade icons and elements, clean interface.
Suitability: Quick mockups and the initial phases of design for UX ideation. Learn more about Balsamiq

These tools offer a diverse range of capabilities to suit various prototyping needs, from basic mockups to high-fidelity interactive designs. Each provides free options to start with and paid plans for more advanced features, making them accessible and versatile options for designers in 2025.

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FAQ

1. What are some free alternatives to Proto.io for prototyping in 2025?

2. Which free alternative to Proto.io is best for high-fidelity interactive prototypes?

Figma is known for its ability to create high-fidelity interactive prototypes, making it an excellent choice for detailed UI work and interactive design. Learn more about Figma

3. What is a good alternative to Proto.io for quick wireframing and mockups?

MockFlow is a great tool for quick wireframing and mockups, as it provides drag-and-drop functionality and pre-built components that facilitate rapid design. Discover MockFlow

4. Can I use Adobe XD for free?

Yes, Adobe XD offers a free starter plan, allowing users to access its core features and design capabilities without cost. Explore Adobe XD

5. Which free prototyping tool is best for beginners?

Marvel is very intuitive and ideal for beginners, offering an easy-to-use interface for quick prototyping of websites and mobile apps. Discover Marvel

6. Are there any free tools that allow code-based design for realistic prototyping?

UXPin emphasizes code-based design, enabling realistic interactions and high-fidelity prototypes, making it suitable for designers comfortable with coding. Learn more about UXPin

7. What tool is best for creating low-fidelity wireframes quickly?

Balsamiq is perfect for creating low-fidelity wireframes quickly, with its simple interface and an extensive library of premade icons and elements. Explore Balsamiq

8. Is there a free prototyping tool that integrates well with other Adobe products?

Adobe XD integrates seamlessly with other Adobe Creative Suite applications, making it an ideal choice if you use other Adobe products. Explore Adobe XD

9. Which free tool should I use for complex web layouts and animations?

Webflow is best for creating complex layouts and animations, offering a visual canvas for direct customization of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript without coding. Discover Webflow

10. Is there a completely free prototyping tool available in 2025?

Origami Studio is a free prototyping tool created by Meta, designed for creating and testing realistic prototypes for both Android and iOS. Discover Origami Studio

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.