+5 A:

We use Mockup Screens at work ("Quick and Easy Screen Prototypes").

Mockupscreens is not free but really not expensive, as the pricing page shows. It's not 0-20 but $79 for a single user at the moment (01-10-2008; dd-mm-yyyy) and only $319 for a whole company.

Mackaaij 2008-10-01 19:02:58

No savings over Balsamiq at $79, but the site license for Mockup Screens is nice.

Jerph 2010-01-12 11:05:36

A:

Microsoft Visio does the work very nicely. Get an Enterprise Architect version for more software-related stencils

Ilya Kochetov 2008-10-01 19:06:35

Visio costs a lot more than $20.

Robert S. 2009-03-06 16:00:01

Visio is a nightmare, IMHO =(

Yacoder 2010-01-28 08:43:41

+2 A:

As mentioned above, you could use Visio with the stencils for wireframing (http://nickfinck.com/stencils/).

I would also recommend Denim (http://dub.washington.edu:2007/denim/) which is best used with a tablet PC or a Wacom Tablet.

2008-12-04 12:42:09

+42 A:

There is another tool, completely free and very promising, built on the Gecko engine (read: Mozilla): Pencil.

UPDATE

I recently discovered Lumzy, which is completely free and boasts a nice list of features.

pixeline 2009-02-11 22:42:56

+1 for pointing this out. Awesome tool!

Ruben Steins 2009-04-06 08:20:20

+1 awesome tool. Easy to use and good quality icons. I wish there were some more collections to it, which I was unable to find anywhere..

noob.spt 2009-11-16 03:49:59

if you're looking for pencil collections, check here: http://groups.google.com/group/pencil-user/web/pencil-collections

pixeline 2009-11-16 08:25:10

A:

If you fall within their set of specific categories you might be able to get balasamiq free or reduced price.

It's pretty ace to be fair.

Adam Taylor 2009-02-11 22:51:32

+6 A:

Yahoo!'s design stencil kit is free and pretty solid, especially for building Web UIs in OmniGraffle, Illustrator, Visio, etc. There's even iPhone UI elements. Doesn't have Balsamiq's workflow, of course, but a nice way to work with tools you may already be comfortable with.

Yoni Samlan 2009-02-11 22:53:53

A:

WireframeSketcher is a wireframe and mockup tool that works with Eclipse-based IDEs. It has some distinctive features like storyboards and master screens/components. Among other WireframeSketcher works with Aptana, Flash Builder, Zend Studio and Rational Application Developer.

Peter Severin 2009-02-28 07:38:06

+2 A:

The online demo of balsamiq is quite usable for small tasks.

Kim Reece 2009-02-28 09:41:02

+2 A:

Have a look at Serena Prototype Composer. It's very powerful and free.

Robert S. 2009-03-06 15:59:18

A:

mockupscreens seems to be the one, with there new improved version i think it is worth trial

Anurag Uniyal 2009-03-31 04:01:00

+1 A:

Im using JustProto and I must admitt that this tool suites me the most!it's reliable, fast and easy to learn- perfect for "non-tech" clients. It helps to create fully clickable and interactive wireframes working like a real site!

You can check it here: www.justproto.com

MarkR 2009-11-05 11:02:10

+14 A:

There is mockingbird:

Mockingbird is an online tool that makes it easy for you to create, link together, preview, and share mockups of your website or application.

alt text

Pascal Thivent 2009-11-08 10:16:06

Doesn't use IE. Bah. I'm stuck with IE.

Rafe Lavelle 2010-02-17 06:29:37

+2 A:

You can try ForeUI, it's my favorite mockup tool.

Rose 2010-01-29 00:54:14

A:

Try iPlotz at iplot.com

WMaster 2010-02-22 09:03:53

A:

I've reviewed all of these. I think Pencil although a bit rough is very good for a free product. I don't understand the high price tag. $20 is a no brainer. But $80 is really getting up there, because all we're talking about is mockups. So, I support the Pencil and suggest balsamiq reduce their price I am sure they would have a much larger market at that price point as $80 to save something is quite steep.

Dan 2010-03-03 03:43:55

+1 A:

Please take a look at DesignerVista 3.0 Software for both High-Fidelity and Low-Fidelity GUI Mockups of Desktop, Web, Office Ribbon Style Applications.

DesignerVista website: www.designervista.com

Kumaravel 2010-03-03 13:00:04

+30 A:

Wireframe and Mockup Tools

HotGloo

The Online Wireframe Application

http://www.hotgloo.com/

MockingBird

Is an online tool that makes it easy for you to create, link together, preview, and share mockups of your website or application.

http://gomockingbird.com/

Balsamiq Mockups

Using Balsamiq Mockups feels like you are drawing, but it's digital, so you can tweak and rearrange controls easily, and the end result is much cleaner.

http://www.balsamiq.com/products/mockups

ScreenSketcher

ScreenSketcher is a tool for creating quick mock-ups, or wireframes, of a computer user interface, such as a window, a web page, or anything that can appear on a computer screen.

http://www.codingrobots.com/screensketcher/

Cacoo

Online Real time collaboration

Cacoo is a user friendly online drawing tool that allows you to create a variety of diagrams such as site maps, wire frames, UML and network charts.
Cacoo can be used free of charge.

http://cacoo.com/

Mockup by Lextech

Mockup is an iPhone app prototyping tool that makes it incredibly easy to:

Think through design/usability concepts before you start coding,
Brainstorm with future and existing customers, and
Share your ideas and collaborate with the app development community.

http://lextech.com/mockup

Mockery

Mockery enables you to create great UI mockups, quickly and easily.

Design great interfaces for the web or desktop.
Review your designs with Windows and Mac themes.
Annotate your mockups with detailed information.
Share your mockups with others.

http://getmockery.com/

ForeUI

ForeUI is a handy UI prototyping tool. It can rapidly create static or interactive, skinnable UI prototypes of your website or software. You can use ForeUI to:

Create mockup for the GUI in your mind and make others understand quickly.
Make working prototype of website or software to collect feedback from potential users.
Perform usability testing before releasing the beta version.
Generate the schematics that can be inserted in the design documents.

http://www.foreui.com/

Naview by Volkside

Naview is a navigation preview tool for rapid information architecture prototyping from Volkside.

Design and visualise an IA or website navigation structure
Build prototypes quickly and get a feel for the navigation
Test your IA with users and iterate on the fly
Import your IA easily from a spreadsheet
No need for coding to simulate real website menu behaviour

http://www.volkside.com/go/naview/

C-Inspector

A tool for information architecture testing C–Inspector is a web–based application that helps you to test the information architecture of your website. By analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data collected through the remote test, you can gain insight into the users' mental models and identify possible issues with labelling or grouping

http://www.c-inspector.com/index.php

FlairBuilder

A cross-platform prototyping tool that helps you create interactive wireframes & prototypes faster, easier and with better results. We put a strong emphase in interactivity as this is the best way to show your clients something closer to the real product.

http://www.flairbuilder.com/

MockApp

What can I use MockApp for?

Brainstorm and refine a new app idea
Show what the app should do so that it’s easy for a developer to code it just right
Show-off your brilliant app ideas to your boss, potential business partners, investors, etc. (again, way more effective tan finger puppets!)

http://mockapp.com/

Creately

Creately is an easy to use and collaborative diagramming application that runs in your browser. With a powerful and intuitive interface, Creately is great for teams that need to work on designs together

http://creately.com/

Pencil

The Pencil Project's unique mission is to build a free and opensource tool for making diagrams and GUI prototyping that everyone can use.

http://www.evolus.vn/Pencil/

MockFlow

Design, collaborate (in real-time) user interface mockups for your software and websites.

http://www.mockflow.com/

Jon Winstanley 2010-03-15 10:12:12

Pencil (from evolus.vn) works just fine on Windows now - don't know about older versions.

AJ 2010-05-27 19:13:42

@AJ - I have removed that comment, thanks for the update

Jon Winstanley 2010-06-04 11:20:57

I think you should add MockFlow (http://www.mockflow.com/) to this already great list of tools as well.

Ola Herrdahl 2010-08-03 12:49:40

Thanks Ola, I've added Mockflow to the list.

Jon Winstanley 2010-08-04 09:59:01

Thanks for the great list. Had only heard of mockingbird and balsamiq.

AieshaDot 2010-08-18 13:26:44

A:

Edraw MAX 5 is also a good candidate. Checkout few mockups i made with it.

http://www.mixedwaves.com/2010/03/wireframe-samples-for-poll

Penuel 2010-03-24 13:16:24

A:

Collaboration is what we had in mind when developing our own little app. Why another one? Because none of the existing matched our expectations. So to complement this wireframe list I'm adding HotGloo The Online Wireframe Application , launched on Feb. 14th, to the pool. Feel free to stop by and say hi! Plans starting at just $ 14 / month.

http://www.hotgloo.com

Regards Wolf @HotGloo

Wolf 2010-04-03 10:07:11

A:

Here is a list of good wireframing tools and some brief overview of each and review. I guess wireframing and mockup tools are becoming commodity so whoever becomes the Walmart may win

http://www.prototypingtool.com

Nilesh 2010-09-07 13:26:02

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Do you know an alternative to balsamiq mockups for wireframe building?

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