The Best Wireframing tools for Product Managers in 2024

Note: This article reflects my personal experience with wireframing tools over 10+ years in Product Management. While many other tools exist, I focus on those I’ve used extensively in professional settings.

Choosing The Wireframing tools that suit you

Wireframing is an essential practice for product managers. In a previous article I talk about why all product managers should know how to wireframe.

Creating wireframes serve as a bridge between abstract ideas and tangible designs^[1]. It allows us to validate ideas quickly, gather early feedback, define the scope of your project, and identify potential problems before committing significant resources.

Wireframes also streamline communication, improving developer handoffs and laying a strong foundation for high-fidelity prototypes. By uncovering flaws and aligning teams early, wireframes help ensure that your product meets both user needs and business goals efficiently.

Differentiating Raw and High-Fidelity Wireframing

Before we dive into the subject, it’s essential to distinguish between raw and high-fidelity wireframing, as each serves different purposes ^[2] and requires different tools:

• Raw wireframes: These are rough, low-detail sketches meant for internal brainstorming or team discussions. Tools like a whiteboard, Balsamiq, and Miro excel in this context, prioritizing speed and iteration over polish.

• High-fidelity wireframes: These polished wireframes closely resemble final designs, often reusing existing design components. They’re ideal for customer-facing presentations or when conveying a precise vision. Tools like Figma excel here, especially when working with established design systems.

For teams without a design system (common in startups or smaller companies), tools like Proto.io bridge the gap between raw and high-fidelity wireframing. They provide pre-built components and interactions that allow you to create polished, customer-ready prototypes without needing to build a design system from scratch. This makes them particularly valuable for teams that need to move quickly from concept to presentation-ready designs.

Why and who are we wireframing for?

Wireframing serves multiple purposes depending on the context, and choosing the right tool is crucial for achieving our goals effectively^[3]. Here are three common scenarios, involving different stakeholders:

1. To Communicate On-Site with Teams
   When working on-site, nothing beats the immediacy and collaborative feel of a physical whiteboard. Gathering a team in one room fosters creativity and alignment as you collectively sketch and debate solutions. This tactile, immersive process is my go-to for hashing out UX problems and ideating as a group.

2. To Collaborate Remotely with Teams
   In a remote setting, tools like Miro step in as virtual whiteboards. They allow for live collaboration, enabling teams to brainstorm and share rough sketches in real time. For more polished communication, I transition to high-fidelity wireframes in Figma, leveraging its team-sharing features to refine concepts collaboratively.

3. To Present Ideas to Customers
   When communicating with customers, professionalism is key. High-fidelity wireframes and prototypes demonstrate thoughtfulness and quality. Figma’s ability to seamlessly create polished designs makes it an excellent choice here. If your company lacks a design system, tools like Proto.io are invaluable for producing high-quality prototypes that leave a lasting impression.

My Experience with Wireframing Tools

Here are the tools I’ve used throughout my career and my insights into their utility^[4]. I’ll add a table comparison at the end of this article.

• Balsamiq (2012–2014)
  Balsamiq was my introduction to digital wireframing. Its simplicity made it perfect for quick, low-fidelity drafts. Though I’ve moved on, it remains a good starting point for teams new to wireframing.

• Sketch (2014–2018)
  Sketch was a game-changer for me as both a Product Manager and Designer. Its rich feature set and offline functionality made it ideal for creating detailed designs. However, its limitations in team collaboration pushed me toward Figma.

• Figma (2019–Present)
  As the industry shifted towards collaborative design^[5], Figma transformed how I worked in collaborative, scaling environments. While it initially strained my hardware during screen sharing, its real-time collaboration features and integrations make it my top choice for high-fidelity design and prototyping.

• Miro (2020–Present)
  The pandemic highlighted Miro’s strengths as a collaborative online whiteboard. While it’s not a tool for delivering polished designs, it’s invaluable for brainstorming, retrospectives, and sparking creativity in remote teams.

The Importance of a Design System

Something that I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere when it comes to wireframing is the importance of a Design System^[3].

If your team has established a design system—like a components library re-using your real life product design in Figma—you have a significant advantage!

As a Product Manager, you don’t need to draw the header of a certain screen of your app or website, you can just search for the component and set a few options to find which state of the header you’re refering to. Three clicks later, you have your header in a high fidelity design which took you less time to get than drawing a poor representation of it. And now, you can draw on top of it if you need to.

Trust me, it is worth having your design team investing their time into this early on. It might feel as a luxury at first, but Design systems enable rapid prototyping by reusing components, ensuring consistency and saving time. They also bridge the gap between raw ideas and high-fidelity prototypes, streamlining the transition from concept to customer presentation.

Tools comparison

As promised in the article, I’m ending it with a table comparison of the tools I’ve mentioned above.

(ℹ️ Don’t hesitate to scroll to the right)

Tool	Overview	Pros	Cons	Pricing	Best For	Integration Features
Balsamiq	Quick, low-fidelity wireframes with a sketch-like interface.	- Intuitive for non-designers - Extensive UI library - Encourages simplicity	- No high-fidelity capabilities - Lacks real-time collaboration	Starts at $9/month per project	Rapid idea iteration in the early stages of design, especially for beginners or small teams	- Google Drive - Confluence - Export to PNG/PDF - Limited third-party integrations
Sketch	Precision design tool ideal for detailed wireframes and UI designs	- Clean interface - Extensive plugin library - Offline capability	- Collaboration is challenging - Mac-only platform	$9/month per editor	Solo designers or product managers who need precision and control for detailed designs	- Abstract for version control - Zeplin for developer handoff - Wide plugin ecosystem - Cloud collaboration with Sketch Cloud
Figma	Cloud-based collaborative tool for wireframing, UI/UX design, and prototyping	- Real-time collaboration - Cross-platform - Powerful prototyping features	- Resource-intensive on hardware - Pricing can add up for large teams	Free for individuals; $12/editor/month for pro plans	High-fidelity wireframing and collaborative workflows for distributed or scaling teams	- JIRA - Slack - GitHub/GitLab - Azure DevOps - Built-in developer handoff - FigJam for whiteboarding
Miro	Collaborative online whiteboard tool for brainstorming and early-stage wireframing	- Great for brainstorming - Easy for team use - Versatile templates	- Limited design fidelity - Can become cluttered on large boards	Free basic plan; $8/user/month	Remote teams brainstorming or conducting workshops; rough wireframing in distributed setups	- JIRA - Slack - MS Teams - Asana - Notion - Google Workspace
Proto.io	High-fidelity prototyping tool for interactive designs without coding knowledge	- Drag-and-drop simplicity - Advanced animations - Usability testing included	- Limited collaboration - Steep learning curve for non-designers	Starts at $29/month	Small companies or startups needing polished, customer-ready prototypes without a design system	- Sketch import - UserTesting.com - Lookback - Basic developer handoff features

Conclusion

Wireframing is not just a design process; it’s a vital communication tool that adapts to your audience and environment. The landscape of wireframing tools has evolved significantly, and choosing the right one depends on your team’s specific needs and maturity level.

Recommendations by Team Type

• Solo Product Managers: Start with Balsamiq for quick iterations, then consider upgrading to Figma as your needs grow.
• Small Startups (2-10 people): Proto.io offers the best balance of features and simplicity when you don’t have a design system yet.
• Growing Teams (10-50 people): Invest in Figma and start building your design system - the initial time investment will pay off in faster iterations.
• Large Organizations: Figma’s enterprise features and robust integration capabilities make it the clear choice for scaling teams.

Looking Ahead

The future of wireframing tools is heading toward more intelligent features and seamless workflows:

• AI-assisted design suggestions and component recommendations
• Better integration between low and high-fidelity workflows
• Enhanced real-time collaboration features
• Improved handoff capabilities between design and development

Getting Started

1. Begin with your team’s immediate needs rather than trying to plan for all future scenarios
2. Take advantage of free tiers to test tools before committing
3. Invest time in learning your chosen tool’s shortcuts and features
4. Start building your design system early, even if it’s basic

Remember: The best wireframing tool is the one that helps you communicate effectively with your stakeholders while maintaining the speed and flexibility needed for rapid iteration. Don’t be afraid to combine different tools based on your specific needs - use Miro for brainstorming, then move to Figma for detailed design work, or start with Proto.io if you need to quickly demonstrate complex interactions.

If you’re still wondering about the fundamental value of wireframing in product management, check out my article on Why All Product Managers Should Know How to Wireframe. There, I dive deep into how wireframing serves as a communicative superpower for product managers, helping bridge the gap between ideas and execution.

For more resources and best practices in wireframing, explore the documentation and community forums of these tools - they’re invaluable sources of learning and inspiration.

Additional Resources

• Nielsen Norman Group - Wireflows: A UX Deliverable for Workflows and Apps
• A List Apart - Responsive Workflows
• Interaction Design Foundation - Wireframing

References

1. Brown, Dan M. (2021). Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning. New Riders Press. ↩
2. Cao, J., Zieba, K., & Ellis, M. (2023). The Ultimate Guide to Prototyping Success. UXPin.com ↩
3. Kholmatova, A. (2017). Design Systems: A practical guide to creating design languages for digital products. Smashing Media AG. ↩
4. Meyer, E. (2022). Design Tools Survey 2022. UX Tools Annual Report. uxtools.co ↩
5. Seiden, J., & Gothelf, J. (2021). Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience. O’Reilly Media. ↩