Balsamiq

Easy to use

Produces good quality mock ups and prototypes

Mock ups are obviously only just mock ups (this is important as if users see mock-ups in HTML, for example, they tend to think the system is ready to use or not far off)

Has a good selection of standard shapes that mock real world fields / controls

Allows not for profit organisations use it for free

Somewhat expensive for full commercial licences

Toolbar at the top makes sure everything is at your fingertips.

Options available are generous and suited to laying out processes.

Viewing wireframes easy to see process down the left side of the screen.

Adding notes easy for collaboration.

Some of the objects aren't very easy to edit.

Adding items to a list not intuitive.

Resizing columns isn't easy or sometimes possible.

Low-fidelity wireframing—Balsamiq offers tools to create lo-fi wireframes without the messiness and confusion that often comes along with other types of lo-fi wireframing (e.g. hand-drawn wireframes). This helps us avoid the need to heavily “translate” our designs to the people we’re showing them to.

Easy-to-use interface—We have never had to spend time training anyone on how to use Balsamiq. Drag, drop, arrange—that’s it! This is helpful in getting non-designers and less experienced designers to communicate their ideas of what the finished design should sort-of look like without asking them to spend a lot of time learning a new tool.

Ability to convert a design to a PDF—This is definitely a plus! Whereas other design tools require stakeholders to log into a design tool account or view designs on a web page, Balsamiq makes it really easy to just download a design as a PDF and hand/email it to a stakeholder. Lots of our stakeholders don’t want to deal with visiting a website or logging into something. However, they’re typically happy to receive a PDF and not have to ask questions such as, “How do I access that?” and “What’s the password again?"

The Sketch-like style can be off-putting to some stakeholders, and it’s not initially very clear that there is the option to turn this “off.” While I do think there is benefit to the default style, knowing from the start that this flexibility existed would have helped us be able to use this tool more often in the past and in different situations.

There are very limited collaborative functionalities. When it’s early in the design process, it’s often really helpful to have a number of people in the design to offer in-app feedback so the designer doesn’t have the burden of collecting feedback from many disparate sources in order to incorporate the feedback.

There are limited UI elements. As design evolves, there are more and more UI elements to consider, and many to stop using. Our Balsamiq wireframes would be a lot more effective in communicating design ideas to stakeholders if there was a wider range of UI elements to choose from.

Creating layouts and mockups to get a rough feel for how something looks.

Quickly getting your ideas on paper.

Preventing you from overthinking design details and keeping you focused on the big picture.

No collaboration ability, would be much stronger if web-based.

Support for images is awkward and a bit clumsy.

No ability to share files via the web.

UX design

Easy to learn, easy to pick up and implement for marketing associates without much design experience.

Integrates well on browsers and thus makes it easy to present.

Menu interface for adding design elements can be confusing to a newcomer

Text input function can be a bit clunky

Less-than-stellar performance on non-traditional browsers

Balsamiq makes wireframing and prototyping very fast and easy. You have a lot of pre-defined assets such as buttons, icons, titles, text, labels, placeholder items etc. that you can drag and drop, letting you finish an idea for a landing page or app quite quickly.

I use Balsamiq not only for wireframing, but also sketching processes or business models. The visualization is sketchy enough to keep discussions in the idea-phase, instead of wasting time on detailed discussion.

Although it's not meant for sketching processes, it could be improved a bit for doing this (a bit more support for some more arrows or diagrams).

Sometimes it's possible to get a bit lost in different propositions. It's interesting that it's only propositions, but the offline desktop version works faster for me (lot of coping attributes and screenshots into my sketches).

It's using flash or something like that in their offline version, it keeps asking for updates.

Speed. Whipping up a wireframe takes very little time.

Ease of Use. The product works intuitively and as expected.

Covers common elements. Many of the common elements you need on a website are already built in, just drag and drop.

I can't think of any negatives for this product. It does exactly what it's intended to do.

Ease of use: Balsamiq is the easiest wireframing platform I've ever used. You will be able to learn how to work with the drag-and-drop interface in less than a day. Use familiar resizing controls (click and drag) to control elements. Familiar keyboard shortcuts for grouping, duplicating, undoing, and more make the platform incredibility intuitive.

Cartoony: I think Balsamiq's intentionally "cartoony" style is great. Again, this helps clients focus on the "what" on the page without spending too much time worrying about the actual look. We have a content-first approach. We always want to nail down the user-flow first before we delve into graphics.

Symbols: The symbols library did not exist when I first started using Balsamiq 7 years ago, but it's a great addition. Assign design elements to your symbols library within a project for easy re-use throughout multiple pages. This is a great way to maintain consistency in your design and reduce re-work. For example, if you copy-paste a footer on each page of your 10 page design, you will need to go back and update all 10 versions if you make a change. If you use the symbols library, you would only need to update it once.

Presentation: Presentation mode allows you to display a full-screen presentation. This is extremely helpful when walking through mocks with clients.

Linking: You can link elements of pages in a project together. This can help you illustrate functionality.

Transition to design: In recent years, we have started to move away from Balsamiq to do wireframes in Sketch. By using Sketch for wireframes, we can establish our design patterns and symbol library early. When it's time to add colors, graphics, fonts, and more, our designer simply layers on top of the wireframes. This saves the design team a lot of time. We still use Balsamiq for quick mock-ups, but when building from scratch, we typically use Sketch. If there were some kind of easy way to transfer the Balsamiq symbols library to a design platform like Sketch, we might use it more often. Sadly, I think Sketch makes Balsamiq a bit irrelevant for experienced designers.

Rulers: The lack of rulers in Balsamiq is very frustrating. The design does have a "snap to grid" as well as arrangement features like horizontal and vertical distribution, but this is NOT enough for my perfectionists out there.

Icons: The icon library in Balsamiq is pretty limited. We typically use font-awesome to source icons for design projects. It would be great if Balsamiq tied in directly with font-awesome to offer a more complete set.

Opening projects: Balsamiq changed it's software significantly a few years ago. Previously, each page of a project was saved as a .bmml. Now, each PROJECT is saved as a .bmpr, and can have as many pages as you want. This means in the past, you might have 10 separate files for a single project, and now you only have one. This is definitely a change for the better; however, I find that it's way too easy to accidentally save pages to the incorrect project. Why? Because when you open Balsamiq, it loads the last screens that you were working on rather than a blank new project. To me, this is confusing.

The drag and drop features are very user-friendly in order to create mockups in a short span of time.

The PDF conversion feature needs to be improved.

It is very difficult to adjust the sizes of the created designs using Balsamiq.

No options for creating interactive prototypes

Limited UI elements

This application lets you use default or custom predefined components in an easy way, It allows for a fast prototyping phase.

It is possible to realize several versions of a screen, this allows to send the user different versions for approval.

The application is very easy to use. It's easy for a user to post comments or make modifications.

Balsamiq's UI is very simple. Color combinations are unattractive and it's old-fashioned

Symbol libraries can be duplicated easily and it is a problem because is possible to work with two different instances of the same library at same time

It is very easy to create a layout and show an idea. With just a couple of clicks, you can state the main screens of an app of any kind.

Simple. Even though you can import assets and make a mockup with real assets, I think the main power of Balsamiq is keeping it in wireframes. This allows you to focus only on layouts, available information, and interactions and then in another stage of the project you take care of the design and look.

Good library of components available by default. This makes it straightforward to open it and work right away in your project or idea.

The project can get a bit laggy around 70-100 pages (on a MacBook Pro). It didn't happen to me but I've seen it in a presentation of a project and it froze in a moment and had to restart the app.

I don't find the design of the components very "pretty". It's totally subjective but still wanted to mention it. I know this is the style they have had since the beginning and it's almost something that identifies Balsamiq, but I think it can be improved.

Very easy to learn to use with little previous experience using the software

Great design which allows you to create interface prototypes of a system functionality, in a way that it is really a wire frame and doesn't look so professional that people are afraid to critique it. This allows for gaining feedback from many stakeholders quickly.

New iterations of a design can be built quickly for rapid prototyping and learning

Easier to learn for people with a technical background. The limits of our ability to use balsamiq easily to create new iterations came when program management and business development people with little background in the software wanted to use it.

Complex or particularly custom functionality is difficult to demonstrate in Balsamiq.

Limited ability to make a mockup interactive

It is possible to make several versions of a screen and remain related to then submit them to evaluation with the user.

The application is inductive, or requires much explanation to use it. When working with a functional user it is easy for him to post comments or make a modification.

Integrates with the bootstrap symbols, which allows the screens to be seen as close to the final developed version.

Duplicating a library should only be done from the libraries, it has happened that I duplicated a library, and when I realized I have already designed several screens with the duplicated library, which makes me lose information when I delete the duplicate library.

I would like to see a blackboard-type version, where at least two people can interact in the same design at the same time. This is because there are clients with whom remote reviews are made.

It does not have a Spanish version, there are functional users who are asked to make comments or changes and do not use another language.

Creating wireframes in Balsamiq requires little investment in time or effort

Balsamiq offers easy to use drag and drop components

Linking allows creating click-through prototypes that then can be tested

Balsamiq has lots of built-in user interface controls and icons

Linking provides quite limited options for creating interactive prototypes, other similar tools do it better

Navigation between the screen a in the mockup is sometimes confusing and takes time to set up

Break out screen by screen so users can see what their final concept flow will be.

Ability to use multiple different kinds of images and icons (buttons, text, scribble, calculator icon, etc.).

Stores working concepts in different project folders to prevent overlap yet allows easy re-use.

I always just use a snippet to capture the drawing. If there is an export feature I've never used it. not really a complaint though, snippets are super easy.

Expanding the drawing area has to be manually done by putting in new objects and shapes. If you're not careful when you go to look at the final page (web version) there are hanging shapes off the edge.

Typing in longer text strings doesn't work well. I always just use multiple single entries.

Default gestures and associated icons native to Iphone and Android are available.

Throws the design in to context of screen and the relative aspect ratios to imagine scenario more easily.

Overcomes the problem of read-ability and consistency in size of icons and texts.

Once the project is set up - it is easier to copy some sections without having to re-draw them.

The UI is very clunky - it could be more vivid and simpler.

Shortcuts could mimic design software, some shortcuts are not intuitive.

The toggle and button options could be more vast.

There is hardly any learning curve for using this software. It's very easy for a beginner to get a hang of it and start using immediately.

This is perfect for a very fast layout or a wireframing for a website or app. The whole app wireframe can be done in just a few hours with the click and drag options.

The first thing I miss is COLOR! There aren't very many options for really adding some creativity with colors.

There could be better layout for all the elements. Sometimes the elements are hard to find.

Names of the Elements are sometimes a bit confusing too. Once you search or look through ALL of them, you can usually find what you are looking for, but it can be confusing for new users.

Pre-built icon and widget library has every web page element you can think of. This speeds up mockup creation.

The ability to export mockups into both PNG and PDF format is great for emailing, sharing, attaching to project tickets.

There is now a tabbed interface that allows you to quickly move between in progress mockups.

The auto save feature prevents you from losing your work.

While the icon, element, and widget library is diverse, it would be nice to have a view where you can see all of the icons at once instead of having to scroll them horizontally.

It would be nice to be able to 'favorite' commonly used icons and widgets to find them again quickly.

The document boundaries (aka artboard from Adobe Illustrator) automatically crops to the elements on the page. This is not always helpful and you sometimes have to move the entire mockup to make room in the layout for additional sections at the top of the layout.

Balsamiq is good when you have to use a low fidelity prototype and want to make wireframes which need to be done quickly or have a lot of changes.

Balsamiq is easier for collaborators to work together. The easy drag and drop options, website site like looking templates makes it easy to create wireframes.

It is easier to save and do check in and check out since it's offline.

There could be more interactivity added to it, sometimes clients need to see interactivity and the distinction between a wireframe and prototype are difficult to explain.

UI component library is there but it's limited when compared to other tools like Axure RP that could be improved

It is not as versatile as other tools and things you can add becomes limited after certain point

It has a lot of tools for designing wireframes.

It has a very small learning curve.

It is cross platform and portable.

Communication can be improved between designers and developers.

The gap can be bridged between content writers and designers in order to collaborate in a more fruitful way.

Functional specifications should be allowed to be imported to any .docx or .pdf format.

It's incredibly easy to use. The built in UI component library means that creating a new wireframe is as simple as dragging and dropping components onto a page. Keyboard shortcuts are generally simple and easy to remember. A new user can become very proficient with just 0-30 minutes of training.

You can create and iterate on a mockup very quickly. If you know what you want to do, you can mock up a simple page/tool in as little as 10 minutes. Moving a component, rearranging a page, adding or removing components, etc., is all very quick.

It is very easy to collaborate with your team. Pricing is by the number of projects you have, so you can have as many users collaborating as you want. This includes sharing your work, allowing others to comment on your work, edit, and propose alternate versions. Sharing a mockup is as easy as copying and pasting a hyperlink- you do not need to download and email files.

There is very good support, and help pages/videos. If I don't know how to do something, I can often figure it out by Googling it.

Working with grids can be difficult. Resizing columns to specific widths can be very tricky. Adding data to a grid with many columns can also be somewhat frustrating. If you work with data grids a lot, this is something you will notice very quickly.

Working with imported images is not great. If you want to import an existing image (say, a screenshot of an existing tool) as a basis for a wireframe, you might have some problems. Image quality of imported images is not great, and the process of uploading images into the tool is cumbersome. This is really a tool for starting from scratch, not augmenting existing designs.

You can't really create interactive mockups using Balsamiq. You can add in links, either to web pages or other mockups, but no other components "function". For example, if you want to add options to a dropdown, and then click on the dropdown and see how it looks, or have some behavior contingent on the selection of an option from the dropdown, you will be out of luck. This is a simple, quick wireframing tool, and does not provide support for "prototyping" functionality. This is their intention, and there are other tools that focus on that, but it's something to be aware of.

Balsamiq is quick. You can put an idea down in the tool very fast and not have to focus too much on detail.

Balsamiq allows me to start a conversation with my team members. I can show them the general idea and get feedback and then make rapid changes.

The use of symbols, as implemented a few years ago in Balsamiq has made it a better tool and even faster to use.

Balsamiq shows the workflow of a process very easily. I think it's the best tool for UX and IA work, as it does not force me to put in UI element details. I can always work on that later, while development of the interaction and structure of the interface is underway.

If I place a symbol in a page, then edit one part of it (like a bit of text) the symbol does not sync properly any longer. I understand that I've made an update and broken the link, but I'd like it to link to individual elements rather than the whole symbol so that I can edit text but still get general updates to the symbol that are made.

Ease of use - once you are using the tool it is pretty much like any other tool of this type.

Look and feel - it comes with a number of prebuilt items that provide functionality out of the box like: "checkbox groups", "calendars" and "button bars".

Repositioning and inserting items requires a fair amount of rework to the layout.

it would be nice to have wire up events to take you to a new layout when "this" happens.

I really like the alternate version feature. This allows me to stay organized and reuse designs when needed easily. I can also quickly share a few options with stakeholders to elicit feedback.

The wide variety of form fields, controls, buttons, icons make it very easy to mock up a screen. Not to mention each one can be modified to show just the right form field state or data so even though its a rough mock up I can still create a relatively realistic representation of the screen.

I've been a Balsamiq user over the last few years and I commend them for continuing to add features that make my job easier.

LOVE the auto save feature.

Some people who I've shown the mock ups to for the first time are sometimes taken aback by the cartoon-like look and feel.

I'd like to see a few more markup features so that I can have more options for visually explaining or highlighting certain portions of the screen. I don't always get the luxury of having a discussion when reviewing the mock ups with stakeholders. Sometimes its all through email.

Quick to make changes

Easy to use and understand what you need

There are wireframes objects for almost any type of UI imaginable

More icons selection

Not having to store and keep assets with the wireframe

Easier to share and collaborate at the same time