Best App Design Software

Best app design software platforms are AppMachine, Bizness Apps, Webix, Shoutem, Marvel, and OmniGraffle Pro. These app design tools have a user-friendly interface that streamlines the development process.

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List of 20 Best App Design Software

Showing 1 - 20 of 55 products

Software by Sketch

Sketch is a top-notch app design software for creating stunning apps with an intuitive user interface. The software provides powerful vector editing, easy and intuitive prototyping, reusable design templates, a customizable toolbar, shared libraries, and more to help you create early wireframes for flexible apps and design systems. Learn more about Sketch

Adobe XD is an excellent app designing software that helps you build applications with great user experience. The software makes cross-platform app design simpler and more effective and delivers developer-ready designs faster. Adobe XD also offers efficient collaboration features that allow you to share your prototype on various platforms for feedback. Read Adobe XD Reviews

Software by Figma

Figma is the best app design software that helps developers and designers deliver better products faster. This easy-to-use platform allows you to create high-fidelity designs and interactive prototypes on a centralized system to keep things consistent. You can also instantly share and collect feedback on your latest creations on Figma. Read Figma Reviews

Emergents | 2024

InVision is an advanced application design software for coders and noncoders. The software provides a multiplayer whiteboard for teams to complete work in real-time. Its powerful integrations allow you to seamlessly connect to the tools you work with and ensure alignment at every workflow stage. Learn more about InVision

Emergents | 2024

Software by Axure Software Solutions, Inc

Axure is a top app design software that allows UX professionals to create working prototypes using the most effective tools. Its powerful widgets will enable you to develop working forms, sortable grids, dynamic interfaces, and more, and its multi-state dynamic panels help create everything from popups to scrollable, swipeable, mobile screens and more. Learn more about Axure RP

Emergents | 2024

Proto.io is an ideal choice of app design software for anyone who wants to build successful apps. Its intuitive drag-and-drop interface provides you with a plethora of building blocks like UI components, templates, and digital assets to start with, ensuring you don't have to start from scratch. Learn more about Proto.io

Software by Justinmind

Justinmind is an all-in-one app designing software to create UI assets, prototypes, apps, and simulations. It offers a full set of web interactions that you need to deliver a great user experience and boost website conversions. Justinmind also provides various gestures, transitions, effects, sequences, conditions, etc., for creating fully interactive app prototypes. Learn more about Justinmind

Category Champions | 2024

Software by Balsamiq Studios, LLC

Balsamiq is a fully featured application design software designed for business owners, product managers, business analysts, developers, and anyone interested in UX. It offers highly-advanced tools for creating wireframes and UI designs without requiring any designing skills. The software also provides UI components & icons, drag-and-drop simplicity, reusable symbols, interactive prototypes, collaboration features, etc. Read Balsamiq Reviews

Software by Gravit Designer

Gravit Designer is an easy-to-learn and uses app designing software that empowers you to create and develop apps on any device. It is a user-friendly tool with intuitive, powerful features that allows you to create app designs, icons, illustrations, etc. Gravit is compatible with Chrome, Mac, Windows, Linux, and other operating systems. Learn more about Gravit Designer

Adobe Illustrator is a very popular app design software for beginners and professionals. The software focuses on making cross-design more effective, and its powerful collaboration features ensure faster iteration to convert your ideas into action quickly. Make low-fi wireframes, high-fidelity designs, prototypes, and more with Adobe Illustrator. Read Adobe Illustrator Reviews

Graphic Design Software by Corel Corporation

CorelDRAW is a comprehensive app designing software that provides a wide range of tools for app designing, vector illustration, typography, collaboration, etc. CorelDRAW allows you to create high-impact technical designs with affordable and flexible options. The software is ideal for any skill level and requires no designing expertise. Read CorelDRAW Reviews

Affinity Designer is an award-winning application design software for creating high-quality concepts, designs, projects, and mockups. It is the go-to choice of thousands of professional illustrators, web designers, game developers, and other creative app designs. Affinity Designer is compatible with Windows, macOS, and iPad operating systems. Read Affinity Designer Reviews

Canva is the best app design software that makes it possible for anybody to design great apps with its pro designing tools. It offers easy-to-use features such as drag-and-drop mode and professional layouts to create beautiful designs in minutes. Canva also provides captivating branding materials in a cost-efficient way. Read Canva Reviews

Most Reviewed

Software by Corel Corporation

PaintShop Pro X9 is a top app design software for creating user-friendly and visually appealing applications. Its world-famous toolset allows you to make your digital world brighter by converting your unique ideas into wonderful designs. PaintShop Pro is powered by AI and machine learning technology to help you create achievable designs effortlessly. Read PaintShop Pro Reviews

Software by GIMP

GIMP is a free and open-source image editor for GNU, Linux, macOS, Windows, and other operating systems. With sophisticated app designing tools and features like high-quality image manipulation, you can create original artwork and unique creations. The application design software also provides graphic design elements for building UI components and mockups. Read GIMP Reviews

Category Champions | 2024

Appy Pie is the best app design software that uses no-code AI to help you quickly create powerful and unique web and mobile applications without coding. It is a flexible platform with easy-to-use functionality like a drag-and-drop editor that lets you unify and simplify all your data in one place. Read Appy Pie Reviews

Software by AppSheet

AppSheet is a feature-rich app designing software that provides simple yet advanced tools to build apps and automate workflows. It does not demand coding skills and is highly customizable for your business needs. AppSheet provides customized features, UX, and branding and lets you manage users with role-based authentication and security. Learn more about AppSheet

Emergents | 2024

An all-in-one platform for app designing, prototyp

Mockplus is an all-in-one application design software for designing stunning prototypes fast and free. Mockplus offers hundreds of readymade web and app templates and thousands of icons and UI components. It allows you to save unlimited assets like colors, fonts, and interactive elements to your library that you can reuse across platforms, saving you time wasted on hours of repetitive work. Read Mockplus Reviews

Emergents | 2024

Bizness Apps is the #1 app design software for building apps for any industry. It's advanced capabilities and intuitive design engine allows anyone to create stunning apps with the end user in mind. Through its user-friendly CMS, Bizness Apps allows you complete control to analyze data, make adjustments, or interact with people. Read Bizness Apps Reviews

Software by Forms On Fire

Forms On Fire - Mobile is a fully featured Inspection Software designed to serve Agencies, Startups. Forms On Fire - Mobile provides end-to-end solutions designed for Windows. This online Inspection system offers Appointment Management, Data Collection, Drag & Drop, Equipment Tracking, Data Management at one place. Learn more about Forms On Fire

app-design-Software-Guide

Having an app helps businesses reach a larger audience base with less effort. There is hardly any service that cannot be provided or supported by an app. But doesn’t building an app seem like a resource-exhaustive concept?

Human instinct motivates us to seek out ways to simplify any given task. And a more efficient and cost-effective path to the development process has already been discovered. But what is it? An app design software. This brings us to our next question, “What is app design software?”

What is App Design Software?

App design software refers to specialized tools and platforms that are employed to build, design, and prototype contemporary mobile applications for smartphones, tablets, and other portable devices. This application design software provides a user-friendly interface and numerous design features to aid designers, developers, and product teams in the process of creating graphically appealing and functional mobile apps.

What Does App Design Software Do?

App design software serves several essential functions to facilitate the creation and development of mobile applications. Here are the primary things that app design software does:

  1. User Interface (UI) Design: App design software allows designers to visually create and customize the app's user interface. They can design screens, buttons, icons, navigation menus, and other interactive elements that users will interact with.

  2. Wireframing and Prototyping: These mobile app design software enable designers to create wireframes and interactive prototypes of the app's UI and user experience (UX). Wireframes are low-fidelity representations of the app's layout and structure, while prototypes offer a more interactive experience to visualize the app's flow and functionality.

  3. Design Asset Management: App design software often includes a library of pre-designed UI elements and templates, such as buttons, icons, and widgets. Designers can reuse these assets to maintain consistency and save time during the design process.

  4. Responsive Design: Given the diversity of mobile devices, app design software allows designers to create responsive designs that can adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions. This ensures that the app will display correctly and intuitively on various devices.

  5. Collaboration and Version Control: Many mobile app design tools offer collaboration features, enabling multiple team members to work together on the same project simultaneously. Additionally, version control features help track design changes and facilitate team communication.

  6. Design Testing and Feedback: Mobile app design tool often integrates with testing and feedback tools, allowing designers to gather user feedback and iterate on the design based on real-world user insights.

  7. Exporting and Handoff: Designers can export their designs in various formats (e.g., PNG, SVG) to share with developers for implementation. Some tools also offer design handoff features, providing developers with code snippets and assets to ensure accurate implementation of the design.

  8. Integration with Development Tools: Many app design software can integrate with development tools and platforms, simplifying the handoff process and improving collaboration between designers and developers.

Benefits of Mobile App Design Software

Now that we have understood what app design software is and what they do, let’s understand how they benefit developers. Application design software assists a great deal in designing applications with its range of features. To understand what factors of product design it affects and how it affects them, read ahead!

top-benefits-of-mobile-app-design-software

  1. Efficient Prototyping

    A prototype is a basic, low-functioning model of the final project. An app design software helps you minimize the time spent on building a prototype that performs basic functionality with the help of widgets and other UI options. Such prototypes cover the core concept of the app in a visually pleasing design, catching the user/ investor’s eye.

  2. Creates a Good First Impression

    Creating a good first impression is a need easily understood. The landing page or homepage determines if any user would want to explore more features of the application. A simple yet compelling design, along with engaging content, makes sure that your users are engaged in the concept of your application.

  3. Access to Pre-Designed Templates

    Developing an app from scratch takes a lot of time, as each block of code needs to be tested. Pre-designed templates that are available in the software library are built according to general standards. This makes them mostly bug-free and modifiable as per the preferences of a user.

  4. Secures Better Rankings on App Stores

    App store rankings are all based on the conversion rate of your app. This rate is the number of downloads of your app over the number of people that visit your app in the store. When your app is engaging and highly functional, the users will prefer to download it over the alternatives, making it rank higher.

  5. Time and Cost Savings

    The time taken to design, develop, and test each aspect of an app is agreeably lengthy and a resource-exhaustive activity. The cost can even reach over $100,000! However, the designed templates, widgets, and other features help you save a lot of time and money.

    Saving funds, time, and energy as well! Is there a better platform? Moreover, a high app store ranking ensures that your app reaches more people, possibly landing you great profits. These benefits are general and can be expected from any mobile app design software. However, it is still advisable to go through the features offered by the platform you choose.

Common Features of Best App Design Software

Every platform has its own set of features that may or may not be similar to those of another platform. These features determine how similar or different these platforms are. However, some attributes are found in almost every software due to their relevance. 

Here are some common features that are shared among some of the best app design software.

key-features-of-best-app-design-software

  1. Design Templates

    Having a wide range of UI feature designs is considered a strong forte for such platforms. They provide you with a plethora of template options to choose from, making it simple to get the exact style of program you desire for your app.

  2. Prototype Creation

    Prototyping helps you understand how your app will look when finished. At various stages, it assists in comparing the vision and development of the app. Even prototyping takes up a lot of time, which can easily be shortened by using feature templates.

  3. Testing Management

    Constant testing is an absolute necessity when it comes to building any software product. So, a predefined testing management plan is a beneficial factor in the case of app design software. It aids in keeping track of progress throughout the development process.

  4.  Navigable Menu Structure

    A predictable interface ensures that users do not have to spend a chunk of time understanding the app. So they can start utilizing your application right away. It gives the end-users a sense of familiarity, due to which they willingly engage with the application.

  5. Fast Loading Time

    Due to being served with one-tap interfaces for a while, the public has long forgotten how to deal with an app that takes a longer time. App design software helps you minimize the loading time and provides a faster interface during the development of heavy apps.

  6. In-App Analytics

    A range of tools helps you understand app analytics with the use of data visualization concepts. These analytical reports give you a real-time track of general user habits and help you understand the positive and negative aspects of your app design. You can easily understand what changes might be required in the next maintenance session.

  7. Ability To Function Offline

    Despite growth in technology, there are still a good number of people who do not have constant data connectivity. An app that can function offline is considerably more accessible to the public than an entirely internet-based application. This feature gives your users the freedom to use your app whenever and wherever without worrying about a data connection.

  8. Responsive Support

    There should always be a channel in your application through which your users connect with you. This channel should also provide them with guidance, solve queries, and retain feedback. This feedback counts as valuable information that directs the maintenance plans that are to be carried out in the future.

    Selecting the right software to implement your app design impacts your resultant applications heavily. Hence, observing the offered set of tools is a common practice. Discussed above are some common features that you should look for when looking for design platforms.

How to Choose the Right App Design Software?

Once you have narrowed down your search for a design platform for digital products, what should you do? Which design software should be your final choice?

Well, if that is your next concern, let’s shift the focus from the developer's opinion. Considering another aspect to singularize your choice, you should observe what your idea regarding the following components is:

how-to-select-the-best-app-design-software

  1. App Strategy

    An app strategy includes knowing and planning the development of your app according to the likes and dislikes of your target audience. Slow connectivity and an inaccessible UI are some factors that should be given priority within this strategy. A successful and well-planned app strategy constitutes a well-designed and convenient resultant application.

  2. Required Skill Set

    One of the most important aspects that you should focus on is if you have the required skill set or not. A platform that requires you to learn a new type of language that is out of your expertise may lead to degraded outcomes. Instead, you should look for platforms that are easily comprehensible or well under your skillset so your results match your expectations.

  3. User Experience

    User experience covers everything, starting from the logo to the related human psychology. Your app has to cover all the services required by a person in your industry with an interface they find easy to comprehend. And so, it makes sense that the platform you select offers tools that allow you to construct such an interface.

    Gaining a new perspective always helps during decision-making. Observing your preference according to the above three aspects will validate your decision for the selected software.

Top 5 App Design Software Comparison

Name
Free Trial
Demo
Pricing

Sketch

30 Days

Yes

Starting price at $10/editor/month

Adobe XD

7 Days

Yes

Starting price at $9.99/editor/month

Figma

30 Days

Yes

Starting price at $12/editor/month

Axure RP

30 Days

Yes

Starting price at $29/user/month

Proto.io

15 Days

Yes

Starting price at $24/month

Before you go searching the whole Internet to find the best platform to implement your next app idea, hold on. Why put in extra effort when you have all the information in one place? 

Let’s uncover what the most used software design applications of recent times have to offer.

1. Sketch

sketch-dashboard

Sketch is a powerful and popular app design software used by designers and developers to create stunning user interfaces and interactive prototypes for web and mobile applications. With its intuitive interface, extensive library of pre-designed elements, and robust collaboration features, Sketch has become a go-to tool for professionals seeking efficiency and precision in their app design workflow.

Features
  • Vector editing
  • Diverse graphic export formats
  • Pixel-friendly photo handling
  • Web design component tools
Pros
  • Amazing UI with a user-friendly interface.
  • Rich set of features for UX/UI design.
  • Vector-based design ensures high-quality graphics for various purposes.
  • Efficient handling of pixel-friendly photos.
  • Easy to use, especially for those familiar with previous UX/UI design software.
Cons
  • No versions are available for other systems like Windows, limiting cross-platform compatibility.
  • Some users find the user experience lacking or cumbersome.
  • The prototyping feature is considered poor by some users.
  • Collaboration is limited to Mac users, hindering teamwork with non-Macbook users.

Pricing

It has two pricing plans:

  • Standard plan- $10 per month per editor ( billed yearly)
  • Business plan- $20 per month per editor ( billed yearly)

2. Adobe XD

adobe-xd-dashboard

 Adobe XD is the best app design software for creating application prototypes. It offers you multiple automation and collaborative tools for easy product generation. Adobe has a range of users, including public administrators.

Features
  • Prototyping
  • Animations and transition designs
  • Mockup creation 
  • Simplified sharing via shareable links
  • Cross-platform compatibility with multiple versions
Pros
  • Provides a great user experience with a delightful interface.
  • Ideal for creating fantastic mockups for projects.
  • Easy sharing of designs through a final link.
  • Offers different versions for various computer systems, enhancing compatibility.
Cons
  • Lacks the ability to export projects to PSD format.
  • Some users find the number of functions and file export options limited.
  • Prototyping can be frustrating, especially when dealing with common widgets and button states.

Pricing

  • $9.99 per month
  • $99.99 per year

3. Figma

figma-dashboard

Figma is a groundbreaking and user-friendly web-based app design software that has reorganized the way designers collaborate and create digital products. With its mighty features and intuitive interface, Figma has become a go-to choice for many designers and design teams. One of the standout features of Figma is its real-time collaboration capability, enabling numerous users to work together on the same design file simultaneously. This encourages seamless teamwork, eliminates version control issues, and strengthens productivity.

Features
Pros
  • Excellent and user-friendly UI designing application.
  • Free of cost, making it accessible to all users.
  • Easy collaboration and prototyping capabilities.
  • Tons of features, including plugins, for creating beautiful and clear wireframes and prototypes.
  • Packed with features but still simple to get started with.
Cons
  • Some users may find a learning curve, especially compared to similar software.
  • Poorly understood concepts in components and styles might require reading the documentation.
  • The commenting system can be confusing, making it challenging to track relevant comments.

Pricing

  • Starter Team: Free for up to 2 editors and 3 projects
  • Professional: $12 per editor/month (annual billing) and $15 per editor/month (monthly billing)
  • Organization: $45 per editor/month (annual billing)

4. Axure RP

axure-rp-dashboard

Axure RP Pro/Team is the design wizard you need to weave enchanting prototypes and precise specifications for your websites and applications. With its intuitive drag-and-drop feature, you'll effortlessly place, resize, and format widgets, bringing your ideas to life with bewitching ease.

Features
  • Prototype creation
  • Wireframe creation
  • Interactive elements
  • Master pages and templates
  • Page linking
  • Integrates with Jira & Slack for productivity.
Pros
  • Ideal for large-scale, super-detailed projects.
  • Excellent for tying requirements into UX work.
  • Supports many integrations like Jira & Slack.
Cons
  • Requires significant effort to create detailed prototypes, and some coding knowledge may be necessary.
  • Not well-suited for UI design, as it can be frustrating for simple interactions.
  • Steeper learning curve due to the abundance of options and complex internal mechanics.

Pricing

  • Axure RP 9 Pro: $29/user/month or $495/user for a perpetual license.
  • Axure RP 9 Team: $49/user/month or $895/user for a perpetual license.
  • Axure Cloud for Business: plans start at $30/month for up to 5 users.
  • Axure Cloud is available free for a single user.

5. Proto.io

proto-dashboard

Proto.io is a robust prototyping and app design software that lets designers and developers create interactive and user-friendly prototypes for web and mobile apps. It's like a virtual playground where you can easily test your designs and see how they work in practical life.

The best part is it's so simple to use that you don't need to be a tech genius to get started. With Proto.io, you can rapidly improve and iterate on your designs for the best user experience. It's like having a magic wand that turns your ideas into reality, making it a preferred choice among designers and developers alike.

Features
  • Wireframing
  • Real-time changes to prototypes
  • Revision history
  • Web-based tool for online prototype design
  • Support for video interactions
  • Import data from local files
Pros
  • Beginner-friendly interface, making it easy to get started.
  • Efficient and simple to use for designing prototypes.
  • Interactive and easy-to-learn interface for dynamic prototype changes.
  • Great tool for designing and changing prototypes online without the need for additional hardware.
Cons
  • Buggy and unstable data import feature from local files.
  • Difficulty in integrating video interactions at times.
  • Prototypes may start lagging with a large number of interactions.
  • Limited 15-day trial period.

Pricing

It has four pricing plans:

  • Freelancer: $24/month (paid annually)
  • Startup: $40/month (paid annually)
  • Agency: $80 (paid annually)
  • Corporate: $160 (paid annually)

For the development of basic web applications, one can easily choose between Sketch, Adobe, or Figma based on the features they need. However, to construct applications that can be accessed through the web, Android devices, and iOS as well, you should choose between Axure and Proto.io based on your skill set. 

Challenges in Mobile App Design Software

When businesses grow, their first approach to gaining a larger audience is creating a website and then a web app. After which, they shift to mobile applications. In this transition, accessibility for mobile applications might be lost.

Discussed below are some common problems that lead to a failing mobile app:

top-challenges-in-mobile-app-design-software

  1. Design Compatibility Issues

    On a user’s device, there are a variety of app design software already downloaded. When your mobile app design software is incompatible with those apps or device software, the probability of being considered a virus turns high. As a result, the quality degrades due to being detected as a virus. Utilizing compatibility testing tools to their full potential allows you to create a software-friendly device. Also, designing software that is friendly with other mobile app development frameworks should be preferred.

  2. Failure to Get User Feedback

    User feedback is not just lore told to app developers to add to their work. When you don't connect with users, understanding the strong and weak points of your app design software becomes difficult. User feedback, however, is a cheat sheet that gives you valuable information regarding the dos and don'ts of the design.

  3. Inadequate App Architecture

    App architecture is an infrastructure that is laid out layer-by-layer and compiled to form a successful application. Each layer consists of a different concept, such as UI, back-end development, and design guidelines. Having a collective hold on these concepts is the only solution to this issue.

  4. Product Display Issues

    Such an issue often comes up while developing an application based on a website. When developed for larger screen sizes and presented on a much smaller one, products, and their details get congested, and your app ends up looking distorted. Selecting an app builder that integrates websites well into apps is highly recommended to avoid such a catastrophe.

    If there is a problem, there is a solution as well. These issues are hardly unknown to anyone working with the application development process. However, these issues can easily be sorted out by gaining more perspective and using tools that refine your work.

Latest Trends in App Design Software

Keeping up with the trends of app design software gives you a plus point over your competitors. Recent developments in the style of app interface have changed users' expectations. Below are the features of application design software that are now considered a basic necessity while designing an application.

market-trends-in-app-design-software

  1. Split Screen Design

    Nowadays, people prefer to divide their attention and perform multiple tasks simultaneously. A split screen view helps the app users to divide their screen and run different programs in each portion. This feature turns out to be beneficial for students while researching topics from different sources.

  2. Augmented Reality in UI Design

    Integrating Augmented reality (AR) within the user interface of an app design software gives the users a feeling of being in a different place, which may or may not be their real-time location. This feature requires a lot of specialized guidance for implementation but noticeably enhances the user experience.

  3. Dark Mode

    Due to being the default setting for viewing digital content, dark mode makes your content catchy. A lengthy screen time in “light” mode negatively affects the eyes, which is also not an issue in the case of using dark mode.

  4. Animated Effects

    Animated effects hold a similar power over the audience as illustrations if not more. Adding graphics makes any sort of content easy to comprehend. It becomes eye-catching and gets your point across easily as compared to text. Additionally, it holds a user's attention far better than other media.

  5. Convenient Voice Interactions

    As mentioned above, people tend to work on more than one task simultaneously these days. Speaking itself gives them an illusion of effective communication. A voice interaction feature helps them reach their exact destination quickly. It also gives people with learning disabilities or poor eyesight equal support.

Conclusion

Building an application is usually considered a complex task due to the interconnected functionality of a range of concepts. However, app design software makes the development process a lot easier in comparison. However, across a variety of platforms, one must look into how they want their app to function along with what their target audience expects while selecting a design platform.

After selecting suitable app design software, there are several factors one must always examine throughout the development process. Every business expects particular features within a related application, which shall also be kept in mind.

FAQs

An app development software offers you technical functionalities like API, Data Synchronization, and diverse analytical tools. Such software aids in a faster development cycle of the application by assisting complex tasks like integrating back-end services into the app layout.

The app design software, however, performs a different task set such as designing the application, providing widgets for ease in UI construction, and maintaining the overall UX of the application. Unlike app development software, it minimizes the need for programming skills.

Software for app design can cost anywhere from $9 per month to $50 per month or even more! The difference turns up within the services provided in each subscription plan. To make the correct purchase, you should look into the services provided by each software and the services required by you. There is hardly a point in purchasing a subscription for services that fulfill your needs or one whose maximum tools you do not require.

Last Updated: January 02, 2024