InVision's old web address now opens the Miro homepage, and that page doesn't mention the prototyping tool at all. So you'll need a new home: a design platform for everyday screens and prototypes, a dedicated prototyping tool for complex interactions, or a wireframing tool for early ideas, chosen by the job your team does most.
Plenty of teams kept old prototype links in tickets, specs and slide decks long after they stopped opening the tool itself. This page is for designers and product teams who need a working replacement now: ten tools grouped by the job each one does, a side-by-side table, then a short test you can run with one real screen.
The trap in an old bookmark
Here's the part that catches people out. Open that old address, or the freehand and inside-design paths that used to sit under it, and you land on the Miro homepage, titled AI Innovation Workspace. That page doesn't mention the old product. There's no welcome screen pointing to a successor and no note on that page about where your old work went.
That matters for two reasons. First, every link to a prototype that lives in a ticket, a spec or a client deck is worth checking now, because the next person who clicks it may land on a homepage that means nothing to them. Second, it's easy to assume the workspace you've landed on is the natural next step. It might suit you for other jobs, but it isn't one of the prototyping tools below, and you shouldn't drift into it by accident.
So start with a short audit before any shortlist:
- Which old prototype links still sit in live documents, tickets or client decks?
- Which screens and flows would you need to rebuild, and which can you let go?
- Who outside the design team relied on those links, such as developers, testers or clients?
- What did those prototypes have to show: simple click-through, real form behaviour or branching logic?
The second mistake: choosing on looks alone
Lots of design apps can draw a lovely screen. Fewer let you wire up the behaviour your old prototypes showed stakeholders, and that's the part people miss when they compare tools by their homepage screenshots. Before you compare anything, list what your prototypes had to do.
Maybe they were simple click-throughs for a client review. Maybe they had forms that behaved like the real thing, conditional paths, notes for developers, or sessions with real users watching them. Each of those points to a different group of tools below. That list, not the feature page, decides your shortlist, and it stops you moving the whole team onto something that can't do the one job you used most.
Ten tools grouped by the work they cover
For all-round design work, Figma spans design, prototyping, Dev Mode, FigJam whiteboards, slides and site publishing. Sketch covers design, collaboration, prototyping and developer handoff, with a web app alongside. Penpot is open source and handles UI design, prototypes and design systems, with a self-host option for teams that want to run it themselves.
For prototypes with real logic, Axure RP builds functional prototypes with event triggers, conditions and actions. Justinmind focuses on web and mobile apps, with forms and data simulation. UXPin builds around code-backed components, with Git and Storybook integrations.
For quick clickable mockups and testing, Marvel brings prototyping, user testing, handoff and wireframing together, while Proto.io is a web-based drag-and-drop tool aimed at designers, product managers and marketers.
For early ideas, Balsamiq takes a rough wireframe to an interactive prototype. And if your prototypes were really websites waiting to happen, Framer is a website builder with a design agent, aimed at designing and publishing sites rather than only prototypes.
Ten tools side by side
| Tool | Kind of tool | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Axure RP | Advanced prototyping | Complex, logic-driven UX prototypes |
| Balsamiq | Wireframing | Rough wireframes to clickable prototypes |
| Figma | Design and prototyping platform | Whole teams designing and prototyping together |
| Framer | Website design builder | Prototypes that become live websites |
| Justinmind | Interaction prototyping | Web and mobile apps with forms and data |
| Marvel | Prototyping platform | Mockups plus user testing and handoff |
| Penpot | Open-source design | Teams wanting open source or self-hosting |
| Proto.io | Web prototyping | Drag-and-drop prototypes in the browser |
| Sketch | Design tool | Precise design with developer handoff |
| UXPin | Code-based prototyping | Prototypes built from code-backed components |
Every tool, A to Z
These are in no particular order beyond the alphabet. Each line is a short description based on what the maker says about its own tool.
Axure RP
Best for: UX specialists building realistic, functional prototypes driven by event triggers, conditions and actions.
Balsamiq
Best for: Early ideas: taking a rough wireframe to an interactive prototype without writing a single line of code, as the vendor puts it.
Figma
Best for: Teams wanting design, prototyping, Dev Mode, FigJam whiteboards, slides and site publishing under one roof; its line is design and prototype in one place.
Framer
Best for: Designers whose prototypes are really websites, using a builder with a design agent to design and publish live sites.
Justinmind
Best for: Web and mobile app prototypes that need interaction design, forms, data simulation and user flows.
Marvel
Best for: Product teams after interactive mockups, plus user testing, developer handoff and wireframing on one design platform.
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Penpot
Best for: Open-source UI design, prototypes and design systems, with a self-host option and an open MCP server, per the vendor.
Proto.io
Best for: Designers, product managers and marketers who want web-based, drag-and-drop prototyping with UI component libraries and no code.
Sketch
Best for: Precise design work with collaboration, prototyping and developer handoff, plus a web app; the vendor's line is create with precision.
UXPin
Best for: Designing UI with code-backed components that connect to Git and Storybook, so prototypes sit closer to the real product.
Run one real screen through two tools
Feature lists won't tell you how a tool feels on a busy Tuesday. One real screen will. Take something your team built recently and push it through two tools from the group that matches your job.
- Choose one screen and one short flow from a recent project, ideally one with a form or a branch in it.
- Rebuild it in two tools from the same group, starting from your own design files rather than a template.
- Wire up the interactions that mattered in the original, including any form input or conditional path.
- Share the prototype with one developer and one person outside the team, and watch where they get lost.
- Note how handoff works for the developer, then keep the tool that got you there with the least fuss.
What a product team should do this week
Fix the links first, then choose the tool. Replace or remove old prototype links in your live documents so nobody lands on a page that means nothing to them, and tell clients where their prototypes live now. After that, pick the group that matches the job you did most, run the one-screen test, and move the team over in one go rather than leaving half the work in limbo.
If design files are the bigger worry than prototypes, my list of alternatives to the biggest design platform goes deeper on everyday design tools. For earlier stages, have a look at these AI wireframe generators and AI prototyping tools too.
Do you make prototyping or design software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Does the old address still open the prototyping tool?
No. It now lands on the Miro homepage, which doesn't mention the old product, and the freehand and inside-design paths go to the same place.
Can I import my old prototype files into a new tool?
Don't assume so. Check what each tool's own site says about importing, then test with one real file before you plan a move around it.
Which tools here are open source?
One design platform in this list describes itself as open source and offers a self-host option. The table shows what kind of tool each entry is.
Do I need a separate wireframing tool?
Only if your team sketches a lot before designing. Some design platforms here cover wireframing as well, and one tool focuses on taking rough wireframes to interactive prototypes.
Can a prototype become a live website?
One tool here is a website builder with a design agent, aimed at designing and publishing sites rather than only prototypes. The others describe themselves around design and prototyping.
Which tools offer a free plan?
Several state a free plan on their own sites, and one names a trial. Check each vendor's site before you sign up, because what's included can change.
