There are a lot of tools for designing products and it can be hard to choose those that are the best for you. That’s why we’ve put a list of only the best product design tools to help you quickly find the best tool for your needs.
Product design tool are software that empower product teams to build better products. These tools serve at every stage of the product development stage, from product discovery, wireframing, prototyping, all the way through the development of the MVP and the subsequent iterations. These tools are indispensable companions for designers, developers, and product managers.
Also, these tools help teams work better together. They bring everything into one place - like planning, managing tasks, talking with the team, and sharing documents. This way, everyone knows what's going on and feels included in the design process.
With the right tool, you can streamline you workflow and be more efficient, hence the importance of choosing the right ones.
Choosing the best product design tools depends on your specific needs, team size, and the complexity of your projects. Consider tools that offer a blend of functionality, ease of use, and collaborative features to support your design process from start to finish.
Figma revolutionizes UI/UX design with its cloud-based, collaborative approach. It's perfect for teams that value real-time cooperation and feedback loops, offering features like vector networks for complex designs and a plugin ecosystem for extended functionality.
Figma offers a free starter plan, with professional plans starting at $12/month per editor.
Figma is ideal for teams seeking a unified platform that supports both design and prototyping. Its collaborative nature accelerates the design process, making it a top choice for dynamic teams aiming for high efficiency and innovation.
Webflow is a no-code platform that empowers designers to build and launch responsive websites visually. It combines design, animation, and content management features, making it a comprehensive tool for web projects.
Starting from $14/month for a marketing website, you will have to pay $23/month if you want to have a blog.
Choose Webflow for its ability to translate design into live websites without coding. It's great for designers who want to maintain creative control while ensuring a seamless handoff to development.
Bubble is a powerful no-code tool for creating web applications. It offers a drag-and-drop interface and custom workflows, making app development accessible to designers without coding skills.
Bubble offers a free plan, with paid plans starting at $29/month.
Bubble is the go-to for entrepreneurs and designers looking to quickly turn ideas into functional apps without having to learn how to code. It's a very powerful tool that doesn't require you to learn how to code, but if you know how to code, you can take full advantage of its tremendous power.
Framer offers a blend of design and prototyping for high-fidelity interactive designs. Its focus on motion and interaction makes it stand out, ideal for creating engaging user experiences. It also has a powerful AI that enables you to create amazing designs in seconds and even export the code if you later need to continue the development with a developer.
Framer offers a free plan, with pro plans starting at $5/month for a landing page and $15/month for a basic website.
Framer is perfect for designers focused on interaction and animation, offering tools that bring prototypes closer to real, functional products. It's a bridge between design and development.
Marvel simplifies the prototyping process with its user-friendly platform. It supports design, testing, and collaboration, making it a versatile tool for quick iterations and user feedback gathering.
Marvel's plans start at $9/month, with options for teams and enterprises.
Marvel is suited for teams that prioritize speed and simplicity in their design process. Its ease of use and comprehensive set of features make it a solid choice for rapid prototyping and testing.
Linear revolutionized the world of project management with its radical and opinionated approach to project management. It's a tool built by designers who prioritize speed of execution above anything else and push you to strip all the unnecessary processes in your project management workflow.
Linear’s offers a free plan, with paid plans starting at $8/month per user.
Choose Linear if you're looking for a sleek, efficient way to manage software projects. Its focus on automation and integration makes project tracking and collaboration seamless.
Maze turns prototypes into actionable insights through rapid user testing. It's designed for quick feedback loops, offering usability metrics and analytics to inform design decisions.
Maze offers a free plan, with paid plans starting at $99/month.
Maze is ideal for designers and teams eager to validate ideas quickly. Its strength lies in turning user feedback into clear, actionable data to refine designs efficiently.
Fathom Analytics offers privacy-focused web analytics, providing simple, actionable insights without compromising user privacy. It's GDPR-compliant and easy to use.
Plans start at $12.5/month, offering a 30-day free trial.
Fathom is the choice for those prioritizing user privacy and simplicity in analytics. It offers a clear, concise dashboard for tracking website performance without the clutter.
Hotjar is a data analytics tool for user research and conversion rate optimization (CTR) that shows how users interact with your site through heatmaps and visitor recordings. It's invaluable for understanding user behavior and optimizing your UX.
Hotjar offers a free plan, with plus plans starting at $32/month.
Hotjar is for teams who want to deeply understand user behavior. Its visual tools and feedback features provide insights that are almost vital for conversion rate optimization and UX researchers.
Zeplin is one of the best product design tools that help you hand off design to developers smoothly. It bridges the gap between design and development, providing style guides, asset exporting, and integration with popular design tools in order to facilitate a carbon copy implementation of the design, as imagined by the designer.
Zeplin offers a free plan, with team plans starting at $8/month per user.
Zeplin is essential for teams that value efficient, accurate design-to-development workflows. It minimizes confusion and ensures that designs are implemented correctly.
Make is the most powerful automation tool. It helps you automate pretty much anything, at the cost of a steeper learning curve as compared to its rival Zapier. Its purpose is to help you save time on repetitive tasks without needing to code.
Make offers a free plan, with paid plans starting at $9/month.
Make is for people looking for a complete and affordable automation app to automate parts of their workflow. It's versatile, supporting a wide range of apps and custom logic for tailored automation.
In conclusion, equipping yourself with the best product design tools is crucial for enhancing productivity and using your full creative potential. Whether you're building the next big app or designing a user-friendly website, the right tools can streamline your workflow and help you achieve outstanding results.
The best product design tools vary based on your specific needs. However, Figma and Webflow are great starting points for UI/UX and web design, respectively.
AI can assist in the design process. It can generate initial concepts to and automate repetitive tasks. However, the core of product design which is understanding user needs, empathising with those needs, and creatively solving problems; remains a distinctly human endeavour. The best product design tools incorporate AI to streamline certain aspects of the design process. But they are used to augment the designer’s capabilities.
Product design is a challenging yet immensely rewarding profession. It requires good taste, great problem-solving abilities, and a lot of empathy. While the best product design tools can simplify and streamline the design process, the journey from concept to a fully realized product is complex and iterative. Success in product design comes from continuous learning, experimentation, and a deep understanding of your users' needs and the problem you are trying to solve.
A product designer must have a keen eye for design, an understanding of user needs, and proficiency in the best product design tools to bring their ideas to life.
