# Balsamiq vs Pencil Project

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Balsamiq

| Attribute | Balsamiq | Pencil Project |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 69 (69% (medium)) | 30.3 (62% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 0 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 9,875 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A wireframing and prototyping platform that combines AI-assisted design with real-time collaboration to help teams turn rough ideas into validated, interactive prototypes before handing off to developers. It is indexed under UI/UX & Prototyping Tools.","source":"https://balsamiq.com","question":"What is Balsamiq?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Balsamiq offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $16 per editor per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://balsamiq.com","question":"Is Balsamiq free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Balsamiq. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://balsamiq.com","question":"What platforms does Balsamiq support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Balsamiq, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://balsamiq.com","question":"Can Balsamiq be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 5 integrations for Balsamiq, including Slack, Jira, Confluence, Notion and MCP server (Claude, Cursor). This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://balsamiq.com","question":"What does Balsamiq integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and GDPR for Balsamiq. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Balsamiq not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://balsamiq.com","question":"What security certifications does Balsamiq have?","confidence":0.48}]` | `[{"answer":"A freely available desktop tool for creating wireframes and mockups with built-in templates for web, mobile, and desktop user interfaces. Includes diagram drawing, interactive prototyping, and multi-format export capabilities. It is indexed under Wireframing.","source":"https://pencil.evolus.vn","question":"What is Pencil Project?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Pencil Project is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the GPL-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://pencil.evolus.vn","question":"Is Pencil Project free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Pencil Project supports Windows, macOS and Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://pencil.evolus.vn","question":"What platforms does Pencil Project support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Pencil Project is published under the GPL-2.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil","question":"Is Pencil Project open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | - |
| description.long | A wireframing and prototyping platform that combines AI-assisted design with real-time collaboration to help teams turn rough ideas into validated, interactive prototypes before handing off to developers. | A freely available desktop tool for creating wireframes and mockups with built-in templates for web, mobile, and desktop user interfaces. Includes diagram drawing, interactive prototyping, and multi-format export capabilities. |
| features.capabilities | `{"ai_design":true,"dev_handoff":true,"pricing_model":"subscription","vector_design":true,"platform_breadth":"Web (Cloud), Desktop, Confluence, Jira","plugin_ecosystem":"Slack, Jira, Confluence, Notion, MCP server for Claude/Cursor","component_libraries":true,"clickable_prototyping":true,"realtime_collaboration":true}` | `{"architecture_model":"desktop_local_application","offline_editing_mode":true,"drag_and_drop_click_through_user_flow_linking":true,"pre_built_ios_android_web_ui_component_library":true}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Jira"},{"name":"Confluence"},{"name":"Notion"},{"name":"MCP server (Claude, Cursor)"}]` | `[{"name":"OpenClipart.org","native":true,"category":"asset_library","direction":"inbound"}]` |
| language.primary | - | JavaScript |
| license.spdx | - | GPL-2.0 |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"mac":true,"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Starter","summary":"$16/editor/month billed annually ($192/year)","features":["Up to 10 projects","Unlimited reviewers","500 monthly AI credits per editor","Balsamiq MCP server","Slack integration","Custom UI components","Export to PDF or image"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"editor","amount":16,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Up to 10 projects, 500 monthly AI credits, Slack integration","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"projects":"10","reviewers":"unlimited","ai_credits_monthly":"500"}},{"free":false,"name":"Teams","summary":"$24/editor/month billed annually ($288/year)","features":["Up to 100 projects","Unlimited reviewers","1,000 monthly AI credits per editor","Balsamiq MCP server","Billing admin role and permissions","Custom UI components","Export to PDF or image","Priority support"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"editor","amount":24,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Up to 100 projects, 1,000 monthly AI credits, priority support","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"projects":"100","reviewers":"unlimited","ai_credits_monthly":"1000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"$35/editor/month billed annually ($420/year)","features":["Everything in Teams, plus:","Up to 400 projects","2,500 monthly AI credits per editor","Balsamiq MCP server","SSO with SAML","Legal and security review support","Data storage in the US or EU","Premium support"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"editor","amount":35,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Up to 400 projects, 2,500 monthly AI credits, SSO, premium support","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"projects":"400","reviewers":"unlimited","ai_credits_monthly":"2500"}}],"summary":"From $16/editor/month. Free 14-day trial. Save 30% with annual billing.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://balsamiq.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-01T15:33:44.068Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":16,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open-source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://pencil.evolus.vn","retrievedAt":"2026-08-31T13:58:37.061Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | mid | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 41 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.1.1","date":"2023-01-01T03:03:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.1.0","date":"2019-10-19T09:54:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.0.4","date":"2017-06-28T00:32:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.0.3","date":"2017-06-06T08:33:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.0.2","date":"2017-05-10T22:48:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.0.1","date":"2017-03-27T05:00:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.0.0","date":"2017-03-20T09:17:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.2","date":"2017-02-09T11:07:51Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.1","date":"2016-07-24T16:17:11Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.0.0-beta.2","date":"2016-06-10T11:25:26Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-beta.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/evolus/pencil/releases/tag/v3.0.0-beta.1","date":"2016-06-03T14:37:26Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-beta.1"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.9 | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 2.2 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fevolus%2Fpencil&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Wireframing)

| Capability | Balsamiq | Pencil Project |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Architecture model | - | Desktop local application |
| Enforced low fidelity sketch rendering aesthetic | - | - |
| Pre built ios android web UI component library | - | ✓ |
| AI generation from text prompts or napkin sketches | - | - |
| Drag and drop click through user flow linking | - | ✓ |
| Real time multiplayer crdt cursor sync | - | - |
| Confluence and jira native iframe embedding | - | - |
| Export to high fidelity tools figma sketch | - | - |
| Click heatmap and basic usability testing integration | - | - |
| Offline editing mode | - | ✓ |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| ISO 27001 | - | - |
| Pricing model | subscription | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T23:30:05.665Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*