Balsamiq vs Principle
On the evidence we track, Balsamiq leads this comparison with a composite score of 69/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for mockup tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
Balsamiq
LeaderA 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.
Principle
A native macOS application for designing animated and interactive user interfaces across web, mobile, and desktop platforms, featuring keyframe-based animation controls and automatic transitions between artboards.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
Balsamiq
LeaderFrom $16/editor/month. Free 14-day trial. Save 30% with annual billing.
- Starter$16/editor/month billed annually ($192/year)
- Up to 10 projects
- Unlimited reviewers
- 500 monthly AI credits per editor
- Balsamiq MCP server
- Slack integration
- +2 more
- Teams$24/editor/month billed annually ($288/year)
- Up to 100 projects
- Unlimited reviewers
- 1,000 monthly AI credits per editor
- Balsamiq MCP server
- Billing admin role and permissions
- +3 more
- Enterprise$35/editor/month billed annually ($420/year)
- Everything in Teams, plus:
- Up to 400 projects
- 2,500 monthly AI credits per editor
- Balsamiq MCP server
- SSO with SAML
- +3 more
Principle
$129 per computer. Renewal available for $99 to access new features released after initial purchase.
- Principle License$129 per computer, perpetual license
- Timeline animation with keyframes and easing customization
- Multi-artboard screen flow design
- Automatic animations between named layers on different artboards
- Hover and mouse wheel event support
- Import from Figma and Sketch with intelligent merging
- +3 more
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
Balsamiq
Leader- Slack
- Jira
- Confluence
- Notion
- MCP server (Claude, Cursor)
Principle
- Figma
- Sketch
Balsamiq or Principle: which one depends on you
A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.