# Balsamiq vs Principle

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Balsamiq

| Attribute | Balsamiq | Principle |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 69 (69% (medium)) | 46.9 (40% (low)) |
| 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 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. It is indexed under Mockup Tools.","source":"https://principleformac.com/pricing.html","question":"What is Principle?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Principle is a paid product; published pricing starts at $129. There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://principleformac.com/pricing.html","question":"How much does Principle cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Principle supports macOS. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://principleformac.com/pricing.html","question":"What platforms does Principle support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Principle is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://principleformac.com/pricing.html","question":"Where is Principle available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| 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 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. |
| 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}` | `{"pricing_model":"flat_lifetime_license","architecture_model":"local_mac_native_app","advanced_micro_interaction_animation_smart_animate":true,"stateful_interactive_prototyping_with_variables_and_logic":true}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | 2 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Jira"},{"name":"Confluence"},{"name":"Notion"},{"name":"MCP server (Claude, Cursor)"}]` | `[{"name":"Figma","native":true,"category":"design","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Sketch","native":true,"category":"design","direction":"inbound"}]` |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"mac":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":"perpetual","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Principle License","summary":"$129 per computer, perpetual license","features":["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","Web-based sharing and preview","Video export functionality","One year of new feature access included"],"minSeats":1,"components":[{"kind":"one_time","amount":129,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Single license per computer with one year of new feature access","contactSales":false}],"addOns":[{"name":"License Renewal","components":[{"kind":"one_time","amount":99,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"$129 per computer. Renewal available for $99 to access new features released after initial purchase.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://principleformac.com/pricing.html","retrievedAt":"2026-09-01T14:41:52.011Z","startingPrice":{"amount":129,"currency":"USD"}}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | no |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | mid | high |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":129,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.9 | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Mockup Tools)

| Capability | Balsamiq | Principle |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Architecture model | - | Local mac native app |
| Css flexbox based auto layout engine | - | - |
| Stateful interactive prototyping with variables and logic | - | ✓ |
| Component variants and property overrides | - | - |
| Design token variable mapping colors spacing typography | - | - |
| Real time multiplayer crdt cursor sync | - | - |
| Developer mode handoff environment css swift export | - | - |
| Advanced micro interaction animation smart animate | - | ✓ |
| Third party plugin ecosystem API | - | - |
| Offline editing mode with conflict resolution | - | - |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| Gpl or permissive oss license | - | - |
| Pricing model | subscription | Flat lifetime license |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T18:57:33.046Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*