vioscaleAI
Comparison

Balsamiq vs Zeplin

No clear leader: Zeplin (69.1) and Balsamiq (69.0) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Balsamiq full profile →Zeplin full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Balsamiq69
Zeplin69
Score
vioscaleAI score
Balsamiq69 / 100medium · 69%updating
Zeplin69 / 100low · 40%
Pricing
Free tier
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin✓
Model
Balsamiqcommercial
Zeplinfreemium
Price level
Balsamiqmid
Zeplinlow
Starting price
Balsamiq–
Zeplin$12
Transparent
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin✓
Integrations
Count
Balsamiq5
Zeplin8
Security
Gdpr
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin✓
Soc2
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin–
Trust center
Reliability
Sla pct
Balsamiq99.9
Zeplin–
Status page
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin–
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Balsamiq6 items
Zeplin7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for ui/ux & prototyping tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Design
Vector UI design
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin-
Component / design-system libraries
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin✓
Auto layout / responsive
Balsamiq-
Zeplin-
Prototyping
Clickable prototyping
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin-
Advanced interactions (variables / conditions)
Balsamiq-
Zeplin-
Collaboration
Real-time multiplayer collaboration
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin✓
Handoff
Dev handoff / spec export
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin✓
Platform
Platform breadth (Web / macOS / Windows / Linux / self-hosted)
BalsamiqWeb (Cloud), Desktop, Confluence, Jira
ZeplinWeb application, VS Code extension, integrations with Jira, Azure DevOps, Slack,
Licensing
Self-hostable / open-source
Balsamiq-
Zeplin✗
AI
AI design assist
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin✓
Pricing
Pricing model
BalsamiqSubscription
ZeplinFreemium
Ecosystem
Plugin / community ecosystem
BalsamiqSlack, Jira, Confluence, Notion, MCP server for Claude/Cursor
ZeplinOfficial integrations with design tools (Figma) and dev tools (Jira, Azure DevOp

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Balsamiq

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.

Independently observed

Zeplin

Zeplin is a collaboration platform where design teams finalize designs, document requirements, manage versions, and handoff to developers with integrated code generation. It sits between design creation tools and development environments, keeping specifications organized and synchronized without disrupting the design process.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Balsamiq

from $16/moSubscriptionFree tier14-day trial

From $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
as of verify ↗

Zeplin

from $12/seat/moHybridFree tier

Free tier available. Per-project and per-seat options. Advanced from $12/seat/month.

  • FreeFree
    • Code-connected components
    • Jira & Azure integrations
    • Storybook integration
    • Slack & Teams
    • VS Code extension
    • +3 more
  • BasicOne flat rate per project (packs of 1, 3, 6, 9, or 12); annual plans include 1 month free
    • All Free features
    • Styleguides and component versioning
    • Component variants
    • No user dashboard or advanced permissions
  • Advanced$12 per seat/month billed annually
    • All features
    • User dashboard
    • Admin, Editor, Developer, and Reviewer roles
    • SAML-based SSO
    • MFA
    • +4 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • All features
    • Success Manager
    • Custom configuration
    • 24-hour support SLA
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Balsamiq✓
Zeplin✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (2)
  • Slack
  • Jira

Balsamiq

5 total - 3 not shared
  • Confluence
  • Notion
  • MCP server (Claude, Cursor)
Independently observed

Zeplin

11 total - 9 not shared
  • Azure DevOps
  • VS Code
  • Storybook
  • Teams
  • Figma
  • Zeplin API
  • Webhooks
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Zeplin MCP Server
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Balsamiq or Zeplin: 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.