Traditional design-to-development handoffs take days or weeks. With the right mobile app mockup tool, the same concept becomes a clickable prototype in hours or a working app by the end of the day.
Modern platforms now offer AI-assisted design generation, integrated user testing, and direct code output. The right tool depends on what happens after the mockup: stakeholder alignment, user testing, or shipping a working product. In this guide, we cover eight tools, when each is best used, and how to choose based on your workflow.
1. Figma: Best for Team Collaboration and Design Systems
Figma dominates collaborative design work for good reason. Its cloud-based architecture means your entire team of designers, product managers, developers, and stakeholders works from the same source of truth without version control headaches or file-syncing delays.
Designers can work simultaneously on unlimited designs while stakeholders comment directly on screens for free. Developer handoff features include auto-generated specs, exportable assets, and CSS code snippets that translate design decisions into development guidance.
Figma's Config 2024 and Config 2025 announcements introduced AI features for rapid concept visualization: intelligent Auto Layout for responsive mobile frames, First Draft for generating UI layouts from text prompts, and Figma Make for creating full design systems and developer-ready code snippets from descriptions.
Pricing: The free Starter plan limits shared design files, making it a constrained tier for serious work. Professional plans start around $15-20/month per full seat (annual billing), with pricing varying by seat type. Unlimited free viewers for stakeholders.
Watch out for: Figma increased prices in early 2025. The AI features launched in a limited beta with waitlists. Check your account settings to see what's accessible.
2. Lovable: Best for Turning Mockups Into Working Applications
Lovable occupies a fundamentally different category than traditional mockup tools. While other platforms help you visualize and communicate ideas, Lovable is an AI-powered no-code builder that generates full-stack working applications from descriptions or uploaded designs, including frontend UI, backend databases, authentication systems, and deployment infrastructure. This compresses mockup to working product from weeks to 1-3 days of AI-assisted iteration.
Teams validating ideas with real users, testing concepts quickly, and those who need to move fast can bypass the traditional developer translation process entirely.
Agent Mode functions as an autonomous AI developer that interprets requirements in natural language, automatically debugs and fixes issues, searches the web for documentation and assets, and works iteratively until the job is done. Chat Mode enables conversational interaction for making targeted changes and asking questions about your project. Visual Edits provides Figma-like direct component modification: click any component to modify positioning, styling, or content without prompts.
The platform's vibe coding approach means you describe what you want in plain English and watch working code appear. Screenshot-to-code capability lets you paste wireframes from any source and generate functional starting points immediately.
Lovable's $330M Series B at $6.6B valuation in December 2025 included investors such as CapitalG, Menlo Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Databricks Ventures.
Pricing: Pro plans start at $25/month with monthly credits shared across unlimited team members with no per-seat pricing. Business plans around $50/month include additional credits and SSO.
Watch out for: Lovable builds working applications for functional validation and real user testing rather than polished visuals for investor decks. Teams with existing development resources may prefer traditional mockup tools that integrate with established handoff workflows. Developers evaluating Lovable gain GitHub sync, TypeScript/React output, and full code ownership for extending applications beyond the initial build.
3. Adobe XD: Best for Legacy Projects Only
Adobe XD exists in maintenance-only state as of 2025. Adobe discontinued XD as a separately purchasable product on June 22, 2023, and only essential updates reach existing customers.
A minor update (v58.0.12) appeared in January 2025, but the official product page remains inaccessible, and Adobe's Creative Cloud marketing omits XD entirely.
Pricing: Access may be included in existing Creative Cloud subscriptions. Contact Adobe support to confirm availability.
Watch out for: For new projects, avoid Adobe XD and migrate to actively supported alternatives.
4. Sketch: Best for Mac-Native Design Teams
Sketch delivers native macOS performance that cloud-based alternatives struggle to match. For teams working exclusively on Mac hardware, this translates to native macOS performance optimization, full system integration with color profiles and fonts, and offline design capability with local file storage.
The platform's mobile mockup capabilities include nestable frames and flexible stack layouts for responsive mobile interfaces, P3 color profile support for modern iOS displays, and iPhone/iPad companion apps for on-device prototype testing.
Available design resources include iOS and Android stencils, integrated icon libraries, and component libraries that extend functionality for specific use cases.
Sketch's hybrid collaboration model accommodates mixed teams: designers using Mac computers create files with the native app, while non-designers can access the web app from any browser for reviewing and developer handoff.
Pricing: A one-time Mac-only license costs $120 but works offline only and excludes web app, cloud documents, real-time collaboration, version history, developer handoff, and iPhone/iPad apps. Subscription plans include unlimited free Viewers and a 30-day trial.
Watch out for: The macOS requirement creates a binary filter. Sketch's documentation states that "an Apple computer running macOS is required" because "the Mac app uses frameworks and technologies that are exclusive to macOS." Mixed-platform teams cannot use Sketch for design creation.
5. Uizard: Best for AI-Generated Mobile App Mockup Tool Concepts
Uizard targets anyone who needs visual concepts without design skills. Its Autodesigner feature transforms text descriptions into mobile app mockups, letting you generate starting points for stakeholder conversations or user research without opening a traditional design tool.
Uizard's AI capabilities extend beyond simple text-to-mockup generation. Screenshot Scanner lets you upload a competitor's app and get an editable design for analysis. If you prefer sketching ideas on a whiteboard, Wireframe Scanner turns those drawings into digital mockups. You can also apply consistent visual styles across projects by describing the theme you want.
The platform includes a drag-and-drop editor for refining AI-generated outputs, real-time collaboration for team feedback, and export options for sharing with stakeholders or developers.
Pricing: Uizard offers a free plan with limited projects and AI generations. Pro plans start at $12/month per user (billed annually) with expanded AI features and unlimited projects. Team plans at $39/month per user add collaboration features and priority support.
Watch out for: AI-generated mockups work best as starting points for iteration rather than final deliverables. If your goal is a working product rather than visual designs, AI app builders like Lovable compress this timeline by generating functional applications directly.
6. MockFlow: Best for Wireframe-to-Mockup Progression
MockFlow handles the entire journey from rough wireframes to polished mockups in a single workspace. Its WireframePro tier includes 190+ pre-built UI components, auto-generated style guides, AI-assisted wireframe creation from text prompts, and Build Mode with code generation capabilities.
MockFlow's Build Mode converts wireframes into clean, ready-to-use Tailwind CSS frontend code with a single click, with Visual Studio Code integration for direct code insertion.
The platform supports AI-powered brainstorming through ChatGPT integration in the IdeaBoard plan, while auto-generated style guides transform wireframes into living design documentation.
Pricing: WireframePro starts in the mid-teens per editor monthly (annual billing) with unlimited reviewers included. Bundle plans with IdeaBoard whiteboarding and ChatGPT integration cost slightly more. A free tier is available for basic use.
Watch out for: MockFlow offers affordable team pricing with code generation included. However, if you need advanced AI features like Figma's First Draft or Make, consider Figma instead.
7. Marvel App: Best for Quick Prototyping Without Design Skills
Marvel App transforms static mockups into interactive prototypes in less than five minutes, no code required. Its drag-and-drop interface lets anyone add hotspots, interactions, and layers to uploaded images or Sketch files, creating clickable prototypes suitable for user testing.
Watch how users navigate through prototypes with screen, audio, and video recordings. This provides concrete behavioral data rather than abstract feedback, valuable for product managers who need evidence for stakeholder conversations.
Offline presentation capability means you can demonstrate prototypes without wifi or cellular connectivity.
Pricing: Marvel offers a free plan for individual users with limited projects. Pro plans start at $12/month per user for teams needing unlimited prototypes and advanced user testing features. Enterprise pricing is available for larger organizations requiring dedicated support and advanced analytics.
Watch out for: Marvel prioritizes speed and ease-of-use over advanced design features. It handles prototyping and user testing well with integrated session recording, but lacks the design system management of Figma or Sketch.
8. Moqups: Best for Combined Diagramming and Mockups
Moqups delivers a unified workspace where product teams move from diagrams to wireframes to mockups without switching applications. User flows, sitemaps, and journey maps live alongside mobile mockups in a single creative context.
The platform includes dedicated iOS and Android stencils, Material Design icons, and responsive component libraries. Interactive prototyping adds clickable hotspots and page transitions for user testing scenarios.
Moqups' Jira and Confluence integrations provide direct integration with Atlassian tools, including in-place design editing within Jira issues.
Pricing: Solo plans start in the low-teens monthly (annual billing). Team plans range from the high-teens to $30s+, depending on seats. Moqups includes diagramming capabilities in the same workspace at a comparable or lower cost than mockup-only tools. Unlimited guests can view and comment without occupying paid seats.
Watch out for: Moqups excels for product teams managing multiple design artifacts at a competitive price point. However, teams needing advanced AI capabilities or Mac-native performance may find Figma or Sketch more powerful for those specific needs.
How to Choose the Right Mobile App Mockup Tool
Clarify your post-mockup goals before comparing feature sets. This strategic distinction eliminates unsuitable tool categories faster than detailed feature comparisons.
If you need working applications immediately: Lovable generates full-stack applications from descriptions, compressing the traditional design-to-development timeline into 1-3 days.
If you need stakeholder alignment and developer handoff: Figma's collaborative features and design system management serve teams with existing development resources.
If your team runs exclusively on Mac hardware: Sketch's native performance and mobile-focused features justify the platform constraint.
If you need quick prototypes for user testing: Marvel App's integrated session recording provides behavioral data without external tools.
If you need structured progression from wireframes to polished designs: MockFlow's tiered approach with built-in code generation bridges the gap between early concepts and development-ready assets.
If you manage multiple design artifacts in one workspace: Moqups' combined diagramming and mockup capabilities reduce tool sprawl for product teams juggling user flows, sitemaps, and interface designs.
Start Building, Not Just Designing
The best mobile app mockup tool depends on your destination and team needs. Product teams must decide between traditional design tools for visual communication and handoff, and AI app builders for functional product development.
Traditional mockup tools excel at design exploration, brand management, and collaborative refinement. But if your goal extends beyond mockups to actually building the product and if every day of design-to-development delay costs competitive ground, the right tool might be one that eliminates the handoff entirely.
Ready to go beyond mockups? Try Lovable and start building your working application today.
