Product design is a process of understanding users and coming up with and executing ideas that align with their needs. While it’s an exciting journey of constant improvement, it comes with its own set of challenges. The process consists of a variety of steps, including research, prototyping, and validating your design.
Each phase can be made easier and more efficient if you use the right product design tools. This article presents a list of product design software recommended by our experienced product designers. Read on to learn how to work smarter, not harder, and design user-centered products with ease.
What product design tools bring to the table
The right product design tool stack is one of the factors that determine your product’s success. Good tools benefit not only the quality of your product but also efficiency and other factors.
- Leveraging automation helps streamline the design process, reducing manual tasks and saving time.
- Many product design tools support real-time collaboration, allowing multiple team members to work on the same project simultaneously.
- Design systems and components help maintain visual consistency across projects and products.
- Design tools enable designers to create interactive prototypes for research and continuous discovery, ensuring a more user-friendly end product.
- Prototyping tools allow for quick adjustments and improvements in the design.
- An efficient design process and fewer errors mean cost savings.
- Integration with development tools enables a smoother handoff, reducing misunderstandings and errors.
- These tools often provide features for designing accessible and inclusive digital products.
- Top design tools often have active user communities and provide user support, helping designers troubleshoot issues and learn from others.
Product design is a process that goes way beyond UX and UI, so it needs more than just design tools. Here, you can learn more about the difference between product design and UX.
Find out more about product design services.
The best product design tools
To make this list more user-friendly, we have split the tools into categories according to the stages of the design thinking process. Below, you’ll find recommended product design tools for empathizing, defining problems, ideating, prototyping, and validating.
Learn more about the product design process and its principles.
Empathize
The “empathize” stage of design thinking focuses on understanding your users, their behavior, and what they expect from the product. At this point, you’ll need product design tools that enable research, discovery, interviews, workshops, and analyzing data. This stage is also called product discovery.
UserBit
UserBit 
is a free tool for UX research repository management. It’s helpful at every stage of a research campaign, from managing participants to conducting interviews, storing transcriptions and audios, organizing notes and files to analytics dashboards, and insight management. UserBit allows you to create and manage your first project for free. After that, you have to switch to a paid option.
Maze
Maze is a platform for continuous product discovery. It has features for research participants management, surveys, card sorting, website and app testing, and interviews. Maze can be easily integrated into your tech stack with tools like Figma or Sketch, for example. Maze offers a free plan with one study a month with limited features and paid options with unlimited seats and projects.
OptimalWorkshop
OptimalWorkshop is a UX research platform. It provides five essential testing tools: card sorting, tree testing, first-click testing, surveys, and qualitative research features. This platform allows for in-app recruitment and automated analysis. OptimalWorkshop has a free plan with limited participants and sessions and paid plans with extended features and support.
Lookback
Lookback is a qualitative UX research tool. It can record user sessions, gather feedback, and conduct usability tests. It’s a good tool for interviews, with automated transcriptions, timestamped notes, and highlight reels. It offers unlimited collaboration. There are four different paid plans available, with a 60-day free trial.
Define and ideate
The “define” and “ideate” stages are distinct but require similar product design tools. The “define” stage aims to synthesize the outcomes of your research into the core problems you’re trying to solve. “Ideate” is about brainstorming solutions to these problems and listing ideas. These stages work together to navigate insights from different sources and turn them into action points.
Mural
Mural is a versatile tool not specific to the product design process but incredibly useful. It’s a free digital whiteboard with a variety of features that make cooperation easy and smooth. It can be used asynchronously or in real-time for anything from brainstorming sessions to organizing workshops. It comes with countless whiteboard templates, interactive features, frameworks, and more. Mural has most features available in the free version, but there are also paid options for bigger teams.
Miro
Miro is another popular whiteboard tool. Besides the usual features like sticky notes, drawing tools, etc. Miro offers a library of ready-to-use integrations. It can be easily connected with design software like Figma, Adobe XD, or Adobe Illustrator. It can also be customized with your own API, SDK, or iFrame. Miro has a free plan with most features available, but if you need unlimited boards, opt for the paid plan.
Whimsical
Whimsical is a design platform that provides four formats useful for product design: flow charts, wireframes, mind maps, and docs. It comes with a set of templates to help you describe user personas, run meetings, ideate, and manage the project. Whimsical is also integrated with Jira, GitHub, Notion, Figma, and Slack, promoting communication between all stakeholders. The tool offers three boards in the free plan and unlimited boards for the paid options.
Balsamiq
Balsamiq is a tool for creating lo-fi wireframes. It aims to provide rapid wireframe development reminiscent of working with a piece of paper or a whiteboard. It is especially useful in the “ideation” stage because it helps you avoid discussions about colors, fonts, and other details that should come later in the design process. Balsamiq has three different paid plans for working on two projects at a time, 20 projects a year, or more than 200 projects a year. You can try it out with a 30-day free trial.
Prototype
The prototype stage is when the ideas are turned into wireframes and lo-fi prototypes. At this point, the team needs design tools.
Figma
Figma is a widely popular all-in-one design software. It works well for creating wireframes, prototypes, and full UIs. It has features that allow designers to collaborate with dev teams easily and to create reusable design systems. It also comes with a digital whiteboard: FigJam . You can use up to three Figma and FigJam files for free or choose one of the paid plans with unlimited files, paying per editor.
Sketch
Sketch is a Mac app for design, collaboration, and prototyping. Similar to Figma, it has features that aim to make the design-development handoff easier. It promotes gathering feedback through iterations and makes reusable design templates and design systems. It works well for early wireframes and also mature UIs. Sketch offers a subscription model or a lifetime license.
AdobeXD
AdobeXD is a vector design software that can be used to design elements of your product: graphics, wireframes, and prototypes. It has all the design tools you need and is easy to use for designers familiar with other Adobe tools. It can be easily integrated with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and extended with various plugins to automate repetitive tasks. Adobe offers a creative cloud subscription with access to all of their products. You can opt for a free, seven-day trial.
FlowMapp
FlowMapp is a tool for UX planning and design. It allows users to create sitemaps, build flowcharts, and design user journeys. It comes with a huge library of templates to easily create wireframes and clickable prototypes. FlowMapp also has features to help product designers collaborate and share their work. FlowMapp’s free plan allows for one active project at a time, and its paid plans go from five to unlimited projects.
Webflow
Webflow is a no-code, visual website builder. It allows users to create websites with drag-and-drop tools, style components, create component libraries, and design animated interactions. It comes with a built-in content management system. Your design can then be exported to HTML or simply published live. Webflow offers a free plan suitable for entry-level websites and a range of four paid plans for more complex projects.
Bubble
Bubble is another no-code design software option. It allows creation of complex, multi-user applications. It can be easily integrated with JavaScript plugins or connected to any API. It guarantees a user-friendly interface and easy collaboration. Bubble also offers scalable hosting and deployment and provides built-in analytics. There is a free version available. However, Bubble states it works best for learning how to use the tool. There are also various paid plans with free trials.
Material Design
Material Design is Google’s open-source design system. It is a system of guidelines, reusable components, and tools to help product designers achieve accessible interface design backed by best practices. Material Design helps teams streamline their work by keeping them on the same page and providing a set of components, styles, fonts, etc. It’s a free tool.
UserGuiding
UserGuiding is a tool for user onboarding. It allows you to create a great first impression with a frictionless product walkthrough. With this tool, product designers can create personalized and targeted in-product messaging to ensure your users are guided through their journey. This tool offers three different paid plans.
Validate
The validation stage is crucial for continuous improvement of your product. At this point, you need to evaluate your design with real users to ensure you’ve solved the defined issues and are ready for launch. And once the product is launched, it’s how you can improve it. Analytic software is crucial for product design tools.
Google Analytics
Qualitative research is sometimes not enough. Google Analytics is a great tool to extend your UX research with statistics regarding views, clicks, bounce rate, and conversions, as well as information on exit pages, devices, and site searches. For a product design team, this data can suggest which parts of your website need improvement. This tool is free of charge.
Pendo
Pendo is a platform for understanding user behavior through analytics. It offers four key features: Data Explorer for easy data access and analytics, Paths and Funnels to learn how users navigate, Retention to understand and measure growth, and Product Engagement Score, a metric that measures overall product engagement. It also offers seamless integration with CRM systems. Pendo offers a free plan or custom pricing based on the number of monthly active users on your website.
Mixpanel
Mixpanel is another tool for product analytics. It guarantees easy data exploration, with the possibility of setting up your own metrics to track your growth. You also get access to live updates on how people are using your product and interactive event analysis. This tool is integrated with many other software, including Figma, Google Cloud, Hotjar, and more. The free plan offers all of those integrations and unlimited collaborators, but there are also paid plans available with extended features.
Crazy Egg
Crazy Egg is a product for web analytics. It offers heatmaps, scrollmaps, recordings, A/B testing, traffic analysis, error tracking, surveys, and more. It generates reports that display click behavior to help you understand how users interact with your website. This tool offers five different paid subscription options, all with a 30-day free trial.
Hotjar
Hotjar is a staple for web design. It’s a free tool that allows you to monitor user behavior on your website. It features heatmaps, which show where users click and scroll, recordings of real users' sessions, on-site widgets to gather feedback, and surveys to deepen your research. Hotjar provides a free option with unlimited heatmaps and HubSpot integration, and various paid options with extended analytics.
Product design tools for management
Product design is a process that can get quite complex. This is why you need tools that go beyond the design function and allow you and your team to stay on top of your tasks. Here is a list of management tools that will guide you through the design process and promote communication.
Notion
Notion is a workspace for managing docs, projects, and teams. Its features are well-suited to a product design team. The wiki helps you store client briefs, brand books, and guidelines. The project management tool uses AI for automation and provides all the features you might need: dependencies, timelines, progress bars, automated sprints, tasks and subtasks, templates, and more. It also offers Docs for editing text in an easy and collaborative way. Notion is integrated with Jira, Slack, GitHub, and other tools. It comes with a free plan with limited features and three paid plans.
Make
Make.com is a visual platform for workflows and processes. With drag-and-drop, no-code automation, it allows you to design wireframes but also manage tasks more effectively. You can use a template or customize it with your own rules to create a perfect workflow. The visual workflow builder is available with the free plan with limited features. Other options are paid.
Zeplin
Zeplin is a tool that aims to bridge the gap between designers and developers. It helps you in creating design documentation and managing workflows. It offers features that make handoffs easier, like design-to-code translation or storing design components with their codebase counterparts. Zeplin allows you to create one personal project in the free plan, but team workspaces are only available in the paid plans.
IconJar
In a product design project, you need to manage not only your tasks but your icons as well. IconJar is an easy-to-use organizational tool for icon libraries. It allows you to bulk export your icons in the size you need, automatically bundle similar icons, and organize them by favorite or recently used. You can get an IconJar license in a subscription model or for a lifetime.
Which product design tools should you use?
When selecting a product design tool, you should consider your specific needs and objectives. Begin by evaluating the scope and nature of your design projects. Consider your budget and whether the tool offers a pricing model that aligns with your resources. Furthermore, pay attention to the learning curve and the availability of training resources, as ease of use and the availability of support can impact your productivity. Keep an eye on the tool's updates and responsiveness to industry trends, as a forward-looking tool can help you stay innovative. Ultimately, the choice should reflect a balance between your specific design needs, the tool's capabilities, and your team's preferences and workflows. It’s also important to pick tools that work well with each other and integrate with the rest of your tech stack.
Conclusion
There are plenty of product design tools available on the market. Ultimately, the choice often comes down to personal preference and familiarity with particular tools. But don’t fall into this trap - you might miss out on new products that could further simplify and streamline your work.
There is no single tool that will universally fulfill every product design team’s needs. Make sure to use the free trials and find out which one works best for you.
