Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Balsamiq VS Materialize CSS

Compare Balsamiq VS Materialize CSS and see what are their differences

Balsamiq logo Balsamiq

Balsamiq. Rapid, effective and fun wireframing software.

Materialize CSS logo Materialize CSS

A modern responsive front-end framework based on Material Design
  • Balsamiq Landing page
    Landing page //
    2025-05-19
  • Materialize CSS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-14

Balsamiq features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Balsamiq offers an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy for users of all skill levels to create wireframes quickly.
  • Rapid Prototyping
    The tool is designed for speed, allowing users to iterate and refine designs rapidly, aiding in quick decision-making and revisions.
  • Low-Fidelity Focus
    Balsamiq emphasizes low-fidelity wireframes, making it easier to focus on structure and user flow rather than getting bogged down in details like colors and fonts.
  • Collaboration Features
    It includes collaboration tools such as comments and real-time co-editing, making it easier for teams to work together and share feedback.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    Balsamiq is available both as a web application and a desktop app for Windows and macOS, providing flexibility in how teams access the tool.
  • Extensive Library of UI Components
    The software comes with a rich library of pre-built UI components, icons, and templates that simplify the design process.
  • Integration with Other Tools
    Balsamiq integrates seamlessly with popular project management and development tools like Jira, Confluence, and Google Drive.

Possible disadvantages of Balsamiq

  • Limited Customization Options
    Due to its focus on low-fidelity wireframes, Balsamiq offers limited options for detailed customization, which might not be sufficient for high-fidelity design needs.
  • Cost
    Unlike some free wireframing tools, Balsamiq requires a subscription, which could be a barrier for small teams or individual users on a tight budget.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic features are easy to use, mastering more advanced functionalities might require additional learning and practice.
  • No Interactive Prototypes
    Balsamiq is primarily focused on static wireframes and lacks features for creating interactive, clickable prototypes, which can be a downside for more complex projects.
  • Performance Issues with Large Projects
    Users have reported performance slowdowns when working with very large or complex wireframing projects.
  • No Mobile App
    Unlike some competitors, Balsamiq does not offer a mobile app, which can limit accessibility for users who need to work on the go.

Materialize CSS features and specs

  • Responsive Design
    Materialize CSS provides a responsive grid system, making it easier to create layouts that work well on various screen sizes and devices.
  • Material Design
    Adheres to Google's Material Design principles, offering a modern and professional look that is consistent across web applications.
  • Component Variety
    Offers a wide range of pre-built components, including forms, buttons, cards, and navigation bars, which helps speed up development.
  • Customization
    Provides options to customize components using Sass, making it flexible for specific design needs.
  • Built-in JavaScript
    Includes built-in JavaScript components like modals, carousels, and tabs, which enhance functionality without requiring additional libraries.

Possible disadvantages of Materialize CSS

  • Learning Curve
    Although it follows Material Design guidelines, there is a learning curve associated with understanding and implementing its various components and classes.
  • File Size
    Including the full library can make your project heavier, affecting load times, especially for users on slower connections.
  • Customization Complexity
    While customizable, deeply customizing or overriding default styles can sometimes be complicated and time-consuming.
  • Dependency on jQuery
    Some components still rely on jQuery, adding to the library size and potentially conflicting with modern JavaScript practices.
  • Community Support
    Compared to larger frameworks like Bootstrap, Materialize CSS has a smaller community, which can result in fewer third-party resources and plugins.

Analysis of Materialize CSS

Overall verdict

  • Materialize CSS is a good choice if you're looking for a framework that emphasizes Material Design and comes with a sleek, modern interface. It's particularly useful for developers who want to quickly integrate Google's design philosophy without delving into custom styling or layout creation.

Why this product is good

  • Materialize CSS is a front-end framework based on Material Design principles developed by Google. It provides a comprehensive set of UI components that help developers create visually appealing and responsive web applications quickly. The framework includes a variety of pre-styled components like buttons, forms, cards, and much more, which adhere to the Material Design guidelines. This consistency in design components helps ensure a cohesive and professional look across web applications. Additionally, it simplifies responsive design with a grid system that's easy to implement, and it comes with excellent documentation and a supportive community.

Recommended for

    Materialize CSS is recommended for teams and developers who prefer Google's Material Design aesthetic, are building applications with a focus on rapid UI development, and value consistency and ease of use. It's also great for projects where a pre-existing UI library speeds up the development process, such as prototypes, admin dashboards, or smaller web applications. However, for highly customized UI components or non-Material Design projects, other frameworks might be more suitable.

Balsamiq videos

UX Review: Balsamiq.com - Watch a Usability Expert Review Our Site!

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Balsamiq Mockups: Beginner Tutorial
  • Review - Balsamiq Wireframes for Desktop Overview (Windows)

Materialize CSS videos

Build A Travel Agency Theme With Materialize CSS 1.0.0

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Balsamiq and Materialize CSS)
Prototyping
100 100%
0% 0
Design Tools
42 42%
58% 58
Design Collaboration
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Balsamiq and Materialize CSS

Balsamiq Reviews

Figma Alternatives: 12 Prototyping and Design Tools in 2024
Balsamiq is a design tool that has been available since 2008. It’s easy to use and even boasts active customer service if you need help. The software is beginner-friendly, so there is no learning curve if you’re a newbie.

Materialize CSS Reviews

15 Top Bootstrap Alternatives For Frontend Developers in 2024
Material Design is a design language that combines classic principles of successful design with innovation and technology. One of the downsides of Materialize is that it does not support older versions of web browsers, and sometimes it does not handle certain nestings of components properly, resulting in an odd appearance.
Source: coursesity.com
9 Best Bootstrap Alternatives | Best Frontend Frameworks [2024]
Materialize is a modern responsive front-end framework based on the Material Design principles of Google. Material design is a design language created by Google, which combines traditional design methods with innovations and technology.
Source: hackr.io
Top 10 Best CSS Frameworks for Front-End Developers in 2022
Created by Google in 2014, Materialize is a responsive UI framework for websites and Android apps. It provides many ready-to-use components, classes, and starter templates. It is compatible with Sass and has a responsive layout based on Bootstrap’s 12-column grid format. The best part? Its extensive color palettes. So, if you want to work with Material Design (Google’s...
Source: hackr.io
15 Best CSS Frameworks: Professional Bootstrap and Foundation Alternatives
It’s specifically designed to help you develop faster using a standard template and customizable components. As the name suggests, Materialize is based on the basic principles of Material Design.
10 of the Best Bootstrap Alternatives
Materialize is a Design-inspired front-end framework that offers everything you need to create beautiful websites and apps. It includes a responsive grid system, CSS components, and animation libraries. Materialize is also easy to use and customizable, making it the perfect choice for any project. Furthermore, a single basic responsive framework across all phases minimizes...

Social recommendations and mentions

Balsamiq might be a bit more popular than Materialize CSS. We know about 32 links to it since March 2021 and only 26 links to Materialize CSS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Balsamiq mentions (32)

  • Revenge of the Junior Developer
    Usually my own way of working is to use Balsamiq[0] to have a visual prototype to test out flows, Figma|Sketch for the UI specs, then to just code it. Kinda the same when drawing where you just doodle until you have a few workable ideas, iterate of these to judge colors and other things, and then commit to one for the final result. [0]: https://balsamiq.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Three important steps before jumping to the code
    You can still produce something useful even if you’re not a professional designer. For example, you can use a rapid wireframing tool like Balsamiq (my favorite) or Excalidraw. With such tools, you can sketch an idea quickly without spending time on minor visual details. Or, use a whiteboard or good old pencil and paper. Any sketch is better than nothing. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Tell HN: My Favorite Tools
    A few apps that are a joy to use: https://ia.net/writer for writing. https://usecontrast.com/ for checking contrast. https://sipapp.io/ for picking colors. https://nova.app/ for editing code. https://cleanshot.com/ for screenshots. https://getpixelsnap.com/ for measuring elements on screen. https://netnewswire.com/ for reading things via RSS. https://panic.com/transmit/ for file transfers. https://usefathom.com/... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Best UI design courses for hackers?
    I think the best practical approach for designing UIs is to download (and buy) Balsamic[0] and use that to design UIs. Cut through the nonsense of colours and pixels in the first instance and just lay things out logically and simply. [0] https://balsamiq.com. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Build Products that don’t SUCK
    Create a low-fidelity mockup or wireframe of your MVP using tools like Balsamiq, Sketch, or Figma. Or use an easier-to-use tool like Uizard, which also has text-to-design capabilities. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

Materialize CSS mentions (26)

  • Top 5 Best CSS Frameworks for Responsive Web Design in 2024
    Materialize is a modern CSS framework based on Google’s Material Design. It was created and designed by Google to provide a unified and consistent user interface across all its products. Materialize is focused on user experience as it integrates animations and components to provide feedback to users. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Front-end Framework: Comparing Bootstrap, Foundation and Materialize
    Materialize was created by a team of developers at Google, inspired by the principles of Material Design. Material Design is a design language developed by Google that emphasizes tactile surfaces, realistic lighting, and bold, graphic interfaces. Materialize aims to bring these principles to web development by providing a framework with ready-to-use components and styles based on Material Design. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Took a web development job without much experience, am I doomed?
    If you wanna make it look nice use materialize css works great with Django templates. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Best 3 Bootstrap Alternatives
    You can also visit the Materialize website and GitHub repository which currently has garnered over 38k likes and has been forked over 4k times by developers. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • All About Hacktober Fest 2022 You Need To Know
    This repository consists of files required to deploy a Web App or PWA created with Materialize Css. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Balsamiq and Materialize CSS, you can also consider the following products

Invision - Prototyping and collaboration for design teams

Bootstrap - Simple and flexible HTML, CSS, and JS for popular UI components and interactions

Moqups - The most stunning HTML5 app for creating resolution-independent SVG mockups, wireframes & interactive prototypes for your next project

Tailwind CSS - A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.

Zeplin - Collaboration app for UI designers & frontend developers

Foundation - The most advanced responsive front-end framework in the world