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Balsamiq Wireframes vs Cortex

Balsamiq Wireframes logo

Balsamiq Wireframes

Design

Low-fidelity wireframing that keeps focus on structure and content

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Balsamiq WireframesFull review
Cortex logo

Cortex

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit CortexFull review

The short version

  • Balsamiq Wireframes starts at $16/mo; Cortex prices on request.
  • Where Balsamiq Wireframes falls short: starter plan is capped at 10 projects and costs $16 per editor per month ($192/year).
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Balsamiq Wireframes and Cortex actually diverge.

Attributes where Balsamiq Wireframes and Cortex differ
AttributeBalsamiq WireframesCortex
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelSubscriptionQuote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryDesignDeveloper Tools

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Balsamiq Wireframes

Nothing recorded that Cortex does not also cover.

Only in Cortex

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards
  • Initiatives
  • Self-service templates
  • Query language
  • Eng intelligence
  • Integrations layer
  • On-call and ownership mapping

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Balsamiq Wireframes

  • Creating wireframes for idea communicationnot Cortex
  • Prototyping interfaces faster than design toolsnot Cortex
  • Collaborating on wireframes with unlimited reviewersnot Cortex
  • Exporting designs to PDF and imagesnot Cortex

Cortex

  • A platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a Kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of servicesnot Balsamiq Wireframes
  • An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Balsamiq Wireframes
  • Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Balsamiq Wireframes
  • Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Balsamiq Wireframes

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Balsamiq Wireframes

  • Starter plan is capped at 10 projects and costs $16 per editor per month ($192/year)
  • Teams plan raises the cap to only 100 projects at $24 per editor per month; even Enterprise tops out at 400 projects
  • AI credits are metered per editor per month (500 on Starter, 1,000 on Teams, 2,500 on Enterprise), so AI features have a hard usage ceiling beyond the base seat price

Cortex

  • Pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first
  • The catalogue is only as accurate as the metadata you supply, so an organisation with inconsistent repository conventions spends its first quarter cleaning data before any scorecard means anything
  • Scorecards create political friction: publishing a per-team grade turns an engineering standard into a performance metric, and teams will game the rules rather than fix the underlying issue
  • It is closed source and hosted, so organisations with strict data residency or air-gap requirements have limited options compared with running Backstage themselves
  • Value scales with organisation size, so a company with fifty engineers and thirty services will find the catalogue tells them nothing they did not already know while still paying an enterprise contract

Pricing, plan by plan

Balsamiq Wireframes

Free
  • Starter$16/mo
    • Up to 10 projects
    • Unlimited reviewers
    • 500 monthly AI credits per editor
  • Teams$24/mo
    • Up to 100 projects
    • Unlimited reviewers
    • 1000 monthly AI credits per editor
  • Enterprise$35/mo
    • Up to 400 projects
    • 2500 monthly AI credits per editor
    • SSO with SAML

Cortex

On request
  • CortexOn request
    • Service catalogue and ownership mapping
    • Scorecards and initiatives
    • Self-service templates

Which should you pick?

Choose Balsamiq Wireframes if

  • You want to start without paying.
Balsamiq Wireframes review

Choose Cortex if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want scorecards.
Cortex review

Questions people ask

Is Balsamiq Wireframes or Cortex better?
Neither clearly leads. Balsamiq Wireframes starts at Free and Cortex at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Balsamiq Wireframes or Cortex?
Balsamiq Wireframes has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Balsamiq Wireframes and On request for Cortex.
Does Balsamiq Wireframes or Cortex run on more platforms?
Balsamiq Wireframes runs on Web. Cortex runs on Web, API.
Can I use Balsamiq Wireframes for free?
Yes. Balsamiq Wireframes has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cortex starts at On request.
What is Balsamiq Wireframes best used for?
Balsamiq Wireframes is most often used for creating wireframes for idea communication, prototyping interfaces faster than design tools, collaborating on wireframes with unlimited reviewers, exporting designs to pdf and images. Of those, creating wireframes for idea communication and prototyping interfaces faster than design tools are not what Cortex is typically brought in for.
What can Balsamiq Wireframes do that Cortex cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Balsamiq Wireframes: How much does Balsamiq Wireframes cost per editor?

Balsamiq charges $16/month (Starter), $24/month (Teams), or $35/month (Enterprise) per editor when billed annually. Monthly billing costs $192/year, $288/year, or $420/year respectively. Only editors who actively make changes are counted, not viewers or stakeholders.

Source
Cortex: How is Cortex different from Backstage?

Backstage is an open source framework you build and staff. Cortex is a hosted product with scorecards and initiatives out of the box and no platform team required to keep it running.

Balsamiq Wireframes: What AI credit limits does Balsamiq provide by plan?

Starter includes 500 monthly AI credits per editor, Teams includes 1000 monthly credits per editor, and Enterprise includes 2500 monthly credits per editor. Additional on-demand credits can be purchased at $15 per 500 credits across all tiers.

Source
Cortex: Is pricing published?

No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.

Balsamiq Wireframes: What are the project limits across Balsamiq plans?

Starter allows up to 10 projects, Teams allows up to 100 projects, and Enterprise allows up to 400 projects per workspace. All tiers support unlimited boards within each project.

Source
Cortex: Can it self-host?

It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.

Balsamiq Wireframes: Is there a free trial for Balsamiq Wireframes?

Balsamiq offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required for new users to evaluate the platform before committing to a paid plan.

Source
Cortex: What is the main adoption risk?

Bad or missing service metadata. The catalogue and every scorecard on top of it inherit whatever quality your repositories already have.

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