PPrinciplevs
Figma
Figma: Cloud-based design tool with animation capabilities and real-time collaboration, cross-platform (not macOS only).
P
Principle
Animate your ideas, design better apps
As of 30 August 2026, Principle starts at $129/one-time. Principle makes it easy to design animated and interactive user interfaces. Softwr lists it under Design. Principle is made by Principle Software, launched in 2015, available on macOS.
Overview
What Principle does
Principle makes it easy to design animated and interactive user interfaces. Whether you're designing the flow of a multi-screen app, or new interactions and animations, Principle lets you create designs that look and feel amazing.
What people use it for
- Mobile app prototypes
- Micro-interactions
- Animation design
- User flow design
- Gesture-based interfaces
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Principle.
- macOS only with no Windows or Linux editor available
- No vector morphing capability for complex shape transformations
- Limited asset creation tools; cannot create vectors or shapes directly within Principle
- Sketch import flattens certain properties including paths, fills, borders, masks, blur effects, and text layers
- Limited variable support, logical loops, and data input capabilities compared to tools like ProtoPie or Origami
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Principle
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- PPrinciplevsFramer
Framer: React-based interactive design and prototyping tool with code-driven animations and component reusability.
- PPrinciplevsProtoPie
ProtoPie: Advanced interaction prototyping with support for logic, variables, and complex user flows without coding.
Pricing
What Principle costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
License
$129 /one-time
- One year of upgrades
- Full access to all features
Upgrade License
$99 /yr
- Annual renewal for ongoing upgrades
Capabilities
Features
Timeline-based animation
Interactive prototypes
Touch gestures
Component reuse
Video export
Sketch import
Figma import
Driver animations
Sketch
Integration with Sketch
Figma
Integration with Figma
Video export
Integration with Video export
Local files
Local files security feature
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Does Principle run on Windows or Linux?
No. Principle is macOS only and runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. There is no Windows or Linux editor available; however, prototypes can be shared and viewed on any platform via web link.
SourceWhat is the cost of Principle?
Principle costs $129 for a one-time purchase with 1 year of upgrades included. After 1 year, upgrade licenses cost $99/year. A 14-day free trial is available with all features included.
SourceCan I import designs from Figma or Sketch into Principle?
Yes. Principle supports importing designs from Figma and Sketch with intelligent merging of re-imported files. Some Sketch properties such as paths, fills, borders, blur effects, masks, and text layers are flattened upon import.
SourceHow do I share Principle prototypes with others?
Prototypes can be shared via web link with one click (File > Export > Share to Web). Recipients can view and interact with prototypes in any browser on any platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or iOS. No installation required.
SourceCan I create vector shapes and morphing animations in Principle?
Principle does not support vector morphing, where vector objects transform into other vector shapes. It also has limited asset creation capabilities and editing is restricted to basic operations like scale and rotate.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Principle
- Company
- Principle Software
- Based in
- Independent
Keep looking
Where to go from Principle
- Principle alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Principle pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Principle badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Design softwareThe full category
- Best Design softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Design software for
Compare Principle with
- ProtoPie
- Framer
- Origami Studio
- Rive
- Proto.io
- Axure RP
- Marvel
- Adobe XD
- Krita
- InVision
- LottieFiles
- Womp
- Rebelle
- Balsamiq Wireframes
- Corel Painter
- PaintTool SAI
- Abstract
- Rive
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From 5,500/mo9 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Principle, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Principle
Principle alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Principle pricing
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Put it head to head with anything we hold
Principle badge
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Best Design software alternatives
Prototyping and specification tool for conditional, data-driven interfaces
Per user per month