What Principle does

Principle, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Atlanta, develops a native macOS application for designing animated and interactive user interfaces. The product targets professional UI/UX and product designers who need to prototype multi-screen app flows, micro-interactions, and animations without code. The core technology is a single-product native macOS application optimized for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, built around a timeline-based animation system, artboards, and "magic animations." Notable capabilities include Figma and Sketch import with intelligent merging, hover events and mouse-wheel scrolling for web/desktop prototypes, video and GIF export (including Apple ProRes 4444 with transparency), and a companion iOS app called Principle Mirror for testing on actual mobile hardware. Principle 6 introduced Share to Web (browser-based cross-platform sharing without installation) and standalone HTML export, which have become the product's flagship differentiators.

The company operates a product-led growth model with direct-to-consumer distribution through its own website (principleformac.com). Pricing is a one-time perpetual license at $129 per computer with optional annual renewal at $99 to retain access to new features; a 14-day free trial (counting only days actually used) precedes purchase. Revenue is generated entirely through individual license sales, with no disclosed enterprise contracts, team seats, or institutional/venture funding. The company appears bootstrapped and founder-controlled, with Daniel Hooper identified as a representative of the company.

Customer segments are horizontal and primarily individual designers, with adoption signals (rather than confirmed enterprise contracts) at Apple, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Netflix, Amazon, Lyft, Snapchat, IDEO, Cartoon Network, Starbucks, Home Depot, Nest, Etsy, and Huge. Marketing is driven by official tutorials, third-party online courses (YouTube, Lynda, Tuts+), a Discourse community forum, and a Dribbble showcase gallery. The company's core strategic integrations are with Figma and Sketch, and the product roadmap (Lottie support, JavaScript API for HTML export) points toward broader animation format compatibility and developer-facing extensibility.

Name

Principle

Legal name

Principle

Website

https://principleformac.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Principle is a native macOS application that enables UI/UX and product designers to create animated, interactive interface prototypes and multi-screen app flows. It sells $129 perpetual licenses direct-to-consumer, with adoption at Apple, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and other large design teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Software License Sales: One-time perpetual license purchase at $129 per computer, with optional annual renewal at $99 for access to new features. Renewal maintains access to ongoing updates and new feature releases within the renewal period.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Principle is a native macOS application that lets designers build animated and interactive user interfaces without writing code, with a timeline-based animation system, artboards for multi-screen app flows, and one-click Share to Web delivery so prototypes open in any browser across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. It also imports designs from Figma and Sketch (with intelligent merging), exports video/GIF/ProRes/standalone HTML, and pairs with an iOS companion app (Principle Mirror) for on-device preview.

Product overview

Principle is a single-product portfolio centered on its flagship Principle application for macOS. The core product is a native macOS desktop application for UI/UX prototyping that enables designers to create animated and interactive interface designs. Key capabilities include: the timeline-based animation system, artboard-based multi-screen design, import from Figma and Sketch, and video/GIF export. Principle 6 introduced Share to Web (browser-based design sharing) and Export to HTML (standalone HTML file export). A companion iOS app called Principle Mirror enables mobile device preview. The product is priced at $129 per computer with $99 annual renewal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Principle Native macOS application for UI/UX and product designers to create animated and interactive user interfaces without code, using artboards, a timeline-based animation system (bounce, ease, pop), multi-screen app flows with a bird's-eye overview, Figma and Sketch import with intelligent merging, and export to video, GIF, Apple ProRes 4444, and standalone HTML.
• Principle Mirror iOS companion application that mirrors Principle designs to mobile devices, letting designers test and review interactions on actual iOS hardware alongside the macOS authoring app.

Quantifiable outcome

• One-click sharing to web that works across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FigmacoreTechnology or IntegrationFigma integration allows users to import designs directly from Figma into Principle. The integration supports OAuth authentication, handles Figma's API changes, and intelligently merges changes when designs are updated. Users can import frames, artboards, and layers with proper handling of auto layout and components.
• SketchcoreTechnology or IntegrationSketch import functionality allows users to import designs from Sketch documents. Supports latest Sketch versions, handles symbols, overrides, and layer properties. Re-importing maintains layer ordering and scroll settings.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Framer: Framer is a web-based design and interactive prototyping platform with strong animation and component capabilities, targeting the same designer persona and overlapping with Principle's animation-heavy prototyping workflow.
• Figma: Figma is a cross-platform collaborative design tool that has progressively built in prototyping and animation features, directly competing with Principle for the same UI/UX designer segment.
• ProtoPie: ProtoPie is an interactive prototyping tool specializing in high-fidelity interactions and animations without code, directly overlapping with Principle's core value proposition of timeline-based animation prototyping.
• InVision: InVision was a leading prototyping and collaboration platform historically competing with Principle for design teams' interactive prototyping workflows; now operating under Wrike/Kaltura following acquisition.
• Sketch: Sketch is a macOS-native design tool with prototyping features, sharing Principle's platform affinity and a chunk of its designer user base; Principle already integrates with Sketch as a complementary product.
• Axure: Axure RP is a long-standing prototyping tool used by UX designers and product teams for interactive wireframes and prototypes, competing for the same interactive-prototyping workflow that Principle targets.
• Marvel: Marvel is a web-based design and prototyping tool used by product and UX designers to create interactive prototypes, sharing significant overlap with Principle's target customer and use case.
• Origami Studio: Origami Studio is a free macOS-native prototyping tool from Meta focused on interactive prototyping and animation, directly competing with Principle for the same macOS-using designer audience.

Emerging players

• LottieFiles: LottieFiles is an animation-format ecosystem (Lottie) widely used for shipping UI animations in production; it intersects with Principle's animation workflow and is referenced in Principle's feature-request pipeline.

Broad incumbents

• Adobe: Adobe offers design and prototyping capabilities (historically Adobe XD, plus broader Creative Cloud and post-Figma-acquisition plans), positioning it as a broad incumbent with overlapping designer-tooling capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/principleapp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Principle