How does Aha! Builder compare to Figma Make? Explore what sets these tools apart for AI prototyping.
Aha! Builder vs. Figma Make: How to choose the best AI app builder for prototyping
Product managers are now product builders. With the right AI tools, you can create high-fidelity prototypes, test a proof of concept, and even build functional software to solve user problems.
Some of these tools (such as AI prototype generators) focus on creating interactive designs. But many AI app builders also support AI prototyping — letting you transform AI prototypes into full business applications. That means you can carry a visual idea from initial concept to a working product within the same environment.
Let's take a closer look at two AI app builders that you can use for AI prototyping: Aha! Builder and Figma Make. We will walk through how each helps you create and refine a prototype, plus what you can do with it afterward.
About Aha! Builder
Aha! Builder is an AI app builder that gives product teams a trusted, organized way to build and deliver business applications. It helps you rapidly create prototypes, validate proofs of concept, and build secure applications without technical expertise. Everything you create is informed by product strategy and customer needs and built to meet enterprise security and governance standards.
Aha! was founded in 2013. We provide an integrated product management software suite that includes Aha! Roadmaps, Aha! Discovery, Aha! Ideas, Aha! Whiteboards, Aha! Builder, Aha! Develop, Aha! Teamwork, and Aha! Knowledge. Elle, a purpose-built AI assistant, is embedded across Aha! software.
About Figma Make
Figma Make is an AI app builder that helps designers and product teams turn Figma designs into interactive prototypes and web applications. It began as an AI prototype generator and now also supports AI app-building. It is well suited to teams already working in Figma that want to explore designs as functional experiences, then publish the result or hand things off to developers.
Aha! Builder vs. Figma Make feature comparison
Capability | Aha! Builder | Figma Make |
Product context and inputs | Start with a customer problem. Use product vision, goals, and requirements to guide what you build. If you use Aha! Roadmaps, you can also connect existing product plans. | Start with a Figma design or prompt. Add files and other context to guide what you create. |
AI prototyping | Create interactive prototypes with AI to explore workflows, validate ideas, and refine the experience | Create interactive prototypes to explore and refine an experience's interface, flows, and states |
Design system support | Create a reusable design system from screenshots, exported Figma designs, and other sources. Apply it consistently across prototypes and applications. | Carry established Figma design systems, including components and styles, into AI prototyping as Make kits |
Visual editing | Refine designs by prompting Elle or selecting elements directly in the preview | Refine a prototype with prompts or Figma's visual editing tools |
User feedback and validation | Share prototypes with users to collect feedback and run virtual user testing. Manage and prioritize ideas for improvement within the tool. | Share prototypes and gather stakeholder feedback through comments. Use additional tools for structured user research and feedback prioritization. |
Prototype-to-application workflow | Convert a prototype into a database-backed application in the same environment. Continue refining it with Elle. | Publish prototypes as web applications with connected services, or push to GitHub for development |
Database and authentication | Use sample data for AI prototypes. Add a built-in PostgreSQL database and authentication when developing into an application. | Supports basic key-value storage for AI prototypes. Connect Supabase (a backend-as-a-service platform) for a PostgreSQL database and authentication when publishing as a web application. |
Integrations | Connect to 3,000+ external services through Elle's integration catalog without manually configuring each API | Connect to external services through APIs and MCP connectors. Custom connections may require additional configuration. |
Application governance | Set rules for application access and deployment, track application status, and run built-in security and privacy reviews before release | Control access to Figma Make and restrict backend connections. Manage connected services through their own security controls. |
Application maintenance and iteration | Manage and improve prototypes and deployed applications with Elle. Developers can access and extend the underlying code when needed. | Continue refining projects in Figma Make, or export code for developers to extend using GitHub and other tools |
Build trusted AI prototypes and apps. Try Aha! Builder now
Key differences between Aha! Builder and Figma Make for AI prototyping
🗒️ Product context vs. design context
Both Aha! Builder and Figma Make turn ideas into interactive prototypes, but their starting points differ. Aha! Builder begins with product context (such as product strategy and customer needs) so product managers can explore solutions to a specific problem. Figma Make begins with design context (primarily Figma libraries and design files), helping designers and product teams explore how an experience could look and work within their Figma workflow.
🎨 New vs. existing design systems
Both tools support visually consistent experiences, but they use design systems differently. In Aha! Builder, you can provide screenshots, hex codes, or style references to create a reusable design system that guides Elle to match your visual style across prototypes and hosted applications. Figma Make uses Make kits to draw directly from established Figma design libraries and production codebases. This lets AI generate layouts with the same components, design tokens, and code packages your team uses in live products.
💬 Product validation vs. design collaboration
Aha! Builder helps product teams validate ideas through interactive prototypes. Product managers can conduct virtual user testing, collect feedback directly in the prototype, and manage improvements on a features board. What you learn from AI prototyping stays connected to product planning and prioritization.
Figma Make supports sharing and comments so teams can collaborate on an experience's interface and behavior. Teams can then bring the prototype back into Figma to update the underlying design file.
👩💻 Prototype evolution: product vs. design
Aha! Builder helps product managers take an AI prototype toward a usable product. After validating product direction with a prototype, you can convert it directly into a database-backed application. Product managers can then manage and improve applications in Aha! Builder as needs evolve. You can also hand off prototypes and applications to engineering for further development.
Figma Make helps teams take a prototype toward a refined user experience. Teams can publish prototypes as functional web apps to test and share data flows and states with teammates. For teams ready to turn a prototype into a larger product feature or application, the work typically moves into an engineering pipeline by pushing UI updates to GitHub repositories.
🗄️ Built-in configuration and governance vs. connected services
Both tools can turn prototypes into working applications, but they take different approaches to the underlying setup. Aha! Builder provides a managed environment with its own database, authentication, deployment workflow, security reviews, and other controls — without requiring engineering support. This keeps application configuration and governance in one place.
Figma Make relies more on connected services for application configuration, such as Supabase for backend capabilities. For governance, Figma provides organization-level controls for access, backend integrations, and app publishing, while connected services handle application authentication and data access. This gives teams flexibility, but they must set up and govern each connected service — which typically requires support from engineering and IT.
Aha! Builder vs. Figma Make: Which offers better AI prototyping for your team?
Choose Aha! Builder if ...
You want an AI app builder for product managers that works on its own — or connects to your product plans in Aha! Roadmaps.
You want to prototype solutions to customer problems using strategy, user feedback, and product plans as context.
You want to validate product ideas with an AI prototype and use what you learn to guide what you build next.
You want to turn AI prototypes into full business applications and ship them without relying on engineering.
You want to manage application infrastructure, configuration, deployment, and governance in one secure environment.
Choose Figma Make if ...
You prefer to create AI prototypes and web apps within the Figma ecosystem.
You want to build prototypes that use your exact Figma components and design tokens.
You want to use AI prototypes to test out interactive user experiences, then refine details visually in Figma.
You mainly plan to push projects to engineering to build into your product, rather than ship and manage full applications on your own.
You prefer the flexibility to choose external services for web app configuration and governance and manage those services alongside Figma.
Aha! Builder vs. Figma Make pricing
Aha! Builder is sold as a standalone, per-user product. Figma Make is included with Figma plans, so its cost depends on your seat type and AI usage across Figma. Compare what each plan includes for the complete picture of costs.
Pricing factor | Aha! Builder | Figma Make |
Starting price | ||
What you buy | A standalone plan for Aha! Builder | A Figma seat that includes Figma Make and other tools and features; Figma Make is not sold separately |
Pricing model | User-based and tiered, with monthly AI credits pooled at the account level. Additional credits and deployed applications are available for a fixed price. | Seat-based and tiered, with monthly AI credits assigned per seat and shared across Figma AI features. Teams can purchase additional credits through a subscription or pay-as-you-go billing. |
Hosting and configuration | Database, authentication, and hosting are included. No separate backend service required. | Supabase backend usage and other external services may incur separate costs |
Aha! Builder user reviews
"Aha! Builder takes a strategy-first approach to AI application development." — Product leader | Enterprise (>1,000 employees)
"[Aha! Builder] let me focus on defining and solving the business problem, then guided me through a simple, iterative flow — prototyping, refining, self-testing, and generating user documentation, then when ready, deploying to production." — Senior Director, Product Management | Mid-Market (51–1,000 employees)
"We use Aha! Builder to build prototypes. This goes beyond a simple design: we can add business rules and show the complete process, so our development and QA teams are clear on what's needed and how it should work." — Product professional | Mid-Market (51–1,000 employees)
Start prototyping with the AI app builder for product managers. Try Aha! Builder now
FAQs about Aha! Builder and Figma Make
Which is better for product managers — Aha! Builder or Figma Make?
Aha! Builder is best for product managers who want to start with a customer problem, use product strategy and feedback to guide a prototype, and continue building the result into an application. Choose Figma Make when you want to start with existing Figma designs and design systems to explore how an experience looks and works.
Can I build a functional application in Figma Make?
Yes. Figma Make can turn prompts or existing Figma designs into functional prototypes and web applications. You can connect Supabase to add backend capabilities, integrate external services, and publish your application to the web. You can also download the application code or push it to GitHub for further development outside Figma.
How do Aha! Builder and Figma Make handle databases and backend services?
Aha! Builder includes a PostgreSQL database that Elle can create and configure as you build. It also includes built-in authentication and secure secret storage, with no separate backend provider required.
Figma Make integrates with Supabase to provide backend capabilities, including a PostgreSQL database, authentication, compute, and secret storage. Figma Make creates basic key-value stores within the database rather than configuring a full SQL database. You need to connect a separate Supabase project to use these capabilities.
Can I use Figma designs or a Figma Make project in Aha! Builder?
Yes. You can export a Figma design and upload it to Aha! Builder to establish a reusable design system or provide visual direction for an AI-generated prototype or application. You can also use a Figma Make project's design and requirements as context when building a new application in Aha! Builder. However, you cannot transfer the working application directly. You will need to rebuild it in Aha! Builder.
Can I move an Aha! Builder application to Figma Make?
Not directly. You can use an Aha! Builder application's design and requirements as a starting point for a new Figma Make project, but the application itself does not transfer. You will need to recreate it in Figma Make. If your application requires a database or other backend capabilities, you will also need to connect a service such as Supabase.
