Top 20 software development tools to use in 2024

The software market is massive – it’s expected to reach almost $1.4 trillion in value by 2030.

So, getting into software development should be a no-brainer, right?

But, you need to do it right – and to do that, you need the right tools for the job.

And with the huge amount of software development tools on the market, choosing the right ones can be tricky.

That’s where we come in.

Here, we’ll discuss the top 20 software development tools you should use in 2024.

Let’s dive in!

How to pick the right software development tools?

Picking the right tools is essential for successful software development.

But how do you pick the right software development tools?

There are a few main factors you need to consider, like:

• Your platform
• Project requirements
• Cost-effectiveness
• Your team’s expertise

So, if you’re building a web app, you won’t be using a mobile-specific tool like Flutter.

Still, the most important factor is the expertise of you and your team.

You should always go with the tools you’re familiar with unless there’s a specific reason why you can’t use them.

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Even then, you should pick a tool that’s closest to the tools you’ve already used and that you can learn quickly.

This way, you’ll speed up development and get it done faster.

And that’s exactly what you should be aiming for.

Mobile app development tools

First, we’ll cover the top mobile app development tools you should use in 2024.

Android Studio

Android Studio is the official integrated development environment (IDE) for Android app development.

source: Android Developers

If you’re building an Android app, Android Studio is a must.

It’s a powerful, all-in-one tool for the development, testing, and packaging of Android apps.

And that’s why it’s the best choice.

Important features

• Intelligent code editor

Android Studio’s intelligent code editor and its code completion feature will help you write high-quality code faster. It supports languages like Java, C, C++, and Kotlin.

• APK analyzer

The APK analyzer lets you see the composition of your app’s APK after you’ve built it – this will reduce the size of your app and help with debugging.

• Code templates

Android Studio has pre-made code templates for common features, which can significantly speed up development.

• Layout editor

A drag-and-drop interface for designing user interfaces (UIs), the layout editor lets you quickly build layouts and preview what they look like on various Android devices.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Android Studio is an open-source IDE, and it’s free to use for anyone who wants to build an Android app.

Appium

Appium is an open-source testing automation framework you can use to test your mobile app.

source: Bitrise

You can use it to test:

• Mobile web apps
• Cross-platform apps
• Native iOS/Android apps

Because it’s versatile and scalable, it makes testing mobile apps much more efficient.

And that’s why it’s a good choice.

Important features

• Cross-platform testing

In Appium, you can test both Android and iOS apps with the same test script, which will save you a lot of time.

• Automated UI testing

Appium enables you to set up automated UI testing, so you can find and fix any issues as soon as they happen.

• No app modification needed

Appium works with real apps and you don’t need to make additional modifications or SDKs to test your app.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Appium is a completely free, open-source tool.

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source front-end framework used to develop cross-platform apps.

source: .cult by Honeypot

And it does that from a single codebase, which means you don’t have to create separate native apps for each platform.

This makes it a very cost-effective choice and also helps you reach a wider audience.

Also, this ensures your users have a consistent experience regardless of platform.

And that’s why Flutter is such a game-changer.

Important features

• Hot reload

In Flutter, you can see code changes in real-time without having to restart your app – this saves a lot of time.

• Widgets

Flutter has a rich set of customizable widgets, so you can quickly create great-looking UIs.

• Single codebase

With Flutter, you can build apps for Android and iOS from a single codebase, which saves both time and money.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Flutter is a completely free, open-source framework.

Shake 

Shake is an innovative bug and crash reporting tool, developed by DECODE.

source: Shake

Shake makes collecting crash reports and bug reporting easy by automatically collecting and attaching that data to every bug report in the app.

This will save you a lot of time you’d otherwise spend collecting that data and helps you fix any issues quickly.

And that’s why Shake is such a valuable tool.

Important features

• Real-time crash reports

With Shake, you’ll get real-time crash reports from your app, so you can immediately fix the issues that caused the crash. 

• User feedback collection

Shake doesn’t just collect bug and crash reports – it also collects feedback from your users in your app and resolves issues before they result in crashes.

• Integration with development tools

Shake integrates with popular software development tools like Jira and Github, so you can easily add it to your existing workflow.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Shake offers a free plan for individuals and small teams, with limited integrations and 1 month of data retention.

source: Shake

They also have 2 paid plans – Premium and Organization.

The Premium plan is $200/month, with up to 4 apps you can track and 1 year of data retention.

And the Organization plan is $420/month, with unlimited apps you can track and 2 years of data retention.

Xcode

Xcode is Apple’s official IDE used to build iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS apps.

source: Apple Developer

It comes with a wide range of tools engineers can use to build, test, and manage apps for all Apple platforms.

If you’re building a native iOS app, you’ll be using Xcode.

Important features

• Interface Builder

The Interface Builder is Xcode’s drag-and-drop tool for designing UIs, similar to Android Studio’s layout editor.

• Instruments

Xcode’s performance analysis tools, Instruments, will help you identify and fix performance issues with your code.

• iOS Simulator

Xcode has a built-in iOS emulator, so you can test your app on a range of devices and operating systems without physical hardware.

• Asset catalog

The asset catalog allows you to organize images and other app resources easily and efficiently.

• App Store Connect

Xcode has an integrated workflow for submitting apps to the App Store and you can track your app’s performance directly from Xcode.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Xcode is available for free on the Mac App Store and doesn’t come with any upfront costs or licensing fees.

But, if you want to publish your iOS app in the App Store, you need to join the Apple Developer Program – it starts at $99/year for individuals and $299/year for enterprises.

Web app development tools

Now, let’s discuss the top web app development tools you should use in 2024.

Angular

Angular is a TypeScript-based framework developed by Google’s Angular Team.

It’s one of the most popular front-end frameworks on the market today, and it’s especially useful for developing single-page web apps.

According to a StackOverflow survey, 23.06% of engineers prefer using Angular when developing web apps.

And that’s no surprise when you look at its features.

Important features

• Two-way data binding

Angular automatically synchronizes data between the model and view components. When data in the model changes, the view shows those changes – this simplifies development and reduces the need for direct Document Object Model (DOM) manipulation.

• Modular development structure

In Angular, your code is organized into modules that you can develop and test in isolation or combined with other modules. This makes code management and maintenance easier.

• Component-based architecture

A component-based architecture means that your app is divided into small, reusable components. Each component is responsible for a specific part of the app and can easily be reused, tested and maintained.

• Dependency injection

Angular’s dependency injection system handles the creation and delivery of dependencies to your app’s components. This simplifies the whole process and makes for more reusable and maintainable code.

• Cross-platform capabilities

You can also use Angular to develop cross-platform apps, including mobile and desktop apps.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Angular is a free and open-source framework and you can freely use it to develop your web app.

Django

Django is a Python-based back-end development framework good for building large-scale web apps.

source: FreeCodeCamp

And with Python being the most popular programming language, Django is a good choice for back-end development.

One of its main advantages is that it enables fast development.

And that means you can get your app to market faster than if you were using other frameworks.

That’s why Django is a good choice.

Important features

• Scalability

Django is specifically designed to build scalable web apps that can handle high traffic and large data volumes.

• Admin interface

Django’s admin interface is automatically generated and it’s a simple way to manage your web app’s content within the framework itself.

• Built-in template system

It has a built-in template system, which makes creating HTML templates easier and lets you add dynamic HTML content to your app.

• Object-relational mapper

With Django’s ORM, you can interact with databases by writing Python code instead of SQL queries, making the process much more straightforward.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Django is a free and open-source framework, so you can use it and modify it based on your needs.

Node.js

Node.js is a Javascript-based runtime environment that executes Javascript code outside of a web browser.

Often confused for a framework, Node.js is an efficient runtime environment you can use to build your web app’s back-end.

It also has an active community and works well with open-source development frameworks.

And that’s why it’s an increasingly popular web app development tool.

Important features

• Node Package Manager

Node Package Manager (NPM) allows you to access a huge number of open-source libraries, which simplifies adding new functionalities and dependencies.

• Built-in HTTP server

Node.js comes with HTTP modules so you can create a web server that listens to requests and returns responses – this way, you don’t need separate server software.

• Cross-platform functionality

Node.js runs on a number of different platforms, including:

• Windows
• Linux
• Unix
• MacOS

And this cross-platform flexibility is one of the reasons why it’s so popular.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Node.js is open-source and free to use for anyone who wants to develop a web app.

React

React is a Javascript library used to build user interfaces, especially for single-page web apps.

Developed by Facebook and maintained by an active community, React is one of the most popular web app development tools on the market.

source: Codup

And there’s a good reason for that.

React is an efficient, high-performance tool that can greatly speed up development.

Let’s take a look at some key features that explain why.

Important features

• Component-based architecture

With React’s component-based architecture, you can create a variety of reusable components, which speeds up development.

• Javascript XML

React uses Javascript XML (JSX), a syntax extension, that lets you write HTML in the same file as your Javascript code – this way, your code is more readable and it’s easier to create components.

• Virtual Document Object Model (DOM)

In React, you can create a virtual Document Object Model (DOM), a lightweight copy of the actual DOM – this way, updates you make to your web app’s DOM are optimized and its performance is improved.

Pros and cons

Pricing

React is free and open-source, so you can freely use it to develop your web app.

Selenium

Selenium is an open-source tool used to automate web browsers.

It’s most commonly used to automate the testing of web apps across different browsers and platforms.

Selenium comes with 3 extensions:

• Selenium WebDriver
• Selenium IDE 
• Selenium Grid 

This means that you get comprehensive and scalable coverage 

And that’s why you should pick Selenium.

Important features

• Cross-browser compatibility

Selenium supports all major web browsers, so you can run tests on:

• Chrome
• Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Safari
• Opera

• Multi-language support

With Selenium, you can write test scripts in a variety of languages like Java, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, and C#.

• Selenium Grid

Selenium Grid allows you to simultaneously run tests on several different devices, browsers, and operating systems.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Selenium is open-source and you can freely use it.

Version control tools

We’ll now discuss version control tools you should use in 2024.

Bitbucket

Bitbucket is a cloud-based version control service used to store and manage code.

It also has a built-in continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline.

source: Bitbucket

This means you can write, test, and ship code directly in Bitbucket.

Also, as it’s an Atlassian product, you can easily integrate it with their other products like:

• Confluence
• Jira
• Trello

And unlike Github, whose main focus is open-source code, Bitbucket is specifically designed for business and enterprise use.

That’s why it’s a solid choice.

Important features

• Bitbucket Pipelines

Bitbucket Pipelines is their built-in CI/CD feature – you can write, test, and deploy code directly in Bitbucket.

• Flexible deployment models

You can use Bitbucket as a cloud-based solution (Bitbucket Cloud) or for data centers (Bitbucket Data Center), depending on your specific needs.

• Branch permissions

You can manage who can commit and push code to specific branches in the repository, which greatly improves the security of your code.

• Code analysis

You can integrate code analysis tools with Bitbucket, and you’ll be able to see quality reports and security scans directly in your pull requests.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Bitbucket has a free plan, but it has limited users, build minutes, and storage.

They also have 2 paid plans – Standard and Premium.

source: Bitbucket

The Standard plan is $3 per user/month, with unlimited users but limited build minutes and large file storage.

And the Premium plan, at $6 per user/month, offers more build minutes and large file storage as well as other advanced features.

Github

Github is a popular web-based version control and collaborative software development platform.

source: Github Blog

It’s Git-based and that’s what allows multiple engineers to work on the same project at the same time.

Github is free to use and it’s best known for hosting a huge number of open-source software projects, but they also offer paid plans for businesses.

It also has a strong, active community which makes troubleshooting any problems you encounter much easier.

And that’s why you should consider using it.

Important features

• Version control

Github’s main feature, version control, allows you to track and manage any changes made to your code.

• Repositories

Another key feature, users can create private or public repositories to store and manage their code.

• Pull requests

Pull requests notify other collaborators when changes are made to a branch in the repository.

• Forking

Users can fork i.e. make a personal copy of someone else’s project so they can experiment with changes without modifying the original project

Pros and cons

Pricing

Github’s main features are available for free, you just need to create an account.

But, if you need advanced features or you want to use it for business purposes, they also offer 2 paid plans – Team and Enterprise.

source: Github

The Team plan is $4 per user/month and offers access to Github Codespaces as well as other advanced features.

And the Enterprise plan, at $21 per user/month, offers even more advanced features and premium support for large teams.

Gitlab

Gitlab is an all-in-one, cloud-based DevOps platform that supports the entire software development lifecycle.

This means it’s an end-to-end platform, supporting development from building and testing to deployment and monitoring.

source: Gitlab

And since it’s Git-based, version control is made easy.

On top of that, you can also use it to automate your workflows and as a project management tool.

That’s why Gitlab is a good choice if you’re in the market for a great version control tool.

Important features

• Version control

Gitlab has robust version control, so you can effectively track changes and manage your repositories.

• CI/CD pipeline automation

Gitlab offers a variety of tools that will help you automate your CI/CD pipeline to make it more efficient.

• Integrated security testing

The standout feature, Gitlab has integrated and continuous security testing so all of your work is secure.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Gitlab has a free plan for individuals working on small projects.

But, if you want to use it for business purposes, they have 2 paid plans – Premium and Ultimate.

source: Gitlab

The Premium plan starts at $29 per user/month, with 50 GiB of storage and 100 GiB of data transfer per month.

And the Ultimate plan offers organization-wide security features, with custom pricing based on your specific needs.

Design tools

Next, we’ll cover the top design tools you should use in 2024.

Balsamiq

Balsamiq is a user-friendly wireframing and mockup tool which allows designers to quickly communicate and test out their ideas.

source: Balsamiq

It’s the fastest way to generate low-fidelity wireframes and put design ideas and concepts to the test.

And the best part?

Balsamiq has a big library of UI components and templates, which is why it has a very gentle learning curve.

So, even non-designers can easily make wireframes to test their concepts and ideas.

And that’s why Balsamiq is a solid choice.

Important features

• Wireframing

Balsamiq specializes in generating low-fidelity wireframes in a unified style, which you can build in minutes

• UI library

Balsamiq has a large library of UI components, icons, and templates so you can quickly create your wireframes

• Variety of output formats

In Balsamiq, you can export the wireframes you create in a variety of output formats, based on your specific needs and requirements

Pros and cons

Pricing

Balsamiq offers a 30-day free trial, so you can test it out and see if it fits your workflow.

source: Balsamiq

After that, you need to change to one of their 3 paid plans:

• 2 projects – $9/month, a starter plan for small teams just getting started
• 20 projects – $49/month, the most popular plan
• 200 projects – $199/month, meant for bigger teams with a lot of projects

All 3 plans include unlimited wireframes and unlimited users.

Figma

Figma is a popular collaborative design tool mainly used for user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design.

source: Think Company

It’s a good choice if you want to design:

• Wireframes
• Prototypes
• Mockups
• Logos

But, Figma’s stand-out feature is real-time collaboration – your entire team can work together on your product’s design.

And that’s why Figma is a good choice.

Important features

• Real-time collaboration

In Figma, multiple users can work on the same file simultaneously – they can view, comment and edit in real-time.

• Version control

Figma automatically saves the version history, so you can track changes and revert to a previous version if you need to.

• Developer Handoff

This feature allows engineers to inspect designs, get CSS and other code snippets and download assets directly from Figma which speeds up the development process.

• Asset library

Teams using Figma can create a library of shared assets like:

• Colors
• Fonts
• Effects

This way, you’ll ensure consistency and speed up the design process.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Figma has a free Starter plan, limited to 3 Figma or Figjam files without advanced features available in the paid plans.

source: Figma

They also have 3 paid plans:

• Figma Professional – $12 per editor/month, includes unlimited Figma files and version history
• Figma Organization – $45 per editor/month, includes many advanced features that aren’t available in lower tiers
• Figma Enterprise – $75 per editor/month, includes access to all features as well as extra security

Sketch

Sketch is one of the most popular UI design tools on the market – and has been for a while.

source: Sketch

Sketch has robust features which let you create highly detailed, pixel-perfect mockups and prototypes.

Also, it has an intuitive interface and a large number of plugins that extend its functionality.

And that’s why it’s so popular.

Important features

• Rapid prototyping

Sketch supports rapid and efficient prototyping, so you can quickly validate your design

• Plugins

Sketch supports over 1000 plugins, so you can customize its functionality based on your specific needs

• Libraries

Libraries are Sketch documents containing components you can share with multiple teams and reuse across multiple projects.

Pros and cons

Pros: User-friendly features, precision, collaboration features

Cons: Limited to Mac, large file sizes

Pricing

Sketch offers a 30-day free trial, so you can get started with it and see how it works.

source: Sketch

They have 2 paid plans – Standard and Business.

The Standard plan is $10/month per editor, and it includes the native Mac app and the Sketch web app.

And the Business plan is $20/month per editor, with advanced features like Single Sign-On (SSO) and unlimited versions and online storage.

Also, Sketch offers a Mac-only license at $120 per seat, aimed at solo designers.

Productivity tools

Finally, let’s go over the top productivity tools you should use in 2024.

Asana

Asana is a project and task management tool which you can use to efficiently track, manage, and organize your work.

source: Asana Help Center

It’s used across different industries and it’s highly customizable, so you can set it up based on your needs.

You can use it as a centralized platform to manage all of your projects, which will improve how your team collaborates.

And that’s exactly what you want from a productivity tool.

Important features

• Task management

Asana’s main feature, it lets you assign tasks, set deadlines, and monitor progress

• Project tracking

With this feature, you can visualize project progress with lists, timelines, and boards

• Resource management

Asana’s resource management lets you prioritize and schedule incoming work, so you can avoid overloading your team and accurately plan tasks

Pros and cons

Pricing

Asana has a free Personal plan, for individuals and small teams.

source: Asana

They also offer 2 paid plans, Starter and Advanced.

The Starter plan is $10.99 per user/month, suitable for most teams.

And the Advanced plan is $24.99 per user/month, meant for companies that need to manage projects across different departments.

Asana also offers 2 plans geared towards large businesses, Enterprise and Enterprise+ – both have custom pricing, the only difference is the advanced security features in Enterprise+.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a comprehensive project management and productivity tool, with a huge number of features to help teams manage projects efficiently.

source: ClickUp

ClickUp is designed from the ground up as an all-in-one tool where teams can manage tasks, documents, and communication in one place.

It’s also highly customizable, so you can set it up based on your specific project requirements and methodologies.

And that’s why it’s one of the best productivity tools on the market.

Important features

• Task management

ClickUp supports advanced task management with custom fields, multiple assignees, and custom task statuses

• Goal tracking

In ClickUp, you can easily track goals and targets, both on an individual and a team level

• Document management

ClickUp offers real-time document editing and sharing, allowing you to easily manage your important documentation

Pros and cons

Pricing

ClickUp offers a free plan meant for personal use, with only the basic features included.

source: ClickUp

But, for professional use, they offer 3 paid plans:

• Unlimited – $10 per member/month, designed for small teams
• Business – $19 per member/month, with more advanced features
• Enterprise – Custom pricing, geared towards large businesses with advanced security and compliance features.

Also, for an extra $5 per member/month you can add ClickUp’s AI add-on, ClickUp Brain, to any paid plan.

Jira

Jira is one of the most popular project management tools for software development.

source: Atlassian Community

Using Jira, you can efficiently:

• Plan projects
• Track projects
• Manage projects

It’s a great option if you’re doing Agile software development, as it also lets you track issues and bugs during development.

Important features

• Issue tracking

Jira’s main feature, you can use it to create, prioritize, and track tasks (called issues in Jira) and their progress. Also, you can customize task categorization and track bugs.

• Integration with development tools

Jira can easily integrate with development tools like Bitbucket and has a large number of add-ons and plugins.

• Reporting and analytics

Jira has a number of reporting and analytics tools for agile projects such as:

• Sprint reports
• Burn-down charts
• Velocity charts

• Agile boards

Jira supports Agile development methodologies like Scrum and Kanban and their agile boards are useful if you want to visualize your workflow.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Jira offers a free plan for up to 10 users, with a maximum of 2 GB of storage – ideal for small projects and teams.

source: Jira

But, if you have a bigger team and want more advanced features, they also offer 3 paid plans:

• Standard – $8.15 per user, up to 35,000 users, 250 GB of storage
• Premium – $16 per user, unlimited storage, advanced features
• Enterprise – starting from $141,000, a minimum of 801 users, suitable for large businesses

Slack

Slack needs no introduction.

As one of the most popular business communication tools, you likely already use it daily.

source: Kipwise

But, Slack can also be a very useful tool to use when developing software products.

And not just because it makes communication between your engineering team easier.

You can use it as a cost-effective hub for collaboration.

In Slack, you can:

• Share relevant files, materials, and resources with your entire team
• Hold brainstorming and ideation sessions
• Get real-time feedback from stakeholders
• Integrate with other tools for a unified discovery workflow

And that’s why it’s a good choice.

Important features

• Canvas

Slack’s Canvas feature allows you to add files, images, videos, and other formats in a single view, so your entire team can have easy access to the resources they need.

• File sharing

Slack makes it easy to share files in a wide variety of formats, which is what makes it so useful for collaboration.

• Slack Connect

You can give access to specific channels to people outside of your company, which is especially useful if you’re working with freelancers or an agency.

• Huddles

Huddles allow your team to quickly connect with each other over an audio or video call, which is useful if they need to clear up any misunderstandings.

Pros and cons

Pricing

Slack offers a free plan, so you can try it out before committing fully.

source: Slack

They also have 3 paid plans:

• Pro – $7.25 per active user/month, with unlimited integrations and secure collaboration with other organizations and guests.
• Business+ – $12.50 per active user/month, with more advanced security features and 24/7 customer support.
• Enterprise Grid – custom pricing, with enterprise-grade security and compliance standards and support for up to 500,000 users.

Software development tools: FAQs

How do I pick the right software development tools?

You need to consider several factors like your platform, project requirements, and the cost-effectiveness of the tools.

But keep in mind that your and your team’s expertise is the most important factor.

Which mobile app development tools should I use?

You should use:

• Android Studio
• Appium
• Flutter
• Shake
• Xcode

Which web app development tools should I use?

We recommend:

• Angular
• Django
• Node.js
• React
• Selenium

Which design tools should I use?

The top design tools you should use are Balsamiq, Figma, and Sketch.

Which version control tools should I use?

The best version control tools you should use are Bitbucket, Github, and Gitlab.

Which productivity tools should I use?

You should use:

• Asana
• ClickUp
• Jira
• Slack

Conclusion

Software development isn’t easy.

And it’s even harder if you don’t have the right tools for the job.

But, with the tools we’ve covered, you won’t have a problem developing great software.

If you want to learn more, you can read our software product development guide and how we approach software development.