No-code app builders let people build working software in a visual editor instead of writing code: internal tools, client portals, booking and inventory systems, marketplaces and mobile apps. Each combines a database, a way to design screens and a way to define logic, and takes care of hosting and user accounts.
Every platform builds a simple app well; they diverge as the requirements grow. Check three limits before you commit: how complex the logic and data relationships can get, how the price changes with records, users and workload, and whether you can export the app or its code if you outgrow the platform. Tools that sit on top of a spreadsheet or database are quickest for internal tools, while full builders and code-exporting tools suit products meant for customers.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bubble | Best for founders building a marketplace or SaaS product without a development team | Free plan | 14 days |
 Softr | Best for small businesses building a client portal on Airtable or SQL data | Free plan | 7 days |
 Glide | Best for operations teams turning spreadsheets into internal apps for staff | Free plan | 14 days |
 FlutterFlow | Best for startups building a mobile app they plan to hand over to developers as code | Free plan | No |
 Adalo | Best for small businesses launching one customer app on iOS, Android and the web | Free plan | 14 days |
5 of 5 tools
The ranking
In order, with what each tool is for and what it costs. Use the filters above to narrow the list.
Best for founders building a marketplace or SaaS product without a development team
Bubble is a visual programming platform for building web apps and native mobile apps with their own database, user accounts and workflows, without code. Each project needs its own plan, which includes monthly workload units; usage beyond them is billed as overage.
Free plan
paid from $29/mo
Best for small businesses building a client portal on Airtable or SQL data
Softr is a no-code builder for client portals and internal tools on top of Airtable, SQL databases or its own Softr Databases. Plans include a set number of builders and app users, and extra users on Pro and Business are billed monthly.
Free plan
paid from $19/mo
Best for operations teams turning spreadsheets into internal apps for staff
Glide builds internal business apps from spreadsheets and other data, sold as two separate products: Glide Classic, a no-code builder, and GlideOS, an AI platform. Classic plans are metered by updates and app users, GlideOS plans by AI credits and team members.
Free plan
paid from $19/mo
Best for startups building a mobile app they plan to hand over to developers as code
FlutterFlow is a visual builder for mobile, web and desktop apps that connects to your own Firebase or Supabase backend. Paid plans download the source code or an APK, and team plans are priced per editor seat, up to five editors on Business.
Free plan
paid from $29.25/mo
Best for small businesses launching one customer app on iOS, Android and the web
Adalo is a no-code builder for database-driven apps that publish to the web, the App Store and Google Play from one build. Plans are flat-rate, priced by published apps, editors and storage, with no usage-based charges.
Free plan
paid from $36/mo
Head to head
Feature-by-feature matchups between leading No-Code App Builders tools, with a clear verdict.
Methodology
We compare the tools on this page using what can be checked from the outside: published pricing and plan limits, documented features, and each vendor's own security, compliance and support documentation. This is desk research, not hands-on testing. Where something can only be judged by using a product, we say so rather than imply we measured it.
What we weigh here:
How the order is set:
Buyer's guide
The builders here differ most in what they let you express as an app grows, so build the hardest part first: the data relationships, the permission rules and the logic that decides who sees what. Bubble sets privacy rules on each data type, Softr's user groups control pages, blocks and records for each user, and Glide Classic restricts rows through roles and row owners. In FlutterFlow, a developer can write custom widgets, functions and actions in Dart where the visual tools stop.
Softr and Glide put a logged-in interface on data a business already keeps in Airtable, Google Sheets or a SQL database. Both run in the browser, and neither publishes to the App Store or Google Play. Bubble, FlutterFlow and Adalo build apps with their own users and logic and publish native iOS and Android apps as well as web apps, so if the app has to be in the stores, the choice is among those three.
Each builder meters something different, and the meter decides the bill. Bubble includes monthly workload units, the server work behind page loads, workflows and searches, then charges $0.30 per 1,000 or takes the app offline if overages are off. Glide Classic counts updates and app users, and stops syncing and workflows when updates run out unless unlimited usage is on, at $0.02 per update. Softr caps app users, records and workflow actions, and pauses workflows at the limit. FlutterFlow charges per editor seat, and Adalo charges flat prices set by published apps, editors and storage.
FlutterFlow hands over the app itself: paid plans download the project's source code or an Android APK, and the data already sits in your own Firebase or Supabase project. Bubble apps can't be exported as code, though data leaves as CSV or through Bubble's API. Adalo and Softr document no code export; Adalo downloads data as CSV one collection at a time, and Softr can run on an Airtable base or SQL database you keep. That trade is easier to accept for an internal tool than for a product your business depends on.
FAQ
Entry-level paid plans cost $19 to $36 a month billed yearly: Softr Basic and Glide Classic Explorer are $19, Bubble Starter for a web app is $29, FlutterFlow Basic $29.25 and Adalo Starter $36. Paid month to month, the same plans cost $25, $25, $32, $39 and $45. The real bill depends on each tool's meter: workload units on Bubble, updates and app users on Glide Classic, app users and workflow actions on Softr, editor seats on FlutterFlow, and published apps and editors on Adalo. Estimate how that number will grow before choosing a tier.
Yes, if the platform's limits fit the job, and most of those limits are documented. Bubble takes an app offline when it reaches its workload allowance with overages switched off, Glide Classic stops syncing and running workflows when monthly updates run out, and Softr pauses workflows at the plan's action allowance and caps app users. Safeguards for live apps differ too: every Bubble app has separate development and live databases, Softr publishes to a staging version first, and FlutterFlow adds branches and extra environments from its Growth plan. Build the hardest part of your app first to see whether the platform can express it.
Mostly, yes. Bubble apps can't be exported as code, and Adalo and Softr document no code export, so leaving means rebuilding the app. The data can usually come with you: Bubble exports CSV or works through its API, Adalo downloads each collection as CSV, GlideOS tables export to CSV, and Softr and Glide Classic can run on an Airtable base, spreadsheet or SQL database you keep. FlutterFlow is different. Its paid plans download the project's source code or an Android APK, and the data sits in your own Firebase or Supabase project. Weigh this before building a product your business will depend on.
Not for most of them, though the skills needed differ. Softr and Glide build on data you already keep, with pages assembled from blocks or components and access set by user groups or roles. Adalo includes its own database and attaches actions to components. Bubble describes itself as a visual programming platform, in which you define data types, privacy rules and workflows. FlutterFlow asks more of a builder: you connect and manage a Firebase or Supabase backend yourself, and anything beyond its widgets is written in Dart. Match the platform to whoever will build and maintain the app.
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