Prototyping with NoCode and AI tools
trying out lots of different No-code and AI tools
I’m currently trying out lots of different No-code and AI tools to create mobile and web apps. The goal is to be able to make prototypes and MVP’s much faster and cheaper.
Startups and others who want to create something new are often faced with a
dilemma: They would like to create an app of some sort to test their idea and to
have something to show off.
But, unless you are a developer and designer, it can
quickly cost a at least a few hundrede thousand dollars. And even if you can do
it yourself, it takes a long time to create things "from scratch".
All these tools have disadvantages. But given that the advantages are so great, I think it can be a good solution for many.
Advantages: Create something quick and cheap. Do it yourself.
Cons: There’s still a lot to learn. The result could be worse. Many different tools, with their own advantages and disadvantages.
As a developer, I enjoy programming. But I also like to make things, with or without coding.
So I’m testing many of these tools and platforms and will share my experiences here
Criteria
I look for tools that are useful for me and my clients. That is, they can help create apps of various kinds, for startups and the like.
More specialized tools are interesting if they help create things that entrepreneurs often want to create. E.g. with Sharetribe you can create a marketplaces, where some sell and others buy, and that is something many people want to do.
Several things disqualify many tools at straight away:
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Price: Either too expensive for a typical startup project or high price per end user.
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Designed for large companies and their needs. Often related to price, but also what these tools are good and bad at.
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Specialized in the "wrong" niche. E.g. there are many tools for creating web forms and glorified spreadsheets (A la Airtable).
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Too difficult to test out or to get started with.
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Made for developers, for faster development, but requires programming.
While things that are a pluss, and the generalist tools should have:
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Storage of data (some kind of database)
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Logic required to create apps (If A then B..)
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Many users: Support for creating a user, logging in etc (authentication)
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Many users: Not everyone has access to the same things (authorization)
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Support for creating apps for mobile (native iOS / Android, and/or progressive web apps)
Here is the list of the ones I will test. Did I forget any? Anyone have experience with one or more of these?
On the "to try out" list
Generalist, "all purpose" platforms
Adalo
Platform for creating web apps and mobile apps. I used Adalo about 4 years ago to make a prototype. Quite liked it.
Price: From 0$ to 200$ per month. The most relevant plan costs 30$ per month, lets you use your own domain etc.
Bravo Studio
From Figma design to a native mobile app.
Price: From 0$ per to 118$ per month. The 2 most relevant plans costs 21$ and 118$ per month. The expensive one is required to remove the Bravo logo/branding.
Bubble
One of the oldest and best-known platforms for creating web apps. I tried it out about 4 years ago, with somewhat mixed results.
Price: From 0$ to 399$ per month. The most relevant plan costs 32$ per month, lets you use your own domain etc..
FlutterFlow
Price: 0 - 70$ per month.
Glide
Possibly a bit too "enterprisy" for my use.
Price: 2 price models: "For Makers" and "For companies". Maker is probably the most relevant and costs 60$ per month (?). Although it seems like it has fewer data sources than the "for companies" one.
Google Appsheet
Looks pretty versatile. Probably good integration with the rest of Google Workspace (Google Docs etc). Maybe a little limited?
Price: A bit unclear. 10$ per user per month? More if you want AI integration? Some of it included a Google Workspace subscription?
jetAdmin
Price: From 49$ per month, 349$ to use your own domain.
Plasmic
Open source. Mostly focused on design and visuals. Maybe a little too simple?
Price: From 0$ to 499$. The most relevant plan, to remove the Plasmic logo, costs $49 per month.
Open source, so you can use it for free, with all functionality etc?
toddle.dev
Quite new. Norwegian? Danish?
Price: Actually looks quite cheap, but what does 20$ per user mean?
WeWeb
WeWeb is a "front end builder" that is used with another back-end solution of some kind. For me it would perhaps be appropriate to code a back-end myself. But there are also pure no-code back-end solutions such as Xano. Maybe Pocketbase could work as well.
Price: From 0$ to 179$ per month. 49$ per month to use your own domain. 179$ for more advanced functionality.
Plus the price of a back-end system.
Wized
Wized works together with Webflow to let you make more advanced websites and web apps than you can with Webflow alone. Looks good. Perhaps most relevant if you already know Webflow?
Price: From 0$ to 169$ per month. 12$ per month to use your own domain.
Plus you have to pay for Webflow in addition?
Xano
Xano is a little different because it is only a backend system. Most no-code tools have both a "front end" and a "back end" that work together. This means that Xano alone is not enough, and must be used together with e.g. WeWeb.
Personally, I would have tested Pocketbase at the same time as Xano, since it is open source and setting up a small server is something I’m comfortable with.
Price: From 0$ to 225$ per month. The most relevant plan costs $99, but I think you can go a long way with the free plan.
Plus the price of a front-end system.
Specialized
Sharetribe
A platform for creating marketplaces, that is, a place where someone sells something and someone buys. Such as Craigslist and Airbnb. But you can also sell for example something by the hour.
Price: From 29$ to 249$ per month.
Figma plugin for generating code
"Figma to Code" is a plugin for the design tool Figma. It is one of many such tools for creating code from designs in Figma. Supports html and css (with Tailwind), Flutter and SwiftUI.
Alone, this is not a "no-code" tool. But there are several AI tools that support creating designs in Figma for you (see below).
Price: Appears to be free to use and Open source
Generative AI
These are a little different. With the exception of Buzzy, they typically only create a design (UI) and perhaps code to implement the design (html and css).
You cannot create a full web app or mobile app in most of these tools.
But using generative AI can save us so much time that it’s worth testing.
I’m guessing the UI’s most of these create are pretty generic, and not as good as a good designer could have made. So they may not be good enough if your app is to stand out from the crowd with especially good design and UI.
Buzzy
Looks good, certainly one of the most promising on this list. When using chat (a text description), it creates a UI for you. After giving you a change to change the UI in Figma, Buzzy should in theory be able to create a working web or mobile app.
Buzzy is one of the few AI/AI tools that does more than create a design and/or html and css.
Price: Not entirely obvious, but it seems that you can now pay 50$ per month to generate UI (and code?). Whereas if you want them to "host" the web app (make it available to users) it costs $600 for a year.
No free trial.
See "Special offers".
Galileo
When using chat (a text description), it creates a UI for you. The result is a design in Figma. Unsure if it can also create code to implement the design. If not, you can probably use the Figma plugin mentioned above.
Price: 19$ per month, but everyone can see what you create. 39$ for "private mode".
Rendition
Rendition is actually two different things:
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Rendition Create: Create a design based on chat and either export it to Figma or create code to implement it (html and css with Tailwind).
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Rendition from Figma: Take a design in Figma and create code to implement it (html and css with Tailwind). (Could not get this work last time I tried).
You can test it for free.
Price:
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Renedition Create: Not sure, 10$ per month?
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Rendition form Figma: Free to use a bit, then 10$ per month for more use.
Uizard
Generate design and UI with chat or from a screenshot or wireframe.
Can also create some code (html, css and React code).
Seems to have a lot of functionality for creating and editing UIs. So it’s also a simpler alternative to Figma.
Price: From 0$ to 49$ per month.
Vercel v0
Vercel v0 is similar to Galileo. When using chat (a text description), it creates a UI for you. v0 creates code to implement the design (html, css with Tailwind and React).
v0 cannot export to Figma and is perhaps more "tied" to React than the other similar tools?
Price: From 0$ per month, but everyone can see what you create. For $20 per month you get to enjoy what it makes and also "High Quality", whatever that means.
Discared
Appfarm
Very curious about Appfarm and want to check it out.
But in general it is probably too expensive for my use, typically 1000-2000$ per month, if I understood it correctly.
Genus
Too "enterprisy". Norwegian, large customers, have been doing this for a while.
Hadron
Design. Creates html and css for you?
Interplay
Design heavy: React components and design tokens.
Kombai
Design for React, html and css. Requires coding?
Motor Admin.com
Similar to Airtable (spreadsheet style)
nocodb.com
Similar to Airtable (spreadsheet style)
OutSystems
Too expensive, starting at $1,513 (USD) per month.
Looks good, logic, mobile apps etc
Play
Looks good, but only for ios apps
Retool
For "business applications", pay per customer
RNBW
Design. Creates html and css for you?
Stacker
For "business applications"
Teable
Similar to Airtable (spreadsheet style). Open source.
Utopia
For React, requires coding?
Vizro
"Python enabled data visualization"
Webstudio
Similar to Webflow, i.e. lacks "app" functionality. Open Source.