Bubble pioneered the no code movement back in 2012, and for a long time, it was the undisputed king of building web apps without writing code. But the landscape has exploded. Today, there are hundreds of no code and low code platforms, with the global market projected to hit a staggering $36.4 billion by 2027. If you’re feeling the limitations of Bubble, whether it’s performance, pricing, or a lack of design freedom, you’ve come to the right place.
So, what are the best Bubble.io alternatives? For professional web apps that require scalability and code ownership, WeWeb is a leading choice. For native mobile apps, Adalo is a top contender, and for beautiful, content-focused sites, Webflow is a powerhouse. Finding the right tool can feel overwhelming, but this guide will walk you through these and other top options, helping you understand your choices and make a confident decision.
Before jumping ship, it’s smart to pinpoint exactly what’s not working for you with Bubble. Are you running into these common issues?
Unpredictable Pricing: Bubble’s “workload units” can make your monthly bill spike unexpectedly as your app grows.
Performance Bottlenecks: Complex apps on Bubble can become slow, and you have limited control over performance tuning.
No Native Mobile Apps: Bubble creates responsive web apps, but it doesn’t build true native iOS or Android apps you can submit to the app stores.
Vendor Lock In: You can’t export your app’s code. If you want to leave Bubble, you have to rebuild everything from scratch.
Design Constraints: While powerful, Bubble’s design editor can feel less intuitive for creating pixel perfect, responsive layouts compared to other tools.
Once you’ve identified your core reasons, you can start evaluating the wide world of Bubble.io alternatives with a clear checklist.
Don’t just pick the first option you see. A little homework now will save you a massive headache later. Here are the key criteria to consider when looking for a replacement.
Think about your non negotiables. What must the platform do? Consider factors like:
Use Case: Are you building a simple internal tool, a customer portal, a native mobile app, or a scalable SaaS product?
Flexibility: How much customization do you need? Can you get by with templates or do you need total design freedom?
Backend & Data: Do you want an all in one solution like Bubble, or would you prefer to connect to your own database or backend service like Xano or Supabase—or use a no‑code backend builder?
Scalability: What happens when you go from 100 to 100,000 users? Will the platform grow with you or hold you back?
Pricing Structure: Do you prefer a predictable flat fee, a per user cost, or a usage based model?
Having a clear list of must haves will act as your scorecard when you start comparing options.
No code doesn’t mean no learning. Bubble itself has a significant learning curve, and many founders end up hiring specialized Bubble developers to truly master it. When looking at alternatives, ask yourself:
How intuitive is the user interface?
Are there good tutorials and templates to get started?
Does the platform’s logic match your team’s technical comfort level?
The goal is to find a tool that empowers your team to build quickly, not trade one steep learning curve for another. For example, G2 reviewers consistently rate platforms like Wix as easier to set up and use than Bubble for simpler projects.
Pricing is a huge reason people seek out Bubble.io alternatives. Bubble’s usage based pricing can be a nightmare for budgeting. One month your bill is manageable, the next it’s through the roof because of a spike in user activity.
Look for platforms with clear, predictable pricing models. Some newer services offer flat subscription tiers that are not tied to the number of end users your app has. For example, platforms that only handle the frontend often have fixed monthly costs, which makes forecasting your expenses much easier as you scale.
If a mobile app is part of your plan, this is a critical checkpoint. Does the platform build true native apps, or just responsive web apps?
Native Apps: Tools like Adalo and FlutterFlow are specifically designed to build native iOS and Android apps that you can publish on the app stores.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): Many platforms create PWAs, which are web apps that look and feel like native apps on a phone but run in the browser.
Responsive Design: Some tools, like DronaHQ, let you build a single app that works seamlessly across web and mobile without needing separate projects.
Clarify what “mobile support” means for each platform to ensure it aligns with your vision.
Don’t get painted into a corner. The best platforms let you grow without hitting a wall.
Custom Code: Can you add your own JavaScript, CSS, or even custom components if the built in features aren’t enough?
Open Standards: Platforms built on open standards (like standard code frameworks) give you more freedom and prevent lock in. WaveMaker, for example, is built for high performance apps and even lets you export the code.
Backend Freedom: An all in one system is convenient but can be limiting. An alternative that lets you connect to your own backend gives you far more control over performance and scalability.
Opt for a platform that can handle your app’s complexity today and in the future.
When you get stuck, a strong community is a lifesaver. Bubble has an active forum and a large ecosystem of agencies and tutorials. You’ll want a similar support system for any alternative you choose.
Look for active forums, detailed documentation, and responsive customer support—for example, the WeWeb Academy offers step-by-step courses and tutorials. Some platforms, like Webflow, have invested heavily in educational resources like “Webflow University” that make a huge difference in the learning process. According to user reviews, Wix actually outranks Bubble in its quality of support.
Your app needs to be fast and stable for your users. A common complaint about Bubble is that apps can become slow as they grow more complex. Because Bubble manages the entire infrastructure, you have little control to fix performance issues yourself.
Look for alternatives that give you more control. A platform with a decoupled architecture (where the frontend and backend are separate) can help avoid performance bottlenecks. This allows you to scale your backend resources independently as traffic grows.
This might be the most important long term consideration. With Bubble, you are completely dependent on their platform. If they change their pricing or shut down, your app is gone. You cannot export your code and host it elsewhere.
This very issue drove many users to migrate away from Bubble during a pricing controversy a few years ago. To avoid this trap, favor platforms that give you true ownership of your work.
Code Export: Can you download your application’s source code?
Self Hosting: Can you host the application on your own servers?
Data Portability: Is it easy to get your data out via API or export?
Platforms like WeWeb shine here by producing a standard Vue.js frontend that you can self host, giving you full ownership of your code and data. This is a critical feature for any serious project.
Now that you know what to look for, let’s dive into the specific tools. We’ve broken them down by their primary use case to help you find the perfect match.
These platforms are fantastic for building admin panels, internal dashboards, and custom CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) apps.
UI Bakery is a powerful low code platform for internal tools that now uses an AI agent to generate full applications from a simple text prompt. Describe the dashboard you need, and it generates the UI and workflows, which you can then refine in its visual editor. It’s a huge time saver for building admin panels and CRUD apps quickly.
Retool is the developer’s choice for internal apps. It’s less of a pure no code tool and more of a “low code” platform that expects you to write a bit of JavaScript or SQL. It excels at quickly building interfaces on top of your existing databases and APIs. With over 500,000 apps built on its platform and a $3.2 billion valuation, Retool is a dominant force in this space.
DronaHQ is an AI powered platform for internal apps that strikes a great balance between ease of use and flexibility. A key feature is its responsive design; you build your app once, and it works beautifully on both web and mobile. Its pricing is often more economical for small teams compared to competitors.
If you’re in a larger organization and need something with enterprise level security, governance, and scalability, these platforms are for you.
WaveMaker is an enterprise low code platform built on open standards, using frameworks like Angular and Java Spring. This means you can export clean, standard code and avoid vendor lock in, a huge plus for large companies. Forrester named it one of the top low code platforms for professional developers in 2023.
Betty Blocks is a true no code platform aimed at empowering “citizen developers” within large organizations. It’s designed for non technical staff to build powerful applications while IT maintains governance and security. Forrester recognized Betty Blocks as a Leader for this use case. Its pricing reflects its enterprise focus, so it’s best suited for larger companies.
Quickbase is one of the original pioneers in the no code space and is a battle tested platform for complex business operations. Many large enterprises rely on it for project management, CRM, and supply chain applications. Its strength lies in its maturity, reliability, and robust support for complex business logic.
If your primary goal is an app for the iOS App Store or Google Play, these are the best Bubble.io alternatives.
Adalo is a no code platform focused specifically on building native mobile apps. The building experience is visual and intuitive, allowing you to drag and drop components onto screens and define user flows. Crucially, Adalo outputs a native app package that you can submit directly to the app stores.
Glide is famous for its ability to create beautiful mobile first apps directly from a Google Sheet in minutes. The speed and simplicity are incredible. While it can be used for web apps, it shines for creating simple mobile apps like employee directories, inventory trackers, or event guides.
When design, branding, and a pixel perfect user experience are your top priorities, these tools are often better choices than Bubble.
Webflow is a powerhouse for visual web design. It gives designers the power of HTML and CSS in a visual interface, allowing for stunning, production ready websites with clean code. While not traditionally an app builder, its capabilities are expanding with membership and logic features. A popular approach is to use Webflow for the frontend and connect it to a no code backend like Xano for full app functionality. Its $4 billion valuation speaks to its dominance in the professional web design space.
Wix is a household name for a reason: it’s incredibly easy to use. For simpler websites and basic web apps, Wix is often faster to get started with than Bubble. With its Velo coding environment, you can add custom functionality, making it a viable alternative for less complex projects where speed and simplicity are key.
Softr excels at turning an Airtable base or Google Sheet into a polished web app, like a client portal or membership site. It uses a block based building system that is extremely easy for beginners. You trade some of the granular flexibility of Bubble for a much faster and more guided building experience.
This new wave of tools uses AI to generate applications from natural language prompts, dramatically speeding up the initial build process.
Lovable is a leading “vibe coding” platform known for its flexibility and visually appealing results. It integrates with numerous services and gives you the choice between its built in backend or a third party one like Supabase. The platform has seen explosive growth, reaching over 30,000 paying subscribers and 50,000 new projects daily in its first year.
Bolt is another AI builder that stands out by giving users more granular control over the AI’s process. It’s geared towards more technical users who want to guide the AI with specific rules and settings. You get the speed of AI generation with the ability to dive deep and fine tune the output.
While traditionally an online coding environment, Replit has integrated powerful AI assistance that makes it a unique alternative. For developers who are comfortable with code, Replit’s AI can scaffold entire applications, which you can then tweak. It gives you the ultimate flexibility of code with the convenience of one click deployment, eliminating DevOps hassles.
Hostinger’s website builder, now called Hostinger Horizons, was rated the best all in one platform for building and publishing web apps in a recent comparison. It combines an intuitive, beginner friendly visual builder with Hostinger’s reliable and affordable hosting. With plans starting as low as $6.99/month, it’s one of the most budget friendly Bubble.io alternatives available.
For those who need to build serious, scalable, and production grade web applications, WeWeb stands out as a top tier Bubble alternative. It was designed to bridge the gap between the speed of no code and the power of traditional development, giving you the best of both worlds.
Here’s why professionals choose WeWeb:
Total Backend Freedom: Unlike Bubble’s all in one system, WeWeb is frontend first. You can connect it to any backend you want, whether it’s Supabase, Xano, Airtable, or your own custom REST API. This gives you complete control over your data, performance, and scalability.
No Vendor Lock In: This is a game changer. WeWeb builds your app on a standard Vue.js framework. At any time, you can export the clean, readable code and host it yourself. Your app is truly yours, future proofing your business. You can even start building with WeWeb’s visual platform today and see how easy it is to maintain full control.
Superior Design Control: WeWeb offers a powerful visual editor that gives you pixel perfect control over your design, much like Webflow. You can build truly custom, responsive interfaces without being constrained by a rigid builder.
Scalability and Performance: By decoupling the frontend and backend, WeWeb helps you avoid the performance bottlenecks that can plague Bubble apps. You can scale your infrastructure as needed without being limited by the platform.
Predictable Pricing: WeWeb’s pricing is straightforward and based on editor usage, not your app’s traffic. This means no surprise bills as your user base grows, making it much easier to budget for your business.
WeWeb is the ideal choice for startups, agencies (see WeWeb for Agencies), and enterprise teams that need to build fast without sacrificing quality, scalability, or ownership. It provides the visual development environment to empower your entire team, while also giving developers the hooks they need to extend the platform with custom code. Ready to build without limits? Explore real-world projects in the WeWeb showcase.
1. What is the best free alternative to Bubble.io?
Many platforms offer generous free tiers. Softr, Glide, and Adalo have great free plans for building and testing simple apps. For more power, WeWeb also has a free plan that lets you build and connect to a backend to see if it’s the right fit before committing.
2. Can I build a SaaS product with a Bubble alternative?
Absolutely. Platforms like WeWeb are specifically designed for this. By pairing WeWeb’s powerful frontend builder with a scalable backend like Xano or Supabase, you can build a full fledged, production grade SaaS application without the limitations of an all in one platform.
3. Which Bubble.io alternatives allow me to own my code?
This is a key differentiator. WaveMaker and UI Bakery allow for code export. The strongest option for this is WeWeb, which generates a standard Vue.js application that you can export and self host at any time, giving you complete ownership and freedom from vendor lock in.
4. What is the easiest Bubble alternative to learn?
For ultimate simplicity, Glide (apps from spreadsheets) and Softr (apps from Airtable) have very gentle learning curves. For website building, Wix is famously user friendly. These tools trade some of Bubble’s flexibility for a much faster, more guided experience.
5. Are there any AI powered Bubble.io alternatives?
Yes, this is a rapidly growing category. Tools like Lovable, Bolt, and UI Bakery use AI to generate apps from text prompts. WeWeb also integrates AI to help you scaffold applications, combining the speed of AI generation with the control of a powerful visual editor. This allows you to build production grade custom apps in minutes.