No-Code Tools for Building MVPs

Webflow - Design Freedom for Professionals

Webflow is the gold standard for no-code website design. It provides the design freedom of custom code without writing HTML or CSS. Designers and founders use it to create sophisticated marketing sites, portfolios, and content-driven platforms.

Key Features

Webflow's visual editor works like a professional design tool, giving you pixel-perfect control over every element. The CMS is powerful enough for complex content structures with collections, references, and dynamic filtering.

Unlike simpler builders, Webflow generates clean, semantic code that you can export. This provides an exit strategy if you ever need to move to traditional development. Interactions and animations rival what agencies build with custom JavaScript.

Webflow also offers e-commerce capabilities, though they're more suited for smaller stores than enterprise commerce.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: webflow.io subdomain, 2 pages, limited CMS items. Good for learning.
• Basic ($14/month): Custom domain, 150 pages, no CMS.
• CMS ($23/month): 2,000 CMS items, unlimited pages, site search.
• Business ($39/month): 10,000 CMS items, form submissions, 3 content editors.
• Enterprise (Custom): Advanced security, SLAs, dedicated support.

Workspace plans for designers start at $19/month per seat for team collaboration features.

Best For: Marketing websites, landing pages, portfolios, and content-rich sites where design quality matters. Ideal for founders who want professional results without hiring an agency.

Framer - Modern Alternative with AI

Framer has evolved from a prototyping tool into a full website builder. It's particularly popular among designers transitioning from Figma, offering a similar interface with production-ready output.

Key Features

Framer's AI features set it apart, helping generate layouts, copy, and even entire pages from prompts. The animation capabilities are exceptional, with physics-based transitions that feel natural and polished.

The component system allows reusable elements with variants, similar to Figma's component approach. Localization features support multilingual sites out of the box. The CMS is simpler than Webflow's but covers common use cases.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: Framer subdomain, 2 pages, 1,000 visitors/month.
• Mini ($5/month): Custom domain, 150 pages, 10,000 visitors.
• Basic ($15/month): 300 pages, 50,000 visitors, basic analytics.
• Pro ($30/month): Unlimited pages, 200,000 visitors, advanced analytics, password protection.

Best For: Design-focused landing pages and marketing sites. Ideal for founders comfortable with design tools who want modern aesthetics with minimal effort.

Carrd - Simple and Affordable

Carrd proves that simple tools done well have immense value. At just $19 per year for the Pro plan, it's the most affordable way to create professional landing pages.

Key Features

Carrd specializes in single-page, responsive sites. The editor is remarkably intuitive, using containers and elements that snap together logically. Forms, payment buttons (via Stripe), and embeds work out of the box.

The template library provides excellent starting points, and custom domains are included in Pro. Despite its simplicity, Carrd sites can include basic interactivity, modal popups, and even simple e-commerce.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: 3 sites, Carrd branding, carrd.co subdomain.
• Pro Lite ($9/year): 3 sites, custom domains, no branding, forms.
• Pro Standard ($19/year): 10 sites, Google Analytics, more features.
• Pro Plus ($49/year): 25 sites, custom code widgets, password protection.

Best For: MVP landing pages, personal sites, simple product pages, and anywhere you need a quick, professional web presence at minimal cost. Many founders use Carrd to validate ideas before investing in more sophisticated tools.

Bubble - Full Application Development

Bubble is the heavyweight champion of no-code web app development. It's been used to build everything from social networks to fintech platforms, with some Bubble apps raising millions in funding and serving hundreds of thousands of users.

Key Features

Bubble provides a complete development environment: database, front-end, authentication, and workflows. The visual programming system handles complex business logic through a flowchart-like interface.

The platform supports custom plugins, API integrations, and even custom code when needed. You can build genuinely sophisticated applications: marketplaces with payments and escrow, SaaS products with subscription billing, social platforms with real-time features, and more.

Responsive design works across devices, and Bubble can be wrapped into mobile apps using tools like BDK Native or by creating PWAs (Progressive Web Apps).

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: Development only, Bubble branding, limited capacity.
• Starter ($29/month): Custom domain, basic logs, 50,000 workload units.
• Growth ($119/month): 2 application editors, advanced analytics, 175,000 workload units.
• Team ($349/month): 5 editors, sub-apps, 500,000 workload units, priority support.
• Enterprise (Custom): Dedicated infrastructure, SOC 2, SSO, SLAs.

Best For: Founders building real software products without technical co-founders. Ideal for marketplaces, SaaS tools, membership platforms, and any application requiring complex logic and user data.

Softr - Airtable Front-End

Softr takes a different approach than Bubble, turning your Airtable bases or Google Sheets into fully functional web applications. This makes it incredibly fast to launch if your data already lives in these tools.

Key Features

The block-based builder uses pre-built components: lists, charts, forms, calendars, and more. User authentication connects to your data, enabling client portals, member directories, and internal tools.

Softr excels at specific use cases: client portals, job boards, membership sites, directories, and internal dashboards. The learning curve is much gentler than Bubble because you're assembling components rather than building from scratch.

Stripe integration handles payments, and custom domains give your apps a professional appearance.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: Softr branding, 5 internal/external users, core features.
• Basic ($49/month): Custom domain, 100 external users, remove branding.
• Professional ($139/month): 5,000 external users, custom CSS/JS, advanced blocks.
• Business ($269/month): 10,000 users, priority support, advanced permissions.
• Enterprise (Custom): Unlimited users, SSO, dedicated support.

Best For: Teams already using Airtable who want to build portals, directories, or internal tools quickly. Ideal for non-technical founders who want results fast without a steep learning curve.

Glide - Spreadsheet to App

Glide pioneered the spreadsheet-to-app concept and remains one of the fastest ways to turn data into a usable application. The apps are mobile-first but work across all devices.

Key Features

Glide connects to Google Sheets, Excel, or Airtable, then provides components to display and interact with that data. The interface emphasizes speed: you can have a working app in under an hour.

Computed columns add logic without formulas in your spreadsheet. Actions enable workflows triggered by user interactions. The component library covers lists, forms, charts, maps, and more.

Glide Tables, the native database, offers better performance than syncing with external sheets for larger datasets.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: Public apps, 500 rows, basic features, Glide branding.
• Maker ($25/month per app): 10 users, 5,000 rows, custom domain.
• Team ($60/month per app): 25 users, 25,000 rows, integrations.
• Business ($125/month per app): Unlimited users, 100,000 rows, advanced security.
• Enterprise (Custom): SAML SSO, audit logs, dedicated support.

Best For: Internal tools, directories, inventory systems, and data-driven apps where speed to market matters more than custom design.

FlutterFlow - Native Mobile Apps

FlutterFlow is built on Google's Flutter framework, meaning apps you create are genuinely native, not wrapped web views. This translates to better performance and access to device features.

Key Features

The visual builder mirrors Flutter's widget system, making it familiar for developers while remaining accessible to non-coders. Firebase integration provides authentication, database, and cloud functions out of the box.

The crucial differentiator is code export. Unlike most no-code platforms, FlutterFlow generates clean Dart code that developers can take and extend. This removes the vendor lock-in concern entirely.

Real-time preview shows your app on simulated devices as you build. You can test on physical devices before publishing to the App Store or Google Play.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: Unlimited projects, no code export, FlutterFlow branding.
• Standard ($30/month): Code export, custom fonts, no branding, unlimited pages.
• Pro ($70/month): GitHub/GitLab sync, branching, advanced features.
• Teams ($70/month per editor): Team collaboration, version history, org admin.

Best For: Mobile-first startups wanting native app performance without hiring mobile developers. Excellent for MVPs where you might eventually need custom development.

Adalo - Simpler Mobile Apps

Adalo prioritizes ease of use over power, making it more accessible than FlutterFlow for non-technical founders. The trade-off is less capability for complex applications.

Key Features

The component-based builder works with pre-built elements: lists, forms, buttons, and more. A built-in database eliminates the need to configure external services for simple apps.

Adalo apps can be published to both app stores or deployed as web apps. The marketplace offers additional components and templates created by the community.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: Adalo branding, testing only, limited features.
• Starter ($45/month): Publish to web, custom domain, external collections.
• Professional ($65/month): App Store publishing, custom actions, geolocation.
• Team ($200/month): Multiple developers, team management, priority support.
• Business (Custom): Enhanced security, advanced publishing, dedicated support.

Best For: Simple mobile apps like directories, inventory trackers, or internal tools. Good for founders wanting the simplest path to an app store listing.

Airtable - Spreadsheet Database

Airtable sits at the heart of many no-code stacks, serving as the database layer. It combines the familiarity of spreadsheets with relational database features.

Key Features

Tables with linked records enable proper relational data structures. Multiple views (grid, calendar, kanban, gallery, Gantt) let you visualize data differently without duplicating it. Automations trigger actions based on record changes.

The API allows external applications to read and write data, powering front-ends built with Softr, Glide, or custom code. Extensions add functionality like charts, pivot tables, and integrations.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: 1,000 records per base, 1GB attachments, 100 automations/month.
• Team ($20/user/month): 50,000 records, 20GB attachments, 25,000 automations.
• Business ($45/user/month): 125,000 records, 100GB attachments, 100,000 automations.
• Enterprise Scale (Custom): 500,000 records, 1TB attachments, advanced security.

Best For: Organizing business data, powering Softr or Glide apps, managing projects, and any use case where you need structured data accessible to non-technical team members.

Xano - No-Code Backend

Xano provides a proper backend infrastructure without code. While Airtable works for simpler needs, Xano offers the scalability and performance for production applications.

Key Features

The visual API builder creates endpoints with custom logic, authentication, and data transformations. The database supports complex queries and relationships beyond what Airtable offers.

Background tasks handle scheduled jobs and async processing. File storage, authentication, and environment variables work as you'd expect from a traditional backend. Xano scales to handle significant traffic without the complexity of managing servers.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: 10,000 records, basic features, community support.
• Launch ($85/month): 50,000 records, 3 team members, faster performance.
• Scale ($225/month): 250,000 records, 5 team members, priority support.
• Enterprise ($750/month): Millions of records, dedicated resources, SLA.

Best For: Production applications built with Bubble, FlutterFlow, or custom front-ends that need reliable, scalable backend infrastructure without managing servers.

Zapier - The Integration Standard

Zapier is often the glue holding no-code stacks together. With integrations for nearly every SaaS tool, it enables workflows that would otherwise require custom development.

Key Features

Zaps connect triggers (something happens in one app) to actions (do something in another app). Multi-step Zaps chain actions together, and paths enable conditional logic based on data.

Filters, formatters, and delays give you control over when and how automations run. Zapier Tables provides a simple database for storing automation data.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: 100 tasks/month, 5 Zaps, single-step only.
• Starter ($19.99/month): 750 tasks, 20 Zaps, multi-step, filters, formatters.
• Professional ($49/month): 2,000 tasks, unlimited Zaps, paths, custom logic.
• Team ($69/month): Shared workspaces, unlimited users, premier support.
• Enterprise (Custom): Advanced admin, SAML SSO, custom data retention.

Best For: Simple to moderate automations, especially for teams wanting the easiest setup. Great for connecting your no-code stack tools together.

Make (Integromat) - Powerful Workflows

Make (formerly Integromat) offers more sophisticated automation capabilities than Zapier, often at lower prices. The visual flowchart interface makes complex workflows easier to understand.

Key Features

Scenarios in Make use a visual canvas where you map out data flow between apps. Routers split workflows into parallel branches, and aggregators combine results back together.

HTTP/Webhook modules enable custom API calls to any service. Error handling, iterations over arrays, and data transformation functions provide developer-level power without code.

Pricing Breakdown

• Free: 1,000 operations/month, 2 active scenarios, 5-minute intervals.
• Core ($9/month): 10,000 operations, unlimited scenarios, 1-minute intervals.
• Pro ($16/month): 10,000 operations, full-text search, custom variables.
• Teams ($29/month): Team features, increased limits, priority support.
• Enterprise (Custom): SSO, advanced security, dedicated support.

Best For: Complex automations requiring conditional logic, data transformation, or custom API calls. Excellent for technical founders wanting more control.