Bubble was founded in 2012. Because of its battle-tested platform, it has become very popular in the no-code space.
However, many people blindly jump into Bubble without researching the platform much, only to find that it's not for them. While Bubble is a powerful platform, you might be better off looking for alternatives.
In this article, we’ll walk you through everything that goes into Bubble pricing and tiers so that you can choose the right no-code builder.
What is Bubble?
Bubble is a no-code web app-building platform, so you don’t need technical or coding skills.
One of the first movers in the no-code app-building space, Bubble has evolved to meet technical changes and market demands. As a result, it continues to be a thriving platform that users have leveraged to create over 3 million apps in the last 12 years.
Some features you’ll get with Bubble across all pricing tiers:
- Flexible building interface: Bubble’s no-code building interface allows you to create nearly any web app you can imagine. However, almost unlimited flexibility comes at a cost. Bubble’s building interface is difficult to learn, so you’ll need time to get it down.
- The most extensive ecosystem in the no-code space: By adapting to its users' needs for over a decade, Bubble has built an impressively large ecosystem. You’ll find an active forum to ask questions or share your building experience.
Bubble also features an academy full of tutorials and classes to ensure you learn its complicated building interface. Additionally, Bubble certifies its coaches, so you can get one-on-one lessons to bolster your learning.
- Heaps of templates and plugins: You don’t need to start building your app from scratch. With Bubble, you’ll have over 400 free templates and nearly 750 paid templates that you can use to get started.
You’ll also be able to bring some serious power to your app by adding plugins made exclusively for Bubble – tools like Gant Charts, Scroll Bars, PDF readers, and over 2,700 more free ones and 2,400 paid ones.
A Breakdown of Bubble Pricing
Bubble has 5 pricing options. While each tier has a monthly charge, Bubble also uses its own metric, workload units (WU), which measure the amount of power your app uses as a cost factor. Think about these as a unit of electricity on a power meter.
Each pricing tier comes prepacked with a set number of monthly WUs. If you exceed your monthly allotment, Bubble charges an additional $0.30 per 1,000 WUs.
While each app function requires a specific number of WUs, the more users you have, the more WUs your app will consume. If you plan to scale your app to thousands of users, consider the cost of additional WUs.
WUs are Bubble’s main limiting factor for app creation. Ultimately, you can create as many apps as you want with Bubble if you are within your monthly WU allotment or don’t mind paying extra.
Here’s a breakdown of Bubble’s pricing tiers:
Tier 1: Free
Bubble’s free version lets you learn the building interface without any required financial commitments.
You’ll get up to 50,000 WUs, simple security features like SOC Type 2 compliance, and the permission to publish your app to the web under Bubble’s domain and with Bubble’s brand, but the enormous pool of plugins is off-limits.
Tier 2: Starter, $32/month (Billed Monthly)
After you’re comfortable with Bubble’s building interface and ready to hand over some cash, Bubble’s Starter version is an excellent choice. Bubble will grant you more power, with 175,000 WUs, and you’ll be able to give your app a punch with access to plugins and APIs.
You’ll also be able to publish your app to the web under your custom domain, and your app screens won’t contain Bubble branding, giving it a unique feel.
Tier 3: Growth, $134/month (Billed Monthly)
Bubble’s third tier is a distant leap above the second one in pricing. However, the Growth Version's premium features can justify this pricing gap.
You’ll get 250,000 WUs, meaning you can scale your app while adding more power.
Bubble also lets you create up to 10 app iterations to run tests and determine which one gets launched. It also tracks and saves user activity for up to 14 days, so you can check your work and stay on top of app creation.
The Growth Version also allows for 2-factor authentication, adding an extra security layer to your app. If you’ve got an app-building buddy, the Growth version will accommodate your needs—Bubble allows 2 app-editors on its Growth version, who can work on the app in real time.
Tier 4: Team, $399/month (Billed Monthly)
The Team tier is a juiced-up version of the Growth Tier. As its name suggests, this version is for Teams, as it accommodates up to 5 different app editors. It also comes with up to 500,000 WUs and 1 TB of storage space.
The Team plan gives you 25 app iterations instead of 10 different iterations for testing. This means you can work on multiple app projects for multiple clients.
Tier 5: Enterprise (Contact Sales)
If you have a large team and a growing portfolio of clients, consider the Enterprise version. You’ll get customized pricing, a dedicated account manager, custom Cloudflare settings to improve security, and more.
Is Bubble Worth It?
Now that you’ve found the answer to the question “How much does Bubble cost?”, it's time to consider if Bubble’s right for you.
While Bubble offers enough power and flexibility to create any app, SaaS, or other software, it’s one of the most difficult no-code app-building platforms to learn. Mastering the interface typically takes about five months of daily practice.
Some folks might need even more time to learn the Bubble interface. Even a no-code expert and programmer mentioned on Reddit that they find Bubble difficult to learn.
Bubble only lets you make web apps, which you access on the internet using a browser, and progressive web apps, which you download to your phone via a link. You won't be able to publish your Bubble-made app as a native mobile app to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
The inability to publish in app stores makes reaching a billion-strong audience impossible.
Bubble’s rigid pricing tiers might also cause hesitation. While its lowest-cost tier is only $32/month (billed monthly), the next tier is about $100 more. You might find that the lowest tier doesn’t give you enough features, and the second tier provides unneeded ones.
Unfortunately, if you’re in this situation, you’ll have to choose between paying for something you don’t need or skimping on power.
Adalo: The Best Bubble Alternative
Want a Bubble alternative with an easy learning curve that doesn’t sacrifice power for simplicity? Then Adalo is the perfect choice.
Adalo is a super easy-to-learn, no-code app-building platform that competes with Bubble’s pricing tiers.
After you create a free account, you can start working on your app immediately.
However, Adalo also offers a long list of plugins, thousands of third-party integrations, and premade templates that you can use to build a professional-looking app that functions flawlessly.
When you finish building, you can publish your app to the web, the Apple App Store, and the Google Play Store. By making your app available in these stores, you’ll have an audience of a few billion potential downloaders.
Adalo provides enough punch to spark life into any app idea. Sign up to Adalo now for free.
