The Bottom Line: Bubble.io allows you to build almost any type of web app you can imagine. However, because of Bubble’s building interface and pricing plans, it's not a perfect fit for everyone.
Pros:
- Bubble is one of the most flexible app-building platforms, capable of creating a web app for almost any function.
- It has an expansive, thriving, and sophisticated ecosystem full of third-party APIs, experts, guides, and more.
- Bubble first entered the no-code app-building space over a decade ago, making it one of the most reliable platforms available.
Cons:
- Compared with many other app builders, Bubble has one of the hardest learning curves. If you want to really harness Bubble’s power, you’ll need to put in some time.
- While Bubble’s low-tier version is cheap, it lacks an affordable mid-tier version.
- You can’t create a native mobile app for publishing to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store with Bubble alone.
Pricing: Bubble has a free version that lets you get the hang of its drag-and-drop interface. While its lowest tier version costs $32/month (billed monthly), Bubble’s mid-tier offering costs an eye-watering $134/month (billed monthly) — over $100 more.
Bubble Review Introduction: What is Bubble?
Bubble is a no-code app builder that creates web apps and progressive web apps (PWAs), which look, function, and feel like native mobile apps but are accessed through a browser.
Bubble is one of the original pioneers in the no-code app-building game. It has been around since 2012, consistently updating its app-building interface, and has an enormous and thriving ecosystem.
Bubble is thus one of the most reputable app-building platforms available. Glitch and bug encounters while using the app-building interface are very rare.
Getting Started with Bubble
Signing up with Bubble is simple. Provide your email address and a password to get the ball rolling. Bubble gives you the choice of starting your app from scratch or selecting a template from its template library.
The template library is probably the most extensive in the no-code app-building space. You’ll find over 400 free templates to choose from. Bubble classifies its templates into 22 different categories so you can find the template type that fits the app you’re aiming to make.
A few of the template categories include:
- CRM
- Booking
- Finance
- Landing Page
- Online Store
- Project Management
- Social Media
- SaaS
Finding a template to match your app idea is easy. If none of the free templates match your taste, check out Bubble's 700+ paid templates. These are created by independent developers or agencies that are familiar with the Bubble ecosystem.
Paid templates are generally more aesthetically pleasing than free ones, and they usually come with more screens and components. Pricing ranges from around $15 on the lower end to over $200 for a tip-top template. Feel free to add and delete components that match your liking.
Learning Bubble
Once you’ve selected your template (or if you want to start from scratch), it’s time for the fun stuff. After the building interface loads, you’ll see your building canvas in the middle of the screen and a drop-down editing dashboard on your left.
This is where Bubble’s steep learning curve begins. But fear not — Bubble knows this, too. To ensure users don’t get scared away, Bubble provides loads of educational material to help them get started and keep going.
Here are the four learning tools Bubble offers to get you over the curve:
- The Bubble Academy: As a first-time Bubble user, you should live here for however long it takes to get comfortable with the building interface. You’ll find videos that show you how to get started and a few instructions to test your knowledge.
- Bubble’s Video Library: This provides nearly 200 videos instructing you how to use certain components of the building interface, add plugins and elements, and more.
- The “How To Build” Series: Put together by Bubble experts, these video lessons walk you through building different types of apps, step by step. There’s an instructional for building almost any app you can imagine.
- Bubble Docs: This is the old-school text-version user's guide. You can reference it if you have a question about one of Bubble’s many functions or tools found on its building interface.
To get the most out of Bubble, you’ll want to keep these tools by your side as you learn the app-building interface and cobble together your app. The amount of time you put in will determine how quickly you become fluent with the interface.
If you’re ambitious and can dedicate multiple hours daily, you’ll probably have a good handle on the building interface within a few months.
Building with Bubble
While Bubble’s building interface is complex, it’s also super powerful. Those fluent with Bubble have insane control over how they want their app to look and feel.
The building dashboard at the top of your screen lets you toggle between screens and select elements you want to edit. You can also rejig how the drop-down building dashboard appears on your left-hand side.
On the far left side of your screen, you’ll see 7 icons that serve as tabs for selecting specific parts of your building interface. When you click an icon, a more detailed drop-down dashboard will appear on the icon’s immediate right.
These icons are the meat of your editor. You’ll be able to tinker with your app’s design and elements, add APIs, integrations, and SEO features, and even view your workload unit usage — we’ll discuss workload units in detail in the pricing section.
While the building interface is very intricate, once you learn it, you’ll have an insanely high degree of visual customization. For instance, Bubble’s full-on properties editor allows you to fine-tune every piece of the component’s style and logic.
Is Bubble Right For You?
Bubble is a great, easy-to-use app builder, but it has a limited audience. Select Bubble if:
- You have the time to learn Bubble’s complex building interface.
- You need a web app or a PWA only.
- You want to build a powerful app with plenty of plugins.
However, you should take a look at other app builders if:
- You want to build a native mobile app to publish to the app stores.
- You want an app-building platform that’s intuitive enough to let you start building right away.
- You’re on a budget, and you need more than just a start-up app.
What Kinds of Apps Can I Build With Bubble?
Once you learn Bubble’s building interface, the sky’s limit for the type of web apps or PWAs you wish to build. Use Bubble to create your next internal business app, like a Kanban board or a CRM program.
Want to create a social network or finance app for businesses where users integrate their Quickbooks accounts to analyze spending? Bubble can do that, too.
But Bubble falls short when it comes to making native mobile apps that can be published in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. If you want to make your app available on these far-reaching platforms (both app stores have combined billions of users), you’ll need to use a third-party platform such as Nativator.
While Nativator does offer a solution for those wanting a native mobile app, your app’s quality will most likely lag behind those made by an app builder like Adalo, that’s designed to make native mobile apps.
Bubble Pricing: Is it Worth It?
Bubble’s free version is great for learning the building interface. You’ll also be able to connect to third-party APIs but not APIs and components made by the Bubble developer community.
You’ll also get 50,000 workload units (WUs) with the free version. A workload unit is a metric that Bubble uses to measure how much work Bubble must complete to power your app. These include database operations, integrations, logic, and more.
The more complex the task, the larger the workload. Each plan has different WU maximums. If you exceed your allotted monthly WUs, Bubble will charge you extra. This can add up, especially if your app uses a lot of power.
At $32/month (billed monthly), you get Bubble’s Starter Version. This allows for 175,000 WUs and lets you brand your app. You’ll also get access to Bubble app APIs, and all of the plugins on the Bubble ecosystem.
A huge leap from the Starter Version (in terms of pricing) is Bubble’s Growth Version at $134/month (billed monthly). You’ll get 250,000 WU and up to 10 different prototype versions of your app.
Bubble’s Team Version is an even bigger leap in pricing at $399/month (billed monthly). But you get 500,000 WUs and the capability to create a separate database for each client.
Need something bigger? Contact Bubble directly for Enterprise Pricing.
Bubble Alternatives: What Other Tools Should You Try?
If Bubble’s high pricing, inability to make great native mobile apps, and difficult building interface have thrown a wrench in your plans, try out these alternatives:
- Adalo, a highly intuitive, easy-to-learn app builder with several affordable pricing models and enough power to build an app that looks and feels exactly how you want it.
- GoodBarber, a cheap, low-learning-curve app builder to make native mobile apps for your online store or content subscription.
- Betty Blocks, an app builder for large organizations that leverages a simple building interface for creating native mobile apps that can be published on app stores.
Verdict
So, what’s my final verdict after this Bubble.io review? Should you get it now, shortlist it, or avoid it?
Get it now if you have several months to study and learn the building interface. Bubble is also a great choice for those who want to build a super-powerful web app without money being an issue.
Shortlist it if you want an app builder with an abundant ecosystem to build your web app but are unsure if you want to commit a good portion of time to learning the interface.
If you want a powerful app building that you can use immediately after signing up, try out Adalo. Adalo has an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, pricing tiers for every budget, and the capacity to make both web apps and native mobile apps that you can publish to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
When you use Adalo, you’ll be able to create an app that caters to how you want it to look and feel.
