Updated Feb 02, 2026

50 Legacy API Integration Statistics for App Builders in 2025

Table of Contents

Legacy API integration costs enterprises over $1.14 trillion annually, yet only 2% of organizations have successfully integrated more than half their applications. These 50 statistics reveal the full scope of this connectivity crisis—and how visual development platforms are transforming integration timelines from weeks to days.

One standout solution featured in this data is building integrated apps with Adalo—a no-code app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps—one version across all three platforms, published to the Apple App Store and Google Play. The statistics show platforms like Adalo reduce development costs by up to 70% while enabling business users to connect legacy systems through simplified API tools.

For app builders racing to modernize legacy integrations, speed to market and audience reach matter most. Launching simultaneously across web, iOS, and Android—with app store distribution and push notification capabilities—delivers the competitive edge these numbers prove essential.

Comprehensive data compiled from extensive research across enterprise integration, AI-powered app builders, and emerging development trends

Key Takeaways

Visual integration platforms deliver strong ROI — Development cost reductions of 53-70% and maintenance savings of 80% make AI-powered app builders essential for modern businesses facing the $1.14 trillion annual IT maintenance burden
Development speed transforms from weeks to hours — Traditional 4-week API integration timeframes compress to days with visual tools, while AI-assisted features like Magic Start generate complete app foundations from simple descriptions
Citizen developers solve the talent shortage — Projected to outnumber professional developers 4:1, business users now build production apps using platforms that handle database setup, native compilation, and app store publishing automatically
Market validation proves transformation inevitable — 70% of new applications will use low-code/no-code technologies by 2026, with 87% of enterprise developers already adopting visual development tools

Global Integration Crisis & Legacy System Burden

The enterprise software landscape faces a connectivity crisis that traditional development cannot solve. Organizations struggle with disconnected systems, mounting technical debt, and integration backlogs that drain resources and stall innovation.

Only 2% of organizations have successfully integrated more than half their applications. MuleSoft's 2026 Connectivity Benchmark Report reveals this massive integration gap costs enterprises millions in manual processes and delayed decisions. The integration gap forces duplicate data entry, inconsistent information, and operational silos that modern businesses cannot afford. Adalo is a no-code app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps—one version across all three platforms, published to the Apple App Store and Google Play. It addresses integration challenges through simplified API connections and visual integration tools that business users can implement in days rather than the months traditional integration requires.

Legacy system maintenance costs average $30 million annually per major system. According to RecordPoint's 2026 research, these astronomical costs drain IT budgets and prevent innovation investment. Organizations continue pouring resources into maintaining outdated infrastructure built decades ago, while modern visual platforms offer superior functionality at a fraction of the cost. The business case for migration becomes undeniable when comparing these maintenance expenses to app builder subscription fees—Adalo's plans start at $36/month with unlimited usage and no record caps on paid tiers.

92% of organizations are afflicted by technical debt from legacy systems. Unqork's Morning Consult survey shows this technical debt compounds annually, making system updates increasingly complex. The burden of maintaining outdated code, deprecated dependencies, and obsolete architectures prevents organizations from adopting AI, mobile, and cloud capabilities. Modern platforms bypass technical debt entirely by providing continuously updated, cloud-native infrastructure that evolves with technology trends.

Organizations average 897 applications with significant integration challenges. MuleSoft's connectivity research indicates organizations lose significant productivity due to disconnected systems. These disconnected systems create data inconsistencies, reporting delays, and decision-making bottlenecks that compound across departments. Pre-built connectors and visual workflows enable non-technical users to implement integrations within hours instead of months.

U.S. organizations spend $1.14 trillion annually maintaining existing IT investments. Mechanical Orchard's analysis reveals this massive expenditure represents approximately 57% of the $2 trillion total IT spend. The opportunity cost of maintenance versus modernization becomes stark when considering that visual platforms reduce maintenance costs by 80%. Organizations redirect these savings toward growth initiatives and competitive advantages rather than keeping legacy systems running.

Most Fortune 500 companies rely on software developed over 20 years ago. These aging systems lack modern API capabilities and mobile responsiveness, making visual integration platforms essential for bridging old and new. Legacy applications were built before REST APIs, JSON, webhooks, and modern authentication standards existed. AI-powered app builders provide the translation layer needed to connect these systems to modern cloud services and the native mobile applications that customers expect.

48% of UK employees report wasting 3+ hours daily due to inefficient legacy systems. RecordPoint's vendor research estimates this could cost businesses significant productivity losses. While specific cost estimates vary, the time waste across organizations represents substantial productivity loss from system inefficiency. Modern visual interfaces eliminate the friction, multiple logins, and manual processes inherent in legacy system interactions.

95% of organizations report significant API integration challenges. The complexity of traditional integration creates project delays, while visual platforms eliminate these bottlenecks through intuitive interfaces. Traditional integration requires understanding authentication protocols, data mapping, error handling, and API versioning complexities. Platforms like Adalo abstract away this complexity, enabling business users to create integrations without technical expertise.

Financial services organizations face massive integration challenges from disconnected systems. Salesforce research reveals banks and financial institutions struggle with manual processes and integration complexity, driving adoption of visual integration platforms. The regulatory requirements and audit needs of financial services make integration even more critical. AI-assisted platforms provide the audit trails, security controls, and compliance features that financial institutions require while dramatically reducing integration timelines.

85% of IT leaders say legacy system maintenance prevents new solution launches. According to enterprise surveys, innovation velocity drops significantly when teams spend over half their time on maintenance. This innovation paralysis puts organizations at competitive disadvantage as markets accelerate. Visual platforms free teams from maintenance burdens, enabling focus on creating new value rather than preserving old systems.

Traditional Development Complexity & Costs

Traditional software development remains expensive, slow, and dependent on scarce technical talent. The gap between business needs and IT delivery capacity continues widening, creating backlogs that delay critical initiatives by months or years.

Traditional API integration requires an average of 4 weeks to complete. Multiple industry sources including Gartner Peer Community confirm this lengthy timeline. The traditional timeline includes requirements gathering, architecture design, coding, testing, documentation, and deployment phases that stretch across weeks. AI-powered app builders compress all these phases into rapid visual configuration sessions—Adalo's Magic Start generates complete app foundations from simple descriptions, turning what used to take days of planning into minutes of AI-assisted setup.

43% of developers identify API integration as their most time-consuming task. According to the Postman State of API 2026 Report, developers spend significant portions of their time on integration work. This time allocation means organizations pay senior developer salaries for work that platforms can automate. The complexity of traditional integration requires understanding multiple technologies, protocols, and vendor-specific implementations that visual platforms handle automatically.

43% of developers rely on colleagues to explain APIs. The Postman report also reveals the dependency on tribal knowledge for API understanding, causing delays especially across time zones. This documentation crisis forces 44% to rely on chat tools or email for API development communication, leading to lost critical updates and integration delays.

Only 44% of IT teams complete all requested projects on time. Salesforce's 2026 research reveals project backlogs create business frustration that citizen development alleviates. The traditional model of IT as the sole builder creates unsustainable bottlenecks as digital needs expand. Visual platforms democratize development, allowing parallel work streams across departments without IT dependency.

52% of traditional development projects experience significant delays. Analysis shows late delivery impacts revenue due to missed market opportunities. These delays compound when multiple integrated systems require coordination. Rapid development cycles ensure solutions deploy when market conditions are optimal, not months after the opportunity passes.

45% of developers cite poor documentation as their primary integration barrier. The Postman State of API Report shows developers waste hours weekly decoding undocumented APIs. Visual integration platforms eliminate documentation dependencies through intuitive interfaces. Pre-built connectors come with embedded documentation, while drag-and-drop interfaces make integration logic self-documenting.

Traditional app development costs range from $70,000 to $170,000 on average. Industry pricing guides from Business of Apps and Topflight Apps confirm these costs for custom mobile and web applications. Adalo offers plans starting at $36/month with unlimited usage and no database record caps on paid plans. The elimination of development teams and infrastructure costs represents dramatic cost reduction for most organizations—over 3 million apps have been created on the platform, with users describing the visual builder as "easy as PowerPoint."

No-Code Platform Adoption & Market Growth

The market has spoken decisively: visual development is the future. Enterprise adoption accelerates as organizations recognize that traditional development cannot meet the pace of digital transformation.

The low-code market will reach $187 billion by 2030. P&S Intelligence forecasts show growth from current levels represents a 31.5% CAGR, reflecting massive enterprise adoption. Market acceleration comes from proven ROI, successful implementations, and expanding platform capabilities. Early adopters gain lasting competitive advantages through faster innovation cycles and lower costs.

70% of new applications will use low-code/no-code technologies by 2026. According to Gartner's analysis, this represents growth from less than 25% in 2020, confirming visual development as the new standard. Organizations not adopting these platforms risk falling behind competitors who deploy solutions 10x faster. The shift from exception to standard practice mirrors previous technology transformations like cloud adoption.

Enterprise adoption of no-code solutions continues accelerating. Multiple surveys show the majority of enterprises have adopted or plan to adopt no-code solutions for critical applications, validating production readiness. Large organizations wouldn't adopt these platforms without confidence in security, scalability, and reliability. The enterprise endorsement removes adoption risk concerns for smaller organizations.

87% of enterprise developers use low-code platforms for some development. Forrester's Developer Survey 2026 shows professional programmers report significant productivity gains with visual tools for appropriate use cases. Even coding experts recognize efficiency advantages for data integration, workflow automation, and UI development. This developer adoption signals the maturity and capability of modern AI-powered app builders.

75% of large enterprises will use at least four low-code tools by 2026. Gartner research via Kissflow indicates multi-platform strategies enable specialization while maintaining integration. The multi-tool approach allows best-of-breed selection for different use cases. Organizations benefit from comprehensive coverage of development needs across web, mobile, and internal applications.

Microsoft Power Platform serves 56 million monthly active users. Microsoft's May 2026 update shows substantial year-over-year growth in platform adoption, validating enterprise-scale visual development. This massive user base proves platform scalability and reliability at global scale. Success at this magnitude demonstrates that visual development meets enterprise requirements.

Forrester projects the low-code market approaching $50 billion by 2028. Market analysis reveals adoption accelerating beyond initial projections as success stories multiply. The market expansion creates ecosystem benefits including more connectors, templates, and community resources. Platforms benefit from this network effect as adoption grows.

Speed & Productivity Transformation

The productivity gains from visual development aren't incremental—they're transformational. What once took months now takes days. What required specialized developers now empowers business users.

No-code platforms can achieve up to 90% reduction in development time. McKinsey research shows the maximum potential for time savings when comparing visual platforms to traditional coding. This time compression enables rapid experimentation and iteration impossible with traditional development. Organizations can test multiple approaches in the time traditional development takes for one attempt.

Low-code platforms operate significantly faster than conventional development. Industry benchmarks demonstrate order-of-magnitude improvements across all project phases from design through deployment. Speed advantages compound when considering reduced debugging, testing, and documentation time. AI-assisted features accelerate this further—Magic Add lets users add features by simply describing what they want in natural language.

Organizations create prototypes 8 times faster using no-code tools. According to development metrics, functional prototypes emerge in hours versus weeks, enabling immediate user feedback. Rapid prototyping reduces risk by validating concepts before significant investment. Traditional development's slow prototyping cycle often leads to building the wrong solution entirely.

26% reduction in time-to-market for no-code applications. Industry analysis shows faster deployment captures market opportunities before competitors using traditional approaches. Market timing often determines success or failure for digital initiatives. Rapid development ensures solutions launch when conditions are optimal.

63% of developers can produce APIs within one week using modern tools. The 2026 Postman API report indicates this represents significant improvement from previous years, showing accelerating productivity gains. The trend toward faster development continues as platforms mature and developers gain experience. Organizations using visual platforms benefit from continuous improvements.

Visual workspace teams achieve 67% sub-week API delivery success. Collaboration metrics reveal visual environments enable faster development than isolated coding. Real-time collaboration eliminates communication delays and requirement misunderstandings. Visual representations ensure all stakeholders understand system behavior without technical knowledge.

API-first organizations often recover from failures within one hour. The Postman report shows organizations with strong API practices demonstrate superior resilience through automated failover, with many achieving recovery within an hour. Quick recovery minimizes business impact and maintains customer trust. Managed platforms provide automatic recovery capabilities that most organizations cannot build themselves.

Citizen developers become productive within one week of platform adoption. Training metrics indicate business users achieve strong productivity quickly versus months for traditional programming. This rapid proficiency enables immediate value creation from platform investment. The learning curve reduction from years to days transforms organizational capacity for digital initiatives.

Financial Returns & Cost Advantages

The financial case for visual development platforms is compelling across every metric—initial development, ongoing maintenance, and opportunity cost of delayed delivery.

Organizations report strong ROI with data integration platforms. While a 2009 Forrester study commissioned by Informatica showed 110% ROI for that era's integration platforms, modern visual platforms now deliver varying returns depending on implementation and use case. These returns demonstrate the value of investing in integration capabilities. The combination of cost savings and revenue generation drives results that traditional development cannot match.

Development costs drop by 53-70% with low-code platforms. Multiple industry analyses including forms2 and Adalo research demonstrate average savings compared to traditional development. Cost reductions apply across initial development and ongoing changes equally. The elimination of specialized developer requirements drives the majority of savings.

Maintenance costs fall by 80% when using no-code platforms. Industry studies via ColorWhistle show organizations save significantly on maintenance through automated updates. Traditional applications require constant patching, compatibility fixes, and security updates. Cloud-native platforms shift maintenance responsibility to platform providers—Adalo's infrastructure handles updates automatically while maintaining 99%+ uptime across 20 million+ daily data requests.

Organizations report significant savings from tool consolidation. Enterprises often use multiple integration solutions before platform consolidation. Multiple point solutions create complexity, training needs, and increased costs. Comprehensive platforms provide better functionality at lower total cost of ownership.

The pricing landscape varies significantly across platforms:

Platform	Starting Price	Key Limitations
Adalo	$36/month	Unlimited usage, no record caps on paid plans, native iOS/Android compilation
Bubble	$59/month	Usage-based Workload Units, record limits, mobile apps are web wrappers
Glide	$60/month	Limited by app updates and data rows, no App Store/Play Store publishing
FlutterFlow	$70/month per user	Requires separate database setup, low-code (technical users), limited canvas view
Appy Pie	$99/month	Required for comparable iOS publishing features
Softr	$167/month	PWA only, record limits, no native app store publishing

Most no-code projects achieve positive ROI within the first year. Industry surveys via Kissflow indicate rapid payback periods, reducing investment risk significantly. Traditional development projects often take years to break even if they succeed. Low entry costs and rapid deployment ensure quick positive returns.

Each new API integration can generate substantial revenue potential. Improved customer experience and operational efficiency drive consistent returns from integration investments. Organizations with multiple integrations see proportional revenue increases. Visual platforms that simplify integration multiply revenue opportunities through easier connection creation.

Citizen Development & Talent Solutions

The developer shortage isn't going away—but it no longer needs to constrain digital initiatives. Citizen development transforms the equation by enabling business users to build the applications they need.

Citizen developers are projected to outnumber professional developers 4:1. Gartner's workforce analysis via Kissflow projects this demographic shift transforms organizational capacity. The expansion of the developer pool by 400% solves the talent crisis plaguing IT departments. Visual platforms become the primary development environment for most business applications.

95% of tech managers report difficulty finding skilled developers. Robert Half's 2026 survey shows the persistent talent shortage despite rising salaries. Competition for developers drives costs up while availability continues declining. AI-powered app builders bypass the talent shortage entirely by enabling existing employees to build solutions.

Developer shortage threatens $5.5 trillion in global losses by 2026. IDC's economic impact study reveals opportunity costs from unbuilt applications dwarf platform investments. The inability to execute digital initiatives creates competitive disadvantages that compound over time. Organizations using visual platforms capture value that would otherwise be lost to talent constraints.

60% of custom apps are built outside IT departments. 451 Research findings via Quixy indicate business units create solutions faster than IT delivery, validating citizen development. Departmental application development ensures solutions match actual business needs precisely. IT focuses on governance and infrastructure while business units handle application logic using visual tools.

Citizen developers demonstrate strong productivity with no-code tools. Studies show business users with platform access deliver significant output at fraction of traditional development cost. The productivity multiplication comes from eliminating technical complexity and focusing on business logic. Organizations effectively multiply development capacity through citizen development programs.

71% of organizations accelerate delivery by 50%+ with citizen development. Performance metrics show many achieve even greater acceleration using visual platforms. Faster delivery translates directly to competitive advantage and improved customer satisfaction. The compound effect of multiple citizen developers accelerates organizational velocity exponentially.

80% of technology products and services are expected to be built by non-IT professionals. Industry projections via AIMultiple indicate this fundamental shift from IT-centric to business-led development transforms organizational structures. Business users closest to problems can now build solutions directly without translation losses. The elimination of technical barriers accelerates innovation and improves solution-problem fit.

Security, Documentation & Integration Benefits

Security concerns once slowed platform adoption, but managed platforms now provide stronger security than most custom development. Built-in controls, automatic updates, and centralized authentication address the vulnerabilities that plague traditional approaches.

95% of organizations experienced API security problems in the past year. Salt Security's 2026 research shows widespread security challenges while managed platforms provide built-in controls. Traditional development often lacks comprehensive security implementation due to complexity and time constraints. Visual platforms enforce security best practices automatically through platform-level controls.

API security incidents cost enterprises an average of $591,404. Akamai's 2026 API Security Impact Study reveals the financial impact of security breaches globally. Managed platforms help reduce these risks through built-in authentication and security features. The centralized approach proves essential given that many organizations struggle with API security governance.

39% of developers cite inconsistent documentation as their biggest roadblock. The Postman report highlights how poor API documentation creates significant delays. Visual integration platforms eliminate documentation dependencies through intuitive interfaces. Pre-built connectors come with embedded documentation, while drag-and-drop interfaces make integration logic self-documenting.

Platforms offer 8,000+ pre-built API connectors eliminating custom development. Zapier's integration ecosystem provides connections that users can leverage immediately. Pre-built connectors reduce integration time from weeks to minutes while ensuring reliability. The network effect of multiple platforms sharing connectors benefits all users through expanded capabilities.

Visual platforms improve security through managed authentication. Where traditional development introduces vulnerabilities through manual authentication coding, visual platforms remove these common security pitfalls. Platform providers handle security updates centrally, addressing critical vulnerabilities that often remain unpatched in traditional environments. This centralized approach proves essential for maintaining security standards.

Platform Comparison: Choosing the Right Tool

Not all visual development platforms serve the same use cases. Understanding the differences helps organizations select the right tool for their specific needs.

Bubble offers extensive customization for web applications but comes with trade-offs. Usage-based Workload Units create unpredictable billing, and record limits constrain data-heavy applications. Mobile apps are web wrappers rather than native compilations, which can introduce performance challenges at scale. The platform's flexibility often requires hiring experts to optimize performance—claims of millions of MAU typically involve significant professional assistance. Updates to the web app don't automatically propagate to deployed mobile versions.

FlutterFlow targets technical users with low-code rather than no-code capabilities. Users must set up and manage their own external database, which introduces significant learning complexity. Suboptimal database configuration creates scalability problems that spawn an ecosystem of consultants helping users chase performance. The builder's limited canvas view (showing only 2 screens at once) slows development compared to platforms that display hundreds of screens simultaneously. Pricing starts at $70/month per user but doesn't include database costs.

Glide excels at spreadsheet-based apps with template-driven development. The format-focused approach enables fast building but creates generic, simplistic apps with limited creative freedom. While Glide handles spreadsheet apps well, Adalo's SheetBridge feature turns Google Sheets into actual databases for easier control without database-related learning curves. Glide doesn't support Apple App Store or Google Play Store publishing.

Softr focuses on web applications built from spreadsheets, requiring $167/month for Progressive Web App publishing. Record limits per app and per datasource constrain growth. Like Glide, Softr doesn't support native iOS or Android app creation or app store publishing.

Thunkable offers AI-assisted app drafting, but Progressive Web App publishing requires $59/month with usage restrictions. Responsive app capabilities require custom pricing beyond the advertised $189/month Advanced tier.

Adalo, an AI-powered app builder, differentiates through native iOS and Android compilation from a single codebase. One build publishes to web, Apple App Store, and Google Play Store simultaneously. Paid plans include unlimited database records with no usage-based charges—eliminating the bill shock common with usage-metered platforms. The Adalo 3.0 infrastructure overhaul (launched late 2026) delivered 3-4x speed improvements with modular scaling that supports apps beyond 1 million monthly active users. X-Ray identifies performance issues before they affect users, enabling proactive optimization.

Sources Used

FAQ

Question	Answer
Why choose Adalo over other app building solutions?	Adalo is an AI-powered app builder that creates true native iOS and Android apps from a single codebase. Unlike web wrappers, it compiles to native code and publishes directly to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store—handling the hardest part of launching an app automatically. Paid plans include unlimited database records with no usage-based charges.
What's the fastest way to build and publish an app to the App Store?	Adalo's drag-and-drop interface combined with AI-assisted features like Magic Start lets you generate complete app foundations from simple descriptions. The platform handles the entire App Store submission process, turning what traditionally takes months into days or weeks.
Which is more affordable, Adalo or Bubble?	Adalo starts at $36/month with unlimited usage and no record caps on paid plans. Bubble starts at $59/month but includes usage-based Workload Units and record limits that can increase costs unpredictably. Adalo's flat pricing eliminates bill shock.
Which is faster to build with, Adalo or FlutterFlow?	Adalo is faster for most users because it's true no-code with an integrated database. FlutterFlow requires technical knowledge and separate database setup. Adalo's canvas can display up to 400 screens at once, while FlutterFlow limits view to 2 screens, slowing navigation during development.
Is Adalo better than Glide for mobile apps?	Yes, for native mobile apps. Glide doesn't support Apple App Store or Google Play Store publishing—it creates web apps only. Adalo compiles true native iOS and Android apps that publish directly to both app stores from one codebase.
How much can I save using no-code platforms instead of traditional development?	Research shows development costs drop by 53-70% compared to traditional development, where custom apps typically cost $70,000 to $170,000. Maintenance costs can fall by up to 80% since cloud-native platforms handle updates automatically.
Do I need technical expertise to build apps with visual development platforms?	No. Visual development platforms are designed for citizen developers—business users without coding backgrounds. Studies show citizen developers become productive within one week of platform adoption, and 80% of technology products are expected to be built by non-IT professionals.
Are no-code platforms secure enough for business applications?	Yes. Managed platforms actually improve security by providing built-in authentication and compliance features. While 95% of organizations experienced API security incidents last year, visual platforms enforce security best practices automatically through platform-level controls.
Can Adalo apps scale to handle large user bases?	Yes. Adalo's modular infrastructure, overhauled in the 3.0 release (late 2026), scales to serve apps with over 1 million monthly active users with no upper ceiling. The platform processes 20 million+ daily data requests with 99%+ uptime.
Can I migrate from Bubble to Adalo?	While direct migration tools don't exist, Adalo's visual builder makes rebuilding straightforward. Many users switch to gain native mobile compilation, eliminate usage-based charges, and remove database record limits that constrain growth on Bubble.