It’s a great time to be planning an app launch. In the past, creating an app meant trying to hire a developer, guessing which one was qualified to help you, and never quite getting what you were looking for. But there are a ton of amazing mobile app development software options you can choose from.
This means that creators, organizations, and business owners have more freedom and flexibility than ever before to share their brand through a great app. And since not everyone needs the same thing from their app, there are options for just about any use case.
So whether you’re an organization, a business, a creator with a following, or someone else who needs a great app, these options will walk you through the best app development software options for you and help you figure out which one is best.
In this article
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What is mobile app development software?
Mobile app development software is a type of application that lets you build a mobile app. While app development used to require a ton of effort and hiring expensive developers, mobile app development software does a lot of this heavy lifting for you. Some of these software options have light development and customization, and some of them are totally drag-and-drop, user-led. But each of them gives you an app for whatever purpose you need, without all the work.
There are app development options for a bunch of different uses, and different companies specialize in different solutions, so we’ll include something for everyone in this post.
Best mobile app development sofware options
1. Mighty Pro
Who it’s for: Creators, organizations, and businesses that want to build communities, sell courses, and/or host live events
Mighty Pro is a mobile app development software build on Mighty's powerful cultural software, bringing together community, courses, commerce, and content. And flexible Spaces add in live streaming, live events, discussion forums, messaging, chat, and more.
Mighty Networks is a company built on community first and foremost, and Mighty Pro is perfect for a company, organization, or individual creator who wants to bring people together in their own branded space, making it east to build a fantastic community app.
The best part is, you bring the dream and your branding material and we’ll build a white label app for you, from idea right through to launching in the App Store and Google Play Store. And we’ll be there after it’s live too to help you with anything that might come up.
It’s the mobile app development software used by TEDx for their presenter community and Cambridge University for their health researcher network.
Book a call with us and we’ll show you how other successful creators, brands, and organizations are using Mighty Pro!
Features
- Bring your own brand–it’s all users see
- Discussion forums, Q&As, polls
- Live streaming and events
- Sell courses & subgroup access
- Product training, VIP support, & analytics
- Monthly strategy calls
2. Appian
Who it’s for: Medium to large companies that want apps for internal use.
Not every company wants a public-facing, B2C app. You might be looking for an app to streamline the many activities your company does on a daily basis. Appian is an app development software that lets you create this, and it’s adaptable to a bunch of different needs. Many large organizations are using Appian to build apps to track their supply chains, build workflows, and streamline operations.
The platform is what they call “low-code,” which means that they’ll take care of the minimal customization requirements you might have. But in general, they’re working off of a library of things medium and large companies deal with all the time.
For example, Appian could be used for:
- Tracking efficiency on an assembly line
- Planning factory-wide shutdowns or servicing
- Mapping and assessing a supply chain
- Managing major construction projects
Appian has customers from Deloitte to the U.S. Army, and is definitely one of the top mobile app development software options for big companies with complex internal processes that need management.
3. Appy Pie
Who it’s for: Local businesses that need sales and service options through an app
What if you’re not a huge company with complex logistics? What if you’re a local business or service trying to better serve your community with an app?
That’s where Appy Pie comes in. It’s perfect for restaurants that want customers to be able to order from an app, the local clothing store that wants to showcase their items, or the local dentist or plumber that needs customers to be able to schedule and cancel appointments.
Appy Pie is a no-code, drag and drop developer that works in the same way Wix works for websites. You’ll need to do most of your own building, but you’ll end up with a pretty intuitive–although basic–app.
It’s probably perfect for a lot of bricks-and-mortar businesses trying to add an app to complement what they offer their customers.
4. Quixy
Who it’s for: Medium to large companies who want their employees to build the app
Quixy is a lot like Appian, but it takes a very different approach to app development. Instead of customizing the app for you, Quixy’s whole approach is to empower your employees to build an app for your corporate needs. It’s important to note, they’re not talking about having app developers on your team. Quixy wants to empower your project managers or site supervisors or supply-chain leaders to take their specialized knowledge and turn it into the app they need; they call these people “citizen developers.”
It’s a unique interesting approach to mobile app development, although whether most companies have the time to pile app development on top of their people is another question. Like Appy Pie, it has a no-code, drag and drop app creator that your team could use to build their own custom solutions to your corporate challenges.
Quixy is for medium to large companies, and the list of solutions it offers are primarily for internal business challenges. Like Appian, it’s best for logistics, supply-chain management, overseeing projects or shut downs, creating custom accounting solutions, and other corporate needs.
5. AppInstitute
Who it’s for: Local businesses that want an app
AppInstitute is for small, local businesses. Much like Appy Pie, it has a drag-and-drop app maker. And like Appy Pie, it’s good for local businesses that want to give their customers the option to use an app for ordering, scheduling appointments, browsing merchandise, etc.
App-builders can choose from a range of pre-made solutions for their app and can set it up to order food, run a loyalty program, fill in forms, schedule appointments, and more. That makes it a good alternative to Appie Pie for a local business trying to get its goods or services in front of customers.
6. Zoho Creator
Who it’s for: Medium to large enterprises with field application needs
Zoho creator is another mobile app development software option for medium to large businesses. It does some of the same things as Appian, letting companies do things like tracking supply chains or projects. But it also has options for building apps for field operations or customer service.
Here are the lines of business Zoho suggests its apps are best for:
- Solving a range of industry-specific, big-picture challenges from supply chains to manufacturing to operations.
- Solutions for day-to-day activities like invoicing.
- Customer service and support
Like Appian, Zoho creator advertises itself as a low-code developer, meaning that you’ll choose from a range of template business solutions you need and it will be customized for your own use case.
Conclusion
The best mobile app development software for you is probably going to depend on what you need. But the great news is that this industry is growing all the time, with more and more white-label solutions and options for every use case.
If you want to build with Mighty, book a call with us! We'll help you get an amazing app.