Drew Binksy is a YouTuber with over 5 billion views across his many channels. His journey through 197 countries sparked viewer’s imaginations, and a lot of young digital nomads looked to him for travel advice and inspiration.
With brand partnerships, a huge social following, and a travel hacking course to his name already, Drew was looking for a way to unite all the pieces of his brand around an amazing travel app that nomads could keep in their back pocket – literally.
His answer: to build a beautiful, no-code mobile app with Mighty Pro to serve his audience.
Whether you’re a creator, you run a business, or you have a dream in your heart for something that NEEDS to be an app, you probably are thinking about how to get one. You probably also know that hiring a developer to build you a custom app is intimidating and expensive, not to mention you don’t have the tech chops to figure out how to find a good one.
The great news is that we’re long past the age where you had to custom-develop everything.
There are a lot of awesome, no-code mobile app builders out there that you can work with, giving you a beautiful and responsive, custom app without the headache of overseeing a developer.
In this post, we’re going to introduce the revolution that’s happening with no-code mobile app development, give you some pointers for what to look for in a no-code mobile app builder, and share 8 of the top options for every purpose.
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What is a no-code mobile app builder?
No-code mobile app builders, just like the name implies, let you build a native mobile app without coding. There are a couple of different ways to do this.
- A white label platform, which lets you add your brand to an existing app solution.
- A drag and drop builder, which lets you create your own app from scratch without coding.
In this post, we will talk about both of these options. Each has different pros and cons, depending on your needs.
Build process
As we mentioned above, whether you choose a white-label solution or a drag and drop app builder will probably rely on how much time you have to devote to it.
White-label solutions are great, because they are quick and painless, and because you are getting a product that has been refined from a company that specializes in solving that problem. For example, Mighty Pro builds communities all the time. When you create an app with Mighty Pro, you’re getting the power of experience creating hundreds of custom built communities and the lessons we’ve learned from them.
Drag-and-drop builders take a different approach to app-building. While more labor-intensive, they’re an option for people who have the time to commit to building their app, and perhaps a strong knowledge of what their users actually need. Drag and drop can also work well for really simple apps, like local businesses – which we’ll talk about below.
Type of solution
As you'll see in our examples below, the other thing you should consider when choosing a no code mobile app builder is what that company specializes in. With the MANY app builders out there, it’s important to pay attention to the customers each one serves. Not every app company specializes in the same solution.
For example, Mighty Pro specializes in building apps for vibrant communities and engaging courses. Some app builders are geared towards letting local businesses do things like online ordering or appointment scheduling. Some solutions are specifically for huge companies and their internal processes.
Part of your choice will probably be choosing a no-code app builder that does what you need.
Support
You're going to have this app for a while, so it's worth taking a look at what your no-code mobile app builder offers for long-term support. Ideally, it's great to have somebody you can turn to if you need to troubleshoot something or even if you just get stuck. If your app were to glitch for some reason, would you know who to turn to for help? Or would you be spending days trying to debug it yourself?
Figuring out how the company will support you throughout the life of your app should be a priority.
As a bonus, support doesn’t just have to be about things going wrong. It's also fantastic to have help understanding analytics and user data to make sure you're getting the most out of your app and that things go RIGHT in the first place.
The 8 top no-code mobile app builders
1. Mighty Pro
Best for courses and communities
Mighty Pro builds apps on Mighty's powerful cultural software that lets you mix community, courses, content, and commerce. And our flexible Spaces mix in live streaming, live events, discussion forums, chat and messaging, and advanced analytics, all under your own brand. Charge in 135 different currencies, or even monetize with token-gating.
You bring your ideas, and the Mighty Pro team takes care of building the app.
It's a no-code option that gives you a fantastic app your members will love. And there is no building required on your part for this one.
Mighty Pro has built apps for creators like Adriene Mishler, the world's most popular yoga YouTuber, as well as organizations like the TedX community and Cambridge University's research network.
Book a call with us today and we'll show you what you could build.
2. AppyPie
Best for local business
Moving in a completely different direction, Appy Pie is a no-code mobile app builder that was made for local businesses. If there's a local restaurant that wants an app for its menu and online ordering, or a local dentist who wants to give people the ability to book appointments online, Appy Pie is the place to build it.
It's a drag and drop editor, meaning you'll need to spend some time working to get an app that you like. But it's a solid option for building your own app without coding.
3. Appian
Best for corporate needs
Many large organizations want to use apps to improve their internal processes. And one of the industry leaders for no-code corporate mobile apps is Appian, used by companies and organizations like the U.S. Army, Bayer pharmaceuticals, and Deloitte.
Appian specializes in the types of features you might need to run a large company, for example, doing things like supply chain management, inventory tracking, or organizing personal files. Appian refers to its app development process as “low code” rather than “no code,” but there are lots of white-label solutions to choose from.
4. Ninox
Best for data organization
Ninox is a no-code app builder that works best for data-related needs; it lets companies build apps to share and visualize data. Since pretty much every company has data they need logged, organized, and presented, Ninox is making waves in fields like health care, retail, and IT as a solution for a bunch of different corporate data collection functions.
With pre-made templates for things like contact lists, inventory, or invoicing, it’s an app that will help companies get their data organized.
5. AppSheet
Google-built app solution
Google has its own no-code mobile app builder called AppSheet that gives you a sandbox you can use for building your own app. With a bunch of pre-made templates, AppSheet has a lot of corporate solutions to build, and you can include things like Kanban dashboards, project trackers, or order deliveries.
6. Zoho Creator
Best for medium to large companies needing field applications
Zoho Creator is a no-code mobile app builder that covers a lot of the same ground as Appian, aimed primarily at big businesses that need apps for internal use. It divides its apps into three main functions:
- Apps for businesses large-scale internal processes.
- Apps for everyday business operations like invoicing or project management.
- Apps for measuring customer service and support.
With a range of corporate solutions, Zoho lets you build an app under your own brand.
7. Quixy
Best for “citizen development” at large orgs
Quixy is another no-code mobile app builder that handles a range of business operations, and it’s made specifically for large companies. But one of the interesting things about Quixy’s approach to mobile app development is its process it calls “citizen development.” Basically, this means that they encourage you to choose the people from your company who would be working with the app the most, the “specialists” of that area, and let them own and create an app to meet their needs.
While it might be time consuming, and you’d need to have the staff to devote to it, it’s a unique approach to business app creation.
8. AppInstitute
Best for local businesses
Like AppyPie, which we covered above, AppInstitute is a no-code mobile app builder for small, local businesses. It also employs a drag and drop designer that restaurants, contractors, or service businesses could use to build an app to serve their local clients. It also comes with a bunch of features you can add to help grow and market your business, things like loyalty programs or mobile coupons. It’s a great alternative to AppyPie.
Ready to build?
If you're ready to get started building a white-label app that can mix community, events, courses, and more, come build with us! You bring your ideas and your brand and we'll do the work.
