13 no-code apps to watch in 2021

Forbes calls no-code one of the most disruptive trends of 2021, and we wholeheartedly agree! No-code development is well on its way to becoming the talk of the town. And it’s easy to understand why.

The small learning curve, creative freedom and quickness of it all make no-code the perfect tool to advance your business or finally make that side hustle happen.

No-code tools are for people that want to build their own websites and apps but don’t have the programming knowledge to make that happen. Or like me, can’t be bothered to learn how to code (but still want to design a sleek online blog 💁).

It’s also for entrepreneurs that want to test and refine their startup idea, without hiring external developers. It’s for designers who want to walk into a client meeting with a working product, not just their vision on paper. It’s also for sales or marketing teams that want to build their own landing pages, so the development team can focus on their own tasks.

Though it’s real peak has yet to come, many companies are already functioning entirely on no-code, or low-code. There have also been more and more births of tools like Ycode—builders that can visualize your ideas.

Get ready for a year of no-code! Here are the 13 no-code apps to watch in 2021.

No-code platforms to build websites and web apps

1. Ycode

Create advanced websites and web apps, all while enjoying a great user experience.

After seeing a demo, one no-code enthusiast described Ycode this way: “For anyone that wanted Weblow and Bubble to have a baby? Well, it’s here!” 

With Webflow, you can build responsive websites. With Bubble, you can create web apps. With Ycode, you can do both (and more)!

Ycode is the no-code builder that combines a Laravel backend with flexible, fully managed PostgreSQL databases and a highly customizable frontend. And if that sentence just made you go “Que?!”, don’t worry. Though there’s a lot of fancy stuff happening in the background (what you don’t see), Ycode’s user interface (what you do see) is simple and straightforward.

This makes the tool a blast if you’re looking for ease of use and quick turnarounds.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Designers, (design) agencies, startups, enterprise

• Pricing

  Start for free and upgrade to a project plan (starting at $39 per month) whenever you need more features and space. To add more user seats within one account and collaborate with a team, you can use the account plans ($19 monthly per user).

• Free trial

  Yes, you can use the Free plan.

➜ Start building: Ycode

2. Ampstor

Easily build stories that look like the ones you post on Instagram, but function like real websites.

Ampstor’s name is a remix of two words: AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) and stories. Their business idea is inspired by Instagram and Snapchat stories. With Ampstor, you can create websites in that same vertical mobile-fitting format, but with a lot more functionality. Use their large library of templates and stock pictures to build websites that make your brand shine.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Small businesses

• Pricing

  Free to use in their Beta app builder

• Free trial

  Yes

➜ Start building: Ampstor

3. Softr

Build easy and intuitive websites using pre-made templates and Airtable.

Softr promises you the chance to build a dynamic, beautiful web application using Airtable, with absolutely zero learning curve. Step into the app creator role and create anything from job boards to food delivery no-code platforms or online courses. To get you started, you can choose from 60+ pre-made templates for different purposes. Once your web app is designed, you can connect your Airtable base to sync all the filled-in form data.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Prosumers, development agencies and enterprises

• Pricing

  Starts at $25 a month (with a lifetime discount), or use their free, limited plan

• Free trial

  Yes (free plan)

➜ Start building: Softr

No-code development platforms to build mobile apps

4. Draftbit

Build, customize and launch a mobile app straight from your browser.

Do you have a great idea for a mobile application? The world is your oyster! With Draftbit, you can build a mobile app using nothing but a drag-and-drop browser editor. Customize, preview, connect and once you’re ready to go, you can deploy your mobile application in under 60 seconds. All code is based on open-sourced frameworks and libraries, and your code is production-ready at every step.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Prosumers, development agencies and enterprises

• Pricing

  Currently on private Beta (you can request access)

• Free trial

  Yes

➜ Start building: Draftbit

5. Bravo studio

Turn Figma app prototypes into native app designs to show friends, clients and project teams.

Are you used to building prototypes in Figma? Then Bravo Studio is the next step for you. After identifying each element, you can use this app to add mobile components, connect real data via APIs and publish a fully native iOS and Android app. Their roadmap is in full-force, and customers can follow the company’s progress and upvote features on their public Trello board.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Businesses of all sizes

• Pricing

  Starts at $11 a month (or use their limited Forever Free plan)

• Free trial

  Yes (free plan)

➜ Start building: Bravo Studio

6. Adalo

Go from side hustle to a fully-functioning app, and launch with one click whenever you’re ready.

This company is doing things right, and it starts with their name. Adalo is named after Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer (and total girl boss). With this no-code app builder, you can drag-and-drop visually-stunning layouts, add interactions and configure databases. Once you’re happy with your new app, you can launch it in the iOS and Android app stores with just one click.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Businesses of all sizes

• Pricing

  Starts at $50 a month (or use their free, limited Explorer plan)

• Free trial

  Yes (free plan)

➜ Start building: Adalo

No-code development platforms for billing

7. Servicebot

Create recurring billing pages that allow customers to self-manage their digital subscriptions.

Servicebot is the no-code solution if you’re looking for a fast and easy way to create billing pages. After connecting the app to your Stripe account, you can customize your own pages to fit your brand image and optimize the payment experience for your customers. Each customer can set up payments and manage their own accounts. Happy billing!

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Businesses of all sizes

• Pricing

  Starts at $10 a month

• Free trial

  No

➜ Start building: Servicebot

8. Outseta

Launch and grow your subscription business all within one no-code platform.

Outseta promises new startup founders a sense of calm. How? You can build your entire subscription-based service right in their app, together with your team. Everything you need can be connected, from helpdesk to CRM and payment services. This one piece of software will be the only thing you need to log in to when managing your business. 

Quick rundown

• Audience

  SaaS and subscription businesses that are just getting started

• Pricing

  Starts at $99 a month

• Free trial

  Yes

➜ Start building: Outseta

No-code business applications for automation

9. Pathfix

Seamless, easy and quick! Connect your application to over 120 providers in a jiffy.

Hands up if even the thought of adding OAuth integrations to your SaaS already makes you tired? It’s a process that really doesn’t need to be so complex. Just ask Pathfix! 

This 2020-founded American company is the cloud-based solution to handle all your native integration frameworks. The proxy platform allows you to connect to over 120 integrations—including Github, Basecamp, Stripe, Shopify and Google Workspace—in less than five minutes each, without the need to manage any servers.

• Audience

  Businesses of all sizes

• Pricing

  Starts at $24 a month

• Free trial

  Yes (free plan)

➜ Start building: Pathfix

10. Phantombuster

Scale your lead generation process by easily scraping all the data you need to grow.

This French company is here to serve your sales and marketing automations with ease. Phantombuster lets you easily scrape data from your favorite social media app platforms. You can add that data to your CRM, and use it to have better interactions with your customers. With advanced no-code workflows to automate lead generation, you can grow your business and gain more visibility on the web.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Sales, marketing and growth teams within businesses of all sizes

• Pricing

  Starts at $30 a month, or use their limited Forever Free plan

• Free trial

  Yes (free plan)

➜ Start building: Phantombuster

11. N8n.io

Sync data between 150+ apps and then build advanced no-code workflows.

The clever n8n app (pronounced n-eight-n) lets you connect different apps and databases, so you can move and manipulate data between them. The tool, created in Germany, works with any app that has an API. With its user-friendly interface, you can build simple no-code workflows that go beyond ETL—complete with Javascript functions, custom HTTP requests and conditional logic.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Businesses of all sizes

• Pricing

  Starts at $25 a month

• Free trial

  Yes

➜ Start building: n8n.io

No-code app development tools for AI

12. Metaranx

Find online communities with the help of AI development platforms you build using no-code.

An app that can find the perfect audience for you? It almost sounds too good to be true, but that’s exactly what Metaranx promises. This Artificial Intelligence, no-code app for small businesses can predict and find new communities. By integrating the tool with your existing data, workflows and social media, it can collect data and make analyses. Then, this data can be used to build AI applications that help you find new fans.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Businesses of all sizes

• Pricing

  Starts at $9 a month (or use their free, limited Starter plan)

• Free trial

  Yes (free plan)

➜ Start building: Metaranx

13. Autify

This AI-powered test automation platform lets you build and record test scenarios to improve and speed up release cycles.

Now everyone in your team can run and automate end-to-end (E2E) tests! Autify’s Chrome extension tool can record and playback interactions, so you can run these tests automatically on a variety of browsers (desktop and mobile). With the help of AI, test scenarios are automatically updated when changes are made to your app, so you won’t be spending time on fixing broken scripts.

Quick rundown

• Audience

  Businesses of all sizes

• Pricing

  Starts at $500 a month

• Free trial

  Yes (two weeks)

➜ Start building: Autify

Conclusion

The many ways in which no-code can help solopreneurs and teams are clear, which is why so many people are closely following the trend or jumping onboard themselves. We hope that this article helped you to discover new tools, and maybe even inspired you to get started with one today.

What no-code app platform is on your “on the rise in 2021” list? Comment below!