Choosing the right no-code or low-code platform can be a daunting task, especially with so many options available in the market. While Stacker is a powerful no-code app-building platform, it may not be the perfect fit for every project. If you’ve found yourself looking for alternatives to Stacker, this guide will help you explore top contenders, weigh their pros and cons, and choose the best tool for your needs.
What are some limitations of Stacker?
While Stacker has its strengths, it also has notable drawbacks that might prompt users to seek other options. Here are some of the main limitations:
1. Limited customization options
While Stacker allows users to build apps using data from Airtable or Google Sheets, users often find themselves constrained by limited customization options and design flexibility. The platform's focus on rapid development sometimes comes at the cost of unique branding and user experience possibilities.
Advanced users might find it difficult to implement specific features or designs without encountering roadblocks, limiting the overall functionality of their apps.
2. Dependency on Airtable or Google Sheets
Stacker’s heavy reliance on Airtable or Google Sheets as data sources limits its flexibility. Users who need to connect other types of databases or data sources may face difficulties.
Its integration options are also not as extensive as some of its competitors, which could be a dealbreaker for businesses that rely on a diverse tool stack.
3. Pricing structure
Stacker’s pricing model can be a hurdle for small businesses or individuals. Utilizing its advanced features often requires subscribing to higher-priced tiers, making it less scalable and less accessible to those with tight budgets.
4. Steeper learning curve
Though marketed as a no-code tool, Stacker's interface and workflow can be challenging for complete beginners to navigate, especially when building more complex applications.
What makes the best Stacker alternative?
The best Stacker alternatives should address its limitations while providing:
- Ease of Use: An intuitive visual development environment suitable for beginners and experts alike.
- Integrations: Compatibility with a robust range of tools and data sources.
- Customization: Greater flexibility in app design and functionality.
- Affordability: Cost-effective, scalable pricing plans that cater to varying budgets.
- Support: Strong community and support resources
Let's explore how the top alternatives stack up against these criteria.
Top 5 Stacker Alternatives for 2024
Before diving into detailed reviews of each platform, let's get a bird's-eye view of how these Stacker alternatives compare, apples-to-apples on these factors.
Now, let’s explore each alternative in depth.
1. Softr
Softr is a no-code platform that transforms your data into powerful web applications with minimal effort. What sets Softr apart is its perfect balance of simplicity and functionality, making it ideal for businesses that need to quickly launch professional-looking web applications without sacrificing quality or customization options.
Key Features
- Intuitive drag-and-drop interface with smart components
- Comprehensive user management with multiple authentication options
- Deep Airtable and Google Sheets integration with real-time sync
- Responsive design system with automatic mobile optimization
- White-label options with custom domain support
- Built-in SEO tools and performance optimization
Pros
- Extremely user-friendly interface with minimal learning curve
- Quick setup and deployment - launch apps in hours, not weeks
- Professional-looking templates for various use cases
- Robust documentation, responsive support, and active user community
- Regular feature updates
- Affordable entry price point with scalable pricing plans
Cons
- Limited custom code options compared to low-code or full development platforms
- Primarily focused on Airtable and Google Sheets integrations
- Some advanced features limited to higher tier subscriptions
Pricing
Softr’s pricing plans are simple, with tiers to fit all budgets and team needs:
- Free Plan: 1 published app, 10 app users, 2 user groups.
- Basic: $49/month (3 apps, 20 users, Kanban + Payment views, embed externally).
- Professional: $139/month (Unlimited apps, 100 users, 5 user groups, white labelling, advanced features like e-signature, conditional forms, charts, calendars, comments).
- Business: $269/month (Unlimited apps, 2500 users, unlimited user groups, SSO, etc.).
- Enterprise: Custom pricing (SAML SSO, dedicated success manager, team training)
2. Glide
Glide is a no-code app-building platform dedicated to transforming spreadsheet data into beautiful, functional Progressive Web Apps without requiring any coding knowledge. It’s particularly popular for creating lightweight, mobile-first applications with minimal effort.
Key Features
- Spreadsheet-driven app creation
- Rich components library with 50+ pre-built elements
- Real-time collaboration features
- Custom actions and automation workflows
- Integration with multiple data sources, including Google Sheets, Airtable, and Excel
- Built-in analytics and user tracking
- Offline functionality
Pros
- Mobile-first approach optimizes performance for mobile devices
- Simple, intuitive interface ideal for users familiar with spreadsheets
- Enables rapid prototyping and iteration
- Strong community support and learning resources
- Regular platform updates with new features
Cons
- Limited desktop web experience
- Limited design customization options compared to full-featured platforms
- Rudimentary free plan
- Can become expensive with more data sources or large user bases
- Some advanced features require coding knowledge
Pricing
Prices are for do-it-yourself plans, listed in annual prices. Additional updates are $0.02 per update.
- Free: $0 for 1 app, 10 personal users, no updates, and up to 25k rows. Limited to Glide Tables and Big Tables data sources.
- Maker: $69/month for 3 apps, unlimited personal users, 500 updates, and up to 50k rows with Glide AI, custom domains and branding, and support. Limited to Google Sheets data sources.
- Business: $199/month for unlimited apps, 30 users (+$5/user), 5k updates, and up to 100k rows, with API access. Data sources include Google Sheets, Airtable, and Excel.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited apps with custom users, updates, and up to 10M rows, pulling from a wide range of data sources.
3. Airtable
Airtable combines the functionality of a relational database with the familiarity of a spreadsheet. It can serve as both a robust database tool and a no-code application builder. It’s also highly collaborative, making it a great choice for teams that need to manage data and workflows together in a visually intuitive way.
Key Features
- Native database with relational capabilities
- Interface designer for creating custom views
- Automation workflows with conditional logic
- Extensive field types and multiple view options
- Rich API access with comprehensive documentation
- Advanced filtering, sorting, and formula capabilities
- External integrations with 1000+ applications
Pros
- Highly flexible and scalable for growing businesses
- Intuitive UI for visually managing data
- Extensive integration options to accommodate diverse tech stacks
Cons
- More complex than pure no-code tools
- Limited customization options for UI and front-end design
- Can be expensive for larger teams
- Performance can slow with large datasets
Pricing
Plans are listed in annual billing terms:
- Free for up to 5 editors, 1000 records per base, 100 automation runs, and 1 GB of attachments per base
- Team: $20/user/month (50,000 records per base, 25,000 automation runs, Gantt and Timeline view, 20 GB of attachments per base, integrations, additional customization options, etc.)
- Premium: $45/user/month (125,000 records per base, 100,000 automation runs, 100 GB of attachments per base, two-way sync, SSO, etc.)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing.
4. Bubble
Bubble is a robust no-code platform designed for building full-featured web applications. It offers unparalleled customization options, making it ideal for complex and unique projects.
Key Features
- Visual drag-and-drog app builder
- Advanced workflow editor with complex logic
- Fully responsive design
- Large marketplace for plugins and extensions
- Sophisticated database management
- Extensive API support
- Collaborative development and production environments
Pros
- Highly customizable and scalable applications
- Capable of building sophisticated web applications
- Active community and plug-in ecosystem
Cons
- Steeper learning curve for non-technical users
- Development can be time-consuming
- Expensive at higher tiers
- Large applications can be resource-intensive and difficult to manage
Pricing
- Free: $0 for the development version of Bubble (1 app editor, 50k workload units/month and 6 hours of server logs)
- Starter: $29/month (Live app with custom domain, recurring workflows, basic version control, 175k workload units/month and 2 days of server logs)
- Growth: $119/month (2 app editors, premium version control, 2FA, 10 custom branches, 250k workload units/month and 14 days of server logs)
- Team: $349/month (5 app editors, sub apps, 25 custom branches, 500k workload units/month, and 20 days of server logs)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing. (Choice of hosting location, centralized admin, dedicated server, priority support and custom workload units.)
5. UIBakery
UIBakery positions itself as a professional-grade low-code platform that bridges the gap between visual development and traditional coding. What differentiates UIBakery is its focus on producing clean, production-ready code while maintaining a visual development approach, making it particularly appealing to developers and technical teams.
Key Features
- Professional development environment with multiple deployment options
- Custom component creation with reusable components
- Advanced version control
- Comprehensive API integration
- Visual logic builder
- Clean, exportable code output
Pros
- Developer-friendly
- Tailored for designing complex modern UIs
- Streamlines collaboration within teams
- Great for API-heavy projects
Cons
- Not suitable for complete beginners
- Limited template selection
- Smaller community compared to alternatives
- Higher price point that becomes more expensive as apps scale
Pricing
UI Bakery employs user-based pricing; prices listed are annual plans and are applicable to either cloud or self-hosted licenses.
- Free: $0 per user and developer for up to 5 users (Unlimited apps, pages, client actions, data sources, 1000 scheduled actions per month)
- Standard: $5/month/user + $10/month/developer (User roles, app and data source environments, release history, chat and email support)
- Business: $10/month/user + $40/month/developer (Public apps, custom themes, custom user roles, audit logs)
- Business Unlimited: $250/month + $40/month/developer (Unlimited seats, public apps, custom themes, audit logs)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing (Git version-control, custom SSO, embedded apps, white-labelling, dedicated support)
What's the right Stacker alternative for you?
Choosing the right Stacker alternative ultimately comes down to understanding your specific needs, technical capabilities, and long-term goals. Still undecided? Here’s a quick selection guide to help you make a more informed decision:
Choose Softr if:
- You need to build professional web applications quickly.
- Your data is primarily in Airtable or Google Sheets.
- You value ease of use and quick deployment.
- You want flexible pricing for growing businesses.
Choose Glide if:
- Mobile-first development is your priority.
- You’re familiar with spreadsheets.
- Your focus is on quick prototyping.
- You need offline functionality.
Choose Airtable if:
- You need a collaborative database with flexible view options. You need powerful collaboration features
- You want to build simple internal tools that scale with your team.
- Data management is your primary concern.
Choose Bubble if:
- You need fully customized applications
- You're building complex workflows
- You want complete design freedom
- You need extensive third-party integrations
- You have a higher budget and some technical expertise on your team.
Choose UIBakery if:
- You have developers on your team.
- You’re designing UI-heavy, professional-looking web apps.
- You need robust API integrations.
Whether you’re building a simple client portal or a fully customized web app, there’s the perfect no-code app builder out there for you.
Ready to start building? Try Softr for free today and build your first app in hours, not weeks. Join thousands of successful businesses who have already transformed their workflows and customer experiences with Softr's intuitive no-code platform.
What is Softr
Softr is the easiest way to turn your data into powerful business apps—no code required. Connect to your spreadsheet or database, customize layout and logic, and share with your team or clients.
Join 700,000+ users worldwide, building client portals, internal tools, CRMs, dashboards, project management systems, inventory management apps, and more—all without code.
Join 700,000+ users worldwide, building client portals, internal tools, CRMs, dashboards, project management systems, inventory management apps, and more—all without code.
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