The Best No-Code Tools for Developers in 2021

No-code development platforms have been growing rapidly in recent years. In fact, the global low-code development platform market size is expected to reach $65 billion by 2027, up from $13 billion in 2020—a compound annual growth rate of 26% (Source).

What‘s driving this growth? As software continues to eat the world, the demand for new applications is far outpacing the supply of skilled developers. No-code tools help bridge this gap by allowing non-technical makers to build websites, apps, and workflow automations without writing code. But professional developers are also turning to no-code to streamline their development process.

Why Use No-Code Tools as a Developer?

At first glance, it might seem like no-code tools are at odds with traditional software development. Don‘t they take control and customization away from the developer? Not necessarily.

While no-code tools are designed to be accessible to non-coders, many of them are flexible and powerful enough for professional developers to use as well. Adopting no-code tools allows developers to:

• Prototype and ship ideas faster – No-code tools allow you to quickly turn an idea into a functional prototype without having to start from scratch.
• Automate repetitive tasks – Many development projects involve time-consuming, repetitive setup like configuring databases and authentication. No-code platforms handle this for you.
• Avoid undifferentiated heavy lifting – Unless you are building highly specialized software, you likely don‘t need to hand-code every aspect of your application. No-code let‘s you focus on your unique value-add.
• Expand your tool belt – Proficiency with no-code development can be a valuable skill for creating internal tools, proofs of concept, and rapid prototypes as a complement to traditional development.

In short, no-code belongs in every developer‘s tool kit. Let‘s take a look at some of the best no-code tools available today and what you can build with them.

1. Webflow

• Category: Website builder
• Use Cases: Marketing sites, blogs, portfolios, ecommerce
• Pricing: Free – $235+/month

Webflow is one of the most popular and powerful no-code website builders on the market. Its visual canvas allows you to construct pixel-perfect, responsive page layouts. Webflow automatically generates clean, W3C-compliant code, giving you full control over your site‘s HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

One of Webflow‘s standout features is its CMS and ecommerce capabilities. You can define custom content structures and design dynamic page templates without having to worry about the back-end database and infrastructure. This makes Webflow a great option for content-heavy sites.

While Webflow is accessible to non-coders, it also offers flexibility for developers to add custom code. For example, you can add JavaScript to a Webflow site using the <script> tag:

<script>
  // Custom JavaScript goes here
</script>

Or create custom interactions and animations using Webflow‘s built-in JavaScript API:

Webflow.push(function() {
  // Interact with Webflow elements here
});

Beyond the web design canvas, Webflow also provides hosting, forms, and content management tools. It‘s a complete website development platform that rivals traditional content management systems like WordPress.

2. Bubble

• Category: Web app builder
• Use Cases: MVPs, full-stack applications, marketplaces, dashboards
• Pricing: Free – $475+/month

Bubble is the leading no-code platform for building web applications. While tools like Webflow focus primarily on the front-end, Bubble provides a complete application stack, including a back-end database, user authentication, and cloud hosting.

Bubble‘s drag-and-drop interface allows you to visually construct your app‘s pages and workflows. You define your app‘s data schema using Bubble‘s built-in database. Bubble exposes this data to the front-end using a simple templating language, similar to Shopify‘s Liquid or Angular:

<ul>
  {{#each todo_items}}
    <li>{{this}}</li>
  {{/each}}
</ul>

In this example, current_user and todo_items are dynamic values fetched from the app‘s database and rendered on the page.

For defining logic and interactivity, Bubble uses a block-based programming interface. Developers can create event handlers that trigger backend workflows:

While this visual programming paradigm is different from traditional coding, it can be quite powerful and expressive. And Bubble is extensible with plugins, API integrations, and custom JavaScript.

Bubble is a great fit for building minimum viable products and web apps that would traditionally require a back-end language like Python, Ruby, or Node.js. While it has some limitations compared to hand-coding, it dramatically simplifies the development process.

3. Retool

• Category: Internal tool builder
• Use Cases: Admin panels, dashboards, CRUD apps, automation
• Pricing: Free – custom enterprise pricing

Retool is a no-code platform designed specifically for building custom internal tools. It provides a component library of 90+ pre-built UI widgets, including tables, charts, forms, and maps that you can drag-and-drop to assemble apps.

Retool connects to virtually any back-end data source, including REST APIs, GraphQL, and SQL databases. This allows you to quickly build functional interfaces on top of your existing data and services without having to build out infrastructure:

const data = await get(‘https://myapi.com/sales‘);
return data.map(item => ({
  day: item.date, 
  units: item.units_sold  
}));

Here, JavaScript code is used to fetch and format data to power a chart component. Retool supports JavaScript both on the front-end for UI customization and on the back-end for data querying and transformation.

One of Retool‘s key value-adds is the ability to quickly build internal CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) interfaces for your databases. Retool can automatically generate entire admin panels based on your database schema with just a few clicks. You can then customize the auto-generated UI for your needs.

Retool also integrates with Zapier and off-the-shelf developer APIs like Stripe and Twilio. This allows you to add more advanced functionality to your internal tools, like payment processing or SMS notifications.

Overall, Retool is an excellent option for developers who need to quickly spin up internal tools, dashboards, and workflow automations with minimal boilerplate frontend code.

No-Code Tools Comparison

Here is a comparison table of some popular no-code tools and their key capabilities:

Tool	Type	Database	Custom Code	Integrations	Pricing
Webflow	Website builder	Built-in	HTML/CSS/JS	Zapier, Memberstack	Free – $235+/mo
Bubble	Web app builder	Built-in	JS plugins	API, DB connectors	Free – $475+/mo
Adalo	Mobile app builder	Built-in	Custom actions	Zapier, Integromat	Free – $50+/mo
Retool	Internal tool builder	Connectors	JS transformers	REST/GraphQL/SQL	Free – Custom
Glide	Mobile app builder	Google Sheets	Limited	Zapier, Integromat	Free – $32+/mo
Zapier	Automation platform	Limited	Code steps	3000+ apps	Free – $599+/mo
Airtable	Spreadsheet-database	Built-in	Scripting block	API, Zapier	Free – $20/user/mo

The right tool for your project will depend on your specific requirements and use case. But in general, Webflow is best for websites, Bubble for web apps, Adalo or Glide for mobile apps, Retool for internal tools, Zapier for automation, and Airtable for databases.

The Future of No-Code

As no-code tools continue to advance, we can expect to see even more powerful capabilities for building complex applications visually. Some key trends and areas of growth include:

• More Powerful Integrations – No-code platforms are expanding their built-in integrations and making it easier to connect to any API or web service. Developers will have more flexibility to add custom functionality to their no-code apps.
• AI Assistants – No-code tools are starting to leverage artificial intelligence to automatically generate application layouts, suggest workflow optimizations, and provide intelligent default configurations based on the user‘s intent. This will make no-code development even more intuitive and efficient.
• Improved Performance – One common limitation of no-code apps is slower performance compared to hand-coded ones. But no-code platforms are making strides in optimizing the run-time performance of visual apps with better compiling and rendering techniques.
• More Open Customization – Some no-code tools put up "guardrails" to prevent users from breaking their apps with custom code. But increasingly, platforms are providing more open-ended code editors to allow developers to customize any aspect of their apps.
• Hybrid Development – No-code tools aren‘t just for non-coders. We are seeing the rise of "hybrid" development approaches that use no-code and low-code tools in combination with traditional programming for the best of both worlds—speed and customization.

In the coming years, the line between no-code and traditional development will continue to blur. Tools like Bildr are bridging the gap by providing a unified environment for building apps using blocks, custom JavaScript, and React code side-by-side.

Getting Started

As a developer, adding no-code tools to your workflow doesn‘t mean giving up control or compromising on customization. Instead, view them as a complement to your existing development process—a way to abstract repetitive tasks and streamline development.

If you‘re new to no-code, here are a few resources to check out:

• Makerpad – Tutorials and starter kits for building with popular no-code tools
• Zeroqode – Reusable app templates for Bubble, Webflow, Airtable and more
• Nucode – Directory of no-code tools, tutorials, and communities
• NoCodeDevs – Blog and newsletter about no-code tools for developers

The no-code ecosystem is evolving rapidly. As a developer, stay on top of the latest tools and platforms. Experiment with using no-code tools to build your next prototype, internal tool, or side project. Discover for yourself how no-code can streamline development and accelerate your learning.