My Thoughts On Some No-Code/Low-Code Platforms.

My thoughts on some No-Code/Low-Code platforms. Just something quick.

After some problems with my health, I was not able to write anything on this site. But now I have some time and just want to share something quick.

As I mentioned in a previous post, there are several different platforms. And recently I was thinking of maybe switching from one to another. I was thinking of switching from Glide to Thunkable.

Glide Apps

When I started with No-code/Low-Code, I started using Glide apps. At first, it was just called Glide Apps. You had this in two versions. Just Glide Apps. With this, you could create mobile apps. Next to that, you also had Glide Pages. With this, you could create Web pages.

Right now, they have combined the two and it is called Glide. So with one platform, you are able to create mobile apps or Web pages.

I like Glide because it is easy to learn and use. At this moment, I already had created 4 different mobile apps. I created a mobile app to keep track of the tv series I am watching. I can see what season I am in and what episode I need to watch next. The next app was to keep track of the plastic scale models I am building and what I have in stock. Including some box art and when the model is finished, an image of that. I also keep track of all the paint I have for my models. This is easy when you are in a shop and buy a new model. Just have a quick look in the app and I know if I have all the paint for it.

The next app I had made, was for our church. With this app, people can submit a prayer request and our pastor then can pray for them. Or if wanted, also ask others to also pray for it.

The last app I created was to keep track of some things in regard to my health. In there, there is also one medication that I am using and with this, I can see how many tablets I still have and for how many days this will last.

Thunable

Right now, I am thinking and working on re-creating or modifying that last app. I want to make it so I can place more medications in it. But this is a bit difficult to do with Glide.

Glide is also web-based. Thunable is native. This means that it can work on a mobile device and can use its OS to control it. This is something that Glide cannot do.

One example is setting up an alarm with Glide. You cannot do this, because it is not Native. Thunable could do this. Also in Thunkable, you can create custom instructions. Make conditions etc. In Glide this is also possible, but you are limited to the table formulas. A formula works on a whole column. You cannot create a condition for just one row or column. In Thunkable you can work with variables.

In Thunkable you work with blocks. With this, you can create commands, conditions, and actions.

In Glide you need to do everything in columns.

In my opinion, it looks like that Thunable is more flexible for me.

Pricing

For Glide, and most of the other platforms, you can start for free. There are some limits. For example, one limit is that in a table, you have a maximum of 500 rows. If you want more rows, you need to go to a paid plan. The first paid plan is 35 dollars per month.

One disadvantage that I can see is, that you only can pay for a paid plan via a credit card. If you don’t have a credit card, you cannot pay for a plan. For me, I don’t have a credit card and I don’t want to have one. I think for people that are just starting, it is a blockade. You are almost forced to get a credit card. A pity. Maybe something like PayPal would be nice if they would accept that.

For Thunkable, there is also a free plan. The first paid plan is only 15 dollars per month. At least it is not such a big amount for someone who is just starting. As far as I could see, with the free plan you also will be able to install your created app on a mobile device.

Flutterflow is also a very popular platform to use. For their free plan, you can create your own app, but you only can run it on their platform. You cannot install it on your mobile device. To do this, you need to have a paid plan. This starts at 45 dollars per month. That is a very big amount for someone who is just starting and maybe just want to create some private apps.

Most of the other platforms also start at around 45 dollars per month. But each one has its own limitations for the free plan.

Closing

There are many choices and options. It all depends on what you want to do or what your goal is.

It will take time and effort to find the one that will fit your needs.

The other thing is, for Glide and Flutterflow, there are many tutorials. For Thunable there is less. Because I already decided to switch to Thunable, it will take time to find some tutorials to get me started. But I am willing to give it a try. Many platforms also have their own community. Some are very busy, others are a bit quiet. I just hope that if I want to know something about Thunable, that their community is a bit active, so I don’t need to wait too long to get an answer to my question. Else it will be a lot of trial and error.

I also will hope, that all those platforms will start listening to their users and do something about their prices. I understand that you get where you pay for, but I hope they also will think of the small users who are just starting and don’t have such a big budget (yet).