Appsmith vs Bubble (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Appsmith grades higher than Bubble: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Appsmith grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Bubble grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Appsmith
Open-source low-code platform for internal apps
Bubble
No-code visual builder for web and native mobile apps, with AI
Which one is for you
Pick Appsmith if
- Fits if you build internal tools and can self-host to pay nothing
- Works for small teams of up to 5 on the free cloud plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you grow, as the free cloud plan stops at 5 users, 5 workspaces and 3 Git repos
- Pricey if you need SSO, since SAML, OIDC and SCIM are Enterprise at $2,500 a month
- Watch out: Workflows, audit logs and custom roles start on Business
- Watch out: the page does not say whether the $15 Business price is monthly or yearly
Pick Bubble if
- Fits if you're building a full web app or a marketplace and don't write code
- Works for projects that need web, iPhone and Android apps on one shared backend
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're just starting, at $32 a month billed annually ($39 monthly) before your app can go live, and $59 for web and mobile
- Not for you if you build with a partner, as Free and Starter don't support collaborators; Growth at $119 allows 2
- Skip it if you want a trial with no card, since the 14-day one takes a $1 pre-authorization
- Watch out: each plan has a workload allowance, and going over means buying a tier or paying overages
- Tight if you run several projects, because plans are bought per project
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAAppsmithGood | 2.2GPABubbleFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AAn open-source edition you can host for free, a free cloud plan, and Business at $15 a user, under this category's $16 cheaper quarter. | DStarter is $32 a month billed annually for web only ($39 monthly), $42 mobile only, $59 for both. That puts it in the dearest tenth of builders here, which starts at $30, against a $19 middle. You pay per project, a second editor means Growth at $119, and workload overages sit on top of all that. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe cloud Free plan is 5 users, 5 workspaces and 3 Git repos, and the open-source edition has no cap. A small team can live on that. | CThere is a free plan and it never expires, with 50K workload units a month and both the web and mobile editors. But it's the development version: a live site, your own domain and an app-store release all need paying for. The 14-day Starter trial takes a $1 card pre-authorization too. |
| Features | CDrag-and-drop UI, data connections, JavaScript and Git. The listing's gap: workflows, packages and audit logs start on Business. | BIt covers the whole job. AI drafts an app with a database and workflows, an in-editor Agent knows your pages and privacy rules and explains why something failed, and you keep visual control of design, logic and data. Native phone apps share the web backend. Branch version control needs Growth, so B. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and building an app means connecting data and writing JavaScript. | CNo rating on record, and this is the steepest climb in the group. AI hands you a first version, then you're designing screens, defining custom events and workflows and setting privacy rules by hand in a visual editor. That's a real learning curve. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with GitHub, Google, Salesforce and AWS S3 listed, plus self-hosting. | BThe editor is a web app, with nothing to build in on desktop or phone. What it produces runs on the web and as native iPhone and Android apps on one shared backend. Plugins cover Stripe, Slack, Airtable and Zapier, and the API Connector is on the Free plan too. |
| Best for | internal tools you can self-host for free | visual control over an app's logic and data |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Appsmith and Bubble. How we grade
Price against what you get
Appsmith starts at $15 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Bubble starts at $32 a month and scores 2.7.
Bubble scores higher, and starts $17 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI app builders on the chart, 6 score higher than Appsmith for less, and 12 score higher than Bubble for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Appsmith is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Bubble also covers no-code.
At a glance
| Appsmith | Bubble | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per user / month | $32 per month, billed annually (Starter, web only); $39 billed monthly |
| Free plan | Free plan for cloud: up to 5 users, 5 workspaces, Git with 3 repos and community support. The open-source Community edition is free to self-host. | Build in the development version with 1 app editor, 50K workload units a month and the web and native mobile editors. A live app needs a paid plan. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of the Starter plan for new apps, started within 10 days of creating the app |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Appsmith | Bubble Group, Inc. |
| Price read from | appsmith.com | manual.bubble.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Appsmith
- The Free cloud plan stops at 5 users, 5 workspaces and 3 Git repos.
- Workflows, reusable packages, audit logs and custom roles start on Business, which covers up to 99 users.
- Enterprise starts at $2,500 a month for 100 users, and SAML or OIDC SSO and SCIM are limited to it.
- The pricing page does not say whether the $15 Business price is monthly or annual billing.
Bubble
- The Free plan covers development only; a live website, custom domain or app-store release needs a paid plan.
- Plans are bought per project, and the 14-day Starter trial takes a $1 card pre-authorization.
- Each plan has a monthly workload allowance; going over means buying a workload tier or paying overages.
- Free and Starter do not support collaborators; Growth allows 2 app editors and Team 5.
Key features
Appsmith
- Drag-and-drop UI
- Responsive interfaces assembled from widgets, with custom widgets written in JS, HTML and CSS.
- Data connections
- Connects to any LLM, database, SaaS tool, or REST or GraphQL API.
- JavaScript customization
- Business logic and data transformations are written in JavaScript, and external libraries can be imported.
- Git version control
- Apps are versioned with Git. The Business plan removes the repo limit, and Enterprise adds CI/CD from environment branches.
- Self-hosting
- The open-source edition runs on your own servers, so internal data stays inside your network.
Bubble
- AI app generation
- Describe an idea and Bubble AI proposes a feature list, then generates a working app with a database and workflows that you go on to customize.
- AI Agent in the editor
- An in-editor assistant that knows the app's pages, workflows, data types and privacy rules, and can add elements, change workflows or explain why something fails.
- Visual editor
- Design the interface, define custom events and workflows, and manage data visually. Web and mobile apps are built in the same editor.
- Native mobile apps
- Native iOS and Android apps run on React Native and share the web app's database and workflows. Paid plans include 5 to 20 build submissions a month.
- Plugins and API Connector
- Bubble-made plugins cover services such as Stripe, Slack, Airtable and Zapier, and the API Connector, included on the Free plan, links to other services.
- Version control
- Starter has basic version control. Growth adds premium version control with 10 custom branches, and Team raises that to 25 and adds sub apps.
Plans
Appsmith
Community$0
The open-source edition, which you host yourself.
Free$0
Cloud plan for up to 5 users, with 5 workspaces, Git with 3 repos, Google SSO, 3 standard roles and public apps.
Business$15
per user / month, billing period not stated
Up to 99 users, with unlimited workspaces, environments and Git repos, workflows, reusable packages, custom roles, audit logs and removable Appsmith branding.
Enterprise$2,500
per month for 100 users
Sold through sales. Adds SAML and OIDC SSO, SCIM provisioning, CI/CD, private app embedding, and dedicated support with SLAs. Airgapped edition and managed hosting are add-ons.
Bubble
Free$0
Development version only: 1 app editor, 50K workload units a month, 6 hours of server logs, the API connector and on-device mobile testing.
StarterFrom $32
per month, billed annually; from $39 billed monthly
Web only $32, mobile only $42, web and mobile $59 on annual billing. Live app, custom domain, 175K workload units and 1,000 AI credits a month.
GrowthFrom $119
per month, billed annually; from $134 billed monthly
Web only $119, mobile only $169, web and mobile $209 on annual billing. 2 app editors, 10 custom branches and 250K workload units a month.
TeamFrom $349
per month, billed annually; from $399 billed monthly
Web only $349, mobile only $449, web and mobile $549 on annual billing. 5 app editors, 25 custom branches, sub apps and 500K workload units.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom workload units, a choice of hosting location, a customizable server, a dedicated support team and payment by invoice or ACH.
Ways to pay less
Appsmith
No public discounts listed.
Bubble
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with annual billing
The pricing page advertises up to 20% off annually. In Bubble's manual, web-only Starter is $32 a month paid annually against $39 monthly, and web-only Team is $349 against $399.
- Education
Student and classroom discounts
Bubble says it offers discounts to students on all plans and group discounts for educational institutions. The amount is not listed; requests go through a contact form.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit discount on all plans
Nonprofit organizations get a discount on all plans, according to the pricing page. The amount is not listed; requests go through a contact form.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Appsmith or Bubble?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Appsmith starts at $15 per user / month, and Bubble starts at $32 per month, billed annually (Starter, web only); $39 billed monthly. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Appsmith or Bubble?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Appsmith and Bubble have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.