Most app builders stop at prototypes. You get a working demo, celebrate the progress, then spend months figuring out how to add payments, configure authentication, and submit to the App Store. The platform that looked fast becomes the reason you never launch.
The right app builder gets you to paying customers, not just working demos. That means built-in payments, authentication that works on the first try, and App Store submission without certificate nightmares. This guide helps you match platform capabilities to what you're actually building so you can ship production apps that make money.
What production-ready actually means
Before comparing platforms, understand what separates a production app from a prototype. A production app has five things working reliably: authentication (users can sign up and log in), payments (users can pay you), a database (their data persists), hosting (the app stays online), and distribution (users can find and download it).
Most AI app builders handle the first three inconsistently and punt on the last two. You end up configuring Supabase for your database, wrestling with Stripe webhooks, and discovering that App Store submission requires Xcode, certificates, provisioning profiles, and a weekend you'll never get back.
A medical student recently built an AI-powered CPR training app that charges $85 per month per user. The app is live on the App Store and generates recurring revenue. He didn't take a year off to learn iOS development or raise money to hire a team. He described what he wanted to build, and it became a real product with real paying users. That's what production-ready means: the infrastructure disappears so you can focus on the product.
Match your deliverable to the right platform category
Platform architecture determines what you can build. Picking the wrong category means hitting walls that no amount of effort can overcome. Here's how the landscape breaks down.
Native mobile apps with code ownership
If you're building performance-critical mobile apps that need GPS, camera access, offline functionality, or App Store distribution, you need platforms that generate actual framework code.
FlutterFlow generates Flutter code you can export and continue developing. It's powerful for teams with some technical capability who want a visual starting point but plan to customize extensively.
Anything builds native mobile apps and web apps from the same project, with full code export and GitHub Sync for version control. The platform handles App Store submission through cloud signing, which eliminates the certificate management that blocks most builders. That’s how a professional mountaineer with no development experience shipped an app to the App Store in two months using Anything. He described the experience by saying: "It's so empowering now that creativity is the limiting factor, rather than tech knowledge."
Code ownership matters because it determines your exit options. If your platform disappears or raises prices, can you take your code and leave? If a client needs to own the source, can you hand it over cleanly?
Complex web applications
For web apps requiring sophisticated business logic, database operations, and workflow automation, visual programming platforms dominate.
Bubble offers the deepest workflow capabilities for web applications. It's powerful but has a steep learning curve and runs exclusively on Bubble's infrastructure, which means no code export.
Webflow excels at marketing sites and content-heavy web applications where design flexibility matters more than complex backend logic.
Both platforms create vendor dependencies. Your app runs on their servers, and migration requires rebuilding from scratch.
Internal tools and dashboards
If you're building from existing data sources like Airtable, HubSpot, Notion, or Google Sheets, data-connector platforms get you to working tools fastest.
Glide and Softr transform spreadsheet data into functional applications quickly. They're ideal for internal tools, client portals, and operational dashboards where the data already exists.
These platforms aren't designed for consumer apps or App Store distribution. They solve a specific problem well.
Full-stack MVPs with AI-powered speed
AI-powered builders represent a new category that generates complete applications through conversational prompts. The best ones produce real code with real infrastructure, not just UI mockups.
Bolt and Lovable generate web applications quickly but require external services like Supabase for databases and don't handle mobile apps natively.
v0 (Vercel) excels at front-end components and UI generation but focuses on web, not mobile, and expects you to handle backend infrastructure separately.
Anything generates full-stack applications including UI, backend, database, authentication, and deployment. It's the only platform that builds mobile apps and web apps in the same project with a shared backend. The platform includes 50+ integrations for AI models (GPT, Claude, Gemini), payments (Stripe), and services, all working without API key configuration.
A finance professional in Japan made $34,000 selling AI finance tools built on Anything. A marketer generated $20,000 from an AI referral tool. These aren't prototypes celebrated on social media. They're businesses generating real revenue.
The true cost of app building platforms
Advertised pricing tells you almost nothing. A $30/month platform can easily cost $100/month in production when you add database hosting, third-party integrations, and App Store fees.
What you'll actually pay
Platform subscriptions range from $20-50/month for serious use. Free tiers work for learning but lack the features production apps need.
Database costs add $20-40/month if your platform requires separate Supabase or Firebase provisioning. Platforms with built-in databases eliminate this line item.
App Store fees are fixed: Apple Developer Program costs $99/year, Google Play Developer costs $25 one-time. These apply regardless of which platform you choose.
Integration costs compound quickly. Zapier's free tier runs out fast for any real automation. Budget $20-50/month if you're connecting multiple tools.
Custom domains cost $10-15/year. Some platforms include them; most don't.
Realistic first-year budget for a production mobile app: $500-800 for platforms with built-in infrastructure, $900-1,200 for platforms requiring external services.
Usage-based pricing creates uncertainty
Some platforms charge by "workload units" or API calls that become unpredictable as your app grows. A promotion that drives traffic can generate surprise bills. Platforms with flat-rate pricing let you budget accurately.
Why code ownership matters more than you think
For side projects, code ownership is nice to have. For professional client work or apps you plan to sell, it's essential.
What code ownership enables
Clean client handoffs: When clients own the source code, you're not creating ongoing dependencies. They can hire other developers later without starting over.
Platform independence: If your builder raises prices, changes terms, or shuts down, you can continue developing elsewhere. Locked-in users of platforms that don't export code have reported being unable to fix critical bugs because they couldn't access a debugger.
Exit value: Apps with source code are worth more than apps running on proprietary platforms. Acquirers want assets they can control.
Which platforms provide full ownership
Full code export: Anything, FlutterFlow, and some others generate standard framework code you can push to your own repository and deploy anywhere.
Partial export: Some platforms let you download code but it only runs on their infrastructure.
No export: Bubble, Glide, and many others run exclusively on their servers. You're renting capability, not building an asset.
Learning curves: what the marketing doesn't tell you
Marketing materials suggest you'll build apps in hours. Reality is more nuanced.
Realistic timelines by platform type
Simple data connectors (Glide, Softr): 2-5 days to basic functionality. These tools are genuinely fast for their intended use cases.
AI-powered builders (Anything, Bolt, Lovable): 1-2 weeks to a deployable MVP. The AI handles code generation, but you still need to learn how to prompt effectively and iterate on results.
Visual web builders (Bubble, Webflow): 2-4 weeks to sophisticated applications. The learning curve is steeper because you're learning their proprietary systems.
Native mobile builders with code export (FlutterFlow): 3-6 weeks for production-quality apps. More powerful but more complex.
What affects your timeline
Scope clarity: Builders who start with a clear one-sentence description of what they're building ship faster than those who figure it out as they go.
Infrastructure handling: Every hour spent configuring authentication, payments, or databases is an hour not spent on your product. Platforms that handle infrastructure automatically compress timelines dramatically.
Debugging support: When you hit a bug at 2 a.m., does the platform help you fix it, or are you searching Stack Overflow for answers to questions nobody has asked? Anything Max, the platform's autonomous debugging mode, handles complex bugs with a high success rate while you work on other things.
Making the decision
Your situation determines your best choice. Here's how to match platform to need.
If you're a solopreneur launching an MVP
Start with platforms that handle the full stack. You don't have time to configure infrastructure or manage multiple services.
Best fit: Anything for mobile apps or combined mobile/web. Bubble for web-only apps where you're comfortable with vendor lock-in.
What to prioritize: Speed to first paying customer, built-in payments, App Store submission (if mobile).
Budget: Expect $50-100/month including platform and necessary services.
Dirk Minnebo spent ten years in go-to-market consulting but could only build marketing landing pages with traditional no-code tools. After switching to Anything, he built four complete apps in a single month: a founder matching platform, payment processing, encrypted chat, and a bootcamp tracker. His first dinner event had a 100% return rate.
If you're an agency building client apps
Code ownership and professional output quality matter more than raw speed. Clients need to own what you build, and your reputation depends on apps that work reliably.
Best fit: Anything for mobile-first projects (clients love App Store presence). FlutterFlow if clients need extensive customization. Bubble for web projects where clients accept platform dependency.
What to prioritize: Code export, professional design quality, reliable deployment, clear handoff process.
Margin math: A $15,000 client project easily justifies $200-500 in platform costs. The ROI is delivery speed, not subscription savings.
If you're a developer seeking speed
You can code anything but recognize that hand-coding every line isn't competitive anymore. You want to automate boilerplate so you can focus on what makes your app unique.
Best fit: Anything with GitHub Sync for version control integration. FlutterFlow if you're already invested in Flutter.
What to prioritize: Code quality, export capabilities, integration with standard development workflows.
The calculation: If the platform saves you 40 hours on infrastructure setup, that's 40 hours you can spend on features that differentiate your product.
If you're building internal tools
You don't need App Store distribution, consumer-grade design, or massive scalability. You need to solve internal problems quickly.
Best fit: Glide or Softr for spreadsheet-backed tools. Retool for more complex internal applications.
What to prioritize: Speed, data source integration, ease of maintenance.
According to agency case studies, internal tools built with the right platforms have achieved 75% reduction in operational time within 30-day implementation cycles.
The bottom line
The app builder you choose determines whether you ship in weeks or months, whether you own what you build, and whether your app makes money or stays a demo.
For production mobile apps that generate revenue, Anything removes the infrastructure complexity that stops most builders. Cloud-signed App Store submission, built-in payments and authentication, autonomous debugging, and full code ownership mean you focus on your product instead of your stack.
Builders using Anything have gone from idea to paying customers in weeks: $34,000 from AI finance tools, $20,000 from referral software, $85/month recurring from training apps. The technical barriers that used to require months of development have collapsed.
