So you have domain expertise worth building into an app, but you face a hard reality: traditional development costs $200,000 minimum and you cannot code. Only three no-code platforms let you publish apps for free. The rest require paid subscriptions before anyone can use what you build.
This matters because you can validate your idea with beta users at zero cost, then decide whether to invest in paid plans based on real feedback. Most builders discover this distinction after months of development on platforms that block publishing until they pay.
This guide covers the three platforms with truly free publishing tiers, the hidden costs that catch most builders off guard, and realistic timelines from first-time founders who made it work. The goal is to help you avoid expensive rebuilds by understanding each platform's limitations before you invest months building.
The no-code market reached $47 billion in 2024 and continues expanding at 27% annually. Research confirms 70% cost savings and 10x faster development compared to traditional coding. Those advantages only materialize if you choose the right platform from the start.
The three platforms that allow free publishing
Glide, Softr, and Thunkable each offer publishable free tiers. Every other major platform, including Adalo, FlutterFlow, and Bubble, restricts publishing behind paid subscriptions ranging from $29 to $36 per month. Each platform serves different use cases. Here's what you get with each free tier and when to choose it.
Glide: the most generous free tier
Glide provides 10 users, 25,000 data rows, and one published app on its free tier. That capacity supports genuine MVP validation with real users, not just internal testing.
The platform specializes in creating mobile apps from spreadsheet data. If you already have customer lists, inventory, or project data in Google Sheets, Glide converts it into a functional app within hours. This makes Glide particularly effective for inventory tracking, field service apps, and internal tools where data already exists.
Softr: web apps without mobile
Softr offers 10 users, 5,000 database records, and one published app, but exclusively for web applications. No native mobile apps, which eliminates app store fees entirely while limiting distribution to browser-based access.
The point-and-click interface is the simplest of the three platforms. Most builders create their first working app within days. Softr excels at client portals, internal team dashboards, member directories, and resource libraries. The 5,000-record limit handles small business needs but restricts high-volume applications.
Thunkable: unlimited apps with platform branding
Thunkable allows unlimited app publishing on the free tier but displays visible platform branding on your apps. The trade-off is access to native device features: GPS, camera, notifications, and sensors that web-only platforms cannot provide.
The learning curve extends to one or two weeks due to more component options. Thunkable works best for location-based apps, field inspection tools requiring photo capture, barcode scanners, and notification-driven utilities. Plan to upgrade once you move beyond internal validation, because the platform branding undermines credibility with paying customers.
The platforms that block free publishing
Several platforms market themselves as free but require paid subscriptions before users can access your work. Understanding these restrictions prevents months of wasted development effort.
Adalo allows free building and testing but prohibits publishing on the free plan. The $36 per month Starter plan is required to deploy your app. The visual builder is intuitive, but the free tier functions only as a learning environment.
FlutterFlow includes 10 users and 5,000 records on its free plan but restricts app store publishing. You need the $30 per month Pro plan to deploy to iOS or Android.
Bubble presents the most restrictive free tier: 200 database records and 0.5 GB storage. That equals approximately 40 products with five fields each in an e-commerce context. Meaningful MVP validation requires the $29 per month Starter plan.
Draftbit offers a free plan and 14-day trial, with paid plans starting at $29 per month.
What you can build on free tiers
Database capacity, feature access, and publishing restrictions create hard boundaries around viable project types. Understanding these constraints helps you choose the right validation path from the start.
Web applications via Softr: Client portals where customers access project status, internal team dashboards, member directories, and resource libraries. The web-only constraint eliminates app store complexity entirely.
Hardware-integrated apps via Thunkable: Location-based service apps, field inspection tools requiring photo capture, retail apps needing barcode scanning, and event apps with push notifications. The unlimited publishing works for internal tools or early validation before professional branding matters.
Data-driven apps via Glide: Inventory management, customer directories, project tracking, and any application where your data already lives in spreadsheets. The 25,000-row limit supports substantial datasets for early-stage validation.
Hidden costs nobody mentions
Platform subscriptions represent only part of your true deployment costs. Developer account fees, infrastructure expenses, and integration requirements create a more complex financial picture than "free" suggests.
App store developer accounts are mandatory for iOS and Android publishing. Apple charges $99 per year. Google Play requires a $25 one-time fee. These costs apply regardless of which no-code platform you choose.
Time investment represents your largest hidden cost. MVP validation typically spans two to four months. Free platforms reduce financial risk but cannot eliminate the opportunity cost of building something that might not find market fit.
Budget guidance: Plan for $0 if validating web-only with Glide, Softr, or Thunkable. Add $25 to $40 per month when you hit user limits or need professional features. Budget $200 to $700 for the first year if targeting app stores, including developer accounts and platform subscription upgrades.
Non-technical founders who made it work
Real founders have built revenue-generating businesses using free and low-cost no-code platforms. These cases reveal realistic timelines and what to expect as a first-time builder.
Ben Tossell built Makerpad as an education platform that reached $200,000 in revenue in under one year. Zapier acquired the company in early 2020. Tossell had no technical background but identified a clear market need: teaching people to build with no-code tools.
A solo developer bootstrapped Habit Pixel from zero to $1,000 monthly recurring revenue over eight months after launching in May 2025. This timeline demonstrates realistic expectations for first-time builders learning platforms while developing.
Timeline patterns across documented cases: MVP development takes two to six weeks. Initial revenue validation requires three to six months to reach $1,000 in monthly recurring revenue. Growth to $10,000 monthly recurring revenue typically takes six to twelve months total. These timelines assume focused execution on validated problems, not guaranteed outcomes.
Critical limitations before you start
Free no-code platforms work for MVP validation, not sustainable production deployment. These platforms are designed to convert you to paid plans once you prove market fit. Understanding this business model helps you allocate resources for the inevitable upgrade path.
Vendor lock-in creates the most significant long-term risk. Your application becomes tied to proprietary architecture. Once you've invested months building, you have limited leverage in pricing negotiations. The platform can increase prices, change terms, or sunset features. Your options are to pay or rebuild from scratch.
Customization constraints and integration barriers require paid upgrades as your app grows. Treat free tiers as validation tools. Budget $25 to $40 per month for operational deployment once you move beyond initial testing.
How free tools compare to traditional development
The speed and cost advantages of no-code are well-documented: 70% cost savings and 10x faster development according to industry research. A traditional application costing $300,000 might be built for $75,000 with no-code. That 4x cost reduction matters for bootstrapped founders.
These advantages come with trade-offs. No-code struggles with highly customized technical requirements, carries vendor lock-in risk, hits scalability constraints at significant volume, and offers limited security control compared to custom development. For MVP validation and standard business applications, these trade-offs are acceptable. For complex, high-scale production systems, they may not be.
Choose your validation path
Three platforms offer free publishing: Glide and Thunkable for mobile-capable apps, Softr for web-only deployment. Your decision depends on whether web-only validation (truly free, validated in two to four months) meets your needs, or whether native mobile app store presence justifies the first-year investment of $200 to $700.
Choose Glide if you have spreadsheet data and need the most generous free tier: 10 users, 25,000 data rows, and one published app.
Choose Softr if web apps solve your use case and you want the simplest builder: 10 users and 5,000 database records.
Choose Thunkable if hardware features like GPS or camera access are essential. The free tier allows unlimited publishing with platform branding.
The documented success stories demonstrate that non-technical founders can build revenue-generating apps. Results range from $1,000 monthly recurring revenue within eight months to exceptional cases reaching $200,000 before acquisition. But every success required focused execution on validated problems. Free tools remove cost barriers to validation. They cannot remove the work of understanding your market and iterating based on real user feedback.
If you're weighing free no-code platforms against each other, consider what happens after validation. The platforms above require paid upgrades for production, App Store submission, and professional features. Anything builds production-ready mobile and web apps from the start, with payments, authentication, and App Store submission built in. No separate developer accounts. No surprise costs when you're ready to launch.
The difference matters when you're ready to move from validation to revenue. Try Anything free to see how production-ready infrastructure changes what's possible.
