Best for
Best for teams on Google Workspace that want mobile and web apps over data already sitting in spreadsheets and cloud databases.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
AI App Builders Comparison
AppSheet vs. Thunkable
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for solo makers and small teams that want to describe a mobile app, then refine it visually or in code and publish it to both stores.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | AppSheet | Thunkable |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | lower value Free for prototyping; paid plans from $5 / user / month Starter $5, Core $10 and Enterprise Plus $20 per user per month. Core is included with most paid Google Workspace plans. Publisher Pro is priced per app instead, at $50 per app per month, and serves unlimited users. | Free plan; paid from $18 / month Billed yearly; billed monthly the same plans cost $19, $59 and $189. Every plan carries a monthly AI token allowance, from 2,000 on Free to 100,000 on Advanced. Enterprise and education plans are quoted on request. |
| Free trial | Free plan with full platform access for prototyping with up to 10 test users, with no time limit stated | Free plan with 3 public projects, 5 screens per project and no published apps |
| Output | Mobile and web business apps plus automations such as email, SMS and push notifications | Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, published from one project |
| API | Yes, a REST API for reading and writing table records in an app | Not stated |
| Hosting | Google cloud | Not stated |
| What it generates | Mobile and web business apps for work such as operations, field work, HR, sales and project management, plus automations sending email, SMS and push notifications; Gemini for App Creation generates the app from a described business process, proposing tables and columns before building | Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, generated from a written description by the AI Builder and then editable screen by screen |
| Stack and frameworks | No-code throughout: apps are configured in AppSheet's editor rather than written in a framework, and logic is extended with Google Apps Script functions and the REST API | Drag-and-drop designer with blocks, plus a built-in code editor for direct edits alongside the AI |
| Auth and database | Runs on existing data rather than its own: Google Sheets and Drive, Microsoft 365 and hosted Excel, Cloud SQL, Azure SQL, BigQuery, Salesforce, Dropbox, Smartsheet, OData, Apigee and REST APIs, with an AppSheet database included. Row limits per database scale with the plan, from 5 databases of 2,500 rows on Starter to 200 databases of 200,000 rows on Enterprise Plus. Enterprise data service connections and the stronger security, team management and governance controls are Enterprise Plus, which needs a Google Workspace administrator account | Local tables, Google Sheets, Airtable, Webflow, the Firebase Realtime Database and Cloudinary; user sign-in through the Firebase Authentication REST API |
| Hosting and deploy | Google cloud only, with apps published to end users rather than deployed to infrastructure; there is no self-hosted option | Published from the platform to the Apple App Store, Google Play and the web on a custom domain, with TestFlight for iOS beta builds |
| Payments | No built-in payments. No payment provider appears among the external services AppSheet documents, so a provider has to be reached like any other API, through a REST data source or a webhook step in an automation | Yes, in-app purchases through RevenueCat, plus AdMob for advertising |
| Access to the code | Apps live in AppSheet rather than as an exportable codebase; Apps Script and the REST API are the extension points | Compiled builds rather than a repository: downloading an Android app sends an APK by email, and publishing sends an AAB to upload to the Play Store. No source-code export or Git sync is documented, so edits stay in the builder |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk | more entries Chat, Community forum |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries Google Sheets, Google Drive, Google Apps Script, BigQuery, Cloud SQL, Microsoft 365, Azure SQL, Salesforce, Dropbox, Smartsheet, OData, Apigee | Firebase, Google Sheets, Airtable, Webflow, Cloudinary, OpenAI, Google Maps, Google Translate, RevenueCat, AdMob, OneSignal |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price AppSheet Free for prototyping; paid plans from $5 / user / month Thunkable Free plan; paid from $18 / month
- Free trial AppSheet Free plan with full platform access for prototyping with up to 10 test users, with no time limit stated Thunkable Free plan with 3 public projects, 5 screens per project and no published apps
- Company size AppSheet Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Thunkable Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- Support AppSheet Email helpdesk Thunkable Chat, Community forum
- Output AppSheet Mobile and web business apps plus automations such as email, SMS and push notifications Thunkable Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, published from one project
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
AppSheet
Strengths
- Gemini app creation is included in every paid licence rather than charged separately
- Starts from data a company already keeps, including non-Google sources such as Microsoft 365, Azure SQL and Salesforce
- Core is bundled with most paid Google Workspace plans, so many organisations already hold the licence
- Free tier has full platform access for prototyping with no stated time limit
Limitations
- Google cloud only, with no self-hosted option
- Apps are not an exportable codebase, so leaving the platform means rebuilding
- Enterprise data connections, machine learning modelling and the governance controls are Enterprise Plus only, and need a Workspace administrator account
- Database row limits are tied to the plan, so heavier data pushes the tier up
Thunkable
Strengths
- AI Builder turns a written description into a working, fully editable project
- One project publishes to iOS, Android and the web
- Visual blocks and a built-in code editor sit side by side, so edits are not limited to prompting
- Documented data sources and integrations cover Firebase, Google Sheets, Airtable, OpenAI, RevenueCat and more
Limitations
- The free plan has no private projects and no published apps
- Every plan meters AI use by token allowance
- Live published apps are capped below the Advanced plan
- Private projects fall back to read-only if the subscription lapses
Plans
Pricing
AppSheet
- Free $0 Full platform access for prototyping with up to 10 test users. No time limit stated.
- Starter $5 Per user per month. Basic application and automation features, spreadsheet and cloud file storage connections, 5 AppSheet databases of 2,500 rows each.
- Core $10 Per user per month. Advanced application and automation features, application security controls, email support, 10 databases of 2,500 rows each. Included with most paid Google Workspace plans.
- Enterprise Plus $20 Per user per month. Adds enterprise data service connections to APIs, SaaS and databases, enhanced security, team management and governance, machine learning modelling, priority support and 200 databases of 200,000 rows each. Requires a Google Workspace administrator account.
- Publisher Pro $50 Per app per month rather than per user. For publicly accessible apps that need no sign-in, with unlimited users per app and the Core feature set.
Thunkable
- Free $0 2,000 AI tokens per month, 3 public projects, 5 screens per project. No private projects and no published apps.
- Accelerator $18 Per month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly). 20,000 AI tokens, 5 public and 1 private project, 10 screens per project.
- Builder $37 Per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly). 50,000 AI tokens, unlimited public projects, 10 private projects, unlimited screens, 1 live published app, custom branding.
- Advanced $99 Per month, billed yearly ($189 billed monthly). 100,000 AI tokens, unlimited private projects and unlimited live published apps, priority support.
- Enterprise Not stated Quoted on request, for teams. A separate education plan covers students, teachers and districts.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
AppSheet
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Thunkable
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
AppSheet https://about.appsheet.com · no check date recorded yet
Thunkable https://thunkable.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-12
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.