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AI App Builders Comparison

Bubble vs. Thunkable

At a glance

At a glance

Bubble

Best for

Best for founders and teams that want to build and launch a full web or mobile app without engineers.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Thunkable

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 Bubble Thunkable
Starting price From $32 / month Starter, web only, billed monthly; $29 per month billed annually. Mobile only starts at $49 and web plus mobile at $69 monthly. A free plan covers building and testing. lower value 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 Free plan with 3 public projects, 5 screens per project and no published apps
Commercial use Yes Not stated
Output Web apps and native mobile apps built in one visual editor, with a managed database and user accounts Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, published from one project
What it generates Web apps and native mobile apps built in one editor; the AI app builder can generate a complete app from a single prompt 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 visual programming: you build by pointing and clicking instead of writing code Drag-and-drop designer with blocks, plus a built-in code editor for direct edits alongside the AI
Auth and database Managed database with separate development and live environments, plus built-in user management for signup and login Local tables, Google Sheets, Airtable, Webflow, the Firebase Realtime Database and Cloudinary; user sign-in through the Firebase Authentication REST API
Hosting and deploy Apps run in the browser or install from the app stores as native apps, hosted on Bubble's infrastructure 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 Payments run through Bubble's official Stripe plugin: one-time charges and recurring subscriptions, with billing and plan management handled by Stripe Yes, in-app purchases through RevenueCat, plus AdMob for advertising
Access to the code No-code visual editor, extended through community-made plugins 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 Community forum more entries Chat, Community forum
Onboarding Documentation and knowledge base Documentation and knowledge base
Company size Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
Integrations Not stated Firebase, Google Sheets, Airtable, Webflow, Cloudinary, OpenAI, Google Maps, Google Translate, RevenueCat, AdMob, OneSignal

Compare more tools

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 Bubble From $32 / month Thunkable Free plan; paid from $18 / month
  • Free trial Bubble Free plan Thunkable Free plan with 3 public projects, 5 screens per project and no published apps
  • Support Bubble Community forum Thunkable Chat, Community forum
  • Output Bubble Web apps and native mobile apps built in one visual editor, with a managed database and user accounts Thunkable Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, published from one project
  • What it generates Bubble Web apps and native mobile apps built in one editor; the AI app builder can generate a complete app from a single prompt Thunkable Native iOS and Android apps plus web apps, generated from a written description by the AI Builder and then editable screen by screen

Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.

The trade-offs

Strengths and Limitations

Bubble

Strengths

  • Builds web and native mobile apps in a single editor
  • Generates a complete app from one prompt with the AI app builder, then lets you refine it
  • Large ecosystem of community-made plugins and connectors

Limitations

  • Priced in monthly workload units, so a busy app's running cost rises with usage instead of staying fixed
  • The free plan cannot run a live app on a custom domain

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

Bubble

  • Free $0 Build and test for free; launching an app requires a paid plan.
  • Starter $32 Per month for web only ($29 billed annually). Mobile only $49, web plus mobile $69.
  • Growth $134 Per month for web only ($119 billed annually). Mobile only $199, web plus mobile $249.
  • Team $399 Per month for web only ($349 billed annually). Mobile only $529, web plus mobile $649.
  • Enterprise Not stated Quoted by Bubble; handled through an account manager.
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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.
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What users say

Review Scores · opens after launch

Bubble

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

Bubble https://bubble.io · 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.