These are the 10 best platforms for building a mobile app

If you’ve ever wanted to build an app after thinking up a brilliant idea, you’re in the right place.

Sure, the fear of coding can push you to not act on building your own app or to put off looking for the best app building software. Well, the good news is that it’s easier than ever to enter the mobile app market — no coding knowledge or experience required.

Whether it’s for your business, blog, product, service, or just something totally random, app creation software options are both plentiful and easy to find, if you know where to look.

With a small investment of time and a willingness to learn, you can create and manage your mobile site or application using one of the app building platforms listed below.

Appery is a cloud-based mobile app builder that you can use to create apps for Android or iOS, and it includes Apache Cordova (Phone Gap), Ionic, and jQuery Mobile with access to its built-in components.

Since the builder runs in the cloud, there’s nothing to install or download, and it’s easy to get started quickly. The Appery app builder includes a visual editor using drag and drop components to build the UI. Appery auto-generates the code for any components you drop in. You can connect to any REST API and use it in your app, and instantly add a cloud database and backend to your app if you need to store data.

You can add powerful functionality with the Appery plugin catalog, or create your own custom private plugins to use in your apps. If you’re working with a team, you can easily share your project with them and collaborate in real time for an extra fee.

Price: Plans start at $60/month for Pro, $135/month for Team, and custom pricing for enterprise solutions.

Mobile Roadie is an app creator that allows anyone to create and manage their own iOS or Android app. Even better, the building happens in a very visual way. The platform supports all media types, with automatic importing of RSS, Twitter, or Google News keywords, and an auto-refreshing fan wall for real-time communication with users.

You can preview your app accurately via Mobile Roadie’s back end, just as your users would on their devices. They will also guide you through the App Store submission process, with Mobile Roadie checking the quality and appropriateness of your content.

This app builder also gives you the option to send out push notifications. This can be content from your own site or via the platform itself. The platform as a whole is language agnostic, so you can pull data in a variety of formats, including XML, JSON, PHP, CSV and HTML. When you start, you are presented with several layout options, but you can also customize any of them to your liking. I will say that Mobile Roadie seems better fit for a brand or service, rather than product.

Price: Plans start at $145/month for the base plan.

TheAppBuilder provides a suite of apps to suit employees, clients, events, and brochures, with two different approaches available. This might be the platform to go with if you are designing an app as an intranet for a company. You can build the app using the online toolkit, and either the training provided or TheAppBuilder itself will work with you to define and build the structure of the app and populate it with initial content.

Using the dedicated AppLibrary, you can provide your users with a window into multiple apps and even customize it with your own branding. You can protect both public and private apps with usernames and passwords, and distribute them via the app store, making use of TheAppBuilder’s Active Directory integration to enable login with existing credentials and user groups.

Updating the structure and content of your apps is easy, even after you go live, because you can make unlimited updates and publish on multiple mobile platforms in one click. The platform supports native iPhone, iPad, and Android, with updates going live within 60 seconds of submitting a change. The update timing appears to be unmatched from other services.

Price: Pricing available upon request

Good Barber provides a platform to build iPhone and Android apps, along with optimized web applications. For any of the platforms, you can control every detail of the app without writing out a single line of code. Several highly customizable design templates are available to get started, with plenty of beautiful icons and access to Google Fonts.

These progressive web apps could theoretically replace your current website, as they can be optimized for desktop, mobile, and tablets.

You receive immediate visual feedback every time you adjust any parameters in your app. Send unique, actionable push notifications and convert your readers into contributors by letting them submit articles, photos, and videos. You can also organize your app and add sections ranging from videos, photos, sounds, live events, and more.

Price: Plans start at $32/month for Android apps and at $96/month for iOS apps.

Appy Pie is a cloud-based DIY mobile app creation tool that allows users without programming skills to create an app for almost any platform and publish it. There’s nothing to install or download — just drag and drop pages to create your own mobile app online. Once it’s complete, you receive an HTML5-based hybrid app that works with all platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, and even a Progressive app. All revisions are in real time, with the ability to send push notifications, monetize with ads, see live analytics, and track location with GPS. You can also integrate social media feeds, blogs, websites, audio, radio, and more.

When using this platform you’re presented with different themes, ranging from a restaurant to a radio station. They also have an appointment scheduler tool, which is especially useful for businesses such as doctors, salons, or spas with contact features such as one-touch call included. Using the code page you can embed custom code and embed iframes.

Price: Plans start at Free with ads and go up to $50/month for Platinum

AppMachine is an easy-to-use platform to build and design professional native apps for both iOS and Android. Using the drag-and-drop interface, you can combine different building blocks that offer a variety of features, such as information, photos, and video. The building blocks also let you link your app to Facebook, Twitter, or online stores. You can design the app in your own unique style and choose your navigation paths, colors, fonts, and icons, taking complete control of layout and watching your progress using the Previewer.

This platform also allows you to scan a website for key content that could transfer over into an app for iOS or Android.

Test your app as you build it and check its progress on your computer, mobile, or tablet. Once your app is fully tested and ready to go, you can publish and promote the app, and analyze the user data. AppMachine takes care of everything you need to get your app into Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

Price: Plans start at $49/month per app on the Plus plan, but go up to $69/month per app.

GameSalad allows you to create and publish games for a variety of platforms, including iOS, Android, HTML5, and macOS. Its drag-and-drop interface allows you to get started quickly, without the need for any programming knowledge. It also aims to let you learn computer science through the building process.

The gaming app creator features a scene and actor editor, where you spend most of your game creation time, setting up actors in a scene and creating attributes, images, sounds, and navigating between actors. The active community forum is a huge plus, with access to help and advice from fellow independent game designers.

GameSalad offers two plans, one geared for educators and another for developers. But both of these app builders allows you to create a game without writing a line of code.

Price: Pricing available upon request for developers and educators.

BiznessApps provides a platform to help create mobile apps for a small business with a very simple process. It provides a wealth of features, including ordering, a shopping cart, reviews, messages, dynamic content, third party integrations, push notifications, comprehensive analytics, and more.

The easy-to-use content management system allows you to create an app in minutes, and customize everything using pre-built designs or your own. There are also real-time previews to check your progress as you design and develop your app.

You can instantly update your app online, and modify everything inside, without having to send your app for a lengthy update with Apple or Google. BiznessApps also provides an easy way to create promotional materials. There are weekly webinars on how to build beautiful mobile apps using the BiznessApps platform, along with access to hundreds of tutorials and articles to help make the process even easier.

Price: Plans start at $99/month for a Single App or $250/month for the Reseller Partner Program

AppMakr is a DIY app-creation platform that lets anyone craft iOS, Android, and HTML5 apps, with no coding knowledge required. It was founded in 2009, and recently acquired by Infinite Monkeys, to now form one of the largest DIY app publishing platforms worldwide. They state that they are the “original way to make an app.”

You can make as many apps as you want, with unlimited updates, and utilize a number of features, including push notifications, high-resolution photo galleries, live updates, music and video streaming, chat rooms, Google Maps integration, shared events calendars, in-app shopping, and much more.

You keep track of all your apps through the Dashboard, easily customize your app’s looks and functionality, add content with tabs, preview your app in real time, and publish it to the markets with a single click. A big feature set is the face that all of there plans feature no ads, even the mobile website builder.

Price: Plans start at Free for the mobile website builder and go up to a $99/month for the App Pro plan.

ShoutEm offers an app builder with complete content management, powerful user engagement tools, and monetization options, coupled with a seamless publishing process. All of this comes together to provide a robust solution for almost any app building scenario.

The interface builder offers many customization options, and each app can be tightly integrated with existing content sources such as WordPress, Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, and more. The multiple monetization options mean you can quickly create a revenue stream from your app, providing an e-commerce experience, in-app subscriptions, deals, and coupons, with support for all major ad networks included.

You can publish your apps under your developer account to both iTunes and Google Play, and update your app or content in real time. ShoutEm also offers regular auto-updates, to ensure your app is always ahead of new iOS and Android updates.

Price: Plans start at $59/month for Android, $99/month for iOS and Android, and $179/month for extra social and loyalty add-ons.

With contributions by Grace Smith