Bubble Review

Bubble is a no-code platform for building web apps and native iOS and Android apps in a visual editor, with AI that builds a first version from a description. It has a free plan for building, and every paid plan is priced per app and metered in AI credits and workload units. What decides whether it suits you is whether you are happy to keep your app on Bubble for good, since there is no way to export it as code.

What is Bubble?

Bubble is made by Bubble Group, Inc., based in New York in the United States. The editor runs in the browser, and the apps you build run on the web and as native iOS and Android apps.

Apps run only on Bubble's platform, which is hosted on Amazon Web Services. Bubble's own platform code is proprietary and stays Bubble's.

Building an app with Bubble

You describe your idea and Bubble AI builds a working app with its interface, database and logic. From there you edit any part of it, including design, workflows, database and privacy rules, in the visual editor, and an AI Agent can make changes too. Logic is built as visual workflows rather than written code. For design, you can generate a full design with AI, including images, start from scratch, import from Figma or choose a template.

Every app gets a built-in database, user authentication and privacy rules, with no third-party services or SQL needed. Apps you build can also add single sign-on for their own users. Payments are built in: a Stripe plugin made by Bubble handles web apps, and Apple and Google in-app subscriptions handle mobile.

Mobile apps are built on React Native, so they run natively on iOS and Android, and you submit them to the App Store and Google Play from the editor. Web apps deploy with one click, and a custom domain comes on Starter and up. The Free plan is for development only, with no live app.

Each app can expose a Data API and a Workflow API, and the API Connector calls outside APIs. There is no code export: Bubble apps run only on the Bubble platform. Your data can be exported as CSV or through the Bubble API, but moving off Bubble means rebuilding the app's logic. There is also no GitHub sync for apps, since there is no source code to sync; Bubble's GitHub integration is for building plugins, and version control uses Bubble's own branches and history.

Working with other people

Several people can edit an app at once, and you see each other's mouse pointers as you work. Growth includes 2 app editors and premium version control, and Team includes 5 editors, 25 branches and sub apps.

Bubble pricing: what each plan gives

Plans are bought per app, not per user. AI credits pay for AI features such as the AI Agent and page and image generation, while workload units pay for the server processing that runs and hosts your app. Generating an app does not currently use AI credits. Allowances refresh on the first of each month.

The Free plan has no time limit and gives 500 AI credits and 50K workload units a month, the API connector, the web debugger, on-device testing for mobile and a development version only. There is no free trial of a paid plan.

Starter costs $39 a month for a web app, or $32 a month billed yearly, with 1,000 AI credits, 175K workload units, a live app and a custom domain. A mobile app costs $49 ($42 yearly), and web and mobile together $69 ($59 yearly). Growth costs $134 a month for web, or $119 billed yearly, with 2,000 AI credits, 250K workload units, 2 app editors, premium version control and two-factor authentication. Growth mobile costs $199 ($169 yearly), and web and mobile $249 ($209 yearly).

Team costs $399 a month for web, or $349 billed yearly, with 4,000 AI credits, 500K workload units, 5 app editors, 25 branches and sub apps. Team mobile costs $529 ($449 yearly), and web and mobile $649 ($549 yearly). Enterprise is priced on request, with unlimited AI credits, custom workload units, single sign-on, the SOC 2 report and a choice of hosting location. Extra workload units, AI credits and file storage, at $3 per 100 GB a month, are sold as add-ons.

Privacy and security

Bubble trains on what you do with its AI tools. In Bubble's own words: "We may use the Input and Output from your interactions with Bubble AI Tools to train, refine, and develop Bubble AI Tools and otherwise improve the Bubble Service."

Bubble's internal controls meet the SOC 2 Type II standard, the platform is pen-tested, and Bubble offers a GDPR-compliant data processing agreement. Bubble is not HIPAA compliant. Single sign-on and advanced DDoS protection are on Enterprise, which can also get a dedicated instance on Bubble-managed AWS servers in a chosen region. Support runs through the Bubble Support Center and the Bubble Community forum, and Enterprise adds a dedicated support team.

Who Bubble suits

Bubble suits founders and teams who want to build a full app, with a database, user accounts, payments and native mobile versions, without writing code, and who are happy to host it on Bubble. The AI gets you a working first version from a description, and the visual editor lets you change every part of it after that.

It suits less well anyone who wants to own their app's code, since there is no code export and no GitHub sync. Mobile and combined web and mobile plans cost noticeably more than web alone, healthcare apps that need HIPAA are ruled out, and anything you type into Bubble's AI tools can be used for training.

Frequently Asked Questions