The 9 Best Shopify Mobile App Builders in 2024

Shopify Mobile App Builders offer a convenient and affordable way to turn your Shopify store into a mobile app.

This article will share a list of all the Shopify app builders you need to know about, and help you choose the best Shopify mobile app builder for your store. We’ll explain which features you should prioritize, and why a lot of app builders come with serious limitations. We’ll also share what is, in our opinion, the best way to build a Shopify mobile app.

Want to dive into the best Shopify app builders right now? Check out this video on our YouTube channel:

Keep reading and learn the best way to launch iOS and Android mobile apps for your Shopify store.

Shopify App Builder Features to Look For

If you want to get right to it, you can skip ahead to our recommended Shopify app builders. But first, we’re going to explain the most important features and qualities you need in a Shopify app creator, that will allow you to create the highest quality app with the least amount of investment and hassle.

Building with no code

You run an eCommerce store. You're not a software company, and you probably don't have the staff or the resources to code a mobile app from scratch.

The point of using a Shopify mobile app builder is to cut out the time, cost and complexity of coding an app. Even if you do know your way around mobile programming languages, an app builder that doesn't require any coding will allow you to ship your shopping app much quicker and with less hassle.

Learn more about the benefits of Low Code and No Code App Builders vs Manual Development.

Recreating your existing site and features

A mobile app doesn’t necessarily need to do anything drastically different from your website. In essence, all it needs to do is display your mobile website in a package that can be downloaded to a user’s device.

But you want to keep everything that makes your website great. This means making sure all the plugins, themes, payment gateways and custom features from your site work the same in your Shopify mobile app.

It should also be easy to build a similar user experience in your mobile app to that of your website, with consistent branding on both platforms.

Minimal work to maintain

Launching an app shouldn't add a ton of work to your day to day.

This is the biggest issue with custom native apps. Apps take a huge amount of work to maintain and update, from design changes and tweaks to necessary security updates and bug fixes.

For a native app, this could easily cost 5 or 6 figures per year, and force you to hire additional full-time employees, just to keep your app up to date.

Mobile app builders make this easier, but still, consider how much work you’re going to have to do to maintain your app, and how much support the tool provides for fixing bugs/issues that crop up.

Flexibility

Consider how easy it will be to build the app you really want with your choice of tool.

Many app builders trade off flexibility for simplicity. They make it easy to launch an app fast, but squeeze you into cookie-cutter templates that are difficult to customize.

Native development is on the other side of the spectrum; fully customizable, but incredibly difficult.

Ideally your Shopify mobile app builder should fall somewhere in the middle, making it easy to build an app but also allowing you to create something that’s unique, and stands out from the thousands of other brands in the market.

Third-party integrations and API limitations

App builders generally have pre-built integrations with popular third-party tools, such as Shopify apps, or marketing tools like Klaviyo, Google Analytics, etc.

Check the supported integrations for the tool you choose, as well as the number of integrations provided. Many app builders only let you use a certain number of integrations, particularly on lower plans, which will limit the functionality you’re able to build in the app.

Also consider the limitations of the Shopify API. All app builders you’ll find in the Shopify app store use the platform’s API to connect the app with your web store. Unfortunately this brings potential issues.

There are a lot of things the API doesn’t let you do, such as granular changes to how searches, product recommendations and product sorting works in your app.

This can have a big effect on conversions - so consider whether using a tool that doesn’t tie you to the Shopify API.

Push notifications

The one mobile-specific feature your app really needs is native push notifications. 

Push notifications are an incredible tool for engagement and communication for brands. They're personal, direct and cost-effective, with impressive open and engagement rates (better than SMS and email).

Push notifications are particularly beneficial for eCommerce stores, whether it's providing a great customer experience with order updates, boosting revenue with personalized promotions and discount offers or recapturing customers with abandoned carts.

App store compliant

Finally, the app builder you choose should produce an app that's app store compliant.

Getting into the iOS App Store and Google Play Store is huge for your brand. It provides a huge boost of social proof, as well as a new customer acquisition channel.

Not all Shopify mobile app builders produce an app that’s easy to get approved by Google and Apple for publishing in the app stores. If this is the case, you’ll lose out on an extremely valuable authority signal for your brand, plus a powerful customer acquisition channel, so do your due diligence to ensure this won’t be a problem with the app builder you choose.

Further Reading: Why You Shouldn't Use DIY, No-Code App Builders To Build Your Mobile Apps

The Best Shopify Mobile App Builders for Store Owners in 2024

Now we’re going to share what are, in our opinion, the nine best Shopify mobile app builders today.

All of these tools give you a straightforward, affordable way to build apps for your site. We advise most brands to use one of these platforms to build an app, instead of sinking tens of thousands of dollars (at least) into a custom-built app.

Here are the nine app builders we’re going to review:

1. MobiLoud
2. Tapcart
3. Plobal Apps
4. Vajro
5. Appmaker
6. Shopney
7. Hulk
8. MageNative
9. Mowico

Keep reading for more - starting with our top pick, MobiLoud.

MobiLoud

Our platform, MobiLoud, is the #1 way to build Shopify mobile apps.

MobiLoud is a service to turn any website into mobile apps. We help you fully recreate your Shopify site as a mobile app, without the limitations and constraints you get with most app builders.

MobiLoud is not just a template-based app builder, like most mobile app platforms on the Shopify App Store. We’re essentially a custom app development service, doing all the work for you to convert your site to iOS and Android apps.

Your app will retain all the plugins, apps, integrations, custom features and custom enhancements from your website; something other Shopify app builders will never be able to do.

The app will be fully synced with your website, meaning any changes you make happen on both platforms in real time.

How It Works

The process to build your app with MobiLoud looks like this:

1. Custom design stage: our team of eCommerce experts help adapt your mobile website to look and behave like a mobile app and enhance CRO.
2. Our developers convert your site to Android and iPhone apps, carrying over all the features of your website plus custom tweaks for the apps’ experiences.
3. We test your apps, and invite you to play around with them, test, and give feedback.
4. Our team builds the final version, ready for launch.
5. We submit your app and app store listings for publishing, and handle all communications with the app stores (we guarantee your apps will be approved, or we’ll refund your money).
6. Once your apps are live, we do routine technical updates and maintenance for your apps.

There’s virtually no limitation to what your app can do; it’ll not only replicate all the features from your website, but you can also generate pages and experiences that are app-specific (our team will handle this for you - just let us know what you want to see in the app).

How Long Does It Take?

It can take less than a month to create an app for your Shopify store with MobiLoud.

How Much Does It Cost?

Plans start at $350 per month (15% cheaper on annual subscriptions) with a one-time, $1,500 setup fee, rising if you have more complex needs.

This is slightly more than what you’ll typically pay for a DIY Shopify mobile app builder. But the service and flexibility you get is more akin to a development agency, and hiring an agency will usually cost at least 10x what you’ll pay for MobiLoud in setup costs and recurring expenses.

Learn more about our pricing options here.

Why MobiLoud?

MobiLoud lets you build an app without constraints, without a huge investment, and with minimal work required from you or your team.

We handle the whole process and let you ship an app that is as close to a custom app you can get without spending hundreds of thousands on developers.

One of the big benefits of MobiLoud is that it doesn't use the Shopify API to create your app. This means a lot more flexibility, as David Cost from Rainbow Shops found:

"The Shopify API only enables certain things and for all the major providers of hybrid apps for Shopify, they had major limitations that the Shopify API would not let them get around.”

MobiLoud was the only tool that let them build the app they wanted, without the API limiting the user experience.

MobiLoud apps are 95% of what you'd get from coding a native app from scratch, at a fraction of the cost, time, effort and complexity.

Want to see how MobiLoud can work for you? Get a free consultation to walk through the process with one of our app experts.

Tapcart

Tapcart is a sophisticated mobile app builder, designed specifically for Shopify. It gives you a powerful drag-and-drop front-end editor that lets you design a custom-made app interface.

The backend syncs up with your Shopify store, to manage all your orders and products in one place.

It provides a number of integrations with Shopify apps and third-party plugins or tools - like Klaviyo for email marketing, Facebook and various analytics tools. These implementations work well, but you may be out of luck if you want to integrate any other apps, plugins, or custom features from your site.

It’s also worth mentioning the price. Tapcart is powerful, but pricey. It starts at $250 per month, which is affordable, but this plan offers very limited features. You'll likely need the next level up, at $550 per month, or even to the Tapcart Enterprise plan, starting at $1,200 per month.

Pros:

• Extensive design flexibility with their no-code app builder.
• Backend linked with your Shopify store.
• Intuitive integrations with popular Shopify & ecommerce tools.

Cons:

• Lowest plan (at $250/mo) is very limited.
• For full features, you may end up paying over $1,200 per month.
• May not be able to integrate all functionality of your existing site.

Plobal Apps

Plobal Apps is another purpose-made Shopify app builder. The way it works is a lot like Tapcart - with a no-code, drag-and-drop editor to build the front-end of your app, while syncing up with your Shopify store backend.

Also like Tapcart, integrations give you access to popular Shopify apps and tools, as well as device features like location services and a QR barcode scanner. The list of integrations is fairly extensive, but still may leave you missing something from your existing site.

On the surface, the cost is not as daunting as Tapcart. But they charge an additional “success fee”, which ranges from 1-3% of your app sales, which adds up as you scale.

Pros:

• Includes all the features you need from an app, such as customizable push notifications.
• User-friendly interface builder.
• Large list of supported integrations.

Cons:

• Doesn’t convert all your existing web features to the app.
• Charges an additional percentage fee on in-app sales.
• They only work with sellers who meet a certain revenue threshold.

Vajro

Vajro is a template-based app builder, which boasts that it lets you launch a mobile app in less than 60 minutes, without coding.

They offer four themes to start with, as well as a drag-and-drop builder. It’s certainly easy to use - but some will find themselves wanting more power.

It uses integrations to link up with apps, third-party tools, supporting over 70 integrations - a lot more than Tapcart and Plobal Apps.

Their lowest plan is affordable at $99 per month, but most stores will find the feature set lacking (it only offers 30 push notifications, for example). You may need to upgrade to $199-$399 per month, which is a little expensive for a templated app builder.

Pros:

• Simple, easy to use.
• Large list of supported integrations.
• Good fit for small stores, with simple needs.

Cons:

• Pricing is a little high, considering the simplicity of the app.
• Template-based, meaning it lacks a lot of flexibility.
• A lot of integrations, but still doesn’t directly replicate what you have on your website.

Appmaker

Appmaker's mobile app builder is similar to most of the Shopify app builders on this list. You'll build the interface with a visual editor, and sync the backend to your Shopify store.

It’s not the most sophisticated app builder, but it's easy to use. Appmaker supports many payment gateways - from major credit cards to Apple Pay, Amazon, PayPayl, Klarna and more - but overall, the integrations are lacking compared to other tools.

Appmaker is a decent fit for stores with simple needs, and no need to integrate any complex features or functionality.

Pros:

• Simple to use.
• Supports a wide range of payment getaways.
• Solid sync with your Shopify backend.

Cons:

• App design is customizable, but still limited to their template.
• Can’t convert your existing plugins/apps/themes.
• Not as many integrations as other app builders.
• Can get very expensive, with $699/$1,199 per month plans.

Shopney

Shopney is a dependable option with a little more flexibility for designing your app layout compared to similar template-based app builders.

Smaller stores may find Shopney is a good entry-level option to mobile apps, offering a $99 per month plan, which includes most core features. However, you’ll need to upgrade to the next level up to get features like Abandoned Cart notifications and scheduled push notifications. And some integrations - Klaviyo, for example - are only available on the $499/mo “Platinum” plan level.

Pros:

• Intuitive design editor with multiple themes.
• Ability to send unlimited push notifications.
• Starts at $99 per month, which is decent value for small stores.

Cons:

• Despite the design editor, you’re still limited to their themes and templates.
• Not as many supported integrations.
• Gets expensive if you want the full range of integrations.

Hulk Mobile App Builder

Hulk is a Shopify mobile app builder from HulkApps, a company that specializes in Shopify plugins.

It works much the same as other Shopify app creators; it uses drag and drop tools to let you create an app without coding, and uses the Shopify API to sync with your store.

It’s on the affordable side for a Shopify app builder, and is fairly well reviewed, with most users saying that they’ve had a decent experience using this tool.

Overall their integrations are a bit limited, outside of smooth integrations with other HulkApps products. If you use any of these in your store, you might find that the Hulk Mobile App Builder is a logical choice for your mobile app as well.

Pros:

• Affordable.
• Well-reviewed and easy to use.
• Fits well in the Shopify ecosystem.

Cons:

• Limited integration options.
• Same issues as other app builders, with heavy reliance on templates and the Shopify API.

MageNative

MageNative offers another interesting option for stores looking for an app builder at a lower price point.

It starts as low as $49/mo - though realistically you’ll need to go at least one level higher to get enough features to make it worthwhile. Yet even their highest plan is cheaper than just about any other from this list.

At the end of the day, it’s still a template-based app builder, and you’re reliant on what they give you in terms of design and integrations. They don’t have as many direct third-party app integrations either, which may be tricky. But for a budget option, it’s a great pick.

Pros:

• Much cheaper than the competition.
• Get unlimited push notifications, deep linking, even augmented reality features for under $100/mo.

Cons:

• Template-based.
• Not many integrations for popular third-party apps.

Mowico

Mowico is an no-code app builder designed for building ecommerce mobile apps for stores on many different platforms - WooCommerce, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Weebly and many more, along with Shopify.

Whatever your platform, it integrates with the backend while providing the tools to build your customer-facing app using a no-code app builder and a range of apps and widgets.

The tradeoff for this is that, not being built specifically for Shopify, the integration is not as seamless as with other tools.

The widgets and integrations may also make it tough to recreate what you have on your existing website. They can provide custom integrations or features, but this may get expensive (you need to contact them to get a quote for this).

Pros:

• Affordable.
• Easy to configure, if somewhat basic.

Cons:

• Not made specifically for Shopify stores.
• Need to enquire for custom pricing for any custom integrations or features.

Do you have a WordPress site or WooCommerce store? Check out the best WordPress Mobile App Builders.

What’s the Best Way to Build an App For Your Shopify Store?

In this post, we've shown you the best mobile app builders for Shopify stores. These tools make it simple for any store owners to launch their own native Android and iOS apps.

Is one of these tools the best way to launch a mobile app for your store? Or is it better to invest more for a high-quality, custom app?

In our opinion, drag-and-drop app builders are too limiting, while custom-built apps are too expensive, too time-consuming to build and maintain, and needlessly complex for what your store needs.

MobiLoud sits in the middle of these two options, letting you launch an app easily and affordably, but not limiting you in the same way a no-code app builder does.

MobiLoud lets you actually convert what already works for you on your website to your mobile apps. You won’t lose any functionality from your themes, apps or plugins, meaning you’ll provide a seamless experience for your customers.

It’s simple to set up - everything works out of the box, including push notifications, as well as your existing checkout and product collections. And best of all, it’s easy to keep your iOS app, Android app and mobile website maintained and synchronized. It puts almost zero additional work on your plate.

To learn more and start your journey towards launching your own native mobile apps, get in touch with our team. We’ll discuss your project and your needs and give you a demo of the platform to show you just how easy it is to build a Shopify mobile app with MobiLoud.