The 10 Best Mobile App Development Software of 2024

The mobile app industry is valued in billions in 2024 and building an app is one of the easiest ways to break through into new markets. Whether you already have a website or not, the great news is that building a mobile application is no longer rocket science.

Thanks to a variety of mobile app development software, even people with little to no knowledge of mobile development can build an app for mobile devices from scratch. Whether you’re looking for no-code or low-code, there are lots of amazing choices out there - and we’ve rounded up the very best.

What to look for in mobile app development software

If you’re an experienced software developer, you probably have a solid idea of what you need to build intuitive apps with great user experience. But for those just starting out, this is what your next mobile app development software should have.

Platform compatibility

Some software helps you build apps on Android, some on iOS, and some do both. You can do both simultaneously by getting cross-platform mobile app dev software. Depending on the target market you’re going after, this is an important first consideration.

Ease of use

Most mobile app dev tools are easy to figure out, but you may get stuck if you don’t know the basics. Besides decent onboarding, you’re looking for apps with great documentation and a help center. This will help you troubleshoot on your own without reaching out for support.

If you have no prior knowledge of any programming languages, there is a wide range of problems you could run into, so having some help with the more advanced features is really valuable.

Feature set

A good mobile app dev tool should have a number of features, such as debugging tools, a drag-and-drop visual editor, a code editor, integrations with third-party apps, and a wide range of other features. More is not always better though, so search for something with a feature set that matches your needs.

Smooth performance

It’s not enough for an app to look good, it also needs to run smoothly on different devices and screen sizes. Look at some example apps built in your chosen app development software. How fast does it load? Does it work well on Android and iOS? Are there any bugs?

Community and support

Look online to find out if your chosen app has a community such as a forum, subreddit, Facebook group, or some other type of place where users and fans get together. It’s often the fastest way to troubleshoot problems by just searching for them.

The cost

Mobile app tools come with various pricing setups. You could have a one-time purchase, a recurring monthly payment or even grab a free version of an open-source tool. Bear in mind that the latter option usually requires more work and setup.

Encryption

Last but not least, the app should have various security protocols that protect you and your customers. Look for features like encryption, two-factor authentication, and secure cloud data storage.

The best mobile app development software to try in 2024

Here are some great tools that should fit just about anyone’s budget and skill set.

Android Studio

If you want to build an Android app, probably the best place to start is the official app development software by Google, called Android Studio. This is the official integrated development environment for Android and with a certain level of skills, you too can use it to build your own apps.

It integrates with Android SDK, giving you a large choice of tools, APIs, and libraries to include in your own app. There is a code editor with necessary features such as code completion, syntax highlighting, refactoring, and others.

Android Studio is open source and free and anyone can use it to build a mobile application - provided they have knowledge of some programming languages.

Bubble

Bubble is a mobile app development tool that hits a good balance between ease of use and a broad range of features for full-stack development of mobile apps. It allows you to build just about anything with a simple low-code platform.

Beware: Bubble requires a bit more work than your typical no-code or low-code app. You connect the front end that the users will see with the data behind it. 

The support you get from the community, the tutorials, and the videos will be enough to get you through to the first version of your app. And this is exactly what Bubble is known for building prototype versions of mobile apps so you can build the full thing from scratch later on.

The cheapest plan starts at $29 per month but you can grab a free plan to test out the environment first.

XCode

While Android Studio was built for, well, Android, XCode is Apple’s integrated development environment or IDE. If you ever wanted to test your skills at building an Apple app without even launching it, this mobile app development platform lets you do just that, entirely free.

It’s a low-code app that comes with some serious firepower, such as a code editor, a visual builder with customizable objects, source code editing and debugging and much more. It’s not very beginner friendly but there are plenty of materials online to help you if you get stuck.

The app is free to download and use but if you want to launch an app on the App Store, there is a subscription fee to pay annually.

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source framework built by Google for developing apps on Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, and Windows. Based on the programming language Dart, Flutter is the go-to framework for many developers because it allows them to easily build cross-platform projects on different operating systems.

Flutter apps are built on a single codebase, and thanks to the hot reload feature, you can see the changes in the code reflected in the app in real-time, which speeds up your app development process. It has a wide variety of customization features and the apps built on Flutter generally have great performance. 

On top of that, there is a strong community of Flutter devs you can ask questions to if you run into problems with any advanced functionalities.

Flutter is free to use but you will have to pay fees for putting your business apps on app stores.

Xamarin

Xamarin is a cross-platform development framework that was created by Microsoft. With this framework, you can build on multiple operating systems: iOS, Android, and Windows, all on top of C#.

Cross-platform app development is easy because you can reuse the code you wrote once across platforms, cutting down your development costs from the start. The apps perform really well, as they compile near-native code, making for a fast, smooth, and user-friendly interface.

Xamarin offers access to native APIs, which helps you build fully custom apps for different mobile operating systems. You can get help throughout the entire development process because there is a strong online community for Xamarin.

Xamarin is free and open-source so anyone can grab it and put in some development time.

Ionic

Ionic is a very popular mobile app development platform, for two reasons. One, it allows for cross-platform development for Android, iOS, and web apps. Two, it’s open-source and makes use of popular frameworks such as Javascript, HTML, and CSS.

For both iOS and Android development, it has a rich library of UI components and themes, making it easy to build a great user interface for any platform. It also integrates with Angular, a popular framework for building mobile apps, giving developers access to high-end custom development capabilities that are not commonly found in a mobile app development platform.

Ionic also allows you to build hybrid mobile apps with solid performance, but don’t expect them to perform on the level of a native mobile app.

The standard version of Ionic is free and open-source, while the enterprise version costs $4,199 per month.

NativeScript

NativeScript is an open-source framework for building apps with native device features across different platforms. It works for both iOS and Android and lets developers use Javascript, Typescript, Vue.js, and Angular.

When you build apps with NativeScript, you truly get native performance regardless of the mobile platform you’re developing for. The codebase can be reused across platforms, making it a good cross-platform framework, and it also helps with team collaboration if different teams are working on two platforms.

The use of standard web technology like Javascript makes it easy for developers to build native applications without prior knowledge of NativeScript. You can also rely on a rich set of libraries, plugins, third-party services, and UI components.

This framework is open-source and free to use.

Softr

If you’re an absolute beginner and want to start building an app in something that won’t make your head spin, Softr is the go-to mobile app development tool for the job. The visual drag-and-drop builder lets anyone with basic computer literacy turn their ideas into mobile apps.

There is a massive library of templates to start from, for apps such as CRMs, content calendars, customer success platforms, SaaS dashboards, and many others. Grab a template, populate it with your fields, and watch as the app comes to life in front of your eyes.

While the app lacks advanced logic features, you can do quite a lot with it, even without any development knowledge. There is a rich library of tutorials to go through, which we strongly suggest before starting, as it will save you quite some time in the first few hours.

Softr starts at $49 per month, but there is also a free version that you can use to build an app with 5 internal and 100 external users.

AppSheet

Appsheet is a no-code app development platform built by Google that allows you to build apps without writing a single line of code. The drag-and-drop interface and their visual studio make it easy to build apps from scratch, very quickly.

It comes packed with templates you can use to get your app off the ground within just a few hours. The built-in integration with Google Workspace means you can pull data easily from Sheets, Google Drive, Forms, and other Google apps.

It’s a cross-platform framework that works for both iOS and Android and it has constant updates from Google, ensuring that your critical business processes are never in danger.

There is a free plan for up to 10 business users, which is enough to test the basic editor. Paid plans start at $5 per month. 

AppyPie (Appy Pie)

AppyPie has been around for more than a decade, and it’s become one of the most popular AI-based no-code builders with support and builders in more than 10 languages. You can do cross-platform development of cloud apps on both Android and iOS and build prototypes of apps very quickly before moving into full development.

Besides the flexible visual building process, one thing that makes AppyPie stand out is the range of AI features. From building websites, to generating titles, quizzes, slogans, and blog posts, there is an AI feature for everything.

The basic plan starts at $16 per month, but it supports Android only. To be able to build both Apple and Android apps, the cost goes up to $60 per month.

Wrapping up

Choosing the right mobile app development software is both fun and a lot of work. There are many tools out there, offering similar features and pricing, requiring different levels of development proficiency. Hopefully, we helped you make a great choice today.

And if you already have a website that you want to turn into an app, you don’t need any software for that. Just use Mobiloud and turn your website into a mobile app in a few easy steps.

Book your free call today to learn more!