In this article, we'll give you a brief overview of instappy, how it works, and the pros and cons. We'll compare it to 5 different instappy alternatives including our own platform, MobiLoud, which we believe is the ideal choice for serious businesses to convert web stores to professional eCommerce apps.
What is instappy?
instappy is a cloud-based app builder platform that allows users to create customized mobile apps for Android and iOS. With its drag-and-drop interface, users can design and customize their app without any coding. The platform offers several customization options and user-friendly features.
Now let's take a look at instappy's pricing.
instappy Pricing
Instappy has 3 pricing plans:
- Gold: $49/mo
- Platinum: $130/mo
- Reseller: starts at $500/year
The Gold plan includes native apps with core features, unlimited push notifications, unlimited customizations, utilities, marketing tools, and social media APIs included. The Platinum plan is a great upgrade as it not only includes all features in the Gold plan but also has additional advanced features and seamless integrations. For those who want to build apps for their clients, there's a Reseller plan with exclusive features, discounts, and training support.
instappy Pros & Cons
instappy is an OK option to build a basic app with drag-and-drop components. It also has several pre-built eCommerce themes for restaurants, travel, fashion apps and more.
If you only want a simple app as a standalone channel, instappy could be OK. But for serious eCommerce brands instappy will not be a good solution. For a start, it won't sync with your existing site and product category. You have to add products to the apps themselves manually, it'll be completely separate from your site and cannot connect to Shopify or any other eCommerce CMS. This is obviously no good if you already have an optimized store built out for the web. Not only is it a duplication of effort and an overcomplication - but the apps will be low quality and inflexible compared to your actual store since you'll be limited by their templates.
Now we've had an overview of the tool, its pricing, and its pros and cons. It's time to move on and start looking at some instappy alternatives, starting with our own site-to-app platform, MobiLoud.
instappy Alternative #1: MobiLoud
MobiLoud powers thousands of top apps, and allows you to convert your site into native eCommerce apps in just days, for a fraction of the cost of custom development.
Our eCommerce app platform integrates with any CMS - whether it's Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, or any other - and let you reuse every plugin, feature and functionality from your main web store.
MobiLoud is the best way to convert your web store into native eCommerce apps for iOS and Android, as well as the best alternative to instappy.
There are several key reasons why:
- No templates, no blocks, no APIs - we don't restrict you to our pre-built front-ends, we allow you to convert your web store completely, and to reuse all your existing plugins, themes, and tech stack.
- Keep what works - you already built your ideal site for the web, tweaking it endlessly for conversions and sales. With MobiLoud you can translate that directly into m-commerce native apps, without needing to reinvent the wheel. You already did the hard part, we handle the rest!
- Easy Management - many app builder platforms like instappy gives you an extra CMS to manage, adding work for you and your team. Since MobiLoud apps sync with your web store in real time, this work is eliminated, you just need to keep managing and updating your store as usual, and if you want to change something specifically for the apps, use our easy no-code UI.
- Done for you - there's no need for you to fiddle, drag-and-drop, or waste time trying to set the apps up. You just need to tell us any special requirements, add some key information, and our team handle all technical aspects of the app build including submissions to Google Play and the AppStore.
MobiLoud Pricing
We have two standard pricing tiers:
- Startup - For fast launching and validation: $170/month
- Growth - Perfect for more established businesses: $382/month
We also have custom, corporate plan for more demanding projects. Read more about our pricing here.
The difference between MobiLoud and instappy is clear.
MobiLoud is far more powerful and easy to use than instappy. Our platform allows you to reuse everything from the web in your apps, going way beyond the restrictions of pre-built blocks. There's also no manual fiddling to add products or manage another CMS. With MobiLoud, you only need to make changes to the web and the apps will sync automatically.
Want to skip the rest and get your questions answered by one of our team?
Book a demo!
Now we've blown our own trumpet, here are a few other instappy alternatives that you're likely to see around the web.
instappy Alternative #2: Plobal Apps
Plobal is an additional app builder that focuses on Shopify. It uses a drag-and-drop interface and offers a number of integrations, but it does have drawbacks. Mainly, you can't reuse your web store's themes, plugins, and features. You're limited to Plobal's pre-built integrations, and if what you need isn't available, you're out of luck.
Plobal Apps Pricing
Plobal Apps has three plans:
- Growth - basic features with 4 standard integrations - $199/mo
- Essential - enhanced features with 7 standard integrations - $499/mo
- Enterprise - premium features and unlimited advanced integrations - starts at $1199/mo
The more costly the plan is, the more customizability and benefits you get.
instappy Alternative #3: Vajro
Vajro is a cost-effective app builder focused on Shopify, and could be a decent option for small eCommerce businesses. They use templates and drag-and-drop widgets to create branded apps integrated with Shopify using API. Unfortunately - the heavy reliance on templates and APIs will act like a straightjacket for your brand - limiting you and preventing you from recreating the functionality of your main web store.
Vajro Pricing
Vajro has four plans:
- Starter - basic features and integrations - $99/mo
- Core - advanced features and integrations - $249/mo
- Premium - premium features and integrations - $499/mo
- Plus - premium features, integrations, and priority support - $999/mo
The more costly the plan is, the better app functionalities and benefits you get.
instappy Alternative #4: Shopney
As a simple, drag-and-drop app builder, Shopney is known for robust features, themes, and integrations with Shopify. It's a decent choice if a basic app mirroring your site's product catalogue is what you're looking for. However, its template-based nature restricts it from fully converting your site into iOS and Android apps or fully utilizing your existing plugins, themes, and features. This will prove restrictive for businesses with complex and unique models, as it compels your store to align with their set template.
Shopney Pricing
Shopney has four plans:
- Silver - basic features with flexible design - $99/mo
- Gold - basic features with flexible design with 20 elements - $199/mo
- Platinum - advanced features and unlimited design elements - $499/mo
- Enterprise - premium features and functionalities and a dedicated success manager - starting from $999/mo
instappy Alternative #5: appmaker.xyz
Appmaker.xyz is a capable eCommerce app builder, specializing in serving Shopify and WooCommerce businesses, and offering a broad range of plugins and third-party integrations. Despite these strengths, you might find it somewhat expensive, and its reliance on blocks, templates, and widgets could potentially limit your creativity. Bear in mind that while some customization is possible, it can't fully replicate your web store due to its use of prebuilt front ends and standardized APIs.
appmaker.xyz Pricing
Appmaker.xyz has two plans:
- Pro - custom integrations, app launch assistance, and enterprise support - $1K/mo
- Plus - everything in the Pro plan and additional premium blocks, dedicated customer success manager, and priority support - $2K/mo +1% success fee
The more costly the plan is, the better app features and benefits you get.
Let's Build Your eCommerce Apps
We've looked at a few instappy alternatives, and given you some key information about each.
As we've seen, many of these tools share the same fatal flaws. On the one hand - their reliance on blocks, themes, templates, and pre-built widgets does allow you to build and launch (some kind of) eCommerce app fast, affordably and easily compared to custom development. On the other, this same reliance puts you and your brand in a straightjacket.
It means that you will only ever approximate your web store, and you'll be forever at the mercy of whatever pre-built features they have as well as whatever data they can fetch via API (which can change). The apps will be a branded shell with some of your data pulled in and not much more.
While this is OK for simple stores is basic and small product ranges and features, this will almost always be a deal breaker for serious eCommerce brands. You probably have a finely-tuned tech stack, along with all the plugins, third-party integrations, and custom features you need to drive sales and revenue optimally. To discard all this hard work for cookie-cutter apps with your logo on will rarely make strategic sense.
That's why, although we're biased of course, we believe MobiLoud is not only the best instappy alternative but a superior alternative to every eCommerce mobile app builder on the market.
The first key reason: we allow you to reuse everything from your site in the apps.
If it already works well on the mobile web, it'll be even better as iOS and Android apps. It makes no sense to ditch that winning formula and those painstakingly chosen tools just to compromise with restrictive templates. That's too much of downgrade from what you've already built, and with MobiLoud - unnecessary. Keep what already works.
The second core reason: it's so simple to manage MobiLoud apps.
Platforms like instappy will often add hours per week to your workflow with effectively a new CMS to manage. In contrast - MobiLoud apps sync in real time with your site. There's no need to manually add new product lines, update pricing, or worry about keeping the apps up to date. The apps will reflect changes and updates to your site instantly.
This goes for any core changes you make to your site too. You can switch out plugins, pull off a major rebrand, or build whatever custom functionality you choose. It doesn't matter what it is - it'll work straight out of the box in the apps, which can grow with your brand into the future.
On top of this, our team handle any ongoing updates and maintenance needed as part of our service, along with all fiddly aspects of the app build and bringing them live to Google Play and the AppStore. We work with you to ensure your apps are a success, and we're only ever an email or phone call away.
MobiLoud allows you to combine the best of the web with the best of native apps. It's a winning formula, check out the success these eCommerce brands have had:
Over 1000 other businesses have used MobiLoud to build winning apps - and you can too.
Unlike with instappy, there's no risk. We don't do long-term contracts and we'll refund you if you're unhappy with the apps. If you're like most of our eCommerce customers - the apps will pay for themselves almost immediately.
It all starts with a call with one of our app experts, where we go over your exact requirements for the apps and answer your questions.
