In this article, we'll give you a brief overview of Plobal Apps, how it works, and the pros and cons. We'll compare it to 5 different Plobal Apps 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 Plobal Apps?
Plobal is another Shopify focused app builder with a range of integrations and features. Users drag and drop a series of blocks and widgets to design their apps, then connect them with their Shopify store through APIs.
Now let's take a look at Plobal Apps's pricing.
Plobal Apps Pricing
Plobal Apps has 3 pricing plans:
- Growth: $199/mo
- Essential: $499/mo
- Enterprise: $1,199/mo
The Growth plan is the basic plan with unlimited push notifications, new user welcome notifications, and abandoned cart campaigns. It also includes 4 standard integrations with features such as deep linking, user opt-in screen, multi-currency, and multi-language support. The Essential plan is an upgrade offering advanced analytics, 7 standard integrations, and a shared success manager on top of some extra features. If you need unlimited advanced integrations, 24/7 priority support, monthly app performance reviews, and Bi-weekly sales and retention planning session - you'll need to be on the Enterprise plan.
Plobal Apps Pros & Cons
Plobal Apps is well reviewed and has a good suite of integrations.
However as a drag and drop, block-based app builder it has its limitations. The key problem is that you won't be able to reuse the plugins, themes, and features of your web store. At best, you'll be able to approximate some of them through Plobal's pre-built integrations. If you have a more complex and unique web store, you need a more advanced site-to-app converter like MobiLoud which lets you completely reuse everything from your main site in the apps.
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 Plobal Apps alternatives, starting with our own site-to-app platform, MobiLoud.
Plobal Apps 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 Plobal Apps.
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 Plobal Apps 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 Plobal Apps is clear.
Compared to Plobal Apps, MobiLoud gives you practically unlimited flexibility. We allow you to reuse everything from your store without compromising for a limited range of pre-built integrations. MobiLoud is also lower cost than Plobal apps, for much more value.
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Now we've blown our own trumpet, here are a few other Plobal Apps alternatives that you're likely to see around the web.
Plobal Apps Alternative #2: Apptile
Apptile is an app builder platform that employs "tiles" or blocks, allowing users to craft eCommerce apps for iOS and Android through a drag-and-drop interface. Apptile receives generally positive reviews and offers a comprehensive suite of integrations and features. However, as a block-based editor, it's challenging to create anything beyond a basic, "cookie cutter" app that doesn't fully encapsulate the richness of your web store. Apptile provides about 15 integrations for Shopify, covering some of the most popular ones. However, with Shopify hosting thousands of plugins and tools, you'll be unable to utilize the vast majority.
Apptile Pricing
Apptile provides three plans:
- Core - basic features - free with a 5% success fee
- Plus - enhanced features - $600/mo
- Enterprise - premium features - $1200/mo
The more costly plans remove success fees and add advanced benefits.
Plobal Apps Alternative #3: Mowico
Mowico is another platform designed to help eCommerce brands build their own apps without any coding knowledge. It works smoothly with Shopify and WooCommerce, and soon it will also support PrestaShop, BigCommerce, and Wix. This platform provides easy integration with features like Smile, Langify, and Judge.me, and includes pre-set options like push notifications and AR shopping. However, it's essential to remember that Mowico also has its limitations. While it can create a basic eCommerce app with your products and logo, it won't be able to fully replicate the advanced features, design, and plugins of your web store. When they mention "integration" with Shopify, it means they can access some data from your store, but you'll still be constrained by their pre-built integrations, which won't give you anywhere near the flexibility on offer with the web or MobiLoud.
Mowico Pricing
Mowico has three plans for each eCommerce platform. For Shopify, they have:
- Startup - basic features - $79/mo
- Growth - everything from Startup plus enhanced features - $399/mo
- Enterprise - premium features, custom feature integrations, and tailor-made development - custom
The pricing may vary for each eCommerce platform but keep in mind that, the more costly the plan is, the greater benefits you get.
Plobal Apps Alternative #4: Tapcart
Tapcart serves as a mobile app builder for Shopify, allowing businesses to develop their apps without requiring any coding knowledge. It is well-regarded among small and medium-sized eCommerce businesses.
Tapcart Pricing
Tapcart has three plans:
- Core - 15 blocks, basic features, and basic integrations - $200/mo
- Ultimate - unlimited blocks, advanced features, and integrations - $400/mo
- Enterprise - unlimited custom blocks, dedicated customer success manager, and premium integrations - $1K/mo
The more costly the plan is, the better app features and benefits you get.
Plobal Apps Alternative #5: Vajro
Vajro is a cost-effective app builder with a focus on Shopify, ideal for smaller eCommerce businesses. Their platform relies on templates and drag-and-drop widgets to create branded apps integrated with Shopify using API. Yet, users will encounter restrictions in accurately recreating their web stores, even on higher-tier plans.
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.
Let's Build Your eCommerce Apps
We've looked at a few Plobal Apps 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 Plobal Apps 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 Plobal Apps 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 Plobal Apps, 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.
