Head to head
AppMaster vs Bubble (2026)
Bubble takes the overall rating, but this pairing is decided on axes rather than totals: AppMaster leads 3 of the ten, Bubble leads 7.
AppMaster
No-code that compiles to Go, with the source itself sold as an Enterprise line item
3.4out of 5
The most unusual proposition in the index, and the one whose headline promise we got wrong. AppMaster does not interpret your project at runtime, it compiles it, and we used to recommend it on the strength of source you could download and walk away with. The vendor's own pricing FAQ says otherwise, verbatim: "Downloading source code available only for accounts with Enterprise Plan. Contact us to request Enterprise plan." Startup and Startup+ get database and file-storage export only. Business, from USD 955 a month, adds backend binaries and Docker images. Source is quote-only Enterprise. For every buyer below a custom contract, the thing we recommended it for does not exist, which is what 2.4 on code ownership now reflects. What survives is real: compiled Go services behind a 4.3 scalability mark, 4.3 on speed, and generated apps that come with documented REST APIs. Note which API we rate, though. The generated apps expose documented REST APIs; AppMaster itself publishes no API for driving the platform and no MCP server, and the API and MCP axis rates the platform, not its output, which is why it sits at 2.6. The interface is dense and dated, design output is plain, and the entry paid tier starts at USD 175 a month billed yearly, or USD 195 billed monthly, the highest entry price in the index.
- Price from
- from USD 175 / month, billed yearly
- Best for
- Teams on a Business or Enterprise contract who want compiled services they can run on their own infrastructure
- Ratings
- 3
Bubble
The old guard of no-code, still the deepest and still the most expensive to outgrow
3.5out of 5
Still the most capable platform here, still the hardest to leave. Bubble scores 4.5 on integrations because thirteen years of plugins and a large contractor market genuinely solve problems the AI-native tools cannot, and its native mobile story is better than we published: the vendor's own FAQ says "In Bubble, native mobile apps run on React Native", with store publishing, build submissions and unlimited over-the-air updates, so calling it a wrapper was inaccurate. The Data and Workflow APIs are real and useful. What does not exist is an MCP server: the vendor's March 2026 founder AMA says it is "on our radar, but not on the roadmap yet", the editor API is not open either, and every "Bubble MCP" you will find is a community project on forum.bubble.io. The other costs are unchanged: no code export at all, one of the weakest performance profiles in the index at 3.0 on speed, and workload pricing that surprises people in month three, though storage at least is published flatly at USD 3 per 100 GB a month. Choose it deliberately, with an exit you have accepted you do not have.
- Price from
- USD 59 / month, billed annually
- Best for
- Complex operational products where the plugin ecosystem and the contractor pool matter more than speed
- Ratings
- 42
What each one looks like
Axis by axis
The leader on each axis is set in bold. The weight column is what that axis contributes to the overall rating, so a win on reliability counts for more than five times a win on code ownership.
| Axis | Weight | AppMaster | Bubble | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16% | 4.0 | 4.2 | Bubble |
| Integrations | 16% | 3.6 | 4.5 | Bubble |
| SEO and GEO | 13% | 3.1 | 3.2 | Bubble |
| Design quality | 12% | 3.0 | 3.4 | Bubble |
| Agent performance | 10% | 2.9 | 3.1 | Bubble |
| Speed | 9% | 4.3 | 3.0 | AppMaster |
| Value | 9% | 2.4 | 2.8 | Bubble |
| Scalability | 7% | 4.3 | 3.6 | AppMaster |
| API and MCP access | 5% | 2.6 | 3.2 | Bubble |
| Code ownership | 3% | 2.4 | 2.2 | AppMaster |
| Overall, weighted | 100% | 3.4 | 3.5 | Bubble |
Axis definitions and the full weighting are on how we review. Both tools last verified 20 August 2026.
Where the capabilities differ
| Capability | AppMaster | Bubble |
|---|---|---|
| Full-stack backend | Yes, compiled Go | Yes |
| Database included | Yes, Postgres | Yes, own store |
| Auth included | Yes | Yes, with privacy rules |
| Code export | Enterprise only, Docker images from Business, data and file export on all paid tiers | No |
| GitHub sync | No, and the source download itself is Enterprise only | No |
| One-click deploy | Yes, or deploy binaries yourself | Yes |
| Custom domain | Yes | Yes, paid plans |
| Mobile or native output | Native iOS and Android builds | Native mobile apps run on React Native, with store publishing, build submissions and unlimited over-the-air updates |
| Team collaboration | Yes, paid plans | Yes, paid plans |
| Public API or MCP server | The apps it generates expose documented REST APIs. AppMaster itself publishes no API for driving the platform and no MCP server, and this axis rates the platform | Data and Workflow APIs, yes. No official MCP server, the editor API is not open, and every Bubble MCP in circulation is a community project |
| Self-hosting the output | Docker self-hosting starts at Business, below that there is nothing to self-host | No |
Shaded rows are the ones where the two differ.
What each one costs
AppMaster
A free subscription to experiment with your first project, then paid plans from USD 195 a month. Every published figure carries a from prefix, so treat all of them as floors.
Startup plan, billed yearly. Every AppMaster headline price carries a from prefix, so all four published figures are floors and not prices. From USD 195 billed monthly. Business is from USD 955 a month.
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Free | Free |
| Startup | USD 195 |
| Startup+ | USD 299 |
| Business | USD 955 |
| Enterprise | On request |
Bubble
Free plan for building and testing only: it cannot buy workload tiers or enable overages, so it hard-stops at 50K workload units. Paid plans from USD 69 a month plus workload charges.
Starter plan, billed annually. USD 69 billed monthly. Growth is USD 249 and Team USD 649 billed monthly.
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Free | Free |
| Starter | USD 69 |
| Growth | USD 249 |
| Team | USD 649 |
| Enterprise | On request |
| Agency | On request |
Prices are shown in the currency each vendor publishes, never converted. Sorting by price groups the currencies and orders within each one, so it is not an exact cross-currency comparison.
We list the plans we could verify on the vendor's own pricing page. Where a plan exists but its price was not published in a form we could capture, the row says so rather than carrying a number we cannot source.
Which one should you choose
Pick AppMaster if your project looks like teams on a business or enterprise contract who want compiled services they can run on their own infrastructure. Its strongest axes in this pairing are speed, scalability, code ownership. Avoid it for anyone below business who is buying it for the source code, and anyone with a small budget.
Pick Bubble if your project looks like complex operational products where the plugin ecosystem and the contractor pool matter more than speed. Its strongest axes here are reliability, integrations, seo and geo. Avoid it for anyone who needs to leave with the code, or who is judged on page speed.
And the dissenting notes, which we publish rather than average away: on AppMaster, One panellist argued that compiled binaries and Docker images from the Business tier are ownership enough for most buyers, and that scoring the platform down for gating the raw source overweights a scenario few teams ever exercise. On Bubble, The testing lead wanted a lower reliability mark after two workload throttles during our runs. The rest of the panel held at 4.2, on the grounds that throttling under load is a pricing failure rather than a reliability failure.
Frequently asked
- Is AppMaster better than Bubble?
- On our weighted overall rating, Bubble scores higher: 3.4 for AppMaster against 3.5 for Bubble. Axis by axis it is closer than that sounds. AppMaster leads 3 of the 10 axes that apply to both, Bubble leads 7, and 0 are tied. The right choice depends on which axes you weight, not on which total is larger.
- Which is cheaper, AppMaster or Bubble?
- AppMaster starts at from USD 175 / month, billed yearly and Bubble starts at USD 59 / month, billed annually. Each figure is the vendor's own published price and currency, not converted, so compare the pricing models rather than the two numbers: AppMaster bills as a free subscription to experiment with your first project, then paid plans from usd 195 a month. every published figure carries a from prefix, so treat all of them as floors. and Bubble bills as free plan for building and testing only: it cannot buy workload tiers or enable overages, so it hard-stops at 50k workload units. paid plans from usd 69 a month plus workload charges..
- Can I move a project from AppMaster to Bubble?
- Only as far as code export allows. On the code ownership axis AppMaster scores 2.4 and Bubble scores 2.2 out of five, which reflects how much of the running application you can take with you and whether it still works once moved.
- Which one is better for search visibility?
- On the SEO and GEO axis, which we weight at 13 percent, AppMaster scores 3.1 and Bubble scores 3.2. That axis covers server rendered content, per route titles and canonicals, and whether the output is legible without JavaScript.