Businesses know the importance of being as close and accessible to their customers as possible. And what do most people these days carry around with them pretty much at all times? That’s right, smartphones. Apps are therefore valuable mediums, making app development software crucial tools to make your services available anytime and anywhere.
Mobile app platforms come in different formats, from drag-and-drop methods, non-coding approaches to metadata-driven and plugin options. Moreover, you want your app to adapt to the two major operating systems iOS and Android, also leaving room for cross-platform app development.
In a sea of a diversity of mobile app development platforms, you want to understand all its layers to make an informed decision of which software to use to get the most valuable results out of it.
In this guide we will present to you the various features of these tools and what to consider and look for when choosing from our carefully selected list of the top app development software out there.
What is an app development software?
Ranging from a variety of development capabilities, mobile app development platforms are a helpful tool to establish a more efficient app building and user interface (UI) design process for developers and programmers.
These software app platforms provide different features for front and back-end development as well as for security, data storage and monitoring layers, using low-coding approaches and an app building system that is user-friendly and far less complicated than if one were to take on the entire development process upon themselves.
An app development software is typically a set of multiple application functions that users can implement to build menus, lists, QR codes, various site sections, chat options, email and mobile marketing tools, including social media tools and more advanced features that can vamp up your app instantly.
Additional app building platform functionalities
When selecting your trusted app development software platform, app builders offer native and cross-platform application solutions. With innovative technological solutions spreading across major operating systems like iOS, Android and Windows, app development tools build qualitative apps, ensuring that your target users have access to your bespoke products and services.
Why do I need app development platforms?
With today’s world relying primarily on the wireless internet and digitized platforms, with smartphones, laptops and tablets being the go-to devices for the vast majority, applications provide great opportunities to reach your target audience effectively.
In this growing digital age, there are over 6.5 billion smartphone global users, which explains why the mobile app industry is expanding at a rapid rate. And this is no surprise, as you have surely noticed how attached people are to their phones these days.
But this is not too unusual, as many of us use our phones for work, leisure and for other daily chores. So apps are being used on a wider scale, with smartphone and app usage to grow even more in the near future. According to Statista, revenue in mobile apps is expected to increase by $613 billion by 2025.
As a specialized programmer and developer, you surely have several responsibilities and tasks on your agenda, and developing the app can be a tedious process and a challenging one too with too much already on your plate.
Partnering with one of the top app development platforms can therefore definitely make things easier, with the assistance of advanced tools and technologies to only get the best results from your newly created app, with easy and direct access to your services.
How do I select the best app development software?
When selecting the right mobile app development platform for your business, programmers and developers need to consider many factors that depend not only on the type of application they are looking to build but also the unique features of the business overall.
Overall, the best platform for app development will allow you to efficiently write, build, deploy as well as test, improve and maintain apps throughout its lifecycle. Productive middleware and back-end services are therefore vital to deliver a well-oiled machine that will only widen your presence in the app world.
When looking at individual app development software platform services, you want to choose an app builder that suits your individual requirements. Here are some features that you may want to consider when selecting software apps:
Low-code & code-focused developer tools
Low-code or codeless app development platforms typically use the drag-and-drop approach so that programmers and developers can easily integrate creative functionalities within a far less complicated and time-consuming software system.
This type of tool also enables you to implement metadata and model-driven as well as several other non-coding options, leaving room for more diversity and creativity when developing various app templates to match your users’ needs.
On the other hand, code-centric app development software provides a more in-depth overview of the structure and design of your app without having to make changes to the code. When the code is integrated into the software, you can track any changes and updates you make as you go.
Monitoring & data analytics
Monitoring and keeping track of your app’s performance is essential for really any business. So you want to make sure that you have effective app development platforms in place that specialize in analytics who will report back to you about this kind of data.
Back-end services
It would put a great amount of weight off your business’ shoulders when you use software applications that provide core back-end services as well for a much more cost-efficient and smoother app building process.
Back-end services include helpful functions like user management, push notifications, offline synchronization, sufficient data storage as well as optimal integration, API design and orchestration.
DevOps support
Another cost-efficient and productive service you want to look for when selecting the best app development software is DevOps support. They help accelerate the app development process, ensuring the qualitative results, by facilitating automation process and releasing management, and therefore decreasing the workload.
Security
Security when using mobile applications is vital for enterprise customers. Therefore, you want to choose a mobile application software that effectively tackles and eliminates security vulnerabilities.
Compatibility
iOS vs Android
Last but not least, compatibility is a feature you want to prioritize with an application development platform. As discussed earlier, iOS and Android are the two main platforms in today’s mobile app market. Your program needs to be compatible, and therefore created on a platform that supports these two operating systems.
Optimally, you may want to opt for cross-platform development software, allowing users on more than one platform to have access to your products and services.
But let’s take a closer look at iOS and Android app builders, as they are the two most popular platforms, and you may want to be up to speed with the first and foremost.
iOS development tools
Apart from Swift and Objective-C being the main two coding languages for iOS applications, there are a wide variety of tutorials for the xCode IDE, editors, libraries, plugins and other resources that are vast and of excellent quality.
We have covered the tools and platforms in more detail in our iOS App Development Tools List.
Android development tools
While iOS seems to make a bigger statement, Android has been taking over the app market at a steady rate as well. Developers usually stick to Java and HTML5 when building Android applications, but can also benefit from a wide range of language resources, plugins and IDEs.
You can find a more in-depth run-through of these tools and plugins in our Android Development Tools List.
Which software is best for app development?
Developers within the cross-platform mobile development field, looking for the best tools and resources, and not just the IDEs and Editors but also top language and tutorials, can take advantage of the list of some of the top app development software below.
Find iOS and Android app builders, app makers, game engines, and other app development software and tools that provide a set of templates users can build upon with their own content.
Of course, it’s not always feasible to build a really complicated mobile app with all of the features using a single app builder. So you can develop several apps using a software application that has all of the features you need at hand to get the best value for your app.
List of app development software, tools and app builders
Alpha Software is a low-code app development environment designed specifically with enterprise solutions in mind, and with the capability of producing applications which work across a number of platforms, both on and offline. The platform covers all stages of development: front-end and back-end integration, prototyping and deployment.
Alpha Software has both a drag-and-drop interface and a coding panel should you wish to use it for designing UX and UI of your app. The list of features it can support includes geolocation, charting and reporting, data streaming and task scheduling, and also features its own database engine (though it can be fully integrated with SQL, REST APIs and web services)
- Specifically designed for enteprise-level mobility solutions
- Three different price plans, both including unlimited email support
- Free trial of offline capabilities available
- Simple licensing
- Full deployment capabilities
- Advanced offline features
- Integration with any system via sophisticated API
- Mobile forms software solution for field teams to collect data via mobile
Android Studio is Google’s proprietary integrated development environment for Android, launched in 2013 and available for free. It features a “What you see is what you get” layout as well as a drag-and-drop UI creator and a raft of tools and SDKs for testing, debugging and integrating with other SDKs.
Android Studio now allows you to build multiple projects from the same codebase with different APKs (Android application packages), giving you the freedom to create variants quickly and efficiently. It is the original tool to develop applications launching on Android platforms.
- Available for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux
- Completely free
- Supports Android Wear development
- APK Analyzer, Fast Emulator,
- Intelligent code editor
- Flexible build system
- Realtime profilers
| Employees | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-50 |
App Center is an app development platform for Android, iOS and Windowsphone which allows you to develop and distribute beta versions, monitor crashes, recruit testers and analyze app performance before launch. Launched in 2011, it was bought by Microsoft in December 2014, proving the sophistication and power of the platform.
The App Center pricing plans comes in five different tiers, with the lowest one starting at $10 per month and allowing you to publish up to 15 apps (and gives use of the software to three different owners). The highest pricing plan allows for 500 apps and 100 users, and for anything more a bespoke model can be negotiated.
- Also compatible with Unity and Xamarin
- 1 month free trial available
- Pay-as-you go service means you’re never tied in to a contract
Learn more about App Center
Appery.io is the first mobile platform that offers a cloud-based rapid enterprise mobile app development environment with integrated backend services and a rich catalog of API plug-ins that dramatically simplify integration with cloud services and enterprise systems. It combines the simplicity of visual development with the power of JavaScript to create cross-platform enterprise apps rapidly. Because the platform is 100% cloud-based, you can focus on creating great applications, while we worry about maintaining the platform.
- 500,000+ registered users
- 10+ years on the market
- 10,000 + published apps
- Cross-platform
- Collaboration tools to build apps by a team
AppInstitute is a UK-based app developer which also offers the tools to build your own mobile applications and become a white-label reseller. With four years of experience, they’ve developed custom apps for international consultants, comic books and localised cab services among others, and offer a wide range of features like augmented reality, media manipulation, push notifications and social networking for their custom-made applications.
AppInstitute’s builder, on the other hand, works with a content management system and a drag-and-drop interface, where developers can choose premade “Small Business App Modules”. These cover a variety of functions such as in-app food ordering, eCommerce markets, geolocation services, image galleries among many more, and the base price plan for the business builder includes Android store submission and app analytics.
- Business apps price plans begin at £5 per month, up to £30/month for professional version
- White Label App Builder requires no coding knowledge, starts at £25/month
- Over 8000 customers using business app builder, reaching ten countries in four continents
- App building process has only 4 steps – template picking, app branding, content editing and publishing.
AppsGeyser is a web platform that allows converting any web content into an Android App in 2 easy steps. It is a Android-only codeless application development platform that lets users create template-based mobile apps based on content pulled from webpages. The AppsGeyser tool is easy to use and bundles social sharing, tabs, messaging and full support for HTML5 enhancements.
On top of the free plan, it offers 3 paid plans – Master ($10 / month to remove ads and get a number of extra features, including premium support), Business ($10 / month for the same features as the Master plan minus support) and Individual plan ($5 / month for the Master plan set of features).
- The platform can pull content from webpages, YouTube channels, RSS feeds and other sources
- Create an app in 3 simple steps and you’ll be ready to monetize it in no time
- Choose your own themes and templates from a wide selection
- On average 7,000+ apps being created with AppsGeyser daily
- To date 6,000000+ apps were created with the platform in total
Appsmakerstore is an award-winning app building platform which will build a free, native application for iOS, Android, Facebook or in HTML5. The platform comes with over 100 ready-made templates divided by industry and purpose, including food and beverages, beauty, event management, healthcare, hospitality and many more. The technologies its apps support go from geolocation to workflow management, livestreaming to QR codes.
Appsmakerstore was founded in 2009 in London and currently comes in three pricing plans: they can either build your app for you, you can pay a monthly subscription to build and maintain the app yourself, or pay a higher subscription and become a whitelabel reseller of applications, with the first 35 being free.
- All pricing plans include infinite updates and changes to published apps
- More than 500,000 app and usersign ups worldwide
- Best Global DIY App Developer Software 2015 according to Clutch.co
Appy Pie is a mobile app-development software platform with the aim of minimizing the amount of coding you have to do yourself. The software is entirely cloud based and requires no installation. The Appy Pie team is on a mission to democratize mobile app development process and let small companies access quality app development building tools cheaper than hiring an outside app development team would require.
Its basic service is free, but will only produce games and apps compatible with HTML 5. The paid versions of the program will add iOS and Android support, remove Appy Pie branding from your application and include other features such as push notifications, real-time updates, and analytics, depending on the price plan.
- Drag-and-drop interface means no coding skills required.
- Four different price plans to only pay for the support you want.
- Paid version always provides customer support and one-time free submission.
- The entire app building process takes only 3 steps.
BuildFire is an easy-to-use way of creating mobile applications used by over 30,000 businesses thanks to its code-less approach to making an app. With its “click-and-edit” platform, a mobile app can be created in little time but still be feature-rich by including social network integration, loyalty programs, mobile shopping and e-commerce features. Its basic program, which will give you a HTML5 application, is free for up to 200 web app installs.
BuildFire also offers its trademarked SMART Push and Selective Push notification systems, with a 90% read-rate through your application insuring that your campaigns or contents are noticed by your users. It also syncs your application across platforms with content from your website, creates subscription channels and supports live content such as video and audio streaming.
- High profile customers include Huffington Post, CNN and Business News
- 3-tier price plan gives access to native apps with unlimited downloads
- Allows for back-end coding as well as click-and-edit interface
Fliplet is an enterprise-focused app making solution designed to make mobile applications for your business without any knowledge of coding or programming. Once your app is designed with a simple click-and-edit browser interface and using a number of ready-made templates, it can be shared internally in your company or via the Fliplet Viewer application.
Fliplet’s pre-coded features are built around the needs of a company, and include sales and marketing features such as client proposals and project overviews, as well as suites of features for event organizing, project management, promotion and others. Apps can also link to external PDFs or websites and can always be customised to make navigation and use as easy as possible.
- Free plan to build an app for a small number of users
- Team plan (from 65 euro per month and up)
- Enterprise plan (from 1,300 euro per month and up)
- Manage privacy and access settings, deciding which employees can access which app
- Audio and video streaming supported, as well as visualization of charts and graphs
- Return to Office app built in collaboration with 25 customers that businesses to return to the office after COVID-19 lockdown.
