Best App Development Software: Which One to Choose in 2021?
Mobile apps are extremely popular as they help to:
- improve the company’s image;
- increase brand awareness;
- attract new audience;
- never interrupt communication with potential and regular customers;
- boost sales.
In 2020, the number of available mobile apps in the world has reached 8,9 million. And it keeps on increasing. Approximately 100 thousand new ones are uploaded to storages each month.
For fast and effective development, specialized instruments are used. What are they and what is the best software for app development? Keep reading and get to know!
What Is Best Mobile App Development Software?
An ideal option is:
- Fast.
- Easy (the fewer technologies the one needs to know the better).
- Productive.
- Suitable for all mobile OSs.
Best Free Mobile App Development Software
Developers often use open-source tools for faster and more effective mobile product creation. However, they are suitable only for professionals. These tools are not intended for the users with no experience in development as they require technical knowledge.
The most popular with modern professionals are:
- PhoneGap;
- Flutter;
- Ionic;
- Xamarin.
More details about them, their advantages and disadvantages you will find below.
PhoneGap
This solution by Adobe has been helping to build applications faster and easier since 2008. It is compatible with all mobile OSs. It compiles a final version of the product as the installation packages for the selected OSs.
It is very simple work with this instrument. It allows building effective solutions even to junior coders. For productive work, a specialist does not need to master native programming languages like Java and Objective-C. The basic and easy technology stack of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript is enough. So, any web developer or even a junior programmer can handle building a product with PhoneGap.
Flutter
Meet another one of the best open-source mobile app development software! This is a fast and effective instrument for creating Android and iOS solutions released by Google in 2017. It uses neither native nor web technologies. It works with the Dart programming language that ensures fast operation.
The most crucial characteristic of Flutter is the possibility to design an advanced interface easily and quickly. For this, a professional can use either the Foundation library or the Flutter widgets. There are two sets of them: Cupertino for iOS and Material Design for Android.
Ionic
This is one of the best web app development software. It is based on elements written in CSS and JavaScript on top of Angular, SASS, and Apache Cordova. It was released in 2015 by an American company, Drifty Co. It was developed specifically for hybrid products creation. And this software keeps on gaining popularity nowadays.
This is a wonderful variant for developing a release-ready product quickly. It is much faster than using native languages to code an app without the help of any additional instruments.
One more crucial strong point of this tool is that a developer can use the easy to learn and extremely popular stack of web development technologies. All that is required to know is HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Angular. There is no need to master Java, Swift, or Objective-C. Therefore, a coder does not need to have a very high level of qualification and many years of experience. Even a junior is capable of creating a good product that meets client’s requirements with the help of this tool.
Xamarin
This is a tool released in 2013 by Microsoft. It has already gained more than a million adherents. The main peculiarity of this instrument is that it uses only C# and .NET for the projects for all mobile platforms.
It allows building native assemblies for target platforms and making high-performance applications for iOS and Android with a natural look. There are two forms of this platform: Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android. The first one compiles the source code directly into native ARM assembly (AOT compilation), while the second one first compiles it into an intermediate language and then into a native one at runtime (JIT compilation).
What is the best app development software: advantages and disadvantages of each one
| Strong Points | Shortcomings | |
| PhoneGap | The knowledge of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS is absolutely enough. A developer does not have to know more difficult technologies like Java or Objective-C. | Productivity is rather low. |
| There are IDEs (Adobe Dreamweaver, ApplicationCraft, Tiggzi, and MyEclipse 2013) that make the work faster. | The apps look not as natural for mobile users as native ones do. | |
| The possibility of using any JavaScript library. | The quality of the user interface depends on the presentation of the web in the particular OS. | |
| Flutter | High operation speed. | A specialist has to learn Dart. |
| It renders the entire interface on its own. | ||
| It has the hot-reload feature that allows editing the original code in a functioning product without the need to restart it. | ||
| Ionic | High development speed. | Difficulties in debugging. Error messages are sometimes uninformative. Therefore, it may be hard to understand the cause of an error. |
| Knowledge of native programming languages is not necessary. All that is needed to master is HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Angular. | The build may crash for no reason if something is damaged in the original folder. The way to solve this problem is to make frequent commits and use branches for every new feature or page. If something breaks, just make a clone of the repository in a new folder, run npm install and try to assemble a project again. | |
| A wide choice of components for easy interface designing. | ||
| Xamarin | The only technology stack for all kinds of mobile platforms. | Knowledge of C# is required. |
| High performance of ready-made solutions. | Large size of projects. Thus, a product usually needs additional optimization for it not to be too large. | |
| The possibility to design a native interface. |
Comparison of Best App Development Platforms
There are several solutions for those who have no technical knowledge. These are online platforms for the quick constructing of beautiful and effective apps. They are not free, but they are worthy of their price as they let anyone regardless of their education realize their ideas.
The best tools of this kind are:
- Buildfire;
- Zoho Creator;
- iBuildApp.
Buildfire
Creating mobile solutions for business needs without any technical skills is possible! Moreover, it is very easy and quick if you use this platform. There is a wide selection of widgets (components of the interface). You can combine them in any way you need. Additionally, there is the feature that makes the process of development more convenient to control. This is the option that lets you preview the project on your device without the need to install it on a mobile OS. So, you can manage every step of the application building and add improvements at any stage of it.
Appy Pie
This New York startup was founded in 2011 and has become a leader among competitors. The service is created especially for the user without a technical background. It works online. Therefore, you do not need to download it on your PC and install it. Just get registered and start working! You can easily combine the needed features and interface components with the drag and drop feature. It can take you even less than half an hour to create an easy and small project!
iBuildApp
It enables business organizations to develop and manage mobile apps. IBuildApp is ideal for eCommerce mobile solutions. It offers a wide range of features for this industry. Any user can develop, modify and manage applications through this online system. No programming skills are needed for this.
Comparison of the best software for app development without coding
| A platform | Advantages | Disadvantages | Price |
| Buildfire | Intuitive interface. | High price. | Starts at $159 per month. |
| A big choice of instruments. | |||
| The preview feature. | |||
| A large number of tutorials on the official website | |||
| Appy Pie | A very user-friendly interface. | Some icons and templates are not very well thought out. That can reduce the quality of the ready-made application. | $18 per month for the basic tariff plan. |
| Lots of interesting features for specific niches. | |||
| Good integrability. | |||
| iBuildApp | A big choice of features. | Not very beautiful templates. | Starts at $19.99 monthly. |
Best Software for Mobile App Development by JoinSoft
Our company’s specialists can use all modern frameworks and systems for building professional mobile solutions. Additionally, cooperating with us, you get:
- Strict meeting deadlines.
- Individual approach.
- NDA compliance.
- Affordable prices.
- Post go-live support.
Final Thoughts About Best Phone App Development Software
If you are a professional, you can choose one of the open-source tools that requires a technology stack you are good at. If you are a master of web development and have JavaScript, CSS, and HTML skills, then PhoneGap or Ionic are perfect for you. If you have at least basic knowledge of C#, you can try Xamarin. And if you do not mind learning a new technology, pay your attention to Flutter, which uses Dart.
If you do not have a technical background then online constructors can help you to realize your ideas. Of course, the products made with the help of them will be less professional. But the plus is that you do not need to learn any technologies to make your first project.
JoinSoft can help you to develop a mobile application for your business. Contact us if you do not want to spend much effort and time by yourself but are eager to get a professional solution.
