Adalo
No-code native app builder where the AI is free but publishing is not
About
Adalo is a no-code platform for building real native mobile apps and web apps, with a managed PostgreSQL database included and no separate backend required. Its AI assistant, Ada, builds and edits apps from natural-language prompts and is included on every plan — including the free one — with an explicit promise of no token charges, no workload units and no usage-based surprises, which is a direct contrast to Bubble's workload-unit model. The catch is publishing. The free plan lets you build unlimited test apps with unlimited screens and 500 records per app, but you can publish zero apps, so it is a prototyping tier rather than a product tier. Starter is $36 per month billed annually (about $45 month-to-month) and is the real entry point: one published app, custom domain, publishing to the Apple App Store and Google Play, and removal of the Adalo watermark. Professional at $52 per month annually (about $65 monthly) covers two published apps, five editor seats, custom integrations, design versions, geolocation, custom app actions, analytics, formulas and push notifications. Team at $160 per month annually (about $200 monthly) gives five published apps, ten seats, priority support, Xano integration, version history and white-labeling. Adalo Blue covers larger organisations with dedicated infrastructure, custom monitoring, on-premises deployment and legacy data sources. The unavoidable third-party costs are the app store accounts, which no platform can waive: an Apple Developer account at $99 per year and a Google Play developer account at $25 one-time. Beyond that the model is genuinely flat — fixed monthly pricing with no metering, and published-app counts, not usage, are what force upgrades.
Key Features
- No-code drag-and-drop native app builder
- Ada AI assistant for building and editing from prompts
- Built-in managed PostgreSQL database
- Publish to web, Apple App Store and Google Play
- Custom domains, custom integrations and push notifications
- White-labeling and API access on the Team tier
Deals, Discounts & How to Save
Adalo is one of the few no-code platforms with no metered AI pricing, so its cost is fully predictable: build free, then pay $36 per month annually once you need to publish. The two savings levers are annual billing (about 20% off) and publishing fewer, well-scoped apps, since published-app counts are what push you to a higher tier.
Pros
- Ada AI included on every plan with no token or usage charges
- Builds genuine native iOS and Android apps, not web wrappers
- Managed PostgreSQL database included, so no separate backend
- Flat fixed pricing with no metering surprises
Cons
- Free plan cannot publish a single app
- Published-app counts force serverless upgrades as you scale
- Monthly billing costs about 20% more than annual
- Apple and Google developer accounts are unavoidable extra costs
Pro Tips for Adalo
Prototype on the free plan — you can build everything but cannot publish until you pay.
Choose annual billing to save about 20% on every tier.
Budget the Apple $99/year and Google Play $25 accounts before launch day.
Count published apps, not users: that is the limit that forces tier upgrades.
Estimate record and storage limits per app before going live at scale.
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