Adalo

This Adalo review covers what the Adalo app builder is used for, Adalo features, Adalo pricing, publishing to the app stores, how Adalo handles data and external databases, where it shines and falls short, and how it compares with the no code app builders worth a look. You design screens on a drag and drop canvas, store data in the built in database, wire up actions without writing code, and publish the same project as a native iOS app, an Android app and a web app. Adalo is the platform to compare first when you want a real mobile app in the stores quickly, without a development team.

What is Adalo used for?

Adalo is used to build mobile and web apps that need a native presence in the Apple App Store and Google Play: community and membership apps, directories, booking and ordering apps, marketplaces, fitness and coaching apps, event apps and internal tools for small teams. Founders use Adalo to validate an idea with a working MVP, agencies build client apps on it, and non technical users create mobile apps for their own business. The typical Adalo app has a handful of screens, a login, lists and detail pages, forms and a few automated workflows; users sign up, browse data and act on it. Because the database, the logic and the design live in one editor, a functional app takes days rather than months, and a first version with real users is often built in a few hours of focused work on the platform.

Key features

• Drag and drop canvas: a multi-screen visual canvas where you place navigation bars, lists, forms, text blocks and buttons, then link screens together; a mobile preview shows the result as you build.
• Built in database: a hosted Postgres database with collections, relationships and user accounts, plus external database collections from Google Sheets, Airtable, Xano, Supabase and REST APIs.
• Native iOS and Android publishing: automated builds and submissions to the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and web apps on a custom domain from the same project.
• Custom actions and integrations: send an email, connect with external APIs, take Stripe payments, and reach 2,000+ external services through Zapier and Make.
• Component marketplace: free and premium third party components (maps, charts, calendars, media) that extend the built in components.
• Ada AI assistant: prompt-based building and editing, so a first screen or a data model can be generated from a description and refined by hand.
• Push notifications, geolocation, custom formulas and app analytics on the Professional plan and up; design versions and version history for teams.

Adalo pricing

Adalo lists four plans on its pricing page (September 2026), billed annually at 20% below the monthly price, with unlimited app actions on every plan and no usage-based charges:

• Free plan: $0, unlimited test apps and screens, 1 editor, 500 records per app, the hosted database and the Ada AI assistant, but no published apps and no custom domain.
• Starter plan: $36 a month, 1 published app, 1 editor, 5 GB storage, custom domain, custom fonts, web publishing, automated App Store and Google Play publishing, no Adalo branding.
• Professional plan: $52 a month, 2 published apps, 5 editors, 25 GB, custom integrations, design versions, geolocation, custom actions, app analytics, custom formulas and push notifications.
• Team plan: $160 a month, 5 published apps, 10 editors, 125 GB, priority support with a one-day SLA, Xano integration, the Collections API, version history and white labeling.

The metric to watch is not actions but published apps and editors: each of the paid plans caps how many apps you can have live, so a second product means the Professional plan or higher, and the Starter plan is a one-app plan. Some reviews quote the Professional plan at $65 and the Team plan at $200; those are the monthly-billing prices for the same plans. Two costs sit outside Adalo: the Apple Developer account ($99 a year) and the Google Play developer account ($25 once), both required to publish mobile apps. On the free plan you can build and test as long as you like, but nothing ships to a store or a custom domain until you pay.

Publishing native mobile apps and web apps

Adalo builds native iOS and Android apps, not wrapped web pages: the build runs on Adalo's side and is submitted to the app stores through its automated app store publishing, so you never open Xcode or Android Studio. The same project can also be published as a responsive web app on a custom domain, and mobile and web apps share the same database and user accounts. The practical limits are the store review cycles, which Adalo cannot shorten, and the fact that every new build is submitted like any other app update. Plan for the developer accounts on day one, and expect the first App Store submission to take a few rounds; later updates are routine.

External databases, custom actions and integrations

The built in database is enough for most first versions, and it keeps the app's data and users in one place. When the app grows, external database collections let you read and write data in Xano, Airtable, Google Sheets, Supabase or any REST API without rebuilding the front end, and the Collections API on the Team plan opens the Adalo database to outside services. Custom actions call external APIs from a button or a workflow, so payments, emails, texts and AI calls run through the external services you already use, and Zapier or Make automate workflows around the app. What Adalo does not offer is custom backend logic in code, or code export: the app runs on Adalo's hosting, and if you leave, you rebuild.

Templates, design and the building process

The building process on the Adalo no code app builder starts from a blank canvas or one of the pre designed templates for directories, ordering, coaching and community apps, which saves the first day of layout work. The app's design is then yours: a font library and custom fonts, colors, icons and images, navigation bars and lists arranged screen by screen, with additional components from the component marketplace when the built in components are not enough. The app's functionality and its data come from the same editor, so a change to a collection shows up in every list that uses it. Adalo handles the parts makers usually fear: user accounts, the hosted database, push notifications through its notifications API, and the store builds, all from a single project that publishes to the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store and the web. Adalo offers enough to build functional apps for most small businesses on a no code platform; where it stops is deep customization of components and logic, and that is where external services and custom actions take over.

Where Adalo shines — and where it falls short

Strengths:

• Adalo is the fastest route from idea to a native app in both app stores without writing code, with mobile and web from one project.
• Beginner friendly: the drag and drop interface, templates and the AI assistant get non technical users to a working app quickly.
• A built in database with user accounts, plus external collections and custom actions when the built-in features run out.
• Flat, predictable pricing with unlimited actions, and a free plan that lets you build the whole app before paying.

Trade-offs:

• Performance issues with complex apps and large datasets: lists with many records and heavy logic feel slow, and apps beyond roughly ten thousand records need an external database.
• Complex logic is hard: no custom backend code, limited conditional logic, and workarounds where Bubble or FlutterFlow would use a proper backend.
• Less design freedom than a code-export builder; the canvas is flexible, but pixel-perfect custom UI takes effort and marketplace components.
• No code export and no self-hosting, so the app is tied to Adalo's platform and pricing.

How Adalo compares

• Bubble: the choice for complex web apps and marketplaces with heavy logic; more powerful than Adalo, a steeper learning curve, and native mobile only recently.
• FlutterFlow: a Flutter-based builder with code export and richer native UI; better for production apps that will one day need real developers.
• Glide: faster still for simple apps on top of spreadsheets and internal data, but web-first and with less customization.
• Thunkable and Draftbit: native mobile builders for makers who want more control over components and, in Draftbit's case, exportable React Native code.
• Bravo Studio: turns Figma designs into native apps for design-led teams that already have a backend.
• Softr: client portals and internal tools on Airtable or Google Sheets, when the app is a web portal rather than a store app.
• AppSheet: Google's app builder for internal business tools on top of Sheets and Workspace data.

Is Adalo worth it?

Adalo is worth it if you want a native mobile app in the app stores and a web app from one project, your app is a simple or medium-complexity product, and you would rather ship this month than learn a developer-grade platform. Adalo is the wrong choice for apps with complex logic, large datasets or custom backend needs, and for teams that will want the source code later; Bubble, FlutterFlow or a coded app will serve those better. Adalo's free plan lets you build the whole app before spending anything, so the cheapest test is to build it and see. If you want to move faster or take an app past the platform's limits, the Adalo agencies and developers on LowCodeDevs can build the first version, connect an external database or take over an existing Adalo app.

Sources

• Adalo pricing: plans, prices, published-app and editor limits, the free plan.
• Adalo product page: native iOS, Android and web publishing, Ada, external collections, integrations and the component marketplace.
• Adalo review, Cybernews: strengths, performance limits and comparisons with Bubble, FlutterFlow and Glide.
• Adalo review, TechRadar: hands-on impressions and plan comparison (monthly prices).
• Adalo overview, LowCode Agency: who Adalo suits and where it falls short (written by an agency that builds on competing tools).