In the not-so-distant past, application development required thousands of lines of code written. To build an application efficiently, you used to have to be a master of the programming language and have the ability to code each line quickly.

There is still certainly a place for good old-fashioned code. However, if you’re an individual or a small business owner wondering if you are even capable of developing your own app, the good news is that there are plenty of tools to modernize and simplify the development cycle. Among the most common are a variety of low-code platforms that enable much faster development and deployment.

Low-code development platforms are applications that provide a clean, visually-appealing graphical user interface (GUI) for programming. These platforms provide tools to help reduce the need for hand coding, which in turn speeds up development and makes collaboration even easier.

Here we’ll take a look at some of the top low-code platforms in 2022 to get a taste of what each has to offer.

Quixy

Quixy is one of the most popular low-code platforms for enterprises. Its tagline is “Work smart. Achieve more.” This is a perfect description of what Quixy brings to the table.

Quixy is a cloud-based platform that helps to cut back on manual processes. It provides developers with tools to make the development process much more efficient and productive. With Quixy, developers can either start with a blank canvas or can customize one of the many pre-built app templates in the app Quixy store.

Key Features

• Easy one-click app deployment

• Deep integration with third-party applications using APIs and webhooks

• Dashboards and reports with data export in multiple formats

• Simple drag-and-drop visual app interface builder

• Apps can be built without a single line of handwritten code

Pricing

Quixy has three different pricing tiers available depending on your needs. The plan options are:

• Platform: $18/user/month, with a minimum of 20 users.

• Solution: For a large number of users and a low number of apps, contact Quixy for pricing which starts at $1000/month.

• Enterprise: For large organizations that need enterprise features, contact Quixy for pricing.

Creatio

If you need an intelligent low-code platform with a great selection of ready-to-use app templates, you may want to give Studio Creatio a try.

Studio Creatio sets itself apart with its extensive AI/Machine learning tools that can help accelerate your business processes and can help make informed data-driven decisions. The platform also has a streamlined low/no-code visual interface for designing a beautiful front-end to your application.

Key Features

• Superior visual modeling UI

• Security and administration features included

• Highly-effective business process management (BPM) engine to manage all your business processes

• Large selection of pre-configured apps to choose from in Creatio Marketplace

• Features to provide streamlined customer engagement

• AI/Machine Learning tools to help make analytics more efficient

Pricing

Studio Creatio has a free version, which includes process design and documentation features. To unlock the ability to the full feature set, you’ll need Creatio Studio Enterprise for $25/user/month. This is a bargain compared to many of the low-code platforms out there and is a great starting point for smaller businesses.

Salesforce Lightning

Salesforce Lightning is one of the easiest low-code platforms to get up and running. This very user-friendly platform is ideal for creating mobile apps with advanced security features baked in. One of the major benefits of Salesforce Lightning is the ability to use any programming language for the minimal amount of code you will need to write. This allows for your developers to focus on the important components of building the app, rather than constantly having to look up the syntax of an unfamiliar language.

Key Features

• Build complex workflows seamlessly with the Lightning process builder

• Embed AI and IoT features into applications

• Easy integration with Salesforce and other third-party data

• Easily build mobile apps with a no-code builder

Pricing

Salesforce Lightning has three tiers to choose from.

• Lightning Starter: $25/user/month

• Lightning Plus: $100/user/month

• Enterprise: Contact Salesforce for a quote

Kissflow

Kissflow is one of the leading platforms for rapid app development using low code. With a very visually appealing drag-and-drop UI, Kissflow is an extremely user-friendly platform. Even non-technical users should be able to work their way through the interface without issue. Kissflow is entirely cloud-based, so it is easily accessible from any system.

Key Features

• Simple and efficient drag-and-drop interface

• High-level of data security and synchronization

• No-code features are supplemented with the ability to add handwritten code, creating greater flexibility

• The platform can be accessed from mobile devices

Pricing

Kissflow’s no-code platform is one of the best and easiest to use, but that ease of use does come at a cost. Kissflow Low-Code starts at $3000/month. This is a platform that is clearly aimed at the enterprise power user. However, if it is within your budget, Kissflow’s tools are some of the most comprehensive in the industry.

Quick Base

For businesses that covet automated processes above all else, Quick Base is a low-code platform worth considering. Both a cloud-based rapid app development platform as well as database software, Quick Base is all about handling data and reducing the workload for developers.

The automated processes allow for quick iteration in the app development cycle and help take the more mundane tasks out of developers’ hands. This helps further improve the speed of development while simultaneously helping your staff get bigger and better tasks accomplished.

Key Features

• Simple and intuitive app wizard for an efficient no-code development experience

• No-code workflow automation

• Form-based user interface

• High variety of pre-built apps in the marketplace

Pricing

Quickbase has three pricing tiers based on the included features.

• Team: Starting at $600/month, you get up to 50 business apps. The plan includes workflow automation, data and app integration, and mobile-ready apps.

• Business: Starting at $2000/month, you get all of the same features as the Teams package plus integration with Identity and Access Management, audit logs, and mobile offline workflow.

• Enterprise: The Enterprise tier is fully customizable based on your needs, so you’ll need to contact Quick Base for pricing. The enterprise tier will include all of the features from the Business tier in addition to your customized solution.

Low-Code Can Help with Efficiency

Building a quality app can be a big challenge. Between developing an aesthetically pleasing front-end to baking all of your business processes into the back-end, there’s a lot of work to be done. This can be a long process even with a highly-experienced staff of developers.

Utilizing a low-code solution is a great way to develop your application rapidly and effectively. When you don’t have to handwrite code for every single element on each page of your app, it saves a significant amount of time and allows even the less technical users to contribute.

Even with these fantastic tools to simplify the development process, you may still find that you could use the help of a professional developer or someone to help you create your low-code apps. Whether you’re looking for a guiding voice in your app marketing efforts or you need a hand with development and deployment, Camber Creative is here to help.