13 Mobile App Development Software to Jumpstart Your Projects

Arm your mobile app development teams with these recommended tools.

One thing is certain: Developing a mobile app is not a walk in the park. But it surely doesn’t have to be an uphill climb either. Not when a ton of expert mobile app development software is more accessible than ever.

These days, venturing into mobile app development becomes easier than ever as software providers assemble fully capable mobile app development tools for you. In fact, you don’t even need full experience with markup and programming languages to develop a cross-platform functioning mobile app with these tools.

Some features found in a number of today’s mobile app development software are code-free building, built-in debugging tools, beta-testing, and analytics, to name a few.

All you’ll really need now to unlock your mobile app development skills is to find and pick one to use for your project, and you’re good to go.

What is good mobile app development software?

A good mobile app development software helps any developer design hybrid applications faster and easier. But working efficiently looks different for everybody, given your varying skill sets and, moreover, different requirements for the job.

With there are set standards for usability applied across the board for mobile app development software, it’s important that you note that each of them will have its own unique functionalities. There are specific sets of functions and capabilities that will work best for different app development frameworks. Some are also built for specific mobile operating systems (OS). While some will still require prior coding experience than others.

So that said, there’s really no one best app that can fit any and all business needs. You’ll need to define a specific “best mobile app development software” firstly by your objectives for the app development project and, second, by your process requirements.

With these determined, you may choose between low-code, no-code, cross-platform or software that’s distinctly built to create apps for specific OS like iOS or Android. Defining your needs will give you a head start in selecting the best mobile app development software.

Expert-recommended mobile app development software

Most platforms offer basic configuration systems and templates for a seamless user experience, application programming interface (API) tools, and data modeling.

But in the plethora of mobile app development software in the market, it’s not always easy to choose the one you should invest in because it will take a while to learn every feature.

To help you with that trouble, our team collated a list of the best mobile app development software from the professionals below.

• iOS app development software
• Android app development software
• Cross-platform development software
• Free software
• No-coding software

iOS app development software

You can create iOS applications through Xcode and Swift – an integrated development environment (IDE) and programming language that already includes debugging tools, code editors, and project management. Even so, you’ll still need some backing from some mobile app development software for iOS in every stage of the development process.

With that, our team of experts came up with this list of top software which will assist you to build your exceptional iOS app.

1. TestFlight

TestFlight is an online service for iOS developers to seamlessly invite users for beta testing over the air. You can collate valuable feedback from internal or external beta testers that can count up to 10,000 users before releasing your mobile application for use without having the phones physically connected.

For beta testing, you will just need to collect your testers’ Apple ID, log in to iTunes Connect, then send an email invitation to your testers. TestFlight can now allow your testers to install your mobile app.

TestFlight can help you catch those eleventh-hour bugs that can potentially damage your app’s functionalities and its user value. This software is completely free which means it is best if you’re from a micro-business that doesn’t have a huge in-house testing team.

2. CocoaPods

CocoaPods is an open-source level dependency manager for Swift, Objective-C, and other languages that can help you manage libraries for your Xcode dependencies in a simpler process.

Say that you’re working with a team and as the project advances, you’ll need third-party libraries to copy source code to help your project move along quickly. Traditionally, you have to set your frameworks, give updates, and share your projects and libraries in your repository manually. You also have to manage your library search and header path and then manually detect updates on your repository hosting server.

Through CocoaPods, you’ll have no more headaches since this platform uses a single command that links all your dependencies and lists of libraries in a single Podfile (a text file in CocoaPods). Updating, adding, and deleting libraries will be a trouble-free task for you throughout the development process.

3. Swiftic

Swiftic is a mobile app development software that lets you customize your app and publish it in leading stores. With its user-friendly editing tools, you can launch an app for iOS that will reach a large range of customers since they offer unlimited app downloads and push notifications.

It doesn’t end with that since Swiftic isn’t only compatible with iOS, you can also create a native Android app with its 25 profitable features, including Loyalty Cards, Forms, in-app coupons, and other loyalty-enhancing elements.

You can have a monthly (costing $57 per month), yearly ($48 monthly), or a 2-year subscription (which may only cost $41 a month). Note that these plans can only be used in building a single app so you’ll have to purchase a new plan if you’ll be working with another app.

Android app development software

Developing an Android mobile app is often done with IDEs like Eclipse and Netbeans using Java, JavaScript or PHP languages.

It’s true that these IDEs are some of the best for Android app development. But if you’re looking for a seamless deployment without having to code or requires only a bit of coding, look through this curated list of the best mobile app development software for Android.

1. Buddy

If you’re finding the best mobile app development software that has a complete set of tools – from building, testing and publishing your Android app, then Buddy will be your best buddy!

With over 100 actions, you can create an app with a great user interface and user experience. It’s a self-hosted and web-based software for Git developers. If you’re from a small business and just want to create a single mobile app, Buddy offers the platform for free, inclusive of 120 pipeline runs per month and 512 MB cache storage.

But if you’re from a larger scale team, the Pro ($75 per month), Hyper ($200 monthly), or On-premises ($35 monthly per user) subscriptions work best for you.

2. Android Studio

Android Studio is an IDE that’s free to download and use. It provides a unified platform where you can create apps for any Android device using Java, Kotlin, C, and C++ languages. More than that, it also has built-in tools that help you in building, testing, and debugging your mobile app.

If you want to instantly visualize the layout of your app, Android Studio can help you with that. It has features that give you a preview of your screens and an intelligent code editor that provide code completions as you type.

You can create complex layouts and have a real-time display of your app’s layout while coding through Android Studio. Photo courtesy of Android Studio.

Cross-platform development software

With more platforms for your app, it’s certain that you’ll gain maximum exposure to your audience while easily reusing your codes.

Here are some top-notch mobile app development software collated by experts you should try out.

1. Zoho Creator

Beyond having you develop web, iOS, and Android apps, Zoho Creator allows quick mobile app development without the need of having you write endless codes. With this low-code platform, you can collaborate across teams, use Artificial Intelligence (AI), build insightful reports and third-party integrations, create interactive apps with JavaScript, and even provide multi-language support.

You can access Zoho Creator for free with a limited feature set. They can offer you 25MB storage, one user and application access, and 1,000 records for your fee plan. You may upgrade your plan to a paid plan with flexible pricing depending on the number of users.

2. Appery.io

Appery.io is the best choice for you if you’re looking for software that builds native Android, iOS, and Windows mobile apps using a single shared codebase.

It is a low-code mobile app development software that can work with multiple languages such as Apache, Bootstrap, JavaScript, HTML5, jQuery, and various others. It is a cloud-based software with reliable mobile backend services including user authentication, push notifications, and a cloud database.

Appery.io has four pricing plans:

• Beginners ($25 per month)
• Pro ($70 per month)
• Team ($135 monthly)
• Ultimate ($500 per month) which is offered with a free 14-day trial period.

3. Postman

Postman is an HTTP client that is designed to help you test, build and modify APIs. It is a user-friendly tool that would assist you in examining the web traffic from your devices. You can test functionality, performance, and exceptionality through thorough and end-to-end API tests.

If you have a small-scale team, this software suits best for you since it’s free to download and use. The free version is inclusive of features like testing and monitoring APIS, designing and mocking them, and scanning through responses.

But if you want to collaborate across a larger scale of groups, they offer subscriptions that can be billed monthly or annually:

• Team Plan (costs $12 a month)
• Business Plan ($24 a month)
• Enterprise Plan (which costs $69)

Free mobile app development software

The costly subscription fees from mobile app development software providers may cause you pain in the neck so we’ve covered the best ones you should try out.

1. SwiftLint

Developing a mobile app with a team requires collaboration through a consistent codebase, conventions, and styles. It may be hard to debug if your team uses different coding styles, especially if you’re from different levels of experience. This is where SwiftLint will help you.

SwiftLint is free software developed by Realm which is designed to administer Swift styles and conventions where you can set your own coding style rules and utilize them during the development.

2. Flutter

Wishing to develop two distinct mobile applications using one programming language and one codebase? Flutter is the fitting software for you. It is a free and open-source platform that uses a programming language called Dart (a typed object programming language).

Flutter offers a software development kit (SDK) which is a collection of tools needed to develop your applications. These tools include compilers for your native machine code.

Other than that, Flutter also has a UI Library that collects reusable UI elements that you can use to personalize your app.

No-coding mobile app development software

Maybe you have a pooling list of mobile apps that need to be developed in due time, and the redundant tasks during coding slow you down. Ergo, you’ll need no-code automation systems to help you implement and develop new solutions rapidly.

Below is the record for mobile app development software that works best for those opting for no-code app development.

1. Appy Pie

With an easy-to-navigate UI, anyone can create the best mobile apps using Appy Pie.

Appy Pie is one of the best mobile app development beginners. With zero experience in coding, Appy Pie helps you develop your own mobile app for both iOS and Android with its multitude of features and tools that are easy to use. The software uses a drag-and-drop system interface for developers to seamlessly integrate elements into the app like chatbots, live chat widgets, and other AI features.

This customizable app development software has a free 14-day trial and offers three monthly subscription plans:

• Basic ($18 per month)
• Gold ($36 monthly)
• Platinum ($60 per month)
• Enterprise plan which has custom pricing.

2. Airtable

Airtable allows you to seamlessly manage inventories and organize plans align with creating a mobile app without coding.

Airtable is designed as a relational database platform and an online collaboration tool. You can structure data and organize your inventories with its easy-to-navigate UI. Airtable is also more than just a spreadsheet.

With more than 200 powerful templates, you can instantly have a head start with your mobile app development. Airtable allows you to get started for free, even if you’re from a team of any size but they also offer paid plans that include additional features, storage, and support.

3. AppSheet

AppSheet is another software that allows you to quickly build apps, collaborate with your team, and link your data – all with no coding sessions!

The platform offers customizable templates, compatibility testing, a drag-and-drop interface, data modeling, and debugging tools. It also gives you powerful solutions to create mobile apps using your spreadsheet data from Google Drive, Office 365, DropBox, SQL, and other cloud-based database software and spreadsheets.

AppSheet offers two pricing structures: Premium (costing $5 a month), and Pro ($10 monthly) but you can start with their free version to try their best features.

The growth of mobile app development

Mobile apps are getting more important for numerous business operations. The swift growth of mobile app development prompts advances in a multitude of industries including ecommerce, telecommunications, banking, and education.

In 2020, app stores hit a total profit of $143 billion worldwide – a 20 percent jump in profit from last year. This figure is projected to grow more in the coming years as mobile technology advances and gets integrated into almost all processes and operations in day-to-day life.

With this, developers are expected to build mobile applications that benefit businesses in every industry.

Key takeaways

Mobile app development isn’t always code-heavy and expensive. It’s now becoming easy and user-friendly – allowing more businesses to develop their own applications without experience with coding. Just take note of the following tips:

• Identify your mobile app needs. Before choosing and subscribing to a mobile app development software. Each platform offers distinct features that may or may not require some skills in the development process so it’s vital to weigh them out individually.
• Try to choose open-source for micro-businesses. When you’re from a small-scale business, try going for free software first, and work with what features they have to offer at a minimal cost.
• Cross-platform software is good for a wider audience reach. Since you’re launching your app for use in more operating systems, it’s projected that you’ll gain more users. Choose a platform that allows you to reuse your code to save more time and effort rather than having them separated.

Are you now prepared to develop your first app with this set of intuitive software or still need some backing before you begin? We’d love to discuss what we can work on together. Feel free to hit our team up, drop a comment below, or reach out to us on Facebook, X, or LinkedIn accounts!

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