⚡ Quick Verdict:
- Pricing: Adalo starts at $0 (free) then $36/month vs Glide’s free tier then $199/month billed yearly
- Best for: Adalo for native mobile apps published to app stores; Glide for internal business tools built on Google Sheets data
- Key difference: Adalo publishes to Apple App Store and Google Play; Glide creates progressive web apps only
- Our pick: Adalo for most users — it offers more app publishing flexibility with a lower starting price
Trying to build an app without writing a single line of code sounds too good to be true — until you actually try it.
Both Glide and Adalo make that promise, but they deliver it in very different ways.
Glide turns your Google Sheets data into a working app in minutes.
Adalo takes a different path, giving you a visual canvas to design native mobile apps you can actually publish to the Apple App Store and Google Play.
One is faster to start; the other goes further when it counts.
This comparison breaks down both no-code tools across pricing, features, and real use cases so you can pick whichever fits your project best.
Overview
We looked at both Glide vs Adalo across their core app-building features, pricing structures, publishing options, and ease of use.
Our goal was to understand which tool actually serves different types of builders — from solo founders testing an app idea to small businesses automating their business processes.
Glide is built for speed. If you have data sitting in a Google Sheet, Glide can turn it into a working app in under an hour.
That speed is a double edged sword, though — you move fast early, but hit design and publishing ceilings later.
Adalo takes a bit longer to learn but rewards you with far more control over design, logic, and where your app lives once it’s done.
Both are genuine no-code tools, so neither requires any coding knowledge — but they’re aimed at different stages of the builder journey.
What is Adalo?
Adalo is a no-code app builder that lets you create native mobile apps and web apps without writing any code. It uses a drag-and-drop visual interface where you design screens, connect a built-in database, and add logic — all from your browser. The platform was founded by two non-technical founders who wanted to democratize app creation for people without a developer background.
What makes Adalo stand apart from other no-code tools is its ability to publish directly to the Apple App Store and Google Play. That’s a meaningful distinction. Most no-code platforms stop at progressive web apps, but Adalo lets you ship a real native mobile app — the kind users download from an app store. It also has a growing component marketplace with over 50 prebuilt components, plus an AI Builder called Magic Start that generates an app foundation from a simple description.
🏆 Winner: Adalo
Adalo is the go-to no-code platform for building native mobile apps without coding knowledge. You can publish to both the Apple App Store and Google Play, design with full creative freedom, and start for free — making it a top pick for founders and small businesses alike.
Adalo Pricing
Here’s what Adalo costs in 2026. The free plan lets you build and test your app before you pay anything.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Exploring the platform and building your first app |
| Starter | $36/month | Founders and entrepreneurs launching simple apps |
| Professional | $52/month | Individuals needing custom domains and app store publishing |
| Team | $160/month | Freelancers and agencies building apps for multiple clients |
Pricing verified April 2026.
Free trial: Yes — Adalo’s free plan lets you build fully without a credit card. Publishing to custom domains or app stores requires a paid plan.
Money-back guarantee: Adalo does not advertise a formal money-back policy; check their terms before upgrading.
📌 Note: Paid plans now include unlimited database records, which removes a key limitation from older versions. The Starter plan is enough for most solo founders testing a new app idea.
⚠️ Warning: App store publishing fees from Apple and Google are separate from Adalo’s subscription cost. Budget an additional $99/year (Apple) and $25 one-time (Google) if you plan to go that route.
Key Benefits of Adalo
Here’s what makes Adalo worth considering for your next app project:
- Native App Store Publishing: Adalo is one of the few no-code platforms that lets you publish directly to both the Apple App Store and Google Play. This is a big deal if you want a real mobile app — not just a web link.
- Drag-and-Drop Visual Builder: The interface is designed so anyone can build apps, even without a technical background. Adalo claims that if you can put together a slide deck, you can build an app — and that’s a fair description of how approachable the builder feels.
- Built-in Database: You don’t need an external spreadsheet or third-party service for your app’s data. Adalo includes a native database that handles data management right inside the platform.
- AI Builder (Magic Start): Adalo’s AI tool generates an app foundation from a plain-text description. It’s a fast way to get past the blank-canvas problem and start working with real screens.
- 50+ Prebuilt Components: The component marketplace gives you buttons, forms, maps, and more — ready to drop into any screen. Many complex app features are already built, so you spend time customizing rather than starting from scratch.
- Custom Fonts and Design Control: Adalo gives you real design flexibility with custom fonts and full control over layouts. This matters when your app needs to match a brand or look polished for end users.
What Our Team Noticed
Adalo Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Publishes to Apple App Store and Google Play — rare for no-code platforms
- Built-in database means no Google Sheets dependency
- Free plan available with no credit card required
- AI Builder speeds up the initial app-building process
- Strong community of adalo experts and tutorials available
❌ Cons
- Steeper learning curve than Glide for complete beginners
- App store publishing adds extra costs (Apple and Google fees)
- Complex apps with external APIs can hit performance limits
- No native offline mode for apps built on the platform
What is Glide?
Glide is a no-code platform that turns spreadsheet data into custom apps — fast. You connect a Google Sheet (or Excel or Airtable), and Glide builds a working app from that existing data in minutes. It’s designed for non programmers who need to ship something quickly without touching code. The drag-and-drop editor lets you customize layouts, add prebuilt components like buttons and forms, and publish your app as a progressive web app accessible from any device.
Glide is particularly popular for internal business tools — think CRMs, inventory trackers, scheduling apps, and employee directories. Its template library has over 400 options, which is among the largest of any no-code app builder. When it comes to app development speed, Glide is a standout — the same way it glides directly from a spreadsheet into a working interface, it gets teams to a usable product faster than most no-code tools on the market. It also includes built-in AI functionality for tasks like drafting emails and summarizing content, along with SOC 2 Type 2 compliance for enterprise-grade security.
Glide
Glide transforms Google Sheets data into powerful apps without any coding. With 400+ templates and a drag-and-drop editor, it’s the fastest way for teams to build internal tools that connect their existing data and automate daily operations.
Glide Pricing
Here’s what Glide costs in 2026. Note that the Business plan is billed annually — there’s no published monthly billing option.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Get started (free) | Testing Glide with up to 500 rows of data |
| Business | $199/month billed yearly | Teams needing full features and unlimited apps |
| Enterprise | Contact Sales | Large organizations with custom security and compliance needs |
Pricing verified April 2026.
Free trial: Yes — Glide’s free plan includes up to 500 rows of data and many core features at no cost.
Money-back guarantee: Glide does not publish a formal refund policy; review their terms before committing to an annual plan.
📌 Note: The free plan is genuinely usable for small projects. The jump to $199/month (billed yearly) is significant — it’s worth building on the free tier first to confirm Glide fits your workflow before paying.
⚠️ Warning: Glide has a data limit of 25,000 rows per Google Sheet, which can become a constraint as your app grows. If your business processes involve large datasets, test this limit early.
Key Benefits of Glide
Here’s what makes Glide worth considering for your next project:
- Fastest Time to Launch: Using Glide, you can go from a Google Sheet to a working app in under an hour. No other no-code tool in this category matches that speed for data-driven apps.
- 400+ Templates: Glide’s template library is one of the largest available, covering inventory management, CRMs, project tracking, directories, and more. Most are designed to look good out of the box.
- Google Sheets Integration: If your team already lives in Google Sheets, Glide connects directly and uses that existing data as the app’s backbone. Changes in the sheet reflect almost immediately in the app.
- Built-in AI Features: Glide includes AI tools for automating tasks like email drafting and content summarization. These are built into the platform — no third-party setup needed.
- Enterprise Security: Glide is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and includes granular role-based access controls. This makes it viable for organizations with strict security requirements.
- Progressive Web App Distribution: Every Glide app works as a progressive web app, shareable via URL or QR code — no app store approval process required.
What Our Team Noticed
Glide Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Fastest no-code builder for Google Sheets-based apps
- 400+ templates — largest library in this category
- Built-in AI features at no extra cost
- SOC 2 Type 2 compliance for business security needs
❌ Cons
- Cannot publish to Apple App Store or Google Play
- Business plan jumps to $199/month — a steep increase from free
- Data refresh rate can lag up to 3 minutes on free plan
- 25,000-row limit per Google Sheet restricts larger datasets
Feature Comparison
Let’s break down how Glide and Adalo stack up across the features that matter most. Both are no-code tools, but they make very different choices about what to prioritize.
| Feature | Adalo | Glide |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $0 (free) | $0 (free) |
| Paid Plan Starts At | $36/month | $199/month (billed yearly) |
| Native App Store Publishing | ✅ | ❌ |
| Progressive Web App | ✅ | ✅ |
| Built-in Database | ✅ | ❌ (uses Google Sheets) |
| Google Sheets Integration | ❌ | ✅ |
| AI Builder | ✅ (Magic Start) | ✅ (built-in AI features) |
| Drag-and-Drop Editor | ✅ | ✅ |
| Template Library | Limited | 400+ templates |
| Best For | Native mobile apps, MVPs | Internal tools, data-driven apps |
1. App Publishing Options
Adalo: Adalo is one of the few no-code platforms that supports publishing directly to the Apple App Store and Google Play. Once your app is ready, you submit it through Adalo’s publishing flow, and users download it like any other native mobile app. This is a major advantage for anyone building a consumer-facing product that needs real app store presence.
Glide: Glide apps are progressive web apps — they run in a browser and can be saved to a home screen on any device, but they don’t appear in app stores. You share a Glide app via a URL or QR code. This approach is faster and avoids app store approval delays, but it’s a double-edged sword: you gain speed and lose discoverability. Glide apps cannot deliver push notifications either, which limits engagement for consumer apps.
⚠️ Warning: If your app idea depends on being found in an app store or sending push notifications to users, Glide is not the right fit. Adalo’s native app publishing is the clear choice for consumer-facing products.
2. Database and Data Management
Adalo: Adalo includes a built-in database so your app’s data lives inside the platform. You design collections (think tables), set up relationships between them, and manage everything from the same visual interface where you build your screens. This self-contained approach means you don’t need an external spreadsheet or service to store data.
Glide: Glide uses Google Sheets, Excel, or Airtable as the app’s data source. If your team already has data in a spreadsheet, this is a huge advantage — Glide connects directly and pulls from that existing data without migration. The tradeoff is a dependency on the spreadsheet: if your Google Sheet has issues, your app does too. Glide’s data limit sits at 25,000 rows per sheet.
3. Drag-and-Drop Builder and Visual Interface
Adalo: Adalo’s canvas-based editor lets you design screens freely. You can see up to 400 screens on a single canvas, which makes navigation and app structure easy to visualize. The drag-and-drop interface is designed for people without a technical background — Adalo’s own marketing claims that if you can make a slide deck, you can build an app. That said, there’s a modest learning curve compared to Glide, especially when setting up screen logic and data connections.
Glide: Glide’s editor is split-screen: your data on one side, your app preview on the other. Changes you make in the editor appear instantly in the preview, which makes it very satisfying to use. The drag-and-drop interface of Glide is particularly accessible for non programmers — most users report building their first working app within their first session. The tradeoff is less design flexibility than Adalo once you outgrow the template.
4. AI App Building Features
Adalo: Adalo’s AI Builder is called Magic Start. You describe your app idea in plain language and Magic Start generates a starter app with screens, data structure, and basic navigation already in place. It’s a smart way to beat the blank-canvas problem and get to a working first version quickly. From there, you customize everything through the drag-and-drop editor.
Glide: Glide includes built-in AI functionality at the component level — things like AI-generated email drafts, content summarization, and data extraction. These features sit inside your app as components rather than generating the app structure itself. For teams that want AI to assist their app users (rather than generate the app), Glide’s approach is more practical day-to-day.
5. Templates and Prebuilt Components
Glide: Glide’s template library is a genuine standout with over 400 options. Categories include CRM, inventory, scheduling, directories, project management, and more — most are designed to look polished out of the box. For anyone who wants to start from a proven structure rather than a blank screen, Glide makes this easy. Users can start building apps with Glide using one of these templates and have something functional in minutes.
Adalo: Adalo offers templates and a component marketplace with over 50 prebuilt components. The component selection covers most common app needs — maps, forms, lists, payment integrations — but the template count is smaller than Glide’s. Where Adalo compensates is in the depth of component customization: you can adjust custom fonts, colors, and layouts in ways Glide’s more rigid system doesn’t allow.
6. Workflow Automation
Glide: Glide has a dedicated workflow automation builder that lets you automate tasks and create custom workflows tied to your app’s data. You can set schedule trigger workflows, connect to Zapier for cross-app automation, and automate repetitive business processes without writing any code. This is one of Glide’s stronger differentiators for teams running operational tools.
Adalo: Adalo supports custom actions and external APIs, and integrates with Zapier for automation. You can add actions that respond to user interactions — like submitting a form triggering an email — but Adalo’s automation is more event-driven than Glide’s schedule-based workflow system. For complex automation needs, Zapier fills the gap reasonably well.
7. Design Customization
Adalo: Adalo gives you full design freedom — custom fonts, color palettes, layout control, and the ability to preview across different screen sizes right inside the builder. This level of control matters when you’re building something that needs to look professional for external users. Adalo’s visual editor is genuinely one of the more capable design tools in the no-code app builder space.
Glide: Glide has an automatic design system that makes every app look visually appealing without much effort. You can adjust colors, text, and basic layout through the drag-and-drop editor, but deep design customization beyond those defaults is limited. The platform prioritizes good-looking defaults over design flexibility — which works well until you need something that doesn’t fit the template mold.
8. Security and Compliance
Glide: Glide provides enterprise-grade security with SOC 2 Type 2 compliance and granular role-based access controls. It includes a Login/Sign-in feature to keep unauthorized users out. For businesses handling sensitive internal data, Glide’s security posture is a meaningful selling point. The end user license agreement is clear about data handling at the enterprise level.
Adalo: Adalo handles user authentication natively, and you can set up sign-in flows and user-specific data visibility inside the builder. Their 3.0 infrastructure overhaul brought 3-4x performance improvements and modular scaling to support over 1 million monthly active users. Security is solid for most use cases, though Adalo doesn’t advertise the same SOC 2 certifications that Glide does.
9. Pricing & Cost
Here’s a direct plan-by-plan look at what each platform charges:
| Plan | Adalo | Glide |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Free (500 rows) |
| Entry Paid | $36/month (Starter) | $199/month billed yearly (Business) |
| Mid Tier | $52/month (Professional) | — |
| Team / Agency | $160/month (Team) | — |
| Enterprise | — | Contact Sales |
Adalo: Adalo’s pricing model is more accessible at every paid tier. The Starter plan at $36/month is within reach for solo founders, and the Professional plan at $52/month unlocks custom domains and app store publishing. The Team plan at $160/month serves agencies building multiple apps. No usage-based charges — you pay a flat rate and get unlimited usage on paid plans.
Glide: Glide’s pricing jump from free to $199/month (billed yearly) is the platform’s biggest friction point. There’s no mid-range option. This makes Glide harder to justify for solo users or early-stage projects, though the free plan is functional enough for small internal tools. Teams that need advanced features pay significantly more than they would for Adalo.
⚠️ Warning: Glide’s $199/month is billed annually — meaning you commit to $2,388 upfront. Make sure the free plan genuinely meets your needs before upgrading.
Different Scenarios
| If You Need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| App store presence on iOS/Android | Adalo | Only Adalo publishes to app stores |
| Fastest launch from spreadsheet data | Glide | Connects Google Sheets in minutes |
| Lower monthly budget | Adalo | Starts at $36/month vs $199/month |
| Internal business tool | Glide | Built for data-driven internal apps |
| Consumer-facing mobile app | Adalo | Native app publishing and push-ready |
| Beginner with no coding knowledge | Adalo | Gentler learning curve for app logic |
💰 Your Budget
Adalo wins here clearly. The Starter plan at $36/month is far more accessible than Glide’s $199/month Business plan. If you’re an early-stage founder or freelancer, Adalo lets you scale up gradually without a large upfront commitment.
🔌 Your Tech Stack
If your team already uses Google Sheets heavily, Glide integrates directly and turns that existing data into a working app without migration. If you’re starting fresh or using other databases, Adalo’s built-in database is simpler to manage.
📝 Your App Idea
Consumer-facing apps that need to appear in the Apple App Store or Google Play should go with Adalo — Glide simply can’t deliver that. Internal tools, employee directories, and inventory trackers are better suited to Glide’s fast, data-first approach.
🎓 Your Experience Level
Both platforms are designed for non programmers, but Glide has a slightly lower floor for complete beginners — its spreadsheet-first model is familiar to most people. Adalo has a slightly steeper initial curve but gives you more room to grow as your app gets more complex.
🆓 Free Trials and Demos
Both offer free plans with no credit card required. The smartest move is to test your specific app idea on both free tiers before committing to a paid plan — the differences become very clear once you’re actually building something real.
🛟 Support Options
Both platforms have active communities, documentation, and video resources. Adalo has a marketplace of adalo experts you can hire for custom builds. Glide similarly has a network of certified experts — useful if your project is complex enough to benefit from professional help.
Switching Guide
Already using one of these platforms? Here’s what to expect if you decide to make a change.
🔄 Switching from Adalo to Glide?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Direct Google Sheets integration — connect your existing data instantly
- 400+ templates to accelerate your build
- Faster launch time for data-driven internal tools
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Native Apple App Store and Google Play publishing
- Full design flexibility including custom fonts and free-form layouts
- The built-in database — you’ll need to migrate data to a spreadsheet
📋 How to switch:
- Export your Adalo database collections as CSV files
- Import those CSVs into Google Sheets and structure your data
- Create a Glide account and connect your Google Sheet to start building
🔄 Switching from Glide to Adalo?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Ability to publish your app to the Apple App Store and Google Play
- More design freedom — custom fonts, layouts, and screen-level control
- A built-in database that doesn’t depend on Google Sheets
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Direct Google Sheets sync — data needs to move to Adalo’s database
- Access to Glide’s 400+ templates
- Glide’s built-in workflow automation and schedule triggers
📋 How to switch:
- Export your data from Google Sheets as a CSV or use SheetBridge to connect sheets to Adalo
- Create your Adalo account and set up your database collections
- Import your data and rebuild your app screens using Adalo’s drag-and-drop builder
What Our Review Didn’t Cover
This comparison focused on individual builders and small teams using the standard plans. We didn’t evaluate enterprise-level custom integrations, bulk team licensing, or how either platform performs at scale with thousands of active users. Our observations reflect the platforms as of April 2026 — both Glide and Adalo update frequently, so specific features may have changed. If you’re managing a large organization or building a high-traffic consumer app, your experience will likely differ from what’s described here.
Final Verdict
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| 💰 Pricing | Adalo |
| 📱 App Publishing | Adalo |
| 🗄️ Database | Adalo |
| 🎨 Design Flexibility | Adalo |
| ⚡ Speed to Launch | Glide |
| 📋 Template Library | Glide |
| 🔒 Security & Compliance | Glide |
| 🤖 Workflow Automation | Glide |
| 🏆 Overall Winner | Adalo |
🏆 WINNER: ADALO
Adalo wins 4 out of 8 categories, with the most decisive wins being app store publishing, pricing, and database management.
Best for: Consumer app founders, non-technical entrepreneurs, small businesses needing native mobile apps
Glide and Adalo serve genuinely different needs, and picking the wrong one wastes real time. Glide is the fastest path from a Google Sheet to a working internal tool — if your data already lives in a spreadsheet, Glide makes that app’s data accessible to your team in a way no other platform matches for speed.
Adalo wins when the destination matters. Publishing to the Apple App Store or Google Play is something most no-code tools can’t do — Adalo can. It also starts at a far more approachable price for teams that aren’t ready to commit to Glide’s $199/month Business plan. The built-in database and stronger design control make Adalo the more flexible long-term choice for most builders.
If your app idea involves real users downloading it from an app store, Adalo is the only choice here. If you’re building an internal tool for your team and all your data is already in Google Sheets, Glide will get you there faster than anything else.
More of Adalo Compared
Here’s how Adalo stacks up against other no-code app builders:
Adalo wins on: Ease of use for beginners, mobile app publishing, faster time to first working app
Bubble wins on: Web application complexity, advanced logic and conditional rules, more powerful backend workflows
Adalo wins on: Native mobile app publishing to app stores, built-in database, drag-and-drop screen builder
Softr wins on: Faster website-style portal builds, direct Airtable and Google Sheets integration, simpler pricing tiers
Adalo vs Lovable AI
Adalo wins on: No-code drag-and-drop design, app store publishing, predictable pricing without usage caps
Lovable AI wins on: AI-generated code for developers, faster prototyping for users who want to export code, more flexible output formats
More of Glide Compared
Here’s how Glide stacks up against other tools in the no-code space:
Glide wins on: Speed to launch, Google Sheets connectivity, beginner accessibility without a learning cliff
Bubble wins on: Complex web app logic, advanced user permissions, more granular backend control
Glide wins on: Richer template selection, built-in AI components, stronger workflow automation tools
Softr wins on: Simpler interface for web portals, more affordable entry-level pricing for small teams
Glide vs Emergent
Glide wins on: Established platform with large community, mature integration network, proven at scale for internal tools
Emergent wins on: AI-first generation approach, newer platform features built around modern AI workflows
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Glide and Adalo?
The core difference is where your apps end up. Adalo publishes native mobile apps to the Apple App Store and Google Play, which Glide cannot do. Glide creates progressive web apps that run in a browser and are ideal for internal business tools built on Google Sheets data. Adalo also includes a built-in database, while Glide relies on Google Sheets or similar spreadsheets as the app’s data source.
What is the Glide app used for?
Glide is primarily used to build internal business tools — think employee directories, CRM systems, inventory trackers, scheduling apps, and project management tools. It’s especially popular with teams whose data already lives in Google Sheets, because Glide connects directly to that existing data and turns it into a working app without any coding. Businesses also use Glide apps to automate repetitive business processes and improve how teams access and update information. That’s the broader context for app development with Glide: it’s about operational efficiency, not consumer app publishing.
Is Adalo a good app builder for non-technical founders?
Yes — Adalo was actually founded by two non-technical founders specifically to make app creation accessible to people without coding knowledge. As a no-code app builder, it doesn’t require you to write or understand a single line of code. The visual interface handles screen design, and the built-in database manages your adalo app’s data. Many successful apps with thousands of downloads have been built by people with no developer background — Scholarcash hit 20,000+ iOS downloads and Counselora reached 750+ users, both built entirely on Adalo.
Can Glide publish to app stores?
No. Glide creates progressive web apps, which means they run in a browser and can be saved to a device’s home screen, but they are not listed in the Apple App Store or Google Play. If app store publishing is a requirement for your project, Adalo is the better choice between these two platforms.
How much does Adalo cost compared to Glide?
Adalo is significantly more affordable at the paid tier. Adalo’s Starter plan runs $36/month, while Glide’s first paid option (Business) costs $199/month billed annually. Both have free plans, but the gap widens considerably once you need paid features. For most solo founders and small teams, Adalo’s pricing structure is much easier to justify early in a project.
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