Softr vs Bubble: Why Softr is the Best No-Code Platform for Newbies

Introduction

If you're new to the no-code movement, you might be wondering which platform is right for you. There are a lot of great options out there, but in this blog post, we're going to focus on two of the most popular: Bubble and Softr. We'll give you a rundown of each platform and their key features, as well as our thoughts on which one is better for newbies. Spoiler alert: it's Softr!

Bubble vs. Softr: A Comparison

Both Bubble and Softr are great no-code platforms with a lot to offer users. However, we think Softr has the edge when it comes to user-friendliness and ease of use. Here's a breakdown of some key differences between the two platforms:

Ease of Use:

Bubble requires users to have at least a basic understanding of programming concepts - and in some cases, basic code - in order to build anything beyond a simple prototype. In contrast, Softr can be used by anyone, regardless of coding experience. That's because Softr uses a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to build complex applications without any code. 

Functionality:

Bubble offers users a lot of flexibility when it comes to app development. You can pretty much build any type of app you want from scratch using Bubble. However, all that flexibility comes at a cost: Bubble is extremely complex, and almost everything - from front-end design to backend automations - is difficult to learn and use. In contrast, Softr offers users everything they need to build a great MVP or prototype without all the bells and whistles. That means Softr is less complex and easier to use than Bubble. 

Pricing:

Both Bubble and Softr have free plans that allow users to get started without spending any money. However, Bubble's paid plans are more expensive than Softr's paid plans. For example, Bubble's cheapest paid plan costs $25 per month, but they range up to $475 per month for the highest standard plans (and it can go higher if your app is used a lot and you need to pay for more app 'power'). They also offer a dedicated or 'custom' plan that can go higher than $1000 per month (depending on the plan specifications).

Softr's cheapest paid plan is $24 per month and goes to a maximum of $165 for unlimited apps and all available features.

The Bottom Line:

When it comes to no-code platforms, we think Softr is the clear winner - especially for newbies. That's because Softr is more user-friendly and easier to use than Bubble. Plus, it's more affordable than Bubble if you decide you need more features than what's offered on the free plan. So if you're looking for a great no-code platform to get started with, we recommend giving Softr a try!

Read on for the full breakdown of why we think Softr is much better for no-code newbies than Bubble!

Why Softr is the Better No-Code Platform for Newbies

When it comes to no-code platforms, there are a lot of different options to choose from. In this article, we cover Bubble vs Softr. We've already said that we think Softr is the clear winner for newbies, but now we'll tell you in more detail why!

Here are the main reasons, in detail.

Softr Has an Easier Learning Curve Than Bubble

One of the main reasons why Softr is a better no-code platform than Bubble for newbies is because it is much easier to learn. The learning curve is extremely easy for Softr, whereas Bubble can be quite complex and difficult to learn. With Bubble, you can build almost any type of app from scratch. However, almost everything - including front-end design, backend automations, databases, and APIs - can be quite complex and hard to understand. This is likely overkill for most newbies and many apps. Softr, on the other hand, is extremely easy to use. A first-time user can easily build a prototype or MVP without even looking at the documentation. It's that simple! 

The Benefits of Using Softr Over Bubble for Non-Technical Founders

If you're a non-technical founder, the thought of building your own app can be daunting. But with the rise of no-code platforms, you no longer need to know how to code in order to build a prototype or MVP of your app. But, that doesn’t mean that no-code platforms don't have any technical requirements! And some are harder than others!

First-time users and non-technical founders can sometimes struggle with the technical nature of some no-code platforms or processes. It really depends on how easy or hard the platform makes these features to use. In this post, we'll compare two of the most popular no-code platforms - Bubble and Softr - and explain why Softr is the better option for non-technical founders.

As mentioned above, one of the biggest benefits of using Softr is that it is extremely easy to use. The learning curve is much shorter than Bubble, which means you'll be able to build your prototype or MVP faster. And because everything is so easy to use, you won't need to spend hours reading documentation - you can just start building! 

But there is a lot more to the ease of Softr than that. 

While Bubble lets you build almost any type of app from scratch, Bubble’s front-end design, backend automations, databases, and APIs are extremely complex and hard to learn. Bubble is likely overkill for most newbies and many apps. Softr by contrast is easy to use and lets you handle all this and more with just a few clicks. The user interface or ‘editor’ is incredibly easy to use and thoughtfully laid-out. Finally, Softr lets its users add popular features such as Stripe payments, user roles and permissions, user edit functionality and more - again with just a few clicks. You can also do many of these things in Bubble, but the technical requirements for setting them up properly are so much more complex that most users, even most Bubble users, will struggle with them - and may ultimately not be able to implement them without 3rd party help (such as by a professional Bubble developer or Bubble agency). 

Softr natively uses Airtable for its database whereas Bubble Does Not

Softr also has a number of other benefits over Bubble. For instance, Softr uses Airtable for its database, which is a huge plus. Airtable is extremely user-friendly and easy to use - even for non-technical users. And because Airtable is so popular, there are a ton of helpful resources out there (such as tutorials, templates, and how-tos) that can help you get the most out of it. Bubble, on the other hand, does not natively use Airtable for its database. And while it does offer an Airtable plugin for some of its paid plans, it does not work particularly well and its implementation leaves a lot to be desired. And, since it is not a native integration within Bubble, much of the ease-of-use that Softr brings to the table with its Airtable connection is missing from Bubble. In fact, using Airtable in Bubble in our view is more trouble than it's worth.

This means that if you want to use Bubble, you'll need to learn how to set up and use a different database - which can be a huge barrier to entry for non-technical users. You can use 3rd party databases, or Bubble's own database. Bubble's database is a POSTGRES type of database (for those who care about such things) and it does hold many, even millions of records if necessary. However, it has an extremely steep learning curve, tends to have slow performance, and data modifications are difficult (like converting a date string (text) to a real date format (timestamp) and require you to set up API or backend processes to accomplish this (whereas it can be done with the click of a button in Airtable/Softr).

In summary, Bubble's database is powerful, but comes with frustrating limitations and steep learning curve requirements. Ultimately, Softr's use of Airtable is just one more reason why it is a better platform for non-technical founders.

User roles and permissions are easier to set up in Softr than in Bubble

In Softr, you can easily give different levels of access to different people on your team or across user types, and you can control what they can see and do. Bubble's user roles and permissions are much more complex, and it's easy to accidentally give someone too much access or not enough.

That can be a serious problem: for example you might not know even know a user has access to the information, let alone realize what they're doing with that information! It will likely give them more power than intended, and may well lead into bigger problems such as privacy violations or allowing users to get access to sensitive information that only other users were meant to see.

Overall, the permissions system in Bubble is needlessly complicated, and often doesn't make much sense. The forum, where users ask each other for help, is littered with thousands of comments, questions, and disagreements over how best to set up these roles - or even how to tell whether you have set them up as intended.

Softr, on the other hand has one of the easiest user roles and permissions systems available in the no-code world. Setting up roles and setting permissions, across individual tables or record types takes just a few clicks, as does restricting user permissions (such as viewing or editing data) in-app. So Softr somehow has one of the most powerful user roles and permissions features, while making its implementation the easiest.

This makes Softr the clear winner in our view!

Stripe payments are easier to set up in Softr than in Bubble

If you want to set up payments in Softr, you can use Stripe. Setting up Stripe is easy - it just requires a few clicks to connect your Stripe account and start processing payments. Bubble also offers Stripe integration, but the process is much more complicated.

In Bubble, you can use a Stripe integration, but it tends to piggyback off the Stripe API structure, which requires a lot of conceptual knowledge to understand and can be quite difficult to get right. Then, you need to add the Stripe functions 'piece by piece' - wiring elements of the Stripe processes up to your database, your workflows, or your app buttons, and then test it vigorously. The process is not impossible, but it's much more complicated than it needs to be. In our experience, it is something people either tend to struggle with or spend a significant portion of time on.

In Softr, setting up Stripe payments can be done in a few minutes. This includes monthly subscriptions, one-time product purchases, digital downloads, and more. Softr also offers a Stripe Billing Portal, a portal that allows your users to self-serve their subscription to your app, including pro-rated upgrades to new subscription tiers, invoice downloads, credit card management, and more. It is an amazing feature that almost nobody else offers in the no-code space. To set this up outside of Softr is a task that even some professional developers would find difficult due to the highly technical nature of the API required to implement it. The fact that Softr includes this as a native add-in, with just a few clicks, is amazing.

Overall, Softr's use of Stripe is just one more reason why it is a better platform for non-technical founders.

Softr's "blocks" are easier to use than Bubble's "elements"

In Softr, you can easily add different types of content blocks to your pages. These blocks can be used to add text, images, videos, forms, buttons, and more. Bubble in contrast forces you to build each piece of your page from the ground up, using elements. For example, in Softr if you want to display a table, you just grab a table block, populate it with the data you want in a few clicks, and boom - you are done. In Bubble, you have to make the table border; fuss with getting the rows into the table; make an individual text element for each piece of data you want to appear; adjust the design settings for all of these; and then program them all individually (using their 'visual programming language')!

Why Bubble won't just provide 'blocks' out of the gate is a mystery. It's great that Bubble allows a level of hyper-granular control, if that's what you want or need - but for a newbie or frankly most users, it just means you have to spend an inordinate amount of time working on fussy details that are hard to learn, hard to manage, and hard to change. It doesn't help that Bubble's editor interface is poor, extremely dated, and unintuitive. Softr, by contrast is rich, modern, and intuitive.

Overall Softr's blocks are a pleasure to use and makes it a clear winner here for newbies.

Softr 'Actions' vs Bubble 'Workflows' Are Much Simpler

In Softr, you can easily add different types of actions to your pages or buttons. Actions allow users navigate to new pages, or run backend processes or automations. Automations are triggered in Zapier or Make (formerly Integromat), two very easy-to-use and highly visual automations tools (that basically let you flowchart your processes in Zapier or Make and then run them as designed).

Bubble has something similar, called "workflows". Workflows are essentially a way to automate actions in your app. They can be used to do things like send emails, update data, or call APIs. Workflows can be very powerful, but they can also be quite difficult to use.

For one thing, workflows are not visual. This means you need to have a good understanding of how they work before you can even start using them. Additionally, workflows can be quite difficult to debug. If something goes wrong, it can be hard to figure out what the problem is and how to fix it.

Overall, Bubble's workflows are far more powerful. But they are - like most things in Bubble - painful to use, hard to debug, and come with a steep learning curve. They can be great for advanced users with advanced app needs - but for most users, and certainly newbies, Softr is the clear winner here.

Responsive and pretty design is easier in Softr

When it comes to design, Softr is the clear winner. Softr offers a wide range of pre-built themes that are all responsive and look great on any device. Softr also offers a wide range of customization options, so you can easily change the look and feel of your app to match your brand. Responsiveness just works out of the box. Recently, Softr also added the ability to hide or show certain 'blocks' or parts of the page based on whether the user is viewing your app on mobile or desktop. This adds a further, very low-effort level of mobile customization options to your Softr app.

Bubble, on the other hand, offers very little in terms of design options. Bubble's editor interface is poor, extremely dated, and unintuitive. And when it comes to responsive design, Bubble is seriously lacking. While this has changed with a recent update, the new responsive design editor is - again - hard to use, and realistically requires taking an entire course on responsive design in Bubble to properly use it. If you want your app to look good on mobile devices without a significant level of effort and perseverance, you are basically out of luck.

Overall, Softr offers a much better design experience. With Softr, you can easily create an app that looks great and works well on any device. Bubble, on the other hand, is sorely lacking in this department.

Templates are free and easier to use in Softr

Softr offers a wide range of free, high-quality templates that you can use to jumpstart your app development. These templates are fully customizable and easy to use. Simply select the template you want to use, and then customize it to match your brand. Recent updates allow you to create an app from scratch but - using nothing more than a checkbox UI - select what you want pre-made in your app, such as fully functional signup and login pages, forgot and reset password pages, tables and detailed record listings, and more. And this is before you even get building!

Bubble offers a few templates, but they are not nearly as high quality or as easy to use as Softr's. Most of Bubble's templates - certainly the best ones - are also not free. You have to pay for them. And if you want to use one of Bubble's paid templates, they can be $399 or more! And then they require a lot of customization to make them work for your app. In our experience, they are more trouble than they are worth, and it is simply easier (not to mention less expensive!) to start from scratch.

Overall, Softr's templates are easier to use, higher quality, and - best of all - free. Bubble's templates are more expensive and require a lot of customization to make them work for your app.

More control over user experience in Softr

Softr gives you a lot more control over the user experience than Bubble does. With Softr, you can easily change how users interact with your app, and you have a lot of options for doing so. For example, Softr offers an "in-app browser" feature that allows you to embed web pages or other apps inside your Softr app. This is great for things like creating an "app within an app" experience, or for embedding a Softr app inside a website. Bubble does have this feature, using an iFrame, but again the forums are littered with puzzled users struggling to use it properly. Softr even has a great feature where you can grab an embed code for parts of YOUR app - that others can easily embed on THEIR pages. This is an amazing feature, and again - it just comes out of the box, and the code can be copied and accessed with 1 click.

Softr also offers a lot more control over how users login to your app. With Softr, you can easily add social login (Google), SSO, phone number login, magic links, and more. Bubble offers more social logins, and other types can be built, but again, in Softr it takes moments. In Bubble it took us days to get, for example, a Facebook login or SMS login working. On the whole, there is no question that Softr gives you a lot more easy-to-use options for authenticating your users.

Softr Support is Amazing Whereas Bubble's Is Not

This is a big one. Softr's support is AMAZING. The team is quick to respond, friendly, and always helpful. We've even had a few occasions where they've jumped on a call with us to help us troubleshoot an issue. They are also very responsive to suggestions and feedback - they really care about their users and want to make their experience as good as possible.

Bubble's support, on the other hand, is very poor. The team is often slow to respond, and when they do, their responses are often unhelpful or even made our app problems worse. We've had several occasions where we've had to reach out to Bubble support for help, and the experience has always been frustrating. Don't take our word for it - just search the Bubble forums to see the frustration and even rage over Bubble support. It is something the founders have been addressing in monthly newsletters (on the forum) for almost 2 years now, and it is still 'a work in progress'.

Overall, Softr's support is amazing, and Bubble's is not. This is a big factor to consider when choosing a no-code platform.

Conclusion

There are many other factors to consider when choosing a no-code platform, but these are some of the most important ones. Overall, we believe that Softr is the better choice for most newbies, and even experienced no-coders will find Softr to be a breath of fresh air. If you're looking for an easy-to-use platform with high-quality templates, great support, and more control over the user experience, Softr is the platform for you.

Softr is simply a better no-code platform than Bubble, especially for newbies. Softr is easier to use and learn, has high-quality templates, great support, and more control over the user experience. If you're looking for an easy-to-use platform with all of these features, Softr is the right choice for you.