Freelancer reviews: Appy Pie

Appy Pie empowers anyone to create a mobile app without any coding knowledge. Through its intuitive drag and drop builder, Appy Pie makes it possible to create a fully deployable mobile app in just minutes.

Let's assess how good this mobile app builder really is.

While the app builder itself is quite intuitive, Appy Pie's UX is far from intuitive. After logging in and choosing a template design to work on, you're directed to the app editor with limited options.

All you can do is set the theme design, change a few text elements on a single page of the app and that's it. There are no options to add a new page, to upload files or anything else of substance. If these options are available they're not apparent to new users, so they may as well be non-existent. If you click 'continue' you are directed to a 7 day trial sign up page that requires your credit card information. At this stage you can forget about returning to your app editing screen, it's inaccessible until you sign up for a trial.

After signing up to the platform you're finally rewarded with a higher level customization power. 

How complex of a mobile app can you build with Appy Pie?

Appy Pie claims that you can create the next Tinder or Uber with its codeless platform. 

This audacious statement doesn't take into account the network of other solutions needed to establish such complex mobile app ecosystems, so don't fall for its cheesy marketing tactics.

Like all drag and drop builders, Appy Pie has some serious customization limitations. Because you are building within a set design framework, you don't have complete development freedom. On the other hand, when you code a mobile app from the ground up you can customize each individual function and sculpt every crevice of its display landscape.

With all the negativity aside, if you don't have complex mobile app requirements, and you don't have the budget to hire a mobile app developer, Appy Pie is the cheapest solution to build an app for your business.

A particularly powerful feature is its ability to pull data and graphics from your website via just your submitted URL. You'll also have the ability to send push notifications to your customers which is the most effective way of directly communicating with them. 

Appy Pie offers a diverse range of templates to suit all types of business industries, from fitness, consulting, medical and more. 

Appy Pie gives you the option of monetizing your mobile app with display ads. If your 

app is successful, this could result in a substantial strream of residual income.

If you're building a CMS app, Appy Pie offers a range of CMS features you 

can seamlessly integrate. Some impressive business related examples include 

scheduling, time sheets, databases, document downloads and much more.

If you run into any roadblocks, Appy Pie's technical support team is always available to 

help you. Even the email support is quick and efficient. 

If you want to build a complex app you need to integrate with 3rd party services which is quite difficult. You cannot rely on the drag and drop builder alone to build a complex app, it's just too limited. 

A step by step guided setup would remove unnecessary frustrations during sign up.

Appy Pie's template designs are generic and unoriginal. If you're serious about shining your unique brand identity through your mobile app, Appy Pie will impede your efforts.

If you cancel your subscription Appy Pie will lock your app. So even if you don't require any more apps, you're still forced to pay the yearly subscription to keep your published apps accessible. 

Appy Pie offers 3 different pricing packages. The primary features and limitations of each package are summarized below.

Pricing: 4/5

Templates: 3/5

Support: 3/5

SEO: 5/5

Usability: 4/5

Flexibility: 5/5

Total: 4/5

Appy Pie is the perfect solution for businesses with simple mobile app requirements on a shoestring budget. If your requirements are complex, or you want complete jurisdiction over your app's appearance and functionality, you'll save a lot of time and frustration by working alongside a mobile app developer.

If you do prefer a mobile app developer to code your app but you're not sure whether it's worth the investment, Appy Pie provides a unique opportunity for you to test the market with a simplified version of your prospective app, at a relatively small investment