Draftbit is like FlutterFlow, except its code base uses React Native behind the scenes.
You own your source code, which means you can export it at any time. You can also push your code to Github and have developers build upon it.
Draftbit is very customizable
@bluerssen , Thanks a lot for your response. Good to know :)
However, I have seen lots of app builders lately which claim to dump source code. But the catch is, they are all web-view apps / call api's to fetch data. Meaning, I'm looking for app builders who can dump fully native source code which enable apps that work offline completely - even without connecting to internet once after downloading the app (in case of simple content display apps). Can draftbit do this?
Love to see it, and excited for the public release. Stopped by the Draftbit office this month to speak with Nick and Peter to learn more and possibly get involved. Planning on stopping by again in the new year.
For those in the no-code space who are familiar with other tools (Bubble, Thunkable, Glide, etc.), the best way to describe it as it currently stands would be "the Webflow of native mobile apps.”
Draftbit is a platform bound to be a transformative contribution to the growing no-code movement. Really like what the team is cooking up.
This is very cool! I can see several of my previous clients taking advantage of this tool to rapidly prototype.
In one of my friend's current project, their UI kept changing so frequently that they could not keep up with that pace using Native UI (Android SDK). So they temporarily are using React Native to build just the UI layer and planning to eventually replace it if necessary. I can see this solution solving their problem perfectly.
Website looks great, will give it a try soon! Kudos on the public release 👍
I did a thorough test-drive of Draftbit, and just like all the other no-code builders, it is way more complicated and frustrating than simply writing code. The layout is horrible, the docs and tutorials are inaccurate, and the entire platform is absolutely worthless.
My co-founder and I have used Draftbit for almost a year now, and have successfully published a powerful app to the App Store (and soon Google Play). I've listed the pros and cons below and my final decision at the end.
Pros:
- Once learned, the interface is straightforward and can be navigated quickly
- The community is growing daily and the majority of easy-to-medium difficulty questions are already answered within it. If you have a more niche, challenging question...
- Then, you'll find that the community as well as the Draftbit Admin are quick to reply and help
- Great for if you are looking to create a product that is just past the MVP stage, all the way to a full-blown product
- Ability to export the React Native code and work on it outside of DB
Cons:
- They are a newer company so you'll find some features they are still working on building out.
- You have to be cognizant of bugs on their end at times. These are generally fixed quickly but it happens more often than I would like.
- If you need a more complex feature, you will need to learn how to code in JS or React Native. This is the case for most/all low-code platforms, but still wanted to put this out there
Draftbit has cut our time to market in half, and has saved us anywhere from $40k-$150k+ in development costs if we had decided to outsource the build. We've had plenty of hiccups and run into the common challenges and limitations of being on a low-code platform when we create more complicated features, but overall, I'd recommend them.