It’s likely you’ve asked yourself a question: both Directual and Bubble can help me build what I want. Which is one better? In this short comparison article, we’ll have an unbiased (yes indeed, we like Bubble ourselves!) look at how these two solutions compare.
TL;DR: Both of these low-code/no-code platforms are great, yet the real use-case for each one is different. Bubble is more oriented towards building an MVP and switching to something else to scale it, whereas Directual is centered around creating scalable products based on building the architecture and databases first.
Well, folks, we have two perfectly capable no-code platforms designed to help you build anything you need, really. The real question is - which one suits your needs best? Stick around and find out! Let’s do this thing.
A bubble is a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid. Ah, just kidding, Bubble is among the pioneers of no-code solutions as a service. They’ve been around for quite a while, ever since 2012.
It’s a very team of professionals who proved to the entire world that no-code is much more than just a means to build landing pages. We don’t consider Bubble direct competition - we are different, and we share the idea of bringing no-code into the world and educating businesses all over about it.
Creating software on Bubble begins with interface endpoints. You start with the components and then attach logic steps and data endpoints to them. There are a few tabs you can switch between to create the visual design, app architecture, and tie databases to what you’ve made.
It’s a no-code/low-code full-stack solution designed to build software that can be scaled without resorting to third-party solutions. Directual has fantastic back-end capabilities, so it can be used to build internal apps, backend functionality for existing software, automation of data processing, and a lot of other things in between. Being full-stack, front-end tasks can also be covered with Directual’s app builder.
The software architecture is built with the help of logic cubes. Each cube is responsible for a particular action or sequence, with data being pulled from a database. It’s also possible to dig deeper into the produced code and add your own solutions to the mix if you know what you’re doing.
Directual is also actively moving towards becoming a no-code solution for blockchain solution development, so you might want to look into this area too if you’re in the Fintech space.
Let’s take a brief look at what Bubble is great at and vice versa. Remember: there are no magic-bullet perfect tools, only those that do the job right in your particular case.
It is also pricier.
And now time to have a nice, hard look at Directual. Keep in mind that Directual is a somewhat younger platform.
Less pricey.
If you’re unconvinced to one or the other, you can always use the core strengths of both! It’s still much cheaper and faster than hiring a dev team. Just recently we’ve posted a case study on the matter, by the way. By using both Bubble and Directual, you’ll end up with:
Of course, that would imply that you’ll need to learn both platforms, which might be an added challenge. Bubble’s interface can seem quite a handful at first glance and takes getting used to. Depending on the presence of development experience (any will help), getting used to either of the platforms can take a month on average. Some knowledge of JavaScript will also be very handy.
Bubble: great interfaces, looks nice, more established, but sucks at scaling and backend capabilities. Perfect fit for designers, MVP builders, etc.
Directual: great backend and scaling, less established, but sucks at building state-of-the-art front-end - just normal stuff, nothing crazy. Perfect fit for programmers and product devs looking to greatly speed the development process.
Both: great bunch of no-code/low-code platforms that can be extremely efficient together.
And thus, only one last step remains. Try them both out all out, see for yourself. If you’d like to learn how Directual works and how to get started with it, you should begin right here.
In case you’d like to ask us a question personally, don’t hesitate to reach out to hello@directual.com.
Thanks for reading!
A minimum viable product, or MVP, is a product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle. In industries such as software, the MVP can help the product team receive user feedback as quickly as possible to iterate and improve the product.
The dark side of Bubble is scalability (generally, no-code and scalability is a curious topic). At least based on 2022 data, large apps would eventually get slower and slower. Bubble works really well with Directual though, best of both worlds.
Join 15,000+ no-coders using Directual and create something you can be proud of—both faster and cheaper than ever before. It’s easy to start thanks to the visual development UI, and just as easy to scale with powerful, enterprise-grade databases and backend.
