Backendless vs. Firebase vs. Adalo: Which App Builder Wins?

Backendless vs. Firebase vs. Adalo: Which Platform Gets Your App to Market Fastest?

Choosing the right app builder determines whether your project launches in days or drags on for months. If you're weighing Backendless, Firebase, and Adalo, understanding what each platform actually delivers—and what it demands from you—is essential before committing.

Adalo is an AI-powered app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps. One version deploys across all three platforms, publishing directly to the Apple App Store and Google Play. Backendless is a low-code platform offering backend services and app development tools that require technical expertise to use effectively. Firebase is Google's backend-as-a-service platform, providing database and infrastructure tools primarily for developers who code their own frontends.

What matters most is app success—launching your MVP as fast as possible and reaching the biggest audience. That means not just building for web or a single mobile platform, but publishing native apps to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, where billions of potential users browse and where push notifications keep them engaged. The platform you choose determines how quickly you can get there and how many people you can reach.

Quick Overview: Backendless vs. Firebase vs. Adalo

Here's the essential breakdown: Backendless offers power for tech-savvy users willing to invest in learning its low-code environment. Firebase excels at backend building for developers who code their own frontends. Adalo's AI-assisted design suits all skill levels and handles the complete app-building process from database to app store publishing.

What you'll learn in this comparison:

• Key differences and similarities between all three platforms
• Detailed looks at each platform's features and pricing
• How to select the right platform for your specific needs
• Why most non-technical builders will benefit from Adalo's approach

Backendless vs. Firebase vs. Adalo: Key Differences

	Backendless	Firebase	Adalo
Monthly Pricing	Starting at $15/month, with additional features priced separately	Usage-based pricing starting as low as $2/month, depending on data transfer and bandwidth	Starting at $36/month with unlimited usage and no record caps
Main Features	Complex low-code building interface with flexibility, enterprise-level features	Backend and database builder, seamless Google/Android integration	AI-powered app creation, native iOS and Android compilation, direct app store publishing
Who It's Good For	Businesses with technical teams looking to create customized, scalable apps	Developers who want to build powerful backends and databases with code	Anyone who wants to build a native mobile app without coding—entrepreneurs, small businesses, and teams
Technical Requirement	Requires data modeling, API, and algorithm knowledge	Requires JavaScript, database design, and frontend coding skills	No coding required—AI-assisted building with drag-and-drop interface

Similarities Between the Platforms

While Backendless, Firebase, and Adalo serve different audiences with different approaches, here's what they share:

Free versions for exploration: All three platforms let you try before you buy. Adalo, Backendless, and Firebase each offer free tiers, allowing you to explore their interfaces and capabilities before committing to a paid plan.

Backend and database capabilities: While Adalo and Backendless are full app builders that enable frontend creation (the parts users see and interact with), all three platforms let you build backends and databases. Your backend serves as your app's brain and delivery system—it relays information from your database to the frontend, stores user-entered data, handles API calls, and manages third-party integrations.

Learning ecosystems: Each platform provides robust documentation, community forums, and educational resources. Whether you're stuck on a specific functionality or want structured learning, you'll find tutorials, courses, and experienced users ready to help with technical questions.

Adalo: AI-Powered App Building for Everyone

Who It's Good For

Adalo is an AI-powered app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps—one version across all three platforms. AI-assisted building and streamlined publishing enable launch to the Apple App Store and Google Play in days rather than months. The platform is designed for individuals, entrepreneurs, and small and medium businesses who want professional apps without hiring developers.

With over 3 million apps created on the platform, Adalo's visual builder has been described as "easy as PowerPoint" while delivering production-ready applications. The agnostic builder lets you publish the same app to web, native iOS, and native Android—all without writing code or rebuilding for each platform. If your plan is mass distribution through the app stores' vast marketplaces, this approach removes the barriers that typically require months of development time.

Features

AI-assisted app creation: Magic Start generates complete app foundations from simple descriptions. Tell it you need a booking app for a dog grooming business, and it creates your database structure, screens, and user flows automatically—what used to take days of planning happens in minutes. Magic Add lets you add features by describing what you want in natural language.

Nearly 40 templates for various use cases: Whether you're building delivery apps, booking systems, business dashboards, or community platforms, you can reconfigure each template to create a professional-looking app that reflects your brand and business needs.

Three publishing outlets from one build: Publish your app to the web, Apple App Store, and Google Play Store without rebuilding. This puts your app in front of billions of potential users across all major platforms.

Surprising power beneath the simplicity: You'll get nearly pixel-perfect design freedom so your app looks precisely how you want. Connect thousands of third-party integrations like Stripe for payments. X-Ray identifies performance issues before they affect users, helping you maintain quality as your app scales.

Unlimited database records on paid plans: Unlike platforms that cap your data storage or charge based on record counts, Adalo's paid plans include no record limits. With proper data relationship setups, Adalo apps can scale beyond 1 million monthly active users.

Pricing

Start using Adalo for $36/month (billed monthly). This includes unlimited usage—no App Actions charges, no bill shock from unexpected overages. You get unlimited app store publishing updates once your app is live, meaning you can iterate and improve without additional costs.

Backendless: Low-Code Power for Technical Teams

Who It's Good For

Backendless is a low-code app builder that provides tools for creating highly customized apps. The platform supports making apps for almost any need and offers diverse templates for e-commerce, booking, business tools, and more.

Because it's low-code, you'll need technical expertise to use the platform effectively—specifically in data modeling, schema structuring, API calls, and algorithms. To create your database and backend, you'll use Backendless's own Codeless programming language, which is easier to learn if you have prior coding experience.

Features

Multi-platform publishing: Backendless supports publishing on the web, Apple App Store, and Google Play Store. This allows you to market your app across Google Search and app store marketplaces, reaching billions of potential users.

Deep customization capabilities: If you know how to write basic JavaScript commands, you can code unique features that perform tasks specific to your organization. This can supercharge workflows or create distinctive functionality that sets your app apart from competitors.

Enterprise features for large organizations: If you're a Fortune 500 company or a large business with global offices, Backendless offers enterprise capabilities that might fit your requirements. You can host your app on-premises (your in-house server) and scale your infrastructure to accommodate a growing user base.

Pricing

Start using Backendless for $15/month (billed monthly) with up to 500,000 push notifications and 10GB of storage. However, this base price doesn't include full features—you'll need to add capabilities à la carte. For example, 20MB expanded cloud deployment for scaling costs $20/month, and 200,000 extra data objects adds another $10/month.

The modular pricing means costs can escalate quickly depending on your needs. You'll need to review Backendless's pricing page carefully to understand total costs for your specific application requirements.

Firebase: Google's Backend Infrastructure for Developers

Who It's Good For

Firebase appeals to nearly any backend developer—whether freelancer, entrepreneur, small business, or enterprise. It's a backend development tool built on Google's infrastructure, which means you can scale your Firebase backend to handle massive traffic loads.

The critical limitation: Firebase doesn't offer a frontend builder. You'll need another platform or custom coding to create your user interface, then connect it to Firebase's backend services.

Features

Robust security features: Firebase provides secure authentication, data encryption, database security rules, and comprehensive access controls. This gives you granular control over who can access your app's information, creating protection against unauthorized access.

Seamless integration with mobile frameworks: If you're building your frontend with code, Firebase's powerful backend capabilities accelerate your app's overall performance and functionality. Firebase works flawlessly with mobile frameworks like React Native and Flutter, allowing seamless backend integration with JavaScript.

Comprehensive tool suite: You'll get access to Firebase Testing Lab for experimenting with both Android and iOS apps, free and unlimited Google Analytics, Firebase Performance Monitoring, Firebase Remote Configuration for making changes without app updates, and many more developer tools.

Pricing

Firebase's pricing is based on the number of services your app uses, data transfer amounts, and storage consumption—each item has its own cost structure. You'll need to visit the Firebase site to understand what you might pay for your specific application.

Some Firebase users have praised the low costs associated with their apps, though costs can scale significantly with heavy usage.

How Adalo Compares to Other App Builders

Beyond Backendless and Firebase, you might be considering other platforms. Here's how Adalo stacks up:

Versus Bubble: Bubble's web and mobile wrapper offering starts at $59/month with usage-based charges, limits on app re-publishing, and record restrictions due to Workload Units. Adalo's web and true-native mobile builder starts at $36/month with unlimited usage and app store publishing. Bubble's mobile solution is a wrapper for the web app, which can introduce performance challenges at scale. One app version in Adalo automatically updates web, Android, and iOS apps deployed to their respective stores.

Versus FlutterFlow: FlutterFlow is "low-code," not "no-code"—it's designed for technical users. FlutterFlow users also need to manage and set up their own separate database, which requires significant learning complexity. Their builder limits your view to 2 screens at once, whereas Adalo can display up to 400 screens on one canvas. FlutterFlow pricing starts at $70/month per user for app store publishing, but still doesn't include a database—you'll need to source, set up, and pay for that separately.

Versus Glide: Glide is heavily format-focused and restricted to set templates. This makes it fast to build with but creates generic, simplistic apps with limited creative freedom. Glide excels at spreadsheet-based apps, but Adalo's Sheetbridge enables you to turn a Google Sheet into an actual database for easy control without database-related learning. Glide pricing starts at $60/month for custom domains but is limited by app updates and data record rows. Critically, Glide does not support Apple App Store or Google Play Store publishing.

Firebase vs. Backendless vs. Adalo: Which Platform Wins?

Now it's time to decide which platform fits your needs. Consider these four factors:

1. What You Want to Build

• Adalo: Provides tools to create your frontend, backend, and database—all in one platform with AI assistance
• Backendless: Allows frontend, backend, and database construction, but requires technical expertise
• Firebase: Only provides backend and database construction—you'll need to build or code your frontend elsewhere

2. Difficulty of Use

• Adalo: A true no-code platform with AI-assisted building. If you can create an Instagram account, you can build an app with Adalo. Magic Start and Magic Add let you describe what you want and watch it appear.
• Backendless: Requires fair technical expertise in database construction, API calls, and coding logic. You'll need to learn Backendless's proprietary Codeless language to build your backend.
• Firebase: Requires JavaScript experience, CSS and HTML familiarity, ability to design non-relational databases (NoSQL), and frontend development skills.

3. Flexibility and Customization

• Adalo: Access to templates, plugins, and integrations, plus design freedom to bring nearly any app idea to life. X-Ray helps identify performance issues for scalability.
• Backendless: Create almost any customized app using the low-code platform. Patch in unique code for specialized functionalities.
• Firebase: Customize your database and backend using Google's architecture. Program your frontend and connect it to Firebase for maximum control.

4. Pricing Comparison

• Adalo: Starting at $36/month with unlimited usage, no record caps, and unlimited app store updates
• Backendless: Plans start at $15/month but don't include full features. Additional features cost $10 to over $50/month each
• Firebase: Usage-based pricing tied to bandwidth, cloud space, and storage—can start very low but scales with usage

Next Steps: Choose Adalo

Looking for a platform that lets you create a frontend, backend, and database all in one place—without coding? Adalo is the clear choice.

Adalo has a much lower learning curve than Backendless and Firebase, requiring no technical skills or programming knowledge. AI-assisted building means you can start creating your app immediately after signing up—describe what you want, and Magic Start generates your foundation.

You'll get enough design freedom and flexibility to customize an app that precisely meets your needs. With no database record limits on paid plans and modular infrastructure that scales to millions of monthly active users, your app can grow without hitting artificial ceilings.

When you finish building, publish to the web, Apple App Store, and Google Play Store to reach billions of potential users. Adalo handles the complex submission process, so you focus on your app instead of wrestling with certificates and store guidelines.

When comparing Backendless vs. Firebase vs. Adalo, Adalo stands out as the most accessible and complete platform for bringing any app idea to life.

Get started with Adalo today for free.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Why choose Adalo over other app building solutions?	Adalo is an AI-powered app builder that creates true native iOS and Android apps. Unlike web wrappers, it compiles to native code and publishes directly to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store from a single codebase. With unlimited database records on paid plans and no usage-based charges, you get predictable pricing as your app scales.
What's the fastest way to build and publish an app to the App Store?	Adalo's drag-and-drop interface combined with AI-assisted building lets you go from idea to published app in days rather than months. Magic Start generates complete app foundations from descriptions, and Adalo handles the complex App Store submission process—certificates, provisioning profiles, and store guidelines are managed for you.
Which is more affordable, Adalo or Backendless?	Adalo starts at $36/month with unlimited usage and no record caps. Backendless starts at $15/month but requires additional à la carte features that can add $10-$50+ per month each. For a complete app-building solution, Adalo often provides better value since everything is included in the base price.
Which is more affordable, Adalo or Firebase?	Adalo starts at $36/month with predictable pricing. Firebase uses usage-based pricing that can start very low but scales with traffic and data transfer. Firebase also requires you to build or code your own frontend separately, adding development costs that Adalo includes.
Is Adalo better than Firebase for mobile apps?	For non-developers, yes. Adalo provides complete app building—frontend, backend, and database—with AI assistance and direct app store publishing. Firebase only provides backend services, requiring you to code your own frontend or use another platform. Adalo delivers native iOS and Android apps from one build.
Which is easier for beginners, Adalo or Backendless?	Adalo is significantly easier for beginners. It's a true no-code platform with AI-assisted building—if you can create a social media account, you can build an app. Backendless requires technical expertise in data modeling, API calls, and their proprietary Codeless programming language.
Can I migrate from Firebase to Adalo?	Yes, you can transition from Firebase to Adalo. While Firebase handles backend services, Adalo provides a complete solution including frontend building. You can export your data from Firebase and import it into Adalo's database, then build your user interface with Adalo's visual builder.
What's the difference between Backendless, Firebase, and Adalo?	Backendless is a low-code platform requiring technical expertise. Firebase is a backend/database builder for developers who code their own frontends. Adalo is a complete AI-powered no-code solution for building frontends, backends, and databases—designed for anyone regardless of technical skill level.
Can I publish my app to multiple platforms with Adalo?	Yes, Adalo allows you to publish your app to three outlets from a single build: the web, Apple App Store, and Google Play Store. This means you reach your target audience across all major platforms without rebuilding for each one, with unlimited updates included on paid plans.
Does Adalo support third-party integrations?	Yes, Adalo supports thousands of third-party integrations to extend your app's functionality. Connect services like Stripe for payments, along with many other tools, allowing you to create powerful, feature-rich apps without any coding.