Free mobile app development software in 2023
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13 Best Free and Open Source Mobile App Development Software
Nikita Agarwal Nikita Agarwal
4 days ago
In 2022, there were over 6.648 billion smartphone users in the world. This only highlights the growing importance of building mobile apps. Being a developer, you can easily create and publish your own apps. But hiring a mobile application developer or a company can cost a lot of money.
Looking for Mobile App Development Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best mobile app development software solutions.
This is where free mobile app development software comes in. With open-source mobile app development software, you can create or modify apps as per your needs. This free mobile app development tool is ideal for those who are new to app building.
In this article, we will look at what free mobile application development software is, its benefits, and the best free mobile app development software.
What Are Free Mobile App Development Software?
Mobile app development refers to the process of building software for smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Similar to software development, mobile app development involves writing code to create the software and building your app.
You can choose to install the mobile app development software on your device. It can be accessed from a mobile app store as well as a mobile web browser. The programming languages typically used for building mobile app software include Java, HTML, Swift, and C.
On average, the app development process can take anywhere from three to nine months. The scope, usage, and features of an app determine the time that will take for it to be fully functional.
What Are the Key Features for Open Source Mobile App Development Software?
key features of building mobile apps
Source: Behance
The mobile app development software process involves the following steps: strategy, planning, design, development, testing, and release. Let us understand what each of these steps entails.
1. Strategy
In the strategy phase, you come up with app ideas and determine the app’s objectives. For instance, if you are building business apps, you need to have clearly defined objectives that also align with your company’s goals.
This will also include conducting market research and understanding your customers’ needs before you decide to create apps. Here are a few questions that can help you get started:
Why do you want to build mobile apps?
What will be the key features of your business app?
Where will you deploy apps – Google Play store or Apple app store?
What do you want your mobile app to accomplish?
How will you build apps – use a low code app builder or hire a developer?
2. Planning
The next phase of the mobile app development software process involves planning. During this stage, companies need to agree on four key parameters – teams, technologies, tools, and timelines.
Now that you have decided what app to build and for whom, you should figure out – the type of app you want (few app categories include native apps, android apps, cross-platform apps, hybrid apps, etc.)
who will be building the app
what tools they require (whether use a free app development software or no code app builder or hire experienced developers)
on what platforms will the app be functional (android and iOS devices or multiple platforms)
and the time required to create it.
Typically, organizations lay out a product roadmap to decide what features to include in the app, the order in which they will be built, and set milestones to meet the app release deadline.
3. Design
Once your team has started working on the mobile app development, it is time to design the appearance. In the design phase, companies need to work on the user experience, excellent app interface, and how the app works at different stages. Hire experienced developers as they can assist in prototyping and consulting on UI and UX decisions during the design phase.
4. Development
Once you have finalized the app design and features, it is now time to actually start developing your mobile app. In the development stage, teams have to establish their technical architecture, including the front end, back end, and APIs. Moreover, they need to calculate the development lifecycle of the app and code it as well.
However, depending on your development technique, you might need to create multiple versions of the same app. Usually, companies create one version for Android devices and another one for iOS devices.
If your coding skills aren’t that great, you can always use no code app development tool. There are many app maker tools in the market that you can consider using. Based on the type of app you want to build and its advanced functionalities, you can choose your app creation software.
5. Testing
This is the stage where you have finished developing apps and now you want to run several tests and catch app errors if any. Before you publish apps on various app stores, it is necessary to ensure that it is functioning properly. The testing stage involves finding any bugs, glitches, and other issues that need to be resolved before making your app available to customers.
To ensure that your app is functioning smoothly, make sure to test it on each platform it will be available on, run it on multiple devices, gather user feedback, and test it with teams throughout the development process.
6. Release
Once you have determined that your app is fully functional, you can now release it to the public. Once your app is deployed, companies should provide constant customer support and monitor its performance for any issues or roadblocks. While you can always make updates and launch new app versions later on, if your organization wants to make changes that are beyond its scope, you might need to begin the process of app development from scratch.
What Are the Benefits of the Best Free Mobile App Development Software?
There are several advantages to using open-source mobile app development software. Let us look at some of them.
1. Lower Hardware Costs
Since open-source software for mobile is easily portable and compressed, there is less hardware involved to build apps as compared with hardware power that takes place on servers such as Windows. As a result, you can use old or cheap hardware for mobile app development.
2. Fewer Development Costs
Another benefit of using free mobile app development tool is that the platform is free of cost and does not include any licensing fee. Open-source software allows you to install and uninstall the mobile app development platform multiple times. You can also access it from any location without worrying about monitoring or tracking license compliance.
3. Unlimited Support
Typically, open-source mobile app development software is available free of cost. Further, it can be easily accessed through online communities. As a result, you can get unlimited support and maintenance from multiple sources at no price, in case you are encountering issues with app development.
4. High-Quality Software
Besides being free of cost, open-source mobile app development is usually of high quality. When you use open-source software for app creation, the source code is already available. In addition, it is well-designed and requires minimal modifications. As a result, while building your app, you can save time and focus on its other aspects.
5. Regular Updates
Once an app is released, its version does not remain static. Open-source software provides scope for regularly updated versions. This allows the developers to make changes to the app and match up with the changing requirements of its end-users.
What Is the Purpose of the Best Open Source Mobile App Development Software?
Open-source mobile app development software is ideal for those who are new to the field of app development. Given that the open-source mobile app development software already has a source code, you only need to make a few minor changes and your app is ready.
Moreover, open-source app development software is useful for individuals and small businesses with limited budgets. Being free of cost, they can easily create and launch their own app within a short period of time.
Lastly, open-source mobile app development software provides unlimited user support and high-quality tools to help you create apps that suit your needs.
Best Free/Open Source Mobile App Development Software
1. PhoneGap
PhoneGap is a popular open source mobile app development software that allows you to create hybrid applications. With PhoneGap, the developer doesn’t necessarily need to know mobile programming languages. Instead, they can get started with languages like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript for app creation software.
In fact, it allows you to create apps that will work for multiple platforms with a single codebase to reach the maximum audience.
Features
Easily integrates with various libraries for developing the app,
Allows you to view and manage any changes in the app using PhoneGap
Operates on multiple operating systems, including iPhone, Android, and Windows
Pros
A single code base for multiple platforms
Rapid testing and deployment
Cons
Lack of UI widgets
2. Appy Pie
Appy Pie is a no-code app builder with the sole goal of democratizing technology by making it affordable and accessible to anyone with an internet-connected device. This no-code app builder is a powerful yet reasonably priced platform that allows anyone to create an app in minutes.
The simple and easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface makes the entire process enjoyable and rewarding. The platform provides app users with hundreds of features, design options, and templates.
Features:
Develop functional apps for your business using text or voice input without coding.
AI-powered feature selection based on the app category.
Build custom apps for all platforms (Android and iOS).
Numerous third-party integrations through APIs.
Pros
Simple drag-and-drop interface.
Hands-on support for app publishing on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Cons
Does not offer game development.
3. Flutter
Flutter is a free mobile app development software that is best suited for hybrid apps. It is one of the newest members in the mobile app development space and is written in C, C++, and Skia Graphics Engine.
It is Google’s UI toolkit that enables you to create applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase. What’s more, you don’t have to restart the application when testing your project. It offers the Hot Reload functionality, which makes the whole process of development stress-free and optimized.
Features
Incorporate all critical platform differences such as navigation, scrolling, icons, and fonts
Offers fully customizable widgets to render fast development of native apps
Creates plugins using channels to be easily used by every developer
Pros
Expressive and flexible UI
Builds native interfaces in minutes
Cons
Not-so-rich library collections
4. Ionic
Ionic is another best free, open-source mobile app development software mostly preferred for creating hybrid apps. The best thing is that it allows you to build applications for various platforms, including Android, iOS, and web — using a single codebase.
What’s more, it offers intuitive UI components that accelerate the app development process. Besides, it can be deployed virtually anywhere. Ionic boasts over 120 native device features, predefined elements, and a large community of developers.
Features
Includes interactive paradigms, mobile components, typography, and an extensible base theme
Written in JavaScript, the program is covered by the MIT license
Allows for Cordova based app building
Pros
Popular technologies and ease of learning
Wide range of integration capabilities
Cons
Absence of hot reloading
5. Xamarin
Xamarin is a free and open source mobile app development application founded by Microsoft in 2011. It is a set of tools that enables developers to build apps for various operating systems, including Windows, Android, and iOS — all in one programming language.
One of the reasons why Xamarin is quite popular is that it uses the C# programming language. Besides, using the Xamarin Test Cloud, you can automatically test apps on around 2,000 real mobile devices.
Features
Offers a real-time testing module to monitor and catch app errors as and when they happen
Easily integrates with modern backend services, components, native APIs, and more
Enables you to build stunning cross-platform user interfaces
Pros
Full technical support by Microsoft
The flexibility of C# and .NET
Cons
Not for game development
6. Buildfire
Another best in the category of free mobile app development software is Buildfire. It offers a robust set of tools to build apps for both Android and iOS. It is well-known for its high-end custom development capabilities as well as an easy, intuitive DIY platform.
What’s more, it currently supports more than 10,000 apps and is flexible enough to scale as your business starts to grow. You can’t ignore the simple and functional drag-and-drop UI either, as it makes it easy to build the app quickly.
Features
Allows you to build custom functionality with their developer SDK
Offer an interactive intuitive app builder where no coding is required
Can be combined with any third-party API’s or pre-built integrations
Pros
Includes advanced development features
Has excellent social networking feature
Cons
Not a reliable customer support
7. Felgo
Felgo is a free mobile app development software that supports apps for various platforms, including iOS, Android, desktop (Windows and Linux), and counting. Using a single codebase, you can create an application for different operating systems.
Well, it was ranked first as the most time-saving framework, easiest to learn, and best support system as compared to other 40 leading tools. Besides, it’s a great system to develop game apps as it supports 3D objects too.
Features
Uses custom UI rendering to reduce the interaction between the native layer and runtime environment
Provides a well-designed abstraction of platform-specific concepts
Supports creating both business apps and gaming apps
Pros
Easy to learn and use
Smooth performance and fewer bugs
Cons
N/A
8. Appcelerator
Appcelerator is one of the leading mobile app development software that offers both paid and free versions. It enables developers to build a native mobile app using JavaScript, a popular scripting language.
Furthermore, you need fewer lines of code to develop apps as it allows for the reuse of codes across different platforms. The software supports multiple operating systems, including Windows, iOS, Android, and browser-based HTML5 applications.
Features
Gives full and direct access to iOS and Android APIs using JavaScript
Allows you to have a live view of all the changes being made in a preview window
Its cloud capacity provides mobile-optimized access to any data source
Pros
Rapid prototyping
A single codebase for different platforms
Cons
Lots of trial error
9. Mobincube
Mobincube is a web-based application that enables users to create apps with no prior knowledge of any software programming language. It comes with a robust set of tools that lets you create mobile stores, customize every little detail, develop your own advanced functionalities, and more.
Besides, it has an excellent app interface, and you can use the software to create any kind of apps — entertainment, health, educational, and more.
Features
Enables you to easily integrate third-party solutions within your app
Allows you to deploy apps on various platforms like Amazon, Google Play, etc.
Lets you add your own POIs on online maps
Pros
High flexible
Offers full customization
Cons
Guide to use is missing
10. LongRange
LongRange is a native mobile application development tool that uses Cobol, CL, and RPG. It does not require one to know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It enables swift mobile application development and a short maintenance process. It comes with functionalities such as commands, form views, and navigation tabs.
Features
Native app development with only CL/RPG/DDS
Use mobile features such as camera, GPS, audio, SMS and more
Push mobile app updates into devices automatically
Pros
Reduced mobile app maintenance and extension costs
Fast execution of native apps
Cons
High level of dependency on existing tools for swift app development
11. Qt
Qt’s cross-platform framework allows you to design, develop, and deploy mobile applications cost-effectively for different types of portable, handheld iOS, Android, and Windows devices. The free and open-source platform provides a comprehensive and conducive development environment for delivering excellent user experiences. The time-honored and stable solution was initially used for developing software for Windows and Mac.
Features
Support for opaque private keys
Supports dual-mode networks and IPv6
Buggy SSL server workarounds
Pros
A large community of experienced developers and years of available documentation
Compiler and parser optimization
Cons
Increased process complexity owing to the meta-object compiler
12. Alpha Anywhere
Alpha Anywhere provides no-code and low-code environments for developing and deploying cross-platform web and mobile apps rapidly. It uses HTML and JavaScript to create apps that are also offline-capable. It is known as a comprehensive solution that supports mobile app development and desktop, web, and SaaS application development. It also comes with a massive library of tutorials that can speed you along the app development process.
Features
Enterprise-grade HMAC data encryption and SSL support
Offline-capable mobile app development
Close-grained resource management delegation
Pros
Pre-built modifiable sample applications that can also be used for reference or cross-verification
Exhaustive backend access
Cons
Limited technical support
13. Sencha Ext JS
Sencha Ext JS uses an MVC-based JavaScript framework to create highly responsive mobile applications that can elevate customer satisfaction. It facilitates the rapid design, development, and management of cross-platform, data-intensive applications compatible with all Android, iOS, and Windows devices. Mobile apps created with Sencha Ext JS have boasted of excellent business intelligence features that fuel data visualization and analytics.
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