Bubble vs WeWeb: Which Nocode tool to choose?

Both platforms enable users to create web applications in Nocode. Bubble, with its visual development environment, offers impressive flexibility for the creation of customized applications, and is without doubt the most complete on the market. WeWeb, on the other hand, specializes in front-end development and offers complete visual control over user interface design.

In this article, we dive into a comparative analysis of the two platforms, highlighting their functionalities.

What is Bubble?

Bubble is a web application development platform, created in 2012. It offers a visual programming environment where users can not only design the front-end, but also define data structures and create workflows. The tool offers great flexibility in terms of customization, enabling users to create tailor-made applications.

What is WeWeb?

WeWeb is a French Nocode platform founded in 2019, focused on the creation of web applications, and more specifically on the front-end. It allows users to create and save individual components, and also offers the possibility of uploading custom components using React or Vue.js. The platform offers a wide variety of animation features, and boasts a very interesting library of integrations with external database tools such as Airtable, Xano, Supabase, among others... This shows that WeWeb is also aimed at traditional developers who wish to gain in productivity but retain a degree of technical control.

Bubble and WeWeb: comparing features

Learning curve

Bubble has a steeper learning curve, particularly for creating custom workflows and actions, but benefits from extensive documentation and robust community support. 

Conversely, WeWeb offers a more intuitive front-end experience, especially for beginners in web app creation and those familiar with Nocode platforms such as Webflow. But its use can become highly technical, depending on the complexity of the project - especially when you want to connect the tool to back-ends with complex logic/workflows.

Features

Bubble is a more complete solution for full-stack development, offering features for database management, user authentication and integration with third-party services. Everything can be managed within the tool.

WeWeb, on the other hand, focuses primarily on front-end development, with the flexibility to connect the front-end to any back-end system - including the ability to integrate with any REST API.

User interface

WeWeb's drag-and-drop visual construction makes responsive user interface design more intuitive, especially for those already familiar with Nocode platforms. 

Its competitor also offers Drag-and-Drop functionality, but is less fluid overall.

Customization

WeWeb lets you code custom React or Vue.js components and integrate them into your application. By downloading components from GitHub, you can extend WeWeb's capabilities and integrate third-party libraries or services to meet your specific needs. The tool supports custom CSS classes, allowing you to style your web application according to your preferences. The platform also offers the option of writing custom JavaScript code.

On the other hand, Bubble offers extensive customization options directly within the platform. It provides a range of basic functionality and offers a wide choice of free and paid extensions to enhance your application's capabilities. If standard functionality isn't enough, developers can build custom solutions using JavaScript to create logic. From a component point of view, you'll be more limited than with WeWeb.

Design

WeWeb offers a more intuitive interface, making it easier to create customized, pixel-perfect designs.

On the other hand, Bubble may require a steeper learning curve to achieve the same level of design precision. The tool was not essentially designed for the front-end, and this can be felt. It's worth noting, however, that the platform has made great strides in recent years.

Resource and Community

Bubble benefits from extensive documentation, tools and robust community support, making it easy to learn and solve problems. The platform also features a "How to Build " section on its site, offering more extensive guides to building applications than its competitor.

On the other hand, WeWeb offers an "Academy" with tutorials to help users navigate its platform and develop web applications. The courses also explain in detail how to connect and use Xano. The platform also offers community support.

Support 

For WeWeb, chat support is available for the Business plan, and premium chat is offered for the Custom Enterprise plan, providing a level of support tailored to users' needs. 

Bubble, for its part, offers e-mail support for all plans, complemented by exhaustive documentation and an active community, ensuring solid support in the event of queries or obstacles encountered.

Integrations

WeWeb and Bubble offer the possibility of integrating external tools, enriching the functionality of their platforms. They enable integrations with various software and applications such as Airtable, Google Maps, Facebook, Mailchimp, Stripe, and Auth0, offering a wide range of options for extending your application's functionality.

Currently, there are over 15 plugins available for WeWeb and over 100 for Bubble. However, WeWeb can integrate any extensions via API REST, but this process is more technical.

Either way, you'll have plenty to do!

Security

Both sites have implemented security measures for their platforms, designed to protect user data while guaranteeing confidentiality.

WeWeb relies on reliable connections via HTTPS and SSL when linking to external data or additional services. It facilitates user authentication via native plugins such as Auth0 and Xano, and bespoke authentication systems. It also provides recommendations for securing databases or APIs and implementing effective access controls.

On the other hand, Bubble.io also takes care to protect data. The platform, built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), ensures the confidentiality of transmitted data through encryption. The latter offers special deals including free SSL certificates, facilitating secure communication with application servers via HTTPS, helping to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of user data within the applications created.
Bubble is also SOC 2, CSA, ISO 27001, and other certified.

At RGPD level, Bubble is committed to ensuring the protection of user data and underlines its compliance with current European standards. To achieve this, the publisher has implemented internal controls. It also mentions that in the long term, there are plans to set up data centers in various geographical areas to ensure that data security complies with the specific requirements of each region.

Automation

In short, WeWeb and Bubble offer powerful workflow automation capabilities, enabling you to optimize processes, automate actions and create elaborate logic within your applications.

WeWeb offers workflows, actions and formulas, making it easy to define and automate complex processes. Bubble also offers workflow automation to simplify the implementation of complex processes, with integrated actions such as user authentication, file management and database operations.

The difference here lies more in the origin of the data: WeWeb retrieves its data from external sources, whereas Bubble uses databases within its tool.

E-commerce

With WeWeb, you benefit from advanced features such as an integrated shopping cart, payment processing and order management integrations, making it the right choice for companies wishing to sell online.

Bubble.io integrates cutting-edge e-commerce technologies, allowing you to focus on your business and your online store without worrying about the underlying technology. The tool offers a scalable infrastructure, customizable design options, and integrations with other CMS platforms such as Squarespace and WordPress. It also supports seamless integration with popular third-party payment options like PayPal, Stripe, and Plaid, offering flexibility to manage transactions on your e-commerce platform.

At Alegria.solutions, we're used to working with Bubble. Ma Petite Pension, an innovative platform dedicated to pet services, came into being in just three months thanks to the creation of a marketplace, marking the start of a digital adventure for our customer. The acquisition of the first customers was a success, and the tailor-made training provided enabled the customer to get to grips with the tool independently.

SEO 

When it comes to SEO, Bubble.io offers a complete set of features for managing various SEO parameters, including meta tags, customizable URLs and sitemap generation, enabling better management of visibility in search results. 

WeWeb also offers integrated SEO optimization tools, facilitating the application of SEO best practices such as meta tag customization and URL structuring, to increase site visibility and attract more visitors from search engine results pages.

Price

WeWeb offers a free plan and paid plans for individuals.

The platform also offers team plans: 

Bubble offers a free plan like its competitor, as well as a range of paid plans, with the Growth package integrating multi-user editing.
However, it's important to consider workload units (WU), introduced by Bubble in April 2023. This metric measures the diversity of actions performed by the tool's applications. This includes database operations, web interactions and workflows. If you'd like to find out more, we've written a full article on the subject.

Summary table

Conclusion: Which Nocode builder is right for you?

The choice between Bubble and WeWeb depends on the specific needs of the project. 

Opting for a fullstack solution (frontend + backend), like Bubble, can be advantageous if you have a preference for an all-in-one platform that eases the development process. Today, Bubble is probably the only Nocode tool that does everything right.

On the other hand, using WeWeb to separate the frontend from the backend can give you greater flexibility and control over your application's architecture. This approach allows you to employ specific tools and technologies for each element of your project, exploiting the strengths of different frameworks and programming languages. If you want to capitalize on the front end, WeWeb will be more interesting.