Side-by-side comparison · Website & App Builders
Bubble vs Durable vs Shopify
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Founders and small businesses building a serious app or software product without a developer, who are happy to spend time learning a visual editor.
Pick it if: Sole traders and small local service businesses that want a website and simple customer tools live the same day.
Pick it if: Anyone selling physical or digital products online, from first-time sellers to established brands.
Overview
| Attribute | Bubble | Durable | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Build real web and mobile apps without code, starting from a prompt. | Builds a small-business website in a minute, with a CRM, bookings and payments built in. | Online store platform with an AI assistant, Sidekick, that helps you build and run it. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | $0 | $25/mo | $29/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Bubble | Durable | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.4Winner |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 5.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Bubble | Durable | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | – | – |
| Browser extension | No | – | – |
| API access | Yes | – | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | – | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | – | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | – | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | – | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | – | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | – | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 11/ 17 | 5/ 17 | 12/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Bubble | Durable | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free $0 Building and testing before launch. | Free Free Seeing what your site would look like. | BasicOur pick $29/mo billed yearly, or $39 monthly New and solo sellers. |
StarterOur pick $32/mo billed yearly Launching your first app. | LaunchOur pick $25/mo, or about $22/mo billed yearly Most small businesses going live. | Grow $79/mo billed yearly, or $105 monthly Small teams with steady sales. | |
Growth $119/mo billed yearly Apps with paying users and a second editor. | Grow $49/mo, or about $41/mo billed yearly Busier businesses using the AI tools a lot. | Advanced $299/mo billed yearly, or $399 monthly Bigger stores selling internationally. | |
Team $349/mo billed yearly Teams shipping a bigger product together. | Plus From $2,300/mo High-volume and complex businesses. | ||
Enterprise Custom Companies needing dedicated servers and SSO. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Build on Free until your app works, then move to Starter to launch. Paying monthly costs up to 20% more than yearly. Watch your workload units in the first few months, and only move to Growth when you need a second editor or more capacity. | Build on Free to see if you like the result, then move to Launch to go live on your own domain. Grow is only worth it if you have lots of customers or use the AI marketing tools heavily. | Start on Basic; Sidekick and the core store are the same on every plan. Move to Grow when you add staff or your monthly sales are high enough that its lower card rates cover the price difference. |
Key features
| Attribute | Bubble | Durable | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Bubble | Durable | Shopify |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Bubble | Durable | Shopify |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Bubble, Durable or Shopify?
Shopify scores highest overall in our ratings (Bubble 3.6/5, Durable 4.0/5 and Shopify 4.4/5). Bubble is best for launching a software product without a developer and Marketplaces, booking systems and client portals. Durable is best for A website for a local service business in minutes and online bookings from your site. Shopify is best for launching an online store and running products, orders and stock in one place.
Which is cheaper, Bubble, Durable or Shopify?
Bubble: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Durable: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $25/mo. Shopify: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $29/mo.
Which is easier to use, Bubble, Durable or Shopify?
Durable rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Sole traders and small local service businesses that want a website and simple customer tools live the same day.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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