Hey I’m Seth!

Founder, No Code MBA
Each week I share the latest No Code MBA tutorials, interviews, and tool recommendations with 20,000 subscribers.
I'd love for you to join as well.
2 min read only
Practical lessons
Free access to content
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form...
00
D
00
H
00
M
00
S
TAX DAY SALE: SAVE 50% →

Adalo vs Shopify

An in-depth head to head comparison

In this article, read a side-by-side comparison between two no-code tools: Adalo and Shopify. We'll compare pricing, the benefits, the drawbacks, give examples of what you can and can't build, as well as our overall recommendation.

What is Adalo?

Adalo makes creating apps as easy as putting together a slide deck.
Go to tool
No items found.

What is Shopify?

Try Shopify for free and get more than just an ecommerce solution. Sell anywhere, to anyone, with Shopify's ecommerce platform and point of sale features.
Go to tool
No items found.

Pricing

Adalo pricing

  • Free plan with unlimited apps, an Adalo domain and Adalo branding, with up to 50 rows of data
  • $50/month - $200/month for custom domains, publishing to Apple and Google Stores, connecting to external data collections, custom actions, and additional data storage

Shopify pricing

  • Free 14 day trial, but no free plan
  • $29/month - $299/month for all basic e-commerce features, site hosting, custom domain, and no branding. More expensive plans have lower processing fees, more reporting, and more staff accounts

Benefits

Adalo benefits

  • Can build native apps that can be downloaded in app store
  • Can also build desktop apps
  • In-app purchases
  • Can build just about any app experience
  • Can connect to APIs

Shopify benefits

  • Market leader for e-commerce
  • Easy to use
  • Shopify app store has thousands of apps for just about any use-case
  • Conversion-optimized checkout
  • Very active community

Drawbacks

Adalo drawbacks

  • Higher learning curve
  • Seems to be going through some growing pains. I’ve noticed published apps run a bit slower than I’d like.

Shopify drawbacks

  • A bit limited for custom design without development work

What you can build

Adalo use-cases

  • MVP versions of mobile apps like Tinder and Zillow
  • Desktop apps
  • Apps with user accounts and complex logic
  • Complex apps that require API connections
  • Publish apps to the app store

Shopify use-cases

  • Robust e-commerce site with custom design
  • Dropship to sell without holding inventory

What you can't build

What you can't build with Adalo

  • Desktop web apps (check out Bubble)

What you can't build with Shopify

  • A marketplace (check out ShareTribe)
  • A custom web app (check out Glide or Bubble)

Overall Recommendation

Adalo recommendation

Adalo is best for building mobile apps that require one of the following: being published in an app store, in-app purchases, or connection with APIs.

In most other cases, I'd suggest Glide as it's easier to use and runs faster for end-users.

Shopify recommendation

Shopify is the absolute best option for e-commerce stores.

Gumroad, Squarespace and Webflow also have e-commerce functionality, but it’s more limited than Shopify. In almost all cases I'd recommend Shopify.

Access all of this with No-Code MBA Unlimited
Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Friendly Tip!
Companies often reimburse No Code MBA memberships. Here's an email template to send to your manager.

Bring Your Ideas to Life with AI and No Code

Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Access all of this with No-Code MBA Unlimited
Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Friendly Tip!
Companies often reimburse No Code MBA memberships. Here's an email template to send to your manager.

More tool comparisons