Anticode vs Adalo: native apps in the stores, or a website and installable app
Adalo builds database-driven apps that publish to the App Store, Google Play and the web from one project, with a hosted database and an AI assistant called Ada. Anticode builds websites and sandboxed web apps, makes every site installable as a web app, and hands you a Capacitor project for the stores, but never submits to a store for you. If a store listing is the goal, Adalo is closer to it.
The short answer
Pick Adalo if you need a native mobile app with sign-in, stored records and a listing in Apple's and Google's stores, and you want the tool to walk you through the submission. Pick Anticode if the main thing you need is a website, a booking page or a small interactive tool that works in the browser, can be installed on a phone's home screen, and passes design and security checks before it goes live.
The two overlap less than their labels suggest. Adalo is an app builder that can also publish to the web; Anticode is a website builder that can also build self-contained apps.
How each one builds
Adalo's home page describes Ada as an assistant that builds the screens, the database and the logic from a description, which you then change by asking Ada or editing visually on a multi-screen canvas. Each project includes a hosted Postgres database, and the page lists Stripe payments, Google Maps, push notifications and Google and Apple sign-in, with custom actions for other services.
Anticode starts with a conversation: the Architect asks up to three questions that change the build, then shows a plan. Pages are laid out by a deterministic design engine; anything interactive, such as a tracker or calculator, is written as one HTML document that runs in a strict sandbox with no network access. Apps can save to the visitor's own browser, but there are no real accounts, no shared database and no live data inside them.
Side by side
| Anticode | Adalo | |
|---|---|---|
| Design approach | Seven design systems, nineteen design checks and a publish gate | Visual multi-screen canvas, with screens generated by Ada |
| How you build | Describe it, answer up to three questions, then edit visually or in words | Describe the app to Ada, then edit by prompt or on the canvas |
| Data and accounts | No visitor accounts on design-engine sites; apps save to the browser only | Hosted Postgres in every project; sign-in built in |
| Code ownership and export | One HTML file, or a Next.js project you can push to GitHub | A sample of Ada's code on Builder; all of it on Business |
| Hosting and custom domains | anticode.dev address free; your own domain on paid plans | Custom domains on paid plans, set up on a www subdomain |
| App stores | Installable web app, a store checklist and a Capacitor project; you submit | Guided submission to App Store Connect and Google Play Console |
| Security checks | Twelve checks on the shipped HTML; failing pages can't be published | No pre-publish security scan described on the pages we read |
| Pricing model | Daily and weekly build allowance, a quote before each build | Monthly plans priced by published apps and AI building |
| Best for | Websites, booking pages and browser tools | Native mobile apps with stored data |
Getting into the app stores
This is the deciding question for most people comparing the two. Adalo's store publishing page describes a step-by-step workflow for App Store Connect and Google Play Console, and says you provide your own developer accounts, since Apple and Google require them. It also says content and data changes reach users without a new store submission, while layout and feature changes need a new build and review.
Anticode makes every published site installable on phones and desktops, with a manifest, icons and an offline fallback. For the stores it gives you a checklist of what Apple and Google will ask for and a Capacitor project for iOS and Android to download. Building, signing and submitting that project is your job, or a developer's. Website to app store walks through what that involves.
How you pay
As of 24 October 2026, Adalo's pricing page lists prices in dollars without naming the currency. The Free plan includes 500 records per app, five Ada prompts a month and one free app build. Builder is $65 per month, or $624 billed yearly, with two published apps, store and web publishing and custom domains. Business is $200 per month, or $1,920 billed yearly, with five published apps and full access to the code Ada writes. Enterprise is priced on request.
Anticode charges for building rather than per published app. Each plan has a daily and a weekly allowance measured by what each build actually cost; the builder quotes a build before it runs, and refused or failed builds are marked "Not charged". Amounts are on the pricing page.
Where Adalo is the better choice
- A native app is the product. Adalo builds for iOS and Android and guides the store submission; Anticode stops at a downloadable project.
- Users sign in and save data. A hosted database and sign-in come with every Adalo project. Anticode's apps have no real accounts.
- Updates without resubmitting. Adalo says content and data changes reach users without a new store review.
- Payments and maps inside the app. Adalo lists Stripe and Google Maps as built in; Anticode's apps run with no network.
Where Anticode is the better choice
- You need a website first. Landing pages, portfolios, booking sites and small stores with separate pages, held to a design system.
- Checks before anything is public. Missing alt text, keyboard focus or a page language blocks publishing, and the server re-runs the security checks that matter.
- Code you can take away. Export the site as HTML or as a Next.js project with customer and staff roles and Postgres through Prisma.
- Installable without a store. Every site can go on a home screen with no review process.
Who should pick which
A founder testing a habit-tracking app that needs logins, saved progress and a store listing should start with Adalo. A clinic, studio or shop that needs a credible site with bookings and an enquiry form, and maybe an installable version for regulars, should try Anticode. If you're weighing more tools, see Adalo alternatives.
Anticode's limits
Anticode doesn't submit to app stores, has no visitor accounts on published design-engine sites and no server-side database inside apps; real accounts exist only in the Next.js export. It has no shopping cart: buy buttons open a payment link from Stripe, PayPal, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Shopify or Whop. The builder is in English only. Adalo facts above come from Adalo's own pages on 24 October 2026; if something has changed, tell us through the contact page.
Questions people ask
Does Adalo submit my app to the App Store?
Adalo describes a guided submission workflow for App Store Connect and Google Play Console. You need your own Apple and Google developer accounts, which both stores require.
Can Anticode put my site in the App Store?
It gives you a checklist and a Capacitor project for iOS and Android to download. Submitting is up to you. Every published site can also be installed from the browser without a store.
Can I use my root domain with Adalo?
Adalo's help centre says root domains aren't supported for web apps, so you add a www subdomain instead. Anticode connects your own domain on paid plans by CNAME or TXT verification.
Can I get the code from either?
Adalo's pricing page lists a sample of Ada's code on Builder and all of it on Business. Anticode exports a project as one HTML file or as a Next.js project you can push to GitHub.
Sources
- Adalo home page, checked
- Adalo plans and pricing, checked
- Adalo: Publish to the App Store and Google Play, checked
- Adalo Help: Publish to custom domain, checked