How To Make an App in 2026, no Matter Your Coding Experience Level

You no longer have to be a coding whiz to bring your app idea to life. In fact, in 2025, AI and vibe coding platforms like Base44 will allow you to generate a fully-fledged app with just a single text prompt.

While traditional methods like native development are still very much in use, the barrier to entry for creating software has never been lower. All you need is a clear vision and a few minutes to describe it in plain English.

However, despite recent advances in AI, there’s no silver bullet when it comes to app development. So, to help you explore all available options, we cover four main ways you can build an app, unpacking their key benefits, drawbacks, and use cases.

In this article:

• How to Make an App: Summaries
• What Are The Best Vibe Coding Apps?
• Verdict: What is The Best Way to Make an App in 2026?

How to Make an App: Summaries

• Code it yourself – The traditional method for maximum control, which requires the most technical know-how and time.
• Hire an app developer – The high-end option, which ensures high-quality custom results, but at a cost.
• Use a website-to-app converter – A quick and easy way to turn an existing website into an app, with a compromise of functionality.
• Use a no-code app – The modern, accessible method for building an app yourself, without writing a single line of code.

Code it Yourself

If you’re a developer, good news, you can create an app yourself. If you aren’t a developer, you can still build an app from scratch.

First, you’ll need to learn to code. There are plenty of online platforms out there, such as Codecademy and Coursera, that I’d recommend for learning coding languages such as Python and JavaScript.

Depending on where you want your app to go, you can then decide how to start making it. Native App Development, for instance, is useful if you want to build an app for either iOS or Android. Hybrid App Development relies on JavaScript and will allow you to deploy your app on both iOS and Android.

Then, you can start to develop and code your app. You’ll need to build both the frontend (visuals, interactions) and backend (functionality and how your app works). It’s best to focus on the core experience of the app first, then add everything else.

Once you have a prototype, you can show your app to other people and gather feedback on how well it works. From there, it’s a process of rewriting and refining, based on accessibility, performance, compatibility, etc. The final stage is launching your app for anyone in the world to use.

What are the benefits?

• You’ll have complete control over the user interface, user experience, and functionality of your app.
• You won’t be limited by the constraints of a pre-built platform that might be lacking features you want to include in your app.
• It can be affordable if you have the patience to learn a new skill, saving you potentially thousands of dollars. Some platforms will even let you get started for free.

What are the drawbacks?

• The process can be time-intensive, especially if you’re learning to code for the first time, with the process of learning, writing the code, troubleshooting, and trialing potentially taking months or a year to complete.
• It requires a broad range of knowledge beyond coding, including app architecture, security, and database management. While verified courses can teach you the basics, it’ll ultimately be a long road to mastering app development by yourself.

Hire an App Developer

If you want to create a highly specialized or complex app, but lack the time or expertise to execute it well yourself, you might want to consider hiring a professional.

This approach involves outsourcing the entire app development process to a skilled third-party, whether it be a freelance developer or a dedicated agency. 

Fiverr can help with finding developers with expertise across a range of platforms. Source: Tech.co

Before you start looking for the right developer, I’d determine the following:

• The goal and purpose of your app
• How much you want to spend on it
• The communication style of the developer/company you want to hire

Once you know what and who you’re looking for, the interviewing and hiring process will be much more straightforward.

Websites like Upwork and Fiverr are great resources for finding freelance developers, while development agencies listed on sites like GoodFirms are better suited to support complex projects.

With how fast AI is developing, modern-day coders will definitely be equipped with all the tools needed. Data has shown that 65% of organizations say the most common engineering tasks are mostly or fully automated, leaving developers more time to focus on complex projects.

Finally, I’d recommend doing any background checks and research on a developer or company before putting pen to paper, particularly when using websites to find them. Sites like Upwork are home to a huge ecosystem of incredibly talented freelancers, but there are still those out there trying to make a quick buck by cutting corners.

What are the benefits?

• You’re guaranteed a high-quality, bug-free product made by a professional.
• You can overcome the limitations of DIY app-builders, which currently struggle to create apps requiring sophisticated features like real-time location, tracking, and advanced machine learning.
• You can get up and running quickly using an experienced team that will take roughly half the time to complete a moderately complex app, compared to inexperienced beginners.

What are the drawbacks?

• Professional developers are expensive, with costs ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to upwards of $150,000, depending on the complexity of your app. A highly experienced developer can charge $200+ per hour for their services.
• You won’t be able to make day-to-day decisions about the technical design and code of your app, forcing you to sacrifice some control or spend significant time feeding back on changes and adjustments.

Use a Website-to-App Converter

Website-to-app converters are automated platforms that let you transform existing websites into professional, ready-to-use mobile apps. It’s important to note that this is exclusively what website-to-app converters do, and they are not suited to making an app from scratch. 

The process, which is also known as “hybrid app creation,” places your existing website inside a “shell” or “wrapper” that is itself a native application.

This allows all of your branding and content to be passed on and also enables your product to be listed on app stores, like the Apple App Store and Google Play.

In terms of how you’d do it, platforms like Convertixo just require you to enter your website’s URL into a box once you’ve made an account. Then, you simply enter additional details like the name you’d like your app to be, the app icon, logos, and any follow-up contact details.

Then, your website will be converted in less than a few minutes, and can be deployed across a range of platforms.

What are the benefits?

• If you already have a website, this is the quickest way to get an app on the market, with platforms like Convertixo or Appy Pie making it possible to build a functional app just with your website’s URL.
• You’ll save some money compared to outsourcing the project.

What are the drawbacks?

• This is only an option for those with existing websites, and won’t give you the tools necessary to build an app entirely from scratch.
• You won’t have complete access to elements such as device hardware, push notifications, GPS, or the camera, making the method a poor fit for apps that rely heavily on native phone features.

Use a No-Code App

If you don’t have tons of time or technical abilities, nor a website to convert, no-code platforms are by far the most accessible method for building an app. As the name suggests, no-code apps let you create fully-functional apps without learning a lick of code. 

A study conducted in 2025 found that 51% of professional developers are using AI tools daily, confirming that these tools are already making waves in the industry.

Within this field, a powerful sub-genre has emerged: vibe coding. Pioneered by platforms like Base44, this method uses AI to create apps from natural language prompts.

Working in a similar way to ChatGPT, the method takes care of every step of the process for you, from the UI to the backend. All you need is a clear idea of what you want to achieve and knowledge of the best way to communicate it to the AI, known as prompting.

Getting set up with Base44 is simple: all we had to do was write our initial prompt in the box, and let the AI get to work. Source: Tech.co

Once you’ve given Base44 your idea, your app will be ready to go in a few minutes. Then, you’ll be taken to the editing screen, where you can continue to work with the AI to tweak and perfect your idea, and it’ll make real-time changes as you go.

Vibe coding platforms also make it super easy to deploy your app once you’ve finished editing it. In Base44, for example, all you have to do is navigate to the “publish” button in the top corner of the page, and your app will go live.

If you need help with vibe coding a website, check out our dedicated guide.

What are the benefits?

• The process is incredibly quick and easy, especially when compared to coding an app yourself or outsourcing the task to a third party.
• No learning curve required. Platforms like Base44 require no coding experience, and by simply telling the AI what you want to make, your ideas can be transformed into a live product within a couple of minutes. This means everyone on your team will automatically be able to use the platform, even if they are new to the project.
• You’ll get ongoing feedback from the AI that will help you naturally improve your app, giving your employees a better idea of how to use their time when working, ultimately boosting their efficiency.
• Most vibe coding platforms are free to get started so you can be up-and-running with a first draft of your app in a few minutes. Compared to the cost of hiring a developer or paying for your staff to learn how to code, vibe coding is a much more affordable option.

What are the drawbacks?

• Vibe coding doesn’t give you granular control over your app, although you can refine your app with additional prompts, you won’t be as familiar with the inner workings of your app.
• You might struggle to create highly specialized or large-scale applications, as no-code methods tend to be less optimized for resource-intensive features. That being said, given how quickly these platforms are developing, it’s only a matter of time before building complex applications becomes significantly easier.

What Are The Best Vibe Coding Apps? 

Vibe coding might still be in its infancy, but according to a report from Gartner, 70% of new apps will be built using low-code or no-code technologies in 2026.

In terms of platforms you should consider, Base44 has already emerged as a clear leader of the pack, due to its prompt-first workflow and ability to generate full-stack applications. 

Unlike many other vibe coding platforms, which require you to rely on third-party services to build things like databases and user authentication, Base44 handles all of these functions in-house. This allows you to build, manage, and complete a custom product without leaving its centralized dashboard.

Base44 let me create a Daily Habits app in a couple of minutes, by entering a natural language prompt. Source: Tech.co

Base44’s chat-based interface is also very easy to get started on. Instead of navigating drag-and-drop builders, all you need to do is type what you want into the chat window, making it ideal for users with little technical know-how who need a working app within a couple of minutes. 

Base44 isn’t the only viable option out there, though. Lovable is another prompt-driven vibe coding app with a notably low learning curve, while v0 is more technically focused, positioning it well for developers with a complex vision and a little more coding expertise. 

There also exists a range of free vibe coding platforms and plans you can check out if you want to explore the software yourself. Be warned though, they often have quite strict credit limits, which means you won’t be able to make many modifications to your creation.

The best method for building your app is ultimately going to depend on a lot of specifics about your business, including your current budget and the technical expertise you have on hand. Excitingly, however, the emergence of vibe coding apps means the barrier to entry, on both these fronts, has never been lower.