Caspio is a low-code development tool for building database-centric web apps founded in 2000. IT teams value Caspio for significantly speeding up development of internal tools, and healthcare and government organizations appreciate the platform’s compliance with a variety of frameworks, including HIPAA. 

Bubble’s no-code platform has been used to build and scale nearly 5 million applications over the last 10+ years, with startups and enterprises alike choosing to build on Bubble. Bubble’s a proven, scalable solution for projects ranging from native mobile apps to internal tools and all manner of web apps. 

Both platforms are full-stack solutions, so either may work for your project, but Bubble has the edge when it comes to: 

• Speed
• Code ownership
• Plugins and integrations 
• Customization
• Flexibility

Unlike Caspio, Bubble also enables you to build native mobile apps for Android and iOS. So if you’re looking for a no-code builder for mobile apps, Bubble’s your choice. Caspio also requires a greater degree of traditional programming knowledge than Bubble does, making it less accessible for non-technical builders.

Of course, we are Bubble, and naturally we’re big fans of our own platform. That’s why we tapped the wider no-code community to find out what mattered most to them when choosing a platform. Then we used our findings to develop a rubric to more objectively compare Bubble to solutions like Caspio.

In this article, we’ll show you how these two platforms stack up — and you’ll see why no matter what you’re trying to build, Bubble is a fantastic option. If you want to learn more about the process of choosing the right tech for your use case, check out our Buyer’s Guide to No-Code Development Platforms.

Caspio vs. Bubble: At-a-glance comparison

Let’s start with a high level overview of how Bubble and Caspio compare.

We developed a grading rubric based on responses to our 2024 State of No-Code Development Survey, in which more than 350 no-code founders, developers, freelancers, and hobbyists rated the importance of 17 factors when choosing a no-code builder. 

In the fall of 2024, we used this rubric to score Bubble and Caspio from 1–5 on each element, with 5 being the best score. Each score had specific requirements, and we’ll explain more about those below. 

We also gave each platform an overall score using a weighted average. This was based on how important the category was to no-code developers in the survey. Here’s how Bubble and Caspio compared.

Caspio vs. Bubble on use-case versatility

No-code platforms are often designed for particular purposes. While you can often technically use a platform for a variety of use cases, most customers use it for a more limited set of jobs. 

The no-code platform you choose may set hard limits on your use cases based on its capabilities, and the community may create “soft limits” by driving the direction of the platform toward specific areas. 

Our scores for use-case versatility attempt to take this into account, rating each platform based on the range of use cases most people choose them for.

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio gets a solid 3 in this category for its industry versatility. Caspio primarily serves enterprise users best, but they have users and apps built across all kinds of industries, from health care and government to finance and tech; education; nonprofits; energy and utilities; and more.

However, Caspio apps are primarily focused on multi-user apps driven by internal data and focused on improving internal workflows. That includes apps like:  

• Internal ticketing systems 
• Training portals 
• Custom CRMs 
• Form automation tools
• Resource scheduling portals
• Recruiting tools
• Dashboards and reporting tools 

Caspio’s low-code solution can help internal teams and IT managers create the tools your team needs to work faster, manage clients or patients, and organize and modernize data. However, the platform isn’t directly designed to serve broad-function apps. 

Caspio’s versatility score: 3/5

How Bubble compares: People have used Bubble to build all kinds of full-stack apps. Whether you want to create social apps, marketplaces, or SaaS tools that are meant to scale broadly, or internal and industry-specific apps your team can use to work faster and save money, Bubble is a flexible and intuitive solution to build exactly what you need.

That includes internal tools like the kind Caspio specializes in. For example, you’ll see folks on Bubble building things like: 

• A custom procurement platform for the City of Atlanta
• A marketplace for locum tenens physicians and hospitals
• A suite of internal product and event management tools for Axial 
• Customer-facing subscription hubs and client portals for Seagate
• Strabo, a global personal investments platform 

Bubble gets used as a frontend-only solution, a backend-only solution, and a full-stack solution. Users have the flexibility to build software vertically and horizontally, and it shows in the kinds of products our customers create. 

Bubble’s versatility score: 5/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on full stack coverage

Many no-code platforms focus on one or two specific aspects of development: design, data, or logic. This means you have to either combine multiple platforms to support the entire stack, or hardcode the remaining aspects yourself.

This can be cumbersome, require more resources, and dramatically increase the total cost of ownership. Our scoring criteria worked a little differently for this category. We scored Bubble and Caspio based on how many of three components (design, data, logic) users can access — in other words, the degree to which the platform is a “full stack” solution.

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio is a full-stack builder that gives users control over design, data, and logic. 

Data and logic is managed via Caspio’s Tables and Databases. Design is managed via your DataPages, which provide a user interface for your backend databases and workflows. 

Caspio’s stack coverage score: 5/5

How Bubble compares: Bubble also supports full-stack, no-code development. On Bubble, you have complete control over design, data, and logic, all from Bubble’s visual editor. 

Intuitive, drag-and-drop editing lets you create the design for any pages you want — functional frontend for your app, static webpages, or mobile app screens. Then, simply tab over to the Workflows or Data tabs to add data types, build out your database with custom data types and fields, add functionality, and connect all the pieces together for a fully-functional app. 

Bubble’s stack coverage score: 5/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on performance

The low-code or no-code tool you build with serves as the foundation of your app. As such, the performance of your building platform, in some ways, determines what level of performance you can expect from your app! If your vendor goes offline, so do your end users. While 100% uptime can’t be guaranteed by any platform, you want outages to be as rare as possible. When they do occur, look for a vendor that handles them quickly and transparently, so you can trust that your vendor will be able to meet the technical demands of your app. 

When comparing Bubble and Caspio, we took into account how the platform performs as you scale up server demand. That is, can the platform grow with you, or does performance take a hit when your user base grows too large?

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio offers a 99.99% uptime guarantee to Enterprise Plans only (starting at $2,025 per month). That doesn’t mean that performance is necessarily lower for other accounts, only that uptime isn’t backed by a guarantee. 

In general, Caspio doesn’t experience a ton of outages or downtime, and any service interruptions are generally resolved quickly. You can track their performance on their system health page, showing the past week of data. 

While uptime is good, some customers have said that Caspio servers have caused slow app performance, particularly on non-Enterprise plans. 

Caspio’s performance score: 4/5

How Bubble compares: With an uptime of 99.9% in the last 90 days (since publication of this article), Bubble rarely experiences outages. When they do occur, however, our team does two things especially well:

1. We detect and resolve the issue quickly to get you back online.
2. We clearly communicate what’s happening and what we’re doing about it, so you’re never in the dark.

We know that our operations directly impact yours, so we heavily invest in our network infrastructure and react fast to unforeseen issues. Caspio certainly does that, too. 

But with Bubble, you have better visibility into what’s going on behind the scenes, and what we’re doing about it. In addition to checking our status page, you can also keep up to date on outages via @BubbleStatus on X and the forum. 

Bubble’s performance score: 4/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on ecosystem

Choosing a no-code tool isn’t just about your development platform. Every platform also has an ecosystem of third-party tools, services, vendors, plugins, and so on — which can really enhance your experience. Some tools have a highly integrated and accessible web; others have a much sparser ecosystem. 

Our ecosystem quality scores are based on what third-party services a vendor offers, the third-party products that have been created, how accessible they are, and established partnerships.

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio has a strong ecosystem of templates and plugins (“Customizations” or “Extensions”) available for use when building an app. However, some of these plugins cost more (usually between $300 and $500) and charge extra fees for features beyond the template. 

They also offer a few popular integrations (notably, Make and Zapier) and a sizable directory of partners to help you with your project or extend Caspio’s functionality. 

Caspio’s ecosystem score: 4/5

How Bubble compares: With thousands of API integrations and plugins, you can easily connect your software with the other tools and services you need. (You can even add your own plugins as needed.) The Bubble community has created a massive, growing collection of templates. And our agency database helps you filter and compare agencies that use Bubble, so when you want to hire help, you can quickly find a partner that’s right for you.

Plus, Bubble has strategic partnerships with startup programs and universities including Microsoft For Startups, Harvard University, and Columbia University.Need to hire someone to build your app? Bubble’s agency database helps you filter and compare agencies that use Bubble by experience, services, cost, language, and region, so you can quickly find a partner that’s right for your project. You can even submit a request for proposal right on Bubble’s site.

Bubble’s ecosystem score: 5/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on cost

The cost grades we gave Caspio and Bubble consider the cost of using the tool, with higher scores reflecting lower costs. While there are many factors that impact cost, we primarily took into account the pricing model and the platform’s price and how much free access the vendor allows. 

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio offers a 14-day free trial, which can help you figure out if their platform is right for your needs. 

After that, they offer three paid plans, starting at $90 per month and scaling up to $2,025 per month. Caspio plans all include unlimited app users, which is great for scaling your app to a larger audience. Instead, Caspio plans are limited by “DataPages” (i.e., user interfaces or screens in your app) and the amount of data your app holds. 

Other features, such as HIPAA compliance, revision history, AI assistants, triggered actions, many plugins, and so on, are only included in higher tiers, or are available for an additional monthly fee. When considering Caspio, be careful that an essential feature you’re counting on isn’t gated behind the enterprise-level subscription.

Caspio’s cost score: 2/5

How Bubble compares: Bubble offers a Free plan, which gives you all the access to the platform you need up until you deploy your app, aka take your software live. Paid monthly plans vary based on the workload demand of your software, the capabilities you need, and the number of people working on your app.

Put simply: Bubble servers have to scale with your app as it grows, and that means pricing does, too. Plans start at $29.99 a month.

Bubble’s cost score: 3/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on customizability

No-code builders make software development more accessible. But in some cases, ease of use means trade-offs in terms of function, customization, and flexibility — you have to work within defined boundaries and limits. It’s only faster than building with traditional code if you’re building the types of apps that fit within those structures. Similarly, modifying pre-built templates is an easy way to get started, but that’s often not enough to build an app that meets your needs. 

A quality platform should give you all the control you need to create custom apps with unique functionality. Think of the difference like a basic Lego set vs. a box of every kind of Lego block. With the Lego set, you build what it’s designed to build. You can build it a bit differently or use the Lego blocks in a unique way, but you still have to work with a limited selection of blocks. With an open box of Legos, you can sort through every option and choose exactly what you need to build whatever you imagine. 

In this comparison, our customizability scores are based on how flexible a platform is in terms of what you can build with it, and how easy it is to add advanced features throughout your software’s lifecycle. We also considered the degree to which the platform has integrated AI to help you build.

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio offers two main layers of customization, mostly on the frontend. You can customize the way your page looks and feels using “Styles.” You can also customize things like what’s included on each page, how you set up your databases and tables, and how you organize DataPages to build an app that meets your needs. You can also add some custom functionality with custom code. 

However, when it comes to the bones and structure of your app, Caspio has somewhat limited customization options. 

Caspio’s customizability score: 3/5

How Bubble compares: Extensive customization is an area where Bubble really shines. You can build practically anything, and you can add whatever capabilities you want. Even better, you should never have to use custom code to create apps in Bubble, but for those that want to, it’s always an option.

Some Bubble users — particularly those from more established brands —  also appreciate how they can replicate their entire design system (down to the pixel) with Bubble. Bubble’s customizability is limitless when it comes to both functionality and design.

Bubble has also introduced AI capabilities, with more coming soon, to make bringing your vision to life easier. Bubble users have built everything from social platforms and e-commerce platforms, apps that use generative AI, enterprise level internal tools, and more. 

Bubble’s customizability score: 5/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on compliance

Depending on your use case, compliance could be a critical component of the software you intend to build. If the platform you’re building on isn’t compliant itself, it could be difficult — or impossible — to build a compliant app. Some no-code platforms have plugins or special instructions to guide you toward building compliant software, but that’s not always the case.

Our compliance scores are based on whether each platform has a path to compliance and which standards it complies with by default, with higher scores corresponding to more sophisticated standards. 

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio is SOC 2-Type II, GDPR, and PCI compliant at all levels, helping you make sure your data stays secure and encrypted for all users. It also offers an optional add-on (at an additional fee) for HIPAA compliance or a GovCloud edition for additional security. 

Caspio’s compliance score: 5/5

How Bubble compares: Bubble has built-in compliance with SOC 2 Type II and GDPR. While we’ve implemented numerous solutions to help protect your data, there are some additional steps developers need to take in order to build software that complies with other frameworks like HIPAA. We do, however, have a series of compliance articles that explain how to follow these standards when you build with Bubble.

Bubble’s compliance score: 4/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on code ownership

It’s always a good idea to choose a platform that you trust to grow with you and last for a long time. But what if you do need to change platforms at some point? Knowing when you go in what you can take out can make a big difference in how you build and what platform you choose. 

For example, is this platform simply a scratch pad for testing and validating ideas before implementing them somewhere else? Will you need to take your work elsewhere when your user base grows? And what happens if your business outlives the vendor? Our scoring criteria for the ownership category are based on how much freedom a platform gives you to export your work — specifically your code and your data.

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio lets you export your data if you choose to move to another platform,but not your code.

Caspio’s code ownership score: 3/5

How Bubble compares: Bubble lets you export your data freely, but you can’t export your code. When you build in Bubble, our platform’s proprietary source code enables your software’s functionality, so we can’t export your code without either releasing our source code or separating it, which would break your software. 

Our promise to our customers, however, is that if your organization outlasts Bubble, we’ll release our source code under an open-source license.

Bubble’s code ownership score: 3/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on learning curve

No-code and low-code tools make software development much more accessible, but that doesn’t mean it’s totally effortless. Even no-code programming has a learning curve. You’re still learning to navigate a new platform and how to interact with it to get the output you want. 

However, which platform you choose will have a huge impact on how steep that learning curve will be and how fast you’ll be able to actually build something. Some tools require a more technical background than others, and some “low-code” tools‌ do require a bit of technical or programming knowledge to use fully. Others are so intuitive that anyone can be up and building in as little as an hour. 

In our State of No-Code Development Survey, the expected learning curve was a crucial factor for experienced and novice developers alike. Just 2.5% of respondents said the learning curve was “not important at all,” while 22% said it was “extremely important.” Learn more about how developers prioritized each factor in The State of No-Code Development 2024.

Our learning curve scoring criteria is based on how difficult a platform is to learn, and how fast you can‌ start building.

How Caspio stacks up: Although Caspio is simple to use once you’re familiar with the tool, it does require some technical knowledge to use fully. As a low-code tool, Caspio works best when you have some preexisting development knowledge to rely on for understanding logic, writing formulas, customizing UI / UX, and making your app function exactly as you want it to. 

In addition, the Caspio editor isn’t a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editor, so it requires more familiarity with logic and technical building compared to a drag and drop interface. 

As a result, learning Caspio will be quite difficult for founders with a non-technical background. Caspio claims that building with Caspio is ten times faster than building with code, which means you likely won’t be building your app in your first day or first hour — but it does still offer a much faster way to build for those with some technical experience.  

Caspio’s learning curve score: 2/5

How Bubble compares: Bubble is incredibly easy to get started, but takes some work to learn all the ropes. We provide a wealth of resources and a variety of paths to learn, but more importantly, our templates help you quickly turn straightforward ideas into fully-developed apps. A technical background helps you get more from the platform, faster, but you don’t need experience to hit the ground running.

With Bubble Assist (coming soon!), you’ll also be able to start building your app by simply explaining your idea to Bubble’s AI. Whether you use a single word or hundreds, Bubble will interpret your prompt and suggests the features, data types, and layout you may want to use, with guides to what adding each capability entails. The overwhelming majority of prompts people use to start building with Bubble AI are as few as five words or less.

Bubble gives you everything you need to start building quickly, and more advanced capabilities should never feel out of reach.

Bubble’s learning curve score: 3/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on education and documentation resources

The goal of most no-code (or low-code) platforms is to provide an easy-to-use experience that makes app development possible, even for non-developers and those with non-technical backgrounds. 

That said, every new technology, platform, or online tool comes with some kind of learning curve. That’s true for no-code tools as well. 

A free response section of the State of No-Code Development 2024 survey asked respondents to share additional considerations that were a key part of the buying process. One out of every 10 responses specifically referred to the importance of vetting the vendor’s educational resources.

Looking at the level of educational materials, tutorials, and guides to work you through the platform and its features is essential to set yourself up for success. Our scores for a platform’s resources are based on the availability of first-party educational materials like guides and tutorials, as well as technical documentation.

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio offers a solid library of video tutorials, which you can access via their YouTube channel or from their website. Most of these tutorials are centered around the basics of getting started building your app with the Caspio platform. They also offer free live trainings or paid, private trainings and onboarding sessions. 

For any other questions, including more advanced topics, you can check the Help Center documentation or look for third-party help, such as via the forums or from other Caspio users on YouTube.  

Caspio’s education and documentation score: 4/5

How Bubble compares: Bubble has invested heavily in building a library of both high-level educational content and technical support documentation. We have hundreds of videos, dozens of step-by-step how to build articles, a comprehensive online user manual, and a series of courses for getting started. 

We know that getting started with a new tool can be overwhelming for beginners, while users with advanced programming knowledge might have more complex questions. 

That’s why you’ll notice Bubble’s documentation comes in various levels of complexity — just the basics for those getting started (often marked with a “beginner-level builder” tag) and additional resources linked for those who want more depth. 

For more hands-on learning — or if you want to become an expert in Bubble and develop your app quickly — use our interactive lessons or join a bootcamp. Our Bubble Developer Certification program is also an excellent way to learn the platform.

Bubble’s education and documentation score: 4/5

Caspio vs. Bubble on community

No development process goes completely smoothly. When you hit a roadblock or get stuck, having a supportive community to turn to is a must. 

Some no-code vendors facilitate community groups themselves, other groups come together organically. Either way, you want to look for a platform with active and engaged community groups you can lean on. Even better if the company leadership is involved with the community as well. This not only gives you access to company leadership for questions, bug reports, feature requests, and more, but it also means that leadership is tuned-in to user needs and desires, which can shape the platform over time. 

Our scores reflect how active a platform’s developer community is and the degree to which the platform vendor participates in the community.

How Caspio stacks up: Caspio users often praise their dedicated support options for helping them learn and navigate the platform, solve issues, and accomplish their goals. For Enterprise customers, a 24/7 support hotline is available to make sure you’re never without official support for your app. 

However, for peer-to-peer community, Caspio lags slightly behind other leading no-code and low-code apps today. They do have a community forum, which is active but fairly quiet (several dozen posts per week). 

Caspio’s community score: 3/5

How Bubble compares: Bubble’s developer community is one of its greatest strengths. Not only does Bubble host a highly active forum where posts regularly see thousands of views and hundreds of comments, but Bubble users are also active on multiple subreddits, Discord groups, WhatsApp, Slack, Facebook, and more. 

Bubble’s leadership team is also highly active in the Bubble forums, making it easy for you to get help, submit bug requests, or let the team know what features you want to see on the roadmap. 

We also host in-person events, which you can learn more about here. And when there are important announcements, we make sure to share them with our followers on X and LinkedIn, too.

Bubble’s community score: 5/5

Bubble vs. Caspio: Which one is right for you?

Both Caspio and Bubble are full-stack development platforms that offer reliable performance, great resources for getting started, and a strong ecosystem to extend their product’s capabilities. However, they really shine in different use cases. 

Caspio is a low-code development tool that is best for making multi-user apps or web apps driven by internal data. If you’re looking to build a reporting dashboard, ticketing portal, recruiting hub, or some other workplace-centered tool to modernize and organize your data — and make it easier to interact with — Caspio is a good choice (assuming you have the requisite technical background and budget). 

Although it does require some code for many customizations or any advanced functionality, it offers good resources for learning and can greatly speed up development time for internal IT teams and other departments. 

Bubble comes out ahead in most other use cases, especially in terms of cost, customization, and learning curve. On Bubble, you can build anything you can imagine — from scalable SaaS tools or social platforms to custom internal tools built exactly to your team’s needs. From custom hubs and client portals to data-driven reporting dashboards, management tools, and more, Bubble lets you use the power of no-code to create tools tailor-made for your team and workflows. 

Plus, with Bubble, you never need to use custom code, even for complex functionality. This allows team members with non-technical backgrounds to have just as much building power on Bubble as experienced developers. 

Our advanced drag and drop interface uses a visual programming language and is seamlessly integrated with our broader ecosystem of third-party plugins, extensions, and templates. This makes it easy to integrate your Bubble apps with your existing tools to ensure a seamless workflow. Caspio’s plugins and integrations fall somewhat short in terms of accessibility and customization options. 

Finally, Bubble is much more affordable, offering plans starting at just $30 / month compared to Caspio’s pricing, which starts at $90 / month. In fact, over 85% of survey respondents to our 2024 Bubble for Enterprise survey said they save $300,000–$1,000,000 per year by building apps with Bubble compared to traditional development.

Caspio also has many features and functionality that are only available on higher-tier plans or for additional monthly fees, which makes their pricing somewhat opaque. 

Want to see how Bubble compares to other no-code platforms? Check out some of our other comparisons: 

• Bubble vs. Webflow
• Bubble vs. Glide
• Bubble vs. FlutterFlow

Choose the no-code development platform that’s right for you

The no-code platform you choose completely shapes what your products and tools can actually do, the speed with which you can bring them to market, the ongoing impact development has on your budget, and the experience you’ll have for years to come.

Want to learn more about what goes into choosing a no-code development platform, along with a more detailed breakdown of the choices available to you? Check out our buyer’s guide to no-code development platforms.

The best way to decide which no-code platform is right for you? Try them yourself. You’ll see the difference, especially if you start with these comparisons in mind.