At Bubble, we want to enable potential builders to create their ideas without code, so we are exploring and reviewing the many tools and software that freelancers, startups, and entrepreneurs might use to build websites.
What is Carrd?
A no-code website building tool, Carrd helps you create one-page websites with beautiful landing pages.
Carrd’s simple and fully responsive one-page sites can be used for personal profiles, landing pages, submission forms or one-page portfolios.
If you are interested in using Carrd for building a simple e-commerce website, the no-code platform allows for integration with Stripe, Paypal, and other widgets.
With Carrd, there is a big emphasis on starting with templates, and the website builder offers a robust template gallery, with over 70 options to choose from.
The easy-to use editor provides helpful instructions for new users so that you can begin building right away. It includes built-in references that offer additional guidance as you’re designing your website. Besides basic features such as text, images, buttons, and links, your Carrd website can support more advanced elements, including forms, audio, video, and gallery.
Who is Carrd for?
Carrd users include small businesses, freelancers, startups, entrepreneurs, organizations, and those who require simple websites.
People who want to build simple templated one-page websites that allow for integration with Stripe and PayPal, or who need a beautiful landing page for their business or personal portfolio, can benefit from using Carrd.
Carrd Cost and Pricing?
(Pricing model evaluation in USD: May 2020)
Carrd users can choose from 4 payment plans: Basic, Pro Lite, Pro, and Pro Max. They also offer a free 7-day Pro trial.
Basic: The Basic plan is free and allows you to build 3 sites. With this option, you receive Carrd branding, standard images, “.carrd.co” URLS, and a 100-element limit per site.
Pro Lite: At $9 per year, Pro Lite is a cost-effective option that also includes 3 sites, though this plan comes with quite a few additional benefits, including premium URLs, no Carrd branding, high quality images and backgrounds (images/GIFs up to 16MB and videos up to 32MB), no element limit, and Pro templates.
Pro: The Pro option costs $19/year and comes with same benefits as the Pro Lite plan, as well as custom domains with full SSL support, contact forms like Mailchimp and Revue, Widgets + Embeds with third-party services like Stripe and PayPal, custom site icons, meta tags, and the ability to add a Google Analytics tracking ID to each of your sites.
Pro Plus: The price for the Pro Plus plan is $49 per year and includes 25 sites, advanced forms, password protection, redirections to other websites, and other advanced features. Pro Plus subscribers receive the same benefits that are offered by the Pro plan as well.
Pro Max: The Pro Max plan costs $99/year and equips you with the same features as the Pro Plus plan, but with 100 sites instead of just 25.
Carrd vs. Bubble: A Comparison
How does Carrd compare to Bubble?
Similarities between Carrd and Bubble:
Both Carrd and Bubble allow you to build your project using drag-and-drop tools.
Both provide property editors for modifying images.
Both Carrd and Bubble have documentation that explains how to use important features.
Both no-code platforms enable you to use templates to build your ideas.
Both platforms currently offer a free option.
Both no-code tools integrate with payment tools so that you can create an e-commerce site.
The key differences between Carrd and Bubble are:
Page limit: With Carrd, your websites are limited to one page, which is ideal for a personal profile or a landing page to capture emails. But if the one-page concept behind Carrd is not enough for your site, Bubble allows for as many pages as you need; each Bubble app comes with a built-in “index” homepage and user management system.
Front-end workflows: Similar to other no-code tools like Webflow, Carrd’s front-end is not completely free, as you can only drag-and-drop elements to specific places. This limited malleability helps ensure that your website is beautiful and that your style remains consistent across the board. Bubble allows for full freedom and pixel-perfect placement of any element but requires designers to carefully and consistently enforce element placement.
Back-end capabilities: Bubble allows for both front and back-end events and element triggers. The no-code platform comes with full database functionality beyond CMS. Things like handling internal workflows and creating conditional events are possible in Bubble, but impossible to achieve in Carrd.
Alternatives to Carrd
Alternative no-code tools that allow you to build a web application without code include the following tools:
If you’re looking for a platform that has support for native or mobile apps, take a look at no-code tools like Adalo, Glide, or Thunkable.
If you only need basic landing pages and simple CMS but require more than one-page for your website, consider templated website hosts like Squarespace, Wix, or Weebly as alternatives to Carrd.
If your project extends beyond CMS (like building an upvoting system on a social network) and you require full backend database functionality built-in, no-code platforms like Bubble are a good alternative to Carrd.
If you’re looking for a no-code tool to streamline your team’s internal communications, and you want something that is more powerful than a traditional spreadsheet, check out Coda.
If you are planning to launch a blog or an e-commerce site and you want an open-source CMS platform with robust plugins, try WordPress.
If you’re looking for a no-code platform with an enterprise focus, Unqork, Retool, and Betty Blocks are good options.
About Bubble
Bubble is a leader in the no-code movement. Bubble offers a powerful point-and-click web editor and cloud hosting platform that allows users to build fully customizable web applications and workflows, ranging from simple prototypes to complex marketplaces, SaaS products, and more. Over 400,000 users are currently building and launching businesses on Bubble - some have gone on to participate in top accelerator programs, such as Y Combinator, and even raised $365M in venture funding. Bubble is more than just a product. We are a strong community of builders and entrepreneurs that are united by the belief that everyone should be able to create technology.
Join the no-code movement today.
Disclaimer: The goal of these reviews is to provide an honest, practical, differentiated comparison of features and educate readers on tools in the no-code ecosystem so that you can evaluate how these services fit together and serve your needs.
