What is the Difference? & Benefits & Challenges

Gartner expected low-code (including no-code) to reach 31 billion in revenues in 2024 before public took notice of the power of generative AI solutions thanks to the release of ChatGPT in November 2022.¹ With the rise of generative AI, this domain has increased potential as its scope changes.

Executives are curious to know if the differences between low-code platforms (also called low-code development platforms, LCDP) and no-code (also called no-code development platforms, NCDP) are still valid in light of the recent changes. We will review both approaches taking into account how generative AI will shape them.

What are the differences between low-code and no-code platforms?

Some factors are claimed to differentiate these platforms such as:

• Application area

• User focus

• Amount of coding

However, the lines between these platforms are getting blurred and their differences are not well defined. Therefore, vendor claims should be taken at face value and businesses should evaluate these tools in pilot projects to assess them.

Application area

Most vendors claim that²³:

• Low-code is for complex apps that require collaboration of multiple business units or external stakeholders

• No-code is for simpler, department specific application development

However, these are not well-defined differences:

• Some no-code platforms claim that their solution can be used in complex, multi-stakeholder supply chain applications.⁴

User focus

Most vendors claim that⁵:

• Low-code systems are for professional developers

• No-code systems are for citizen developers with limited programming knowledge and coding experience.

However,

Amount of coding

Some vendors claim⁶:

However, most no-code platforms allow users to embed code or allow developers to build on their platforms.^{7 8}

Given the unclear boundaries between these solutions, they are also referred to as a single category Low-Code No-Code (LCNC). For those interested, here is our article on low-code.

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How does low-code no-code (LCNC) work?

In traditional development process, software developers write code (i.e. instructions in programming languages) to build apps. However, over time, the level of abstraction offered by programming languages increased. Engineers used traditional programming languages like Assembly in the 1960s, giving machine low-level commands (e.g. telling the machine which memory address to store a variable). This slowed down software development projects and by 1980s, programmers could use abstract structures such as classes and objects in C++, a more modern programming language.

LCNC takes this one step further, offering drag and drop features and high-level reusable components. These enable users to drag and drop elements on a flowchart to produce programs. That is why it is also called point-and-click programming.

The logical next step is to facilitate development even further by allowing citizen developers to develop no code solutions leveraging natural language. We detailed this in the future of low code no code.

What are the benefits of low-code no-code?

1- Accelerated development processes

The main benefit is a faster development process which is due to

• Faster development by software developers taking advantage of low-code platforms.

• Reduced backlogs by enabling business units to create their own solutions.

• The visualization and the use of standard components in low-code no-code tools.

2- Increased accessibility

These platforms enable non-technical users (often referred to as citizen developers) to build functional applications without requiring a deep understanding of programming languages or a coding expertise. Besides, need for communication between business and technology teams is reduced as business users can leverage LCNC platforms to build apps without coding skills to satisfy business needs.

3- Reduced costs

By reducing the need for large development teams and enabling faster application development, LCNC can lead to significant cost savings. These savings can be reallocated to other areas of the business.

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What are the challenges of low-code and no-code platforms?

1- Shadow IT

Enabling citizen developers can lead to unauthorized application development which can lead to data security, compliance and operational risks.

Recommendation: Set up a Center of Excellence or designate a responsible

Assigning a clear responsible for LCNC efforts within the organization, creates visibility for LCNC apps. This responsible can be a department or an individual who ensures that these apps undergo sufficient reviews before development starts to minimize any data security or compliance risks.

2- Vendor lock-in

Low-code platforms and no-code platforms tend to generate code in the proprietary language of these platforms. Therefore, it is difficult to migrate applications from most vendors’ platforms. This leads to vendor lock-in as leaving the vendor introduces excessive costs and operational risks.

Recommendation: Rely on open platforms or formulate a long term strategy

There are LCNC platforms that share the software code (e.g. in Javascript) of the applications built with the platform. This makes switching platforms easier as the applications built on the old platform would continue to function without disruption. However, now developers would need to be involved in maintenance since the no-code interface would no longer be available after the company switches vendors.

Buyers can also rely on vendors with proprietary language based solutions if they plan to use the tool for a long time and can have long-term clarity on pricing as well as financial health of the vendor.

3- Maintenance

Business processes, regulations and requirements constantly change. A low-code platform or a no-code platform could have been used to build an application that needs to be modified in line with these changes.

However, employee churn and insufficiently documented applications can lead to applications which are difficult and risky to update. Maintenance challenges can be costly for businesses as it can reduce business agility or lead to reputation or compliance risks.

Recommendation: Follow software development best practices

For example, maintaining clear, easy-to-read documentation can be partially automated and facilitate application maintenance.

Future of low-code no-code solutions

Thanks to the rise of generative artificial intelligence (genAI), businesses can now build no-code software without relying only on drag-and-drop UI and pre-built components. They can use natural language to handle software development tasks.

This is similar to code completion software like GitHub Copilot. Though intuitive graphical tools like visual building blocks would continue to be used, natural language programming can empower non-technical users that found point-and-click software development challenging.

Though this may encourage businesses to reduce IT professionals in their teams, that would not be correct. A low code platform or a no code platform is not sufficient to replace developers yet. As application development costs decrease, businesses will build more applications, creating a complex technical environment that will need to be overseen by professional development teams to ensure data security and resilience.

What are low-code and no-code use cases?

Primarily they power digital transformation:

• Produce Minimum Viable Products (MVPs)

• Build applications on new platforms

• Build Process digitization apps

• Modernize applications (e.g. converting legacy systems to cloud apps)

• Automate processes

For more, see our research on the use cases for low-code.

We’ll also provide vendor lists for low-code and no-code applications, but given the broad nature of the markets, these are incomplete lists.

What are top 15+ low-code development platform vendors?

There are many low-code platforms but the leading ones include:

1. Creatio

2. Appian

3. Claris FileMaker

4. DWkit

5. Mendix

6. Microsoft PowerApps

7. OutSystems

8. Skyve Foundry

9. Temenos (formerly Kony)

10. SIB Visions VisionX

11. Zoho Creator

Domain specific focus:

1. Looker

2. Salesforce Lightning

3. Sisense

4. Tableau

5. Wix Editor X

6. Yellowfin BI

For a complete list of low-code platforms.

What are top 25+ no-code platforms?

Most low-code platforms also support no-code development such as Creatio. In addition, below are the leading no-code platforms.

Focused solely to develop web or mobile apps:

1. Carrd

2. Gumroad

3. Outgrow

4. Shopify

5. Squarespace

6. Umso (formerly Landen)

7. Wix

8. Webflow

No-code/low-code app development:

1. UCBOS

2. AppGyver (SAP Build Apps for enterprise users)

3. Google AppSheet

4. Appy Pie

5. AWS Honeycode

6. Betty Blocks

7. Bubble

8. Glide

9. Jitterbit Zudy

10. Kissflow

11. Nintex

12. Quickbase

Other:

1. Airtable

2. Memberstack

3. Notion

4. Payhere

5. Stripe

6. Voiceflow

7. Zapier

Transparency statement: AIMultiple works with multiple emerging tech vendors including Creatio and UCBOS featured in this article.

External Links

1. “Gartner Forecasts Worldwide Low-Code Development Technologies Market to Grow 20% in 2023“. Gartner. December 13, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
2. “What Is Low-Code and No-Code Development?” OutSystems. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
3. Huizenga, Ellie. “Code vs. low-code vs. no-code: When to use each one“. Zapier. December 14, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
4. “Composable No-Code Platform“. UCBOS. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
5. Babb, Benjamin. “No-Code vs. Low-Code: A Comparison.” Pipefy. April 12, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
6. Jednazszewski, Marek. “What is No-Code vs. Low-Code? Differences, Similarities, and Use Cases” Mendix. June 2, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
7. “Custom code | Webflow University“. Webflow. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
8. “Airtable Scripting“. Airtable. Retrieved May 17, 2023.