Low code vs No code: Definitions and key Differences

Business process application development has taken giant leaps in terms of advancement and has made it easier for the top brass of businesses, from small scale to big companies, to have more power in their hands in the form of clear cut replication of their ideas into applications to a maximum extent and also play along for efficiency when it comes to the development of enterprise grade software applications.

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Low-code and No-code platforms are those advancements which offer simple drag-and-drop elements or blocks to build powerful business process applications. These platforms are a bypass to maintaining and managing an IT team. As a business owner, you or anyone from your organization who has no knowledge about coding, can dive into application development and build powerful apps which meet your ideas and requirements.

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What is a Low-code Platform?

Low-code platforms are an enhancement to conventional coding practices and methods for application development. As the name itself suggests, low-code is aimed at making the volume of coding less and using a pre-defined set of coded elements which are commonly termed as drag-and -drop elements or blocks.

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What is a No-code Platform?

No-code platforms are also an enhancement to conventional coding practices and methods for application development. As the name itself suggests, no-code is aimed to bypass coding to the maximum extent possible and use a pre-defined set of coded elements which are commonly termed as drag-and -drop elements or blocks.

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Low-code vs No-code

You might be thinking that both Low-code and No-code platforms sound different and similar at the same time. Right?

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It is pretty normal to be confused given the capabilities they offer and their use cases. Let us provide you a clear picture by discussing the differences and similarities involved in both: Low-code and No-code platforms.

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6 Decisive Comparisons between Low-code and No-code: 

1. Dependency in Application Development
2. Speed of Building and Deploying an Application
3. Customization
4. Cost Effective Platform
5. Ease of Use
6. Flexibility

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Let us know how low-code and no-code are similar and different based on the above list of aspects, one-by-one.

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1. Dependency in Application Development

Low-code: Application development requires coding along with pre-built drag-and-drop elements or blocks. Therefore there will be dependency on developers for application development.

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No-code: Application development is completely based on pre-built drag-and-drop elements or blocks without having to write even a single line of code. So businesses don’t have to depend on developers.

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2. Speed of Building and Deploying an Application

Low-code: Since coding is involved, building an application and to deploy it after debugging consumes more time.

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No-code: Building and deploying an application for your users is quick and takes less time.

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3. Customization

Low-code: The freedom to customize your application exists due to coding.

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No-code: The freedom to customize your application ceases to exist, as of now. Although there won’t be coding involved, no-code platforms are advancing towards providing businesses the provision of customizing applications, very soon.  

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4. Cost Effective Platform

Low-code: Since there is dependency on developers, coding and customization will incur an increased total cost of ownership for businesses. Cost effective platform for companies with existing IT teams.

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No-code: Cost effective platform for businesses without an IT team because the dependency on developers is bypassed.

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5. Ease of Use

Low-code: Complex applications can be built which might seem as a complex process due to coding and customization and also includes debugging may for any errors. Overall, the ease of use of low-code platforms tends to be a bit far from easy. 

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No-code: Building powerful business process applications using simple drag-and-drop elements or blocks and deploying them is easy. Effective business process applications can be built easily by quick and efficient processes.

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6. Flexibility

Low-code: Coding ensures building simple and complex applications and also stretches them by adding more functionalities to meet changing requirements of business processes and workflows.  

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No-code: Although business process applications can be built faster, the ability to expand the functionalities using external solutions apart from drag-and-drop elements is limited. 

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Conclusion

Now that we have a concise view, let us know which platform is more suitable for whom. Both Low-code and No-code platforms are aimed at reducing the complexity of the application development process and also provide cost-effective solutions to businesses.

It all boils down to - Which one should I go for? Low-code or No-code?

The answer for this question completely depends on what your business requirements are.

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• If the core elements of business process application development are functionality, speed of application development and top priority for iterations during/after development, then no-code platforms are suitable for such organizations.

• If the focus of business process application development is on the look and feel of the application and use cases are too specific, then low-code platforms are suitable for such organizations.

Modern no-code platforms are gradually leveling up and are allowing users to customize user experience as well, which means that eventually no-code platforms will be as powerful as low-code platforms at some point in the near future. Clappia is one such no-code platform.

Explore Clappia and build your apps for free and also check out the sample apps built in it.

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You might also be interested to read:

3 Reasons Why to Choose No-code Platforms for Building Apps

Top 7 No-Code Platforms To Accelerate Your Business Digitization

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