No-code, low-code or custom development: which do you choose?
No-code lets someone without programming skills build, low-code lets developers build faster by adding code, and custom development writes everything in code. Which one fits depends on who is building and how unusual your process is.
The terms first, because they get mixed up.
- No-code: you build applications from visual building blocks, without a programming language
- Low-code: a visual platform too, but one where developers write code for the parts it does not cover
- Custom development: a development team writes the application in code from the ground up
Low-code wins in the hands of your own IT department.
If your company has developers who want to build themselves, low-code is a logical choice. The platform takes the repetitive work off their hands; your team writes the rest in code, free to change anything.
For internal tools with a limited audience, low-code is often enough. The question is who maintains it, and what the licence costs as usage grows.
No-code wins when the builder knows the process.
With no-code the line low-code draws is gone. Integrations with systems like your accounting, email automation and robot control are built from blocks too, not as exceptions written in code. Core holds 2,800 ready-made blocks for exactly that.
The ERP systems, warehouse systems and robot cells we build for customers run on precisely those same blocks. If you do hit a limit, you write one block of your own in ReactJS and use it like any other block afterwards.
Maintenance sits with the platform, not with you. We update the codebase daily, security patches included, and because your application is made of separate blocks those updates arrive without a rebuild.
You choose custom development for a reason.
If you want your own native app in Swift or Kotlin, or a product you sell as a software company, writing the code is the better choice. You need a development team for it, in house or hired, and you carry the technical debt yourself.
A middle way exists too: your processes run in Core and your app calls them through HTTP triggers, so you only write code where it adds something.
The comparison at a glance.
Which column fits depends on your team and your process. The Core figures are ours; project cost depends on scope.
No-code, low-code and custom development side by side
| Aspect | No-code (Core) | Low-code | Custom development |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who builds | The process owner or our team | Your own developers | Developers |
| Code needed | No, except a block of your own in ReactJS | Yes, for what the platform does not know | Yes, for everything |
| First working version | Usually 6–12 weeks with us | Depends on team and platform | Slower: everything is built by hand |
| Technical debt | Platform updated daily, no rebuild | Partly with your own team | Fully with your own team |
| Cost model | Licence from €515 per month, build by the hour | Licence plus your own developers | Your own team or an agency's hourly rate |
| Ownership | The application is yours | Differs per platform | Fully yours |
The questions we get most about this
Three questions we hear in nearly every first conversation.
Is no-code strong enough for a complete ERP or WMS?
Yes. There are 2,800 ready-made blocks waiting, from date and array handling to API calls and robot control. The ERP systems, warehouse systems and robot cells we build for customers run on precisely those same blocks.
What if we need something no block covers?
Then you write your own building block in ReactJS and use it like any other block. You do not have to break your application open for it, and you do not move to another platform.
Our own IT department wants to build. Can it?
Yes. Developers usually find their way around Studio faster than someone without that background. Mixing works too: we lay the foundation and your team builds the business-specific logic on top, or we build together in the same flow.
Keep looking
The Core platform
Applications, processes, data, AI and integrations in one environment, without a separate development pipeline.
The Flow Editor
Building in Studio: search for a block, drag it in and connect it. Read, calculate, decide, store, send.
Pricing and licences
One fixed monthly price per licence, from €515, cancellable monthly.
Which approach fits your team?
Book a demo and we will look at your process and your people. We will say so when the answer is low-code or custom development.