Looking for an Evlop alternative?
In this article, we'll give you a brief overview of Evlop, how it works, and its pros and cons.
We'll compare it to 5 different Evlop alternatives including our own platform, MobiLoud, which we believe is the ideal choice for serious businesses to convert web stores to professional eCommerce apps.
If you're looking to build the perfect app for your business, read on to be able to make an informed decision and avoid any costly trial and error.
What is Evlop?
Evlop is a simple, drag and drop app builder designed for Shopify stores.
If you are on a tight budget and need a simple app, Evlop could be attractive. Its app builder is based on blocks and a WYSIWYG editor, which you drag and drop around to build your apps, allowing somebody with zero coding knowledge to build decent apps quickly and affordably.
You can quickly import your store's data into the app, set up push notifications, and launch a functional mobile app - cheaply and quickly.
Of course, a solution as straightforward as this is not without its downsides, but it may be more attractive to a lot of brands than the idea of spending hundreds of thousands on a custom-developed app.
Now let's take a look at Evlop's pricing.
Evlop Pricing
Evlop offers a "Free to Fly" plan for those who want to begin at the most basic end of the spectrum. Although it's free, it has some useful tools and will allow you to get a feel of the platform. Aside from the free plan, they also have two paid plans:
- Ice Breaker: $29/month
- App Accelerator: $99/month
The Ice Breaker plan gives you all the features included in the free plan along with custom branding, custom pages, push notifications with deep links, and smart app banners.
If you still need more features to, the App Accelerator plan gives you everything in Ice Breaker along with the possibility of custom integrations (Globo Product Option, Variant), app-only discount codes, abandoned cart notifications, and multi-media push notifications with deep linking.
Evlop's plans may be cheap however, you get what you pay for and they only offer quite basic features with few integrations.
Evlop Pros & Cons
Evlop apps have some degree of customization, and some useful pre-built features like abandoned cart alerts, but overall their feature set is lacking.
All block-based app builders are inflexible and limiting, since they can only create something that "looks like" your main web store. They can never truly recreate its entire feature set and unique nature (for that, you need MobiLoud).
It goes without saying that eCommerce apps built with Evlop will be simple, and the platform is almost definitely unsuitable for eCommerce brands with complex web stores and tech stacks. If you are a very small, simple store though selling one or two product lines - who wants the most cost effective option - Evlop could be worth considering.
The Best Evlop Alternatives
Now you know a little about Evlop, including the key pros and cons and how much it costs, let's look at the best alternatives to Evlop on the market to help Shopify stores turn their website into an app.
#1: MobiLoud
Our platform, MobiLoud, is the best solution for eCommerce stores wanting to launch their own app.
Unlike most Shopify app builders, MobiLoud actually converts your website into an app, retaining all integrations, apps, plugins and custom features on your website.
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With an app builder, you're going to lose a lot of these important features, being forced to fit your website into a strict, limiting template.
MobiLoud is also a full service. We do all the heavy lifting to configure, build, test and launch your app, including handling the app store submission process for you (and guaranteeing approval).
What you get with MobiLoud is an app that fully recreates your mobile web experience, and builds on it with mobile-specific features such as native navigation UI and push notifications.
After launch, we continue to handle updates and maintenance for your app, leaving little work on your plate, while you benefit from the added revenue, retention and brand power that having your own app brings.
MobiLoud Pricing
We have two standard pricing tiers:
- Startup - For fast launching and validation: $350/month, plus a one-time $1,500 setup fee
- Growth - Perfect for more established businesses: $650/month, plus a one-time $2,500 setup fee
(15% cheaper on annual subscriptions)
We also have custom, corporate plan for more demanding projects. Get more info about our pricing here.
MobiLoud vs Evlop
The bottom line: MobiLoud is a platform for serious eCommerce businesses, who care about providing the best user experience in their app. Evlop is a budget option for smaller stores who just want to try out an app.
You'll pay a lot more for MobiLoud, but you get a lot more for your money: an app that's a better representation of your brand, greater flexibility and scalability, and a much higher level of service.
And the cost is still a mere fraction of what it would usually cost to build an app by hiring developers - yet you get 95% of what you'd get with a custom native app.
A mobile app can be a huge revenue driver for your business, but the upside is seriously limited if you skimp out and pick the cheapest option. You want an app that can do all your website can do, and for that, MobiLoud is the answer.
Ready to learn more? Get a free demo now and explore what an app can do for your brand.
#2: Vajro
Vajro is a Shopify-focused drag-and-drop app builder known for its affordable pricing and focus on smaller eCommerce apps.
They offer a series of templates and drag-and-drop widgets, creating branded apps that connect to Shopify stores via API. Vajro also integrates with platforms like Firebase, Tidio, and Klarna.
While suitable for non-technical users, Vajro's reliance on templates and pre-built widgets again restricts eCommerce businesses from faithfully recreating their web store, limiting customization even on higher-tier plans.
You'll only ever be able to approximate certain site features based on available pre-built integrations.
Vajro Pricing
Vajro has four plans:
- Starter - basic features and integrations - $99/month
- Core - advanced features and integrations - $249/month
- Premium - premium features and integrations - $499/month
- Plus - premium features, integrations, and priority support - $999/month
The more costly the plan is, the better app functionalities and benefits you get.
Compared to Evlop, Vajro is a more flexible app builder. On the other hand it is significantly more expensive and still doesn't come close to the flexibility of MobiLoud.
#3: Tapcart
Tapcart is a simple app builder designed for Shopify, enabling businesses to create mobile apps without coding.
It's popular among small and medium-sized eCommerce, offering user-friendly features like multiple templates, push notifications, and in-app messaging.
Tapcart Pricing
Tapcart has three plans:
- Core - 15 blocks, basic features, and basic integrations - $200/month
- Ultimate - unlimited blocks, advanced features, and integrations - $400/month
- Enterprise - unlimited custom blocks, dedicated customer success manager, and premium integrations - $1K/month
Tapcart has a good reputation and is known for having some of the best-built Shopify app templates around. Compared to Evlop, Tapcart is likely to be a more reliable choice.
On the other hand, like all template and block based app builders, you are ultimately still restricted to whatever they've built already.
#4: Mowico
Mowico is another no-code app builder that targets eCommerce businesses.
It links up with Shopify and WooCommerce, and will soon include PrestaShop, BigCommerce & Wix.
Mowico offers solid integrations with platforms Smile, Langify, and Judge.me - plus useful pre-built features like push notifications and AR shopping.
But Mowico also has its constraints. Being a template-based app builder, it can make a basic eCommerce app with your products and logo but can't fully match your web store's complex features, design, and plugins.
Mowico Pricing
Mowico has three plans for each eCommerce platform. For Shopify, they have:
- Startup - basic features - $79/month
- Growth - everything from Startup plus enhanced features - $399/month
- Enterprise - premium features, custom feature integrations, and tailor-made development - custom
Compared to Evlop, Mowico is a more developed and full-featured alternative - but, you're still stuck with their pre-built integrations which will be limiting compared to both the web and MobiLoud.
#5: Shopney
As a simple, drag-and-drop app builder, Shopney is known for robust features, themes, and integrations with Shopify. It's a decent choice if a basic app mirroring your site's product catalogue is what you're looking for.
However, its template-based nature again means it'll never fully convert your site into iOS and Android apps or allow you to reuse your existing plugins, themes, and features.
Shopney Pricing
Shopney has four plans:
- Silver - basic features with flexible design - $99/month
- Gold - basic features with flexible design with 20 elements - $199/month
- Platinum - advanced features and unlimited design elements - $499/month
- Enterprise - premium features and functionalities and a dedicated success manager - starting from $999/month
Shopney is not too dissimilar to Evlop, though it offers a more developed set of themes and features. Like other platforms though, it will prove far too restrictive for businesses with complex and unique models.
The Common Problems with App Builders
While app builders are generally a better option than spending six figures on a custom-developed app, they all fall short in the same areas.
For serious brands, who understand the potential revenue an app can bring, these flaws are likely to be deal-breakers.
In particular, there are three common issues present with almost all traditional no-code app builders:
Can't fully recreate your site
App builders force you to rebuild your website in the app, but with the limitations provided by these platforms, you're never going to be able to fully recreate what you have on the web.
This means you're going to put out a sub-par, inconsistent experience in your app, which is the opposite of what you want.
As long as your site is already mobile-friendly, you just need an app that provides the same thing your website does, packaged in a more convenient way for customers.
“The app needs to be at least as functional as the website. It doesn’t need to be better than the website, but the user experience can’t be worse.”
- David from Rainbow Shops
You're inevitably going to end up losing key features from your website, such as plugins, integrations, apps and custom-built features, when you build your app using an app builder.
User experience is limited by relying on blocks, templates and APIs
Carrying on from the point above, app builders put a ceiling on the user experience you're able to offer in your app.
You're only able to do what the platform allows, with their pre-built templates, blocks and integrations.
In addition, by using the Shopify API to pull product information into the app, you've got another set of limits that drag the user experience lower than what you've got on your website.
This is what David from Rainbow Shops had to say:
“The hybrid solutions on top of Shopify are just too limited. The Shopify API only enables certain things and all the major providers of hybrid apps for Shopify had limitations that the Shopify API would not let them get around.”
Using the platform API to sync data between your site and app feels convenient, until you run into something the API doesn't allow. Then you're out of luck, and forced to cap how good your app can be.
Adds to your workload
The final thing to note about app builders is the amount of work they add to your day-to-day.
DIY app builders are just that - they require you to do everything yourself.
This means a lot of tinkering and fiddling around to get your app to look and work as you want.
You'll also need to deal with the difficult process of submitting your apps to the app stores and getting them approved, as well as constantly updating your apps and making fixes should anything go wrong.
App builders generally provide support, but it only goes so far. It's ultimately up to you to do any fixes, and the longer this takes, the longer you're losing revenue.
What Makes MobiLoud Different
MobiLoud is a more flexible alternative to Evlop and other app builders, with a much higher level of service.
MobiLoud fully converts your site into an app, allowing you to carry over all the features that make your website great, and use these same features in the app.
This lets you provide a user experience that is at least on par with your website.
It also means there are no artificial limits on what your app can do. Anything you can do on your website, you can do in the app as well.
On top of this, it's a far greater level of service than anything you'd get with an app builder.
We're more than just a tool - we're your app development partner. We ensure your apps continue to work fast and convert, and that they reflect well on your brand, with minimal work for you to do.
Check out Rainbow Shops, SYN•DI•CATE, Bestseller and John Varvatos for a few examples of amazing eCommerce apps built with MobiLoud.
Let's Build Your eCommerce Apps Today
If you've got a successful eCommerce brand, you really need your own app.
Building an app will let you serve your mobile customers better, and build a retention machine that takes your business to the next level.
For the best value, most effective, least complex way to launch your own app, try MobiLoud. It's the platform that top eCommerce brands trust to handle their mobile apps, without the limits of app builders or the risk of hiring a development team or agency.
Get a free, personalized demo today and see what MobiLoud can do for your business.
