Dropsource vs MobiLoud

Dropsource and MobiLoud are two solid options for businesses looking to build an app. But how do they compare and what are the key differences?

In this post, we’ll explore these two solutions. We’ll look at how they work, who they are for and the key benefits of each. We’ll also take a look at the pricing and see what past customers have to say about each.

Ultimately we’ll see that Dropsource is right for you if:

• You want to create an app without much coding but still want access to the source code
• You want to make an app that leverages your existing company data and business systems
• You’re an entrepreneur with an idea and you want to build an MVP and prove concept
• You’re not completely green when it comes to software development, understand the basic logic of programming - and you’re willing to get your hands a little dirty in the creation process

On the other hand, MobiLoud is right for you if:

• You’re a digital publisher or content creator and already have an established WordPress site
• You want to take your existing site and convert it to a powerful native app to please your readers and drive increased revenue through advertising and subscriptions
• You want to focus your time and energy on other tasks and have the development process completely handled for you from start to finish

What is Dropsource?

Dropsource is a mobile app development platform that uses a combination of visual app design and automated native code generation.

Dropsource eliminates the requirement for manual programming while still providing editable native source code.

‍The solution allows you to:

Step 1 : Develop

Using a drag-and-drop interface you start by defining your app’s design and UI by dragging elements on to canvas to define the style and layout.

Dropsource is a “bring your own backend” solution - so you need to connect your app to external data through an API and directly bind it to the UI. This allows your app to carry out operations involving existing data sources, user accounts, or services - and is why Dropsource is popular with businesses that already have significant data sets and systems that they want to leverage through native apps.

Next it’s time to add functionality to the user’s interaction and journey through the app, defining what will happen when specific actions are taken and how your app will process the data needed to deliver the best experience.

You can also add many native functions such as:

• Geolocation
• Photos, video and audio
• Offline storage

Click here to see a full list of UI elements and functionality supported by dropsource.You can integrate with many third parties too, such as:

• AdMob to monetize your app’s traffic with advertising
• Amazon Pinpoint, Amplitude and Firebase to analyze your users
• Facebook and GitHub for social sharing and Authentication
• Intercom to support sales, marketing and support
• OneSignal to engage your audience using rich push notifications
• PayPal to process fees and payments

Dropsource is quite versatile and you can use it to create a range of apps. Their users have created successful social networking, educational, news apps and more. Take a look here for some examples of apps created on Dropsource.

Step 2: Test

Dropsource allows you to iteratively test your app nicely.

You can create a fully functioning virtual simulation straight from the editor and share it with investors or your team at any point in the development process.

You can also send a working version to your mobile device. This is a great way to get valuable feedback and helps to streamline the development and testing process.

Once you’re happy with the first version of your app it’s time to:

Step 3: Launch

You do this by:

• Publishing to Google play or the iOS App Store under the individual license you will do this yourself by taking the source code and publishing the app under your own developer account. Dropsource takes care of the process for customers on an enterprise plan.
• Deploying for beta testing through a platform like TestFlight, Google Play Beta Testing, or Crashlytics Beta
• Downloading the source code for ongoing customization and development. Note that this requires an additional license and any modified code cannot be reimported into dropsource.

Going forward you can continue to develop and improve the app - releasing future versions as often as you want.

In summary the platform gives you great tools to build, test, launch, and iterate on your mobile app yourself - without having to do any highly technical work.

That doesn’t mean it will be easy for anybody though, as Dropsource themselves say that the platform is best suited to “web and software developers”.

Dropsource Pricing

The Individual Developer pricing tier lets you build and test as many app ideas as you want, for as long as you want, for free. However, to deploy your app you must purchase a Source Code License for $999 per year.

‍To get developer assistance you buy an add-on for $1000 per month.

‍With the Enterprise Developer package, you get access to features like app versioning, encrypted offline storage, pre-built business system connectors, and MDM deployment.

Enterprise packages are priced according to individual spec and negotiated with dropsource.

It should be noted that all Source Code Licenses are billed annually and source code licenses are purchased per-app - so if you want to launch apps on both iOS and Android, you’ll need two licenses.

If you don’t renew your Source Code License, you’ll no longer be able to download updated source code to deploy new versions of your app - but existing apps will be unaffected.

Dropsource Alternatives

• WaveMaker
• Appian
• Appenate

There are several Dropsource alternatives that help users with a little development skill toward building an app - take a look and see if any could be a good fit for you.

Now we’ve thoroughly gone over Dropsource let’s move on and take a look at MobiLoud.

What is MobiLoud?

MobiLoud is for digital publishers, news organizations and professional bloggers who’ve already built an audience through their WordPress site.

Essentially, we take your existing site and convert it into a powerful native app, so your readers can enjoy your work on their iOS and Android devices.

You’ve already done all the hard work creating great content and building a successful site, so we believe there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. We let you take that winning formula and apply it through native channels - pleasing your readers and driving real results for your brand.

How it works

Unlike the various app builder platforms - we are a full service.

‍The process begins with a chat between you and one of our app experts - going over your vision, key requirements and addressing any questions you have.

Once everything is clear, we get to work on the build. Although we handle the build entirely for you and to your exact spec - you’ll have ample opportunity to add any customizations or features you want throughout the process.

Once the app is complete you’ll test and approve it, then we’ll publish it on Google Play and the App Store for you too.

Although this can be a sticking point for some app creators - your app will sail through as we have a vast experience publishing over 2,000 apps for our clients.

The end result

You’ll have an app you can be proud of - with features on a par with top publishers like the New York Times or the Huffington Post - having spent a fraction of the time and money you would building it yourself or through an agency.

Your life will be easier thanks to our deep integration with WordPress, and you don’t need to worry about any hassle maintaining your new channel.

All your existing plugins will work seamlessly in your new app and you can manage everything through your existing WordPress admin panel.

As far as publishing - all legacy content can be rapidly dropped into the app which will automatically update with anything new you publish to your site.

Of course we’ll never leave your side and our personalized support will quickly deal with any tweaks, updates or maintenance needed going forward.

When you work with MobiLoud you get a team of developers and app experts at your service to make your app a success; you can build an app with the website you already have, and there’s nothing new to learn.

‍Past clients love our apps and how we’ve helped them to:

• Boost traffic and engagement, growing their brand
• Make more money through ad revenue
• Get a top quality native app with minimal time, expense and stress

Key features

• Save time - get to market in weeks rather than months
• Save money - build at a fraction of the cost of agency or in-house development, without compromising on quality or features
• Own your brand, keep what works - completely white labelled and styled to your exact specifications
• Increase engagement with recently published content - use rich push notifications to notify your audience automatically when you publish new content or manually whenever you see fit
• Make money by growing your Ad revenue - we’re fully integrated with Admob, Mopub, Facebook Audience Network and more
• Manage your app easily - through our simple but powerful WP plug-in
• Drive subscriptions - by offering premium content to your most loyal readers
• Peace of mind, no stress - our tried and tested solution takes all the hassle out of your end, It has worked wonderfully for hundreds of clients and it will work for you too

As you can see, MobiLoud is designed for high-traffic WordPress sites and supports a number of mobile app specific advertising, engagement and analytics solutions - as well as other features to help you toward success.

MobiLoud pricing

MobiLoud operates on a tiered pricing system. Pricing starts at $350 per month, with a $1,500 setup fee, which covers all the work we do to configure, build, test and publish your app.

Different price plans include different features for higher traffic news apps such as:

• Monetization through subscriptions and in-app ads
• Integration with third party SDKs for advertising and analytics
• CDN and caching
• Support for higher or even limitless traffic
• Priority support for launch, promotion and monetization

There’s no risk with our 60 day money back guarantee. Price includes all development, configuration, publishing and maintenance.

‍For more detailed information about MobiLoud pricing click here.

Let’s move on and take a look at what customers have to say about each solution.

Dropsource reviews

We looked through the 17 Dropsource reviews on Capterra to get a sense of what users think of Dropsource.

• Chris W, the CEO of a consumer Service company said that the dev tools are so easy to use that it's "amazing”.
• He goes on to note though that you need to understand the “basic logic flow of programming”.
• According to Chris, if you do you can “build an app without any familiarity with native mobile technology”.
• ‍However, "for more experienced developers, there is still a ton of functionality needed which at this time is still not available, such as dynamic cell resizing in collection views, video uploading, UI position locking, and undo functionality to name a few”.
• Eric S, the founder of a computer software firm called Dropsource a “useful platform” because of the "ability to directly build a native app without explaining to a dev team what I needed. This means our startup (without developers) can launch and validate an MVP very quickly".
• He goes on to note though that "it was missing some functionality to integrate with my backend database/app” but after explaining this to the Dropsource team they quickly “committed to enhancing their product. This was then available in the next release cycle which was less than 3 weeks from request."
• ‍Other users comment on the utility of the platform for testing new ideas and building MVPs. Dmitry K, who works in Information Technology Services, liked "the speed with which you can test your ideas, experiment and push them to Apple Store. Easy to build UI, easy to integrate with backend and additional services."
• On the downside, however, "some build errors are not explained therefore we have to spend a lot of time figuring what caused them”.

MobiLoud reviews

For comparison, we looked through 31 reviews on Capterra to see what users think of MobiLoud.

Building high performance apps that perfectly sync with existing WordPress operations is a key goal for our customers. We keep them happy by providing this exact solution.

• Writing on Capterra, Stephan W recalls: “MobiLoud was all about getting content out of WordPress and into a native app specifically branded for us - this was by far the most important thing for us”
• ‍We keep our clients happy by providing this exact solution. John M, co-founder of a digital media company and longtime MobiLoud user, agrees: “It just works. We can use our existing WordPress install and have our material presented in a beautiful way on both iOS and Android....... We worked for a year trying to create our own app - and then decided to go with MobiLoud and haven't looked back. We've been happy customers for over three years and our readers love our iOS and Android apps”
• ‍Others love how easy it is to manage their new app. Josh G, a digital publisher, loves the:“Simple to navigate the backend, great at sending alerts and notifications”
• ‍He goes on to explain how he “needed a bit of help on some advanced customizations - however the team was extremely easy to work with……. EXCELLENT customer service. They made sure I was totally satisfied which I appreciate”
• ‍A high performance app can also help you to make more money. Walter M, a web designer in the publishing industry explained that "it has also grown our advertising revenue as we can use the app with Adsense and that has become our top performing advertising platform via the app".
• ‍As far as our support - it’s personalized, fast and never leaves your side. If you check out our reviews on Capterra you’ll notice that’s a common thread. Stephan W, a Vice President of Client Services was happy with our service standards - calling them “amazing” and adding that our team “work tirelessly to ensure you are happy with your apps. We can't recommend MobiLoud enough”.

MobiLoud vs Dropsource

There are fundamental differences in using Dropsource and MobiLoud to build a mobile app. They are clearly both great solutions but aimed at different use cases.

1. Dropsource is for enterprise level businesses, startups and entrepreneurs who want to develop a wide range of native apps from scratch. MobiLoud is specifically for digital publishers and news sites who want to convert their existing WordPress site into a native app.
2. Dropsource is a platform and it’s up to you to put the tools to good use. MobiLoud is a full service, with everything done for you and your end goal guaranteed by our team of app experts
3. Dropsource is low code - in theory anybody can build an app using their tools but without an understanding of programming logic and something of a learning curve you might struggle. MobiLoud is no code - you don’t need to worry about any part of the process apart from telling us exactly what you want
4. Dropsource leverages your existing data and systems from your business. MobiLoud leverages your existing WordPress site - you already created everything you need to make your app, there’s no need to change anything!

Wrapping up

We hope this article has helped you to make an informed choice about what's right for you.

Here's what we discussed in a nutshell. If you have a hot idea for an app, you’ve some experience with development, and can see yourself making use of the Dropsource platform - it can be an excellent solution!

If you’re a digital publisher with a successful WordPress site, you can’t go wrong with MobiLoud. The support and service element you get with MobiLoud makes it essentially risk-free, as you're guaranteed a professional result that works, no matter whether or not you have the time or expertise to devote to the project.

Get in touch now for a demo call and we can get to work building something great.