Top 5 Shopify mobile app builders for 2023

In order for brands to get a foothold in modern marketing it is necessary that they develop their own app. Having an app does not only show a degree of professionalism, but it also enables you to have better data collection, improved customer engagement, and more streamlined customer service. Unfortunately, most brand owners still think that app development is a difficult and expensive process. But, modern app builders can make this process surprisingly easy and streamlined. Especially if you pick the right app builder for the job. To help you out, we will use this article to cover the top Shopify mobile app builders for 2023.

What to look for in a Shopify mobile app builder

In order to make our choice we've outlined certain features that we feel make mobile app builders better. Depending on your situation, some of these features can be more or less important. So, we would advise that you first consider what you need out of your app builder, and how committed you are to using it.

The features that we've taken into consideration are:

• Ease of use - In our view, the app builder should be user-friendly and easy to use, even for those with no coding experience. Popular app builds are all fairly easy to use, as this also makes them easy to recommend to other users.
• Customizability - A good app builder should allow you to customize your app to match your brand. This includes offering a range of features and design options that fit your business needs.
• Integration with Shopify: The app builder should integrate seamlessly with Shopify, allowing you to sync your products, orders, and customer data between your app and online store.
• Template database - Designing a decent app from scratch is something that only professional app designers can tackle. Instead, users need to have access to a vast library of templates to start them off. Therefore, a good app builder should offer a range of design templates to choose from, which will save you time and help you create a professional-looking app.
• Support - Even with intuitive app builders, you should still expect to run into difficulties. This is why it is smart to look for an app builder that offers reliable customer support. This includes resources such as tutorials, documentation, and a responsive support team to help you if you encounter any issues.
• Pricing - Lastly, the cost of the app builder should be reasonable and transparent. Ideally, it should offer a variety of pricing plans to choose from depending on your needs.

Apart from these, we will take into consideration any extra features that specific app builders offer.

Top Shopify mobile app builders for 2023

So, with these features in mind, let's see which Shopify mobile app builders come out on top.

1. Vajro

Let's start off with the most popular Shopify mobile app builder. Vajro is a mobile app builder that specializes in creating mobile apps for Shopify stores. With Vajro, merchants can create their own custom mobile app without any coding skills. Its user-friendly setup process allows merchants to create a mobile app in minutes. You can import your Shopify store products and customize the design of your app without any coding skills. You can also pick from a wide range of customizable design templates and opt for different colors, fonts, and layouts to match your brand identity and create a unique app.

Customer engagement

When it comes to engaging customers, Vajro provides you with different options. With push notifications you can send personalized messages to your customers, promoting sales, new products, or other updates. Notifications are a great way to keep your customers engaged and interested in your products. Especially if you also personalize them. If you wish to rely more on your social media you can integrate your mobile app with your social media accounts. This not only gives you another option for customer engagement but also makes it easy to share your app and products with your followers. This can help you expand your reach and attract new customers to your store.

‍Purchases and analytics

Vajro offers in-app purchases, making it easy for customers to make purchases within the app. With them, you can look to streamline the buying process for your customers and increase sales. All these purchases are integrated into Shopify's payment gateways, ensuring secure and easy payment transactions for your customers. As you can imagine, this helps build trust with your customers and encourage repeat purchases. Vajro provides detailed analytics about your app's performance, including user behavior, engagement, and conversion rates. Information is necessary if you wish to optimize your marketing and sales strategies for long-term goals.

Cost

Vajro has four different payment plans that come with different features:

• The Starter plan will cost you $89/month (billed $1.068 annually).
• Core for $224/month (billed $2.688 annually)
• Premium for $449/month (billed $5,388 annually)
• Plus (which is the most popular) at $899/month (billed $10,788 annually)

As you can imagine, the more you opt to pay, the more functionalities you will get. But, keep in mind that all plans have a 30 day free trial period. So, there is a good incetive to try them out.

2. Shopney

The second on our list is Shopney, one of the upcoming Shopify mobile app builders for 2023. Shopney was made in order to make it easy for businesses to build mobile apps that are user-friendly and engaging, while also being affordable. Shopney offers a wide range of features that can help businesses create and manage their mobile apps.

Similarly, to Vajro, the great thing about using Shopney is that you don't need to have any coding or technical expertise to create a native mobile app. The platform provides a user-friendly interface that will allow you to customize your app's design, layout, and features. This makes Shopney a great option for small and medium-sized businesses that may not have the resources or expertise to build a mobile app from scratch.

Customizability

Shopney offers a range of customizable templates that businesses can use to create their mobile app's design and layout. If you want to create a professional-looking app, these templates will go a long way in helping you avoid rookie designer mistakes. If you already have certain visual content regarding your products, or you wish to use an AI platform to create it, Shopney can help you out. You can upload your product catalog to their mobile app, including product images, descriptions, and pricing. This makes it easy for customers to browse and purchase products directly from the app.

Speaking of shopping, shopney's shopping cart feature allows customers to add products to their cart and checkout directly from the app. If you are dealing with mobile commerce this is a must-have, as it makes it easy for customers to complete their purchases on the go. Shopney also has a push notification feature that allows businesses to send targeted notifications to their customers, These can be product updates, promotions, and order confirmations.

In-app chat

A terrific feature that few stores make use of is in-app chat. Shopney offers an in-app chat feature that allows you to communicate directly with your customers within the app. This feature provides a convenient way to offer support, answer questions, and resolve issues, which can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The in-app chat feature is customizable, which means that you can tailor the chat widget's design to match your branding and style. This can help create a cohesive and professional-looking app that aligns with the business's brand image. It is important to note that the chat feature supports multiple languages, which can help you communicate with customers who speak different languages. If you wish to expand your business to an international level, this is a must-have.

Lastly, Shopney's in-app chat feature can integrate with other communication channels, such as email and social media, which can help you provide omnichannel support and ensure that customers can reach you through their preferred channel.

Payment gateways

Shopney supports a range of payment gateways, including:

• Shop Pay
• Amazon Pay
• PayPal
• Klarna
• Sezzle
• Afterpay
• Quadpay
• Apple Pay
• GPay
• Alipay

With such a wide variety, you'll be able to cover any payment preference from your customers. And numerous payment gateways usually lead to a better customer experience.

Shopney is compatible with major e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and BigCommerce, making it easy for businesses to integrate their online store with their mobile app. This also makes it easy to market your products on different platforms and ensures that you engage as wide an audience as possible.

Analytics

To track that audience, and your overall app performance, you can use in-build analytic features in Shopney. This includes data on app downloads, user engagement, and sales. Such information can help you make informed decisions about your mobile commerce strategy and optimize your app for better results.

Cost

As of writing this article, Shopney has four payment plans:

• Silver - $99/month.
• Gold - $199/month (the most popular option).
• Platinum - $499/month.
• Enterprise - $999/month.

Shopney also offers a 30-day trial period to anyone interested. So, you hardly have a reason not to give it a try.

3. MageNative

The next on our list of top Shopify mobile app builders for 2023 is MageNative. A mobile app builder for e-commerce businesses that is both user-friendly and affordable.

Similar to previous app builders, MageNative is compatible with a wide range of e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and Opencart. This makes it easy to integrate your online store with your mobile app. The platform allows brands to customize their app's design, layout, and features according to their preferences, without requiring any coding or technical expertise. MageNative is best suited for businesses that want to have an app that can easily reach an international audience.

Multilanguage and RTL

MageNative offers Multilanguage and RTL (Right to Left) support to help businesses create mobile apps that are accessible to customers in different regions of the world.

Multilanguage Support is the ability to create mobile apps that support multiple languages. The platform supports over 50 languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, and Chinese. You can easily customize your app's language settings, including product titles, descriptions, and menus, to ensure that it is accessible to customers in their preferred language.

RTL support is essential for businesses that want to reach customers in regions where languages are written from right to left, such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Urdu. MageNative offers full RTL support, which means that you can create mobile apps that are optimized for right-to-left languages. This includes support for text alignment, navigation, and layout, which can help you create a seamless user experience for their customers.

AR feature

Another thing that makes MageNative an interesting tool is its AR feature. With MageNative's AR feature, customers can visualize products in 3D before making a purchase. AR is still underused in modern marketing, which is why feel you should consider utilizing it as soon as possible. Through AR, customers can get a better sense of the product's size, shape, and texture. This will help customers make more informed buying decisions, as they can see how the product will look and feel in real life.

Adding the AR feature doesn't require any coding or technical expertise. This means that you can fairly quickly optimize your app for VR, and provide your customers with a new shopping experience.

Customization

Apart from what we've listed, MageNative has the standard features that you'd want in your app. You have a librarly of customizable templates that you can use to create their mobile app's design and layout. You can also upload your product catalog to your mobile app, including product images, descriptions, and pricing. This makes it easy for customers to browse and purchase products directly from the app. MageNative's push notification feature allows businesses to send targeted notifications to their customers, such as product updates, promotions, and order confirmations. Keep in mind that you'll have the ability to run unlimited push notification campaigns to maintain a perpetual interaction with customers feature can help you improve customer engagement and increase sales.

Cost

MageNative has three different paymnet plans:

• Basic plan - $529
• Growth plan - $663
• Enterprise plan - $999 (only this one has unlimited push notifications).

4. Tapcart

Another terrific, although a bit costlier option is Tapcart. This is an app-building platform designed to help brands create apps that provide a seamless and engaging mobile shopping experience to their customers.

When it comes to user-friendly UI, you cannot get much better. Tapcart's drag-and-drop builder makes it easy to add and edit content. This includes adding product pages, images, and videos, as well as customizing the app's layout and design. Again, to make the design process easier, you will have access to various customizable app templates. These templates are designed to be visually appealing and user-friendly, making it easy for businesses to create a professional-looking app that aligns with their brand.

Automated marketing

One of the key features that TapCart offers, is automated marketing. Through it, businesses can save time and increase engagement with their customers. Some of the automated marketing features include:

• Automated push notifications: Tapcart's automated push notification feature sends pre-built messages to customers based on their behavior and preferences. For example, you can set up automated messages to welcome new customers, remind customers of abandoned carts, or promote specific products or collections. If you incorporate personalization into this, push notifications can be quite effective.
• Automated email campaigns: Tapcart integrates with popular email marketing platforms like Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Constant Contact, which allows businesses to create and send automated email campaigns to their customers.
• Personalized product recommendations: This is another way in which Tapcart can aid your personalization efforts. Its automated recommendation engine uses machine learning algorithms to suggest products to customers based on their behavior and preferences. This can help you increase sales and customer engagement by providing personalized recommendations.

QR

Another noteworthy feature that Tapcart offers is QR codes. With it, businesses promote their mobile app and make it easy for customers to download and install the app on their mobile devices.

QR (Quick Response) codes are scannable codes that can be printed on marketing materials, like flyers or posters, and when scanned with a smartphone camera, they can direct the user to a specific webpage or app store page. With Tapcart's QR feature, you can create custom QR codes and print them on marketing materials. When scanned, the code will direct the user to download and install their mobile app. This can help you increase app downloads and engagement with their customers, as it provides a simple and convenient way for customers to access your mobile app. QR codes can also lead to your custom-made web stories, and help your customers get a better understanding of your brand message. Keep in mind that Tapcart's QR codes can be customized with the business's logo or branding, which can help increase brand recognition and awareness.

Cost

Tapcart offers three payment plans:

• Core - $275/month.
• Ultimate - $550/month.
• Enterprise - $1200/month.

All plans require Apple Developer ($99/year) and Google Play ($25 one-time fee) accounts to publish your app.

5. Plobal Apps

The last on our list is Plobal Apps. This is a top-notch mobile app builder that allows businesses to create and customize their own mobile app without any coding knowledge. Plobal Apps provides a range of features and templates that businesses can use to create a unique mobile app that reflects their brand and provides a seamless user experience for their customers.

Probal Apps has similar features to the ones we've mentioned like customizable templates, integration with popular e-commerce platforms, and analytics and reporting. But, there are a few that stand out to us.

Deep linking

Deep linking refers to the ability to create links that direct users to specific pages within the mobile app, rather than just the app's homepage. You can use them to direct users to specific products, categories, or pages within the app, which can improve the user experience and make it easier for users to find what they're looking for.

Plobal Apps provides deep linking functionality as part of its mobile app builder platform. When creating a deep link in Plobal Apps, you can specify the destination page within the app, as well as any relevant parameters or context. For example, a deep link could direct a user to a specific product page within the app, and include parameters such as the product ID or color. You can also direct a user to an in-app story in order to give a brief explanation of how your app works.

AI-based recommendations

Another feature that can be quite helpful for your ShopifyMe app is AI-based product recommendations. This feature uses machine learning algorithms to analyze customer behavior and make personalized product recommendations to each user based on their past interactions with the app.

The basic rundown of how AI-based product recommendations feature work in Plobal Apps is as follows. First, Plobal Apps tracks user behavior within the app, including product views, add-to-cart actions, and purchases. Then, it uses machine learning algorithms to analyze this user behavior data and identify patterns and trends. Based on the analysis of user behavior data, Plobal Apps then generates personalized product recommendations for each user. These recommendations are designed to be relevant to the user's interests and preferences and are displayed prominently within the app. Lastly, Plobal Apps continues to analyze user behavior data over time and updates the product recommendations as needed to ensure that they remain relevant and effective.

As you can imagine, this AI feature can be quite helpful in increasing sales and improving customer engagement. Furthermore, it gives you an effective way to better understand your customers.

Cost

Probal Apps comes with three payment plans:

• Growth - $199/month
• Essential - $499/month
• Enterprise - $1,199/month

You can save on all of them if you opt for an annual plan. Again, all plans require Apple Developer ($99 USD/year) and Google Play ($25 USD one-time fee) accounts to publish your app.

Final thoughts

What we've outlined so far are the top Shopify mobile app builders for 2023. Before you opt for one, we would strongly recommend that you first check out reviews. While we feel that all of them could potentially help you create decent apps, you might want to be more specific in your search. Look for app examples of each app builder, and see how satisfied their customers are with their service. See what the app creators have to say about customer retention, and whether the app builder is suitable for long-term use.