13 Free AI App Builders: Build It Yourself or Not?

Which free AI app builders are on IMDA's list?

These are the 13 app, website and code builders on IMDA's AI Tools page, with each vendor's free option as of October 2026.

How we chose and what 'free' means here

IMDA picked these tools, not us. Its AI Tools page says the list was "curated from multiple sources, considering signals of market adoption with generally positive user sentiment and relevance to local SMEs needs." They are not grant-supported pre-approved solutions, so EDGE Grant funding does not apply.

We checked each vendor's own pricing or documentation in October 2026 and give no paid prices, because they change often. Where we could not confirm free terms on the vendor's site, we say so.

A free tier is permanent but capped. A free trial is the paid product for a set period. For builders there is a third catch: many free plans let you build but not publish, so the cost appears exactly when the app becomes useful.

Which AI app builders can a non-technical owner use?

Five tools let you describe or assemble an app without writing code.

• Lovable: Describe the app in plain English and Lovable builds it. Its pricing page says the free plan gives 5 build credits a day, up to 30 a month, plus 20 monthly cloud credits for hosting. Best for a booking page or simple customer portal. Limit: each change uses credits, so a larger app needs a paid plan.
• Glide: Turns spreadsheet data into an app your team uses on their phones. Glide's pricing page lists 2 team members and 10 projects on the free plan, with no published apps and no enabled workflows. Best for a renovation contractor's job tracker. Limit: you need a paid plan to publish.
• Softr: Builds client portals and internal tools on top of data you already keep. Softr's site says it is free to start; check current user and record limits on its pricing page. Best for an accounting firm's client document portal. Limit: user and record caps on the free plan.
• Bubble: The most flexible no-code builder for full web and mobile apps. Bubble's pricing page lists a free plan for projects under construction with 50K workload units a month and one editor; a live app and custom domain need a paid plan. Best when you want a real product. Limit: a steep learning curve.
• Replit: An AI agent writes, runs and hosts the app in your browser. Replit's documentation says the free Starter plan includes daily Agent credits up to a monthly cap and one published app that goes down after 30 days, with a "Made with Replit" badge. Best for quick prototypes. Limit: the free published app expires.

What is Dify, and when do you need it?

Dify is a visual builder for AI workflows: an assistant that answers from your own documents, or a flow that reads an email, classifies it and drafts a reply. Dify's pricing page lists a cloud Sandbox plan with 200 message credits, 5 apps, 1 team member and 50 knowledge documents, and a free self-hosted Community Edition under its open-source licence.

It suits a logistics SME that wants an internal assistant answering staff questions from its SOPs. The honest limit: you choose the AI models, manage API keys and, if you self-host, run the server. That is a job for someone technical.

Which AI coding assistants made the list?

• GitHub Copilot: Suggests code as a developer types. GitHub's plans page says Copilot Free includes 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests a month. Best for an SME with an in-house or freelance developer. Limit: it helps people who code; it does not replace them.
• Blackbox AI: A coding assistant with access to many models. IMDA lists a free tier; check the vendor's current terms, as its pricing page now focuses on enterprise plans.

Which free website and e-commerce builders are worth it?

• Wix: Wix's plans page says the free plan needs no credit card and includes hosting, a drag-and-drop editor and templates. Free sites carry Wix branding and a Wix web address, and accepting payments starts on a paid plan. Best for a café's first website.
• Squarespace: Squarespace says every site starts with a 14-day free trial, no credit card required, and that it does not offer a free plan. Best for design-led businesses such as a studio or boutique.
• Shopify: Shopify's Singapore pricing page lists a 3-day free trial with no credit card, followed by a reduced introductory rate for the first three months. Its Sidekick AI assistant for commerce is included on all main plans. Best for a retailer moving beyond Instagram orders.
• WooCommerce: WooCommerce says its core plugin is free, with no monthly fee or revenue share. You pay for hosting, any extensions and your payment provider's fees. Best if you already run WordPress and want full control.
• 10Web: Generates a WordPress website from a short brief. Its pricing page says you can start free to generate your site, and plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. Best for a quick, editable WordPress site.

If your customers order through WhatsApp rather than a website, a new shop front may not be the bottleneck. Our guide to free AI customer service tools covers the tools that work on the conversation itself.

How do you choose the right free AI app builder?

Start from what you need and who will maintain it after launch.

What do free AI app builders not do for you?

• They do not decide the workflow: The builder produces what you describe. Working out the right steps, exceptions and approvals is still on you.
• They do not connect everything: Linking to WhatsApp, PayNow, a delivery partner or Xero usually needs paid plans, API keys or a developer.
• They do not clean your data: An app on top of a messy spreadsheet shows the mess faster.
• They do not run it daily: When a customer's order fails at 9pm, someone has to notice and fix it.
• They do not handle PDPA for you: If your app collects customer data, your business is responsible for protecting it, wherever the builder hosts it.

Build it yourself vs have it built and run by Biks

Both are sensible choices. The difference is who owns the work after launch.

How Biks can help with apps and customer workflows

Most SMEs that try an app builder are really after a workflow: an order taken in WhatsApp, a payment confirmed, a driver booked, the customer kept posted and the record updated. Biks builds and runs that for you through customer operations, working alongside WhatsApp, Google Sheets, Xero and the payment and delivery tools you already use. Uncertain or sensitive requests go to the right person with the conversation attached.

Rosalie, an F&B business, cut daily order admin from more than four hours to about 20 minutes, with a 99% response rate and a closing rate more than 50% higher, live in three weeks. Read the Rosalie case study, compare WhatsApp platforms with a custom workflow, or book a call to map yours. For more of IMDA's list, see free AI assistants, free AI workplace tools and the full IMDA free AI tools overview.