No-Code · head to head
Directual vs Draftbit
Directual
No-Code
No-code backend with a visual workflow engine, used behind other tools rather than instead of them
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Draftbit
No-Code
Visual builder for React Native apps that exports the source code you keep
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Directual the front-end builder is basic, so any project needing a designed interface means learning and paying for a second tool, and time to launch is closer to a two-system build than a one-tool build.; Draftbit export is one way; once a developer edits the exported React Native project those changes cannot be returned to the visual builder, so the team must pick a handover moment and accept that the visual tooling stops applying from then on.
- They diverge on capability: Directual covers Visual database designer, Draftbit covers React Native source export.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Directual and Draftbit actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (quote), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (No-Code).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Directual
- Visual database designer
- Scenario builder
- Generated API endpoints
- Event-driven triggers
- Role and permission model
- Scheduled jobs
- Basic web page builder
- Self-hosted deployment
Only in Draftbit
- React Native source export
- Component library
- Any REST API as a data source
- Live device preview
- Custom code blocks
- Theming
- Service connectors
- Team collaboration
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Directual
- Providing the backend for a Webflow or FlutterFlow front end that needs real data, authentication and logicnot Draftbit
- Replacing an Airtable base that has outgrown its row limits without hiring a backend developernot Draftbit
- Event-driven workflows such as order processing or scheduled billing runs that must run without a person triggering themnot Draftbit
- Organisations with a data residency requirement that rules out most no-code platforms, using the self-hosted tiernot Draftbit
Draftbit
- Shipping a first mobile version quickly with a deliberate plan to hand it to engineers laternot Directual
- Agencies building client apps where the contract requires source code as a deliverablenot Directual
- Teams that have a designer and a backend but no mobile engineernot Directual
- Prototyping a native app against a real API rather than building a clickable mockupnot Directual
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Directual
- The front-end builder is basic, so any project needing a designed interface means learning and paying for a second tool, and time to launch is closer to a two-system build than a one-tool build.
- Visual scenarios become unreadable once the logic is non-trivial; a workflow that would be forty lines of code sprawls across a canvas, and reviewing what a colleague built is slow.
- Debugging asynchronous, event-triggered scenarios is harder than debugging code, because failures surface as records left in an unexpected state rather than as a stack trace at the point of failure.
- Self-hosting is confined to the top commercial tier, so the ownership advantage is available only to buyers already spending at the high end.
- The pool of agencies and freelancers who know Directual is small next to Bubble or Airtable, so handing a finished system to someone else to maintain is harder and more expensive.
Draftbit
- Export is one way; once a developer edits the exported React Native project those changes cannot be returned to the visual builder, so the team must pick a handover moment and accept that the visual tooling stops applying from then on.
- There is no bundled backend or database, so the real stack is Draftbit plus a service such as Supabase or Xano, and the cost and operational burden of that second system falls on you.
- The output is mobile only with no web application target, so any product that also needs a browser version needs a second tool and a second build to maintain.
- It is built on Expo, so native modules outside what Expo supports require ejecting and native build tooling, which is exactly the expertise the tool was meant to remove the need for.
- App store submission, signing, review responses and release management are entirely yours, and that is where non-technical teams lose the time they saved in the builder.
Pricing, plan by plan
Directual
Free- Directual$undefined/month
- Free tier with capped records and API calls
- Paid tiers priced by database rows, API calls and scenario runs
- Self-hosted deployment on the top tier only
Draftbit
Free- Draftbit$undefined/month
- Free tier for building and previewing
- Source export and publishing sit behind paid tiers
- Priced per project and per collaborator
Which should you pick?
Choose Directual if
- You need visual database designer.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want scenario builder.
Choose Draftbit if
- You need react native source export.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want component library.
Questions people ask
- Is Directual or Draftbit better?
- Neither clearly leads. Directual starts at Free and Draftbit at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Directual or Draftbit?
- Directual starts at Free and Draftbit at Free.
- Does Directual or Draftbit run on more platforms?
- Directual runs on Web. Draftbit runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Directual for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Directual best used for?
- Directual is most often used for providing the backend for a webflow or flutterflow front end that needs real data, authentication and logic, replacing an airtable base that has outgrown its row limits without hiring a backend developer, event-driven workflows such as order processing or scheduled billing runs that must run without a person triggering them, organisations with a data residency requirement that rules out most no-code platforms, using the self-hosted tier. Of those, providing the backend for a webflow or flutterflow front end that needs real data, authentication and logic and replacing an airtable base that has outgrown its row limits without hiring a backend developer are not what Draftbit is typically brought in for.
- What can Directual do that Draftbit cannot?
- Directual covers Visual database designer, Scenario builder, Generated API endpoints, Event-driven triggers. Draftbit covers React Native source export, Component library, Any REST API as a data source, Live device preview.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Directual: Is Directual a replacement for Bubble?
Not directly. Bubble builds the whole application; Directual builds the backend and expects you to bring a front end such as Webflow or FlutterFlow.
Draftbit: Do I own the code?
Yes. Paid plans export a React Native and Expo project you can keep, host and ship without Draftbit involved.
Directual: Can I host it myself?
Yes, on the top commercial tier. That is unusual in no-code and it is the main reason regulated buyers look at it at all.
Draftbit: Can I import edited code back into the builder?
No. Export is one way, so plan the handover deliberately because after it the visual builder is no longer part of your workflow.
Directual: How does it cope with large data volumes?
It is built on a real database with indexing rather than a spreadsheet abstraction, so record counts that break Airtable-class tools are within its normal range.
Draftbit: Does it include a database?
No. You connect your own backend, commonly Supabase, Xano, Airtable or a REST API you already run.
Directual: What happens to my logic if I leave?
The data exports and the API is documented, but scenarios are platform-specific and have to be reimplemented, unless you are already on the self-hosted tier.
Draftbit: Can it build a web app as well?
No. The output is a React Native mobile application for iOS and Android only.
Related pages
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