No-Code · head to head
Directual vs Thunkable
Directual
No-Code
No-code backend with a visual workflow engine, used behind other tools rather than instead of them
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Thunkable
No-Code
No-code, drag-and-drop mobile app builder priced by AI tokens and project counts
- 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.; Thunkable every paid tier is metered by a monthly AI token allowance, so heavy use of the AI assistant, which is the tool's main productivity feature, can be exhausted well before a billing period ends.
- They diverge on capability: Directual covers Visual database designer, Thunkable covers Block-based logic editor.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Directual and Thunkable actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Thunkable
- Block-based logic editor
- Native compilation
- AI app assistant
- Component marketplace
- Live testing
- Custom branding
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 Thunkable
- Replacing an Airtable base that has outgrown its row limits without hiring a backend developernot Thunkable
- Event-driven workflows such as order processing or scheduled billing runs that must run without a person triggering themnot Thunkable
- Organisations with a data residency requirement that rules out most no-code platforms, using the self-hosted tiernot Thunkable
Thunkable
- A non-developer or founder prototyping an app idea before hiring an engineernot Directual
- An educator teaching app-building concepts without requiring students to write codenot Directual
- A small business needing a simple internal or customer-facing app with modest logicnot Directual
- A hobbyist building a single published app who does not need more than one live app slotnot 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.
Thunkable
- Every paid tier is metered by a monthly AI token allowance, so heavy use of the AI assistant, which is the tool's main productivity feature, can be exhausted well before a billing period ends.
- Only the Builder tier and above allow a live published app at all in useful numbers, so the entry-level paid plan cannot actually get an app onto the store in a meaningful way.
- Block-based logic becomes unwieldy for apps with genuinely complex business rules, and there is no clean escape hatch to written code within the platform.
- Native integrations and performance-sensitive features (heavy graphics, background processing) are limited compared to a coded framework, so the tool has a real complexity ceiling.
- App ownership and export options are more restrictive than an open source framework; leaving the platform typically means rebuilding rather than exporting a portable codebase.
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
Thunkable
Free- FreeFree
- 2,000 AI tokens
- 3 public projects
- 5 screens per project
- Accelerator$19/month
- 20,000 AI tokens
- 5 public and 1 private project
- 10 screens per project
- Builder$37/month
- 50,000 AI tokens
- Unlimited public, 10 private projects
- Unlimited screens, 1 live published app
- Advanced$99/month
- 100,000 AI tokens
- Unlimited private projects and live published apps
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose Directual if
- You need visual database designer.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want scenario builder.
Choose Thunkable if
- You need block-based logic editor.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want native compilation.
Questions people ask
- Is Directual or Thunkable better?
- Neither clearly leads. Directual starts at Free and Thunkable at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Directual or Thunkable?
- Directual starts at Free and Thunkable at Free.
- Does Directual or Thunkable run on more platforms?
- Directual runs on Web. Thunkable 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 Thunkable is typically brought in for.
- What can Directual do that Thunkable cannot?
- Directual covers Visual database designer, Scenario builder, Generated API endpoints, Event-driven triggers. Thunkable covers Block-based logic editor, Native compilation, AI app assistant, Component marketplace.
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.
Thunkable: Can I publish an app on the free plan?
The free plan is aimed at building and testing; live publishing capacity in a meaningful way starts on the Builder plan.
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.
Thunkable: What happens if I run out of AI tokens?
AI-assisted generation stops working until the next billing cycle or an upgrade; manual block-based editing still works.
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.
Thunkable: Is this suitable for a complex business app?
No. It is built for simple to moderately complex apps; heavy custom logic and native integrations are better served by a coded framework.
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.
Related pages
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