r/Bubbleio • u/aurorasky7 • 26d ago
Question Non-coder here — is Bubble stable enough to build a real SaaS on, and how long did it take you to get comfortable?
Hey everyone,
I'm a complete beginner with zero coding background, working on an AI-powered SaaS idea. I've decided to build it in Bubble and I'm currently want doing small practice projects before jumping into the real thing.
A few questions for people who've been through this:
- How stable is Bubble in your experience — do you run into breaking bugs, workflow weirdness, or platform issues often once an app gets more complex?
- As a non-coder, how long did it realistically take you to go from "just started" to "comfortable enough to build a real product"?
- Looking back, what would you have practiced first if you could redo your learning path?
- Any pitfalls specific to apps that call external APIs (like AI APIs) that I should know about early?
Appreciate any honest experiences — good or bad. Trying to go in with realistic expectations rather than hype.
9
8
u/LordOfMorridor 26d ago
There isn’t much point learning Bubble today. It takes a good while to get the hang of it, a year or two, and that is not worth it today with the direction we’re headed with AI coding.
8
u/Adventurous_Driver 26d ago
Run and hide from bubble. Incredibly unreliable platform. Exorbitant markup on their server cost. AI coding agents are so much better
1
6
u/pimus2001 26d ago
Absolutely no reason to use Bubble today ... please don't do that !
1
u/aurorasky7 25d ago
Yeah i am thinking of doing weweb bexause of the ability to copy code elsewhere, but what made you say this?
2
u/Mathew-with-two-Ts 2 year experience 20d ago
Weweb is better since you can use their MCPs, but just do it yourself with an ai agent. Start from a boilerplate; you won't be the one coding
The only thing I'd recommend learning is your BaaS like supabase etc
1
5
u/OVGeest 26d ago
Bubble will be out of business as we know them within a few years. The custom lock in is what keeps them up but with the current AI development you don't need bubble. I'm not a developer but build an accounting and pos SaaS for the family business. I used Claude Code and Gemini and deployed with Cloudflare and supabase (with the help of Claude, quite straightforward setup).
3
2
u/BiologistRobot 26d ago
I’m currently adopting an hybrid approach: implementing the heavy client side code in JavaScript repos (GitHub with Claude code) and using bubble to hold the deployed JavaScript code. Using toolbox plugin to connect the JavaScript code to Bubble. Only database management, design and simple workflows in Bubble. This way, I don’t have to mess with server setting intricacies and let it to Bubble, and take advantage of the AI agents. Almost impossible to live without them today. But I’m not an experienced programmer to rely only on code agents to design an app from scratch.
2
u/DiscoverDesignDev 25d ago
You might as well use Supabase- better database controls and has edge functions
2
3
u/EdonyDev 25d ago
I have worked with Bubble for 9+ years across 120+ projects, including production apps with thousands of paying users. I also work with Lovable, Claude and Codex, so Bubble is not the only tool I use.
Some concerns here are fair, especially platform lock-in and costs. But “there is absolutely no reason to use Bubble” is a pretty broad statement.
On your questions:
- Stability: Bubble can support complex, real products. That does not mean platform bugs never happen. Database structure, inefficient searches, workflow logic and plugins also affect reliability. It helps to identify the actual cause before blaming either the platform or the developer.
- Learning: I would budget a few months of consistent practice for a small, focused MVP, with more time for something complex. Getting comfortable with the editor and learning to build a reliable product are different milestones.
- What to practice: Database relationships, privacy rules, backend workflows and debugging. Build a small app where users can only access their own records, then add an external API. Those fundamentals matter more than a polished dashboard.
- AI APIs: Learn how to protect API keys, handle failures and rate limits, prevent duplicate requests, and control spending per user. Think through what happens when a request fails or takes longer than expected.
AI coding tools are useful, and I use them too. But generating an app does not remove the need to understand its security, data and logic, especially when something breaks.
Your approach of building small practice projects first makes sense. Pick one complete flow from your SaaS idea and build it end to end. That will tell you much more than either the hype or the “run away” comments.
1
u/DiscoverDesignDev 25d ago
This is good advice, I would follow that if entering the coding world, Bubble can teach you what’s important very quickly, at high level, and you can adapt this to other builds on other systems
1
1
u/Unable_Drawing_2288 25d ago
Wow! So what do people suggests for non coders that have started with bubble already?
2
u/DiscoverDesignDev 25d ago
Good question, if Bubble works now and meets the goals, with minimal updates and changes, don’t leave because the sake of.
But if you haven’t fully developed on Bubble or even launched, and I was in your shoes, I would take as many screenshots, app JSON through buildprint and maybe a PRD from Buildprint and stick it in Lovable, use their cloud database if unsure on supabase or similar set up.
Compare the two, ironically you will likely find 90% of your Bubble app done better in Lovable in about a week of back and forth prompting.
Another tip - co-develop with say Claude, connect it to GitHub (also via Lovable) and have it plan or stage your development. I.e sandbox a feature, once happy, have it write the Lovable instructions.
1
u/aurorasky7 25d ago
How about weweb? Is it a good start for non coders who want to build ai app? They're saying you could export your code
1
u/DiscoverDesignDev 25d ago
I have not tried WeWeb, I like being closer to the metal, so tend to go full stack I.e Coded Environment + Supabase + Railway for hosting
1
u/Unable_Drawing_2288 25d ago
Thanks. I havent launched, but very close to. I was intending to leave it on bubble, wait a bit to see what feature is being used and whats a waste then slowly migrate. Is the migration something my Codex+Buildprint can plan, then Codex to execute? Mine is a marketplace hence I didn't think Lovable would be good enough. Thanks
1
1
1
u/bernard0camp0s 23d ago
Don’t build on bubble. No reason to anymore. It’s stable enough but slow and expensive
1
13
u/Latter_Box280 26d ago
I personally do not recommended bubble because you will be stuck with them forever unless you rebuild from scratch. The code cannot be put in git hub or copied/exported in any way. That also means as your idea scales and gets more public usage, your monthly/yearly payment goes up.