In 2025, almost every other business related to the tech industry is diving into cloud application development to address the needs of its users. Yet a plain app is not sufficient to maintain a competitive edge in the evolving market. Imagine having a remarkable concept at hand but watching it go to waste just because of lacking the exact development technology needed for your product’s successful launch.
Today, businesses are striving to achieve more with less. And that’s where the debate between
Low-code and traditional development fall in. Undoubtedly, traditional development practices do play a contributing part in app development. However, with technological advancements, the practices are rapidly being replaced by new approaches, such as low-code or no-code development. According to Gartner, in 2025, 70% of the applications developed by businesses will be based on low-code or no-code technologies.
So, if you’re confused about which approach best suits your requirements, this article is for you. It offers a walkthrough on the comparison of both development approaches, letting you decide on which method truly fuels your app’s success in 2025.
Side-by-Side Comparison: Low-Code vs Traditional Development
The following is a quick comparison of the two development approaches:
| Feature | Low-Code Development | Traditional Development |
| Development Speed | Extremely fast with drag-and-drop features. | Slower, due to manual coding. |
| User Skill Level | Basic tech knowledge is enough. | Requires professional developers. |
| Customization | Limited to platform tools. | Fully customizable for project needs. |
| Cost | Lower – fewer developers needed. | Higher – more time and expertise required. |
| Scalability | Great for small to medium apps. | Excellent for large, complex systems. |
| Security | Built-in features but are platform dependent. | Strong, custom-built security options. |
| Maintenance | Easier updates through the platform. |
Manual updates by developers.
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Now, let’s take a deeper dive and learn more about low code and traditional app development.
What is Low-Code Development?
Low code is an advanced software development approach that streamlines website and mobile app development. The approach uses preset modules, templates, drag-and-drop functionality, and automated processes for this purpose. This methodology involves reusing the code base, so minimum coding expertise is required. Individuals with comparatively fewer development skills can also play their role in bringing new applications and products to market easily.
Key Benefits
- More Speed
- Better Accessibility
- Cost-effective
- Agile approach
Some Examples of Low-Code Apps Businesses Can Develop
- Operational cost management apps
- Scheduling apps
- Leave request apps
- Payroll apps
- Inventory tracking apps
- Event planning apps
Popular Low-Code Development Platforms
Some of the popular low-code platforms are:
- Microsoft Power Apps
- Mendix
- Zoho Creator
- OutSystems
- Bubble
And many more.
What are Traditional Development Practices?
A comparatively more common approach, traditional development involves code-writing from scratch. This evidently suggests that this approach is more time-consuming compared to the former one. However, many skilled developers still find traditional development practices better and more satisfying. For them, manually written code is perhaps the only way to gain complete control of the app’s development process. But that’s not entirely the case. The pre-written code is vulnerable to security risks.
Key Benefits
- More Control
- Better and optimized performance
- Flexible and scalable
- Easy integration of protective layers
Popular Traditional Development Platforms
Some of the popular traditional platforms are:
- Visual Studio
- Eclipse
- Android Studio
- Azure
- GitHub
Examples of Traditional Coding Projects
- Legacy enterprise resource planning systems
- Complex ecommerce mobile app development
- Highly specialized scientific software
Low Code vs Traditional Development: Drawbacks
Nothing is perfect!
No practice, no approach, no module can claim to have achieved 100% perfection. There are always some drawbacks and flaws that remain. The same is the case with low-code and traditional mobile app development. While the two come with their unique benefits, each does have some undeniable drawbacks. These can impact your decision when choosing the approach for your app development. The following table explains these:
| Drawback | Low-Code Development | Traditional Development |
| Performance | Features lower performance due to generic, auto-generated code not tailored to specific environments. | High performance is possible but requires extensive manual optimization. |
| Customization | Offers limited flexibility for deep customization or complex legacy system integrations. | Offers full customization but increases app complexity and development time. |
| Deployment Limitations | It is often restricted to certain platforms or cloud environments. | Allows deployment anywhere but needs more manual setup and expertise. |
| Skill Requirements | Some coding knowledge and skills are still required; some platforms do require professional developer expertise. | Requires deep technical knowledge and often specialized skills. |
| Development Time | Offers faster development but sometimes at the cost of flexibility or quality. | Slower due to increased input of manual effort. |
| Team Dependency | May require external experts for advanced features, reducing full independence. | Highly dependent on in-house developers with the right expertise. |
Use Cases
Given the pros and cons of both low code and traditional development, each offers value, but not in every sector. The following are some use cases highlighting where either of the two can be of more valuable use for the developer:
Low-Code Development
- For app integrations with external platforms and tools.
- For developing different types of web applications that are simple, with mostly static content.
- For building supporting tools and dashboards for business analytics.
- For developing apps that support simple business procedures, such as customer data collection. These apps then become accessible for all.
Traditional Development
- For building applications that are complex and performance-intensive applications (financial apps or gaming platforms).
- For developing software requiring customizations, such as enterprise ERP systems.
- For apps requiring strict compliance and security assurance.
- For modernizing legacy systems for better control and integration with the architecture.
- For scaling products across multiple platforms with precise optimization.
- For long-term, large-scale software projects with robust version control, testing, and deployment pipelines.
Final Words
The choice between low-code and traditional development is not a definite one. It depends on your project’s needs, app complexity, and speed-to-market goals. Low code offers a fast and user-friendly way of developing simple apps and streamlining business processes.
Traditional development, on the other hand, gives you full control, deep customization, and performance for complex, long-term solutions. The smartest approach that you can take may be a mix of both — using low-code for quick wins and traditional methods for core systems.
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