"We'll stay with Bubble till the end of the year and then make the switch to custom code."

This is exactly what one of our customers told us recently. We built their Bubble app a few months ago and have been serving as their extended product team since then.

But this conversation got us thinking: is switching from no-code to custom code really necessary? Is it the right decision? And when should a business actually make that move?

After years of helping non-technical founders build digital products, we've seen this pattern repeat itself many times. Today, we want to break down everything you need to know about this critical decision.

The Persistent Myth About "Real" Products

There's a stubborn idea in the tech world that "real" products need to be built with custom code. That somehow a Bubble app or no-code solution is just a temporary stepping stone until you can afford "the real thing."

We get it. Custom code sounds more professional, more scalable, more "serious." And yes, there are large tech companies using custom code stacks to serve millions of users.

But here's what most people miss: the technology stack is rarely the limiting factor for 99% of businesses.

Real Companies Thriving on No-Code

Let us share a few examples of businesses that built on Bubble and never needed to switch:

Example 1: Fintech Startup

A fintech company processing hundreds of transactions daily started on Bubble two years ago. Today, they serve around 6,000 monthly users and still run everything on their original no-code stack. They're generating stable revenue and gradually scaling without any technical limitations.

Example 2: Education Platform

An education platform managing course content, student profiles, and payments — all built on Bubble. They've scaled to around 2,000 active students and recently closed a $300,000 investment round. Interestingly, investors actually liked the capital efficiency of their no-code approach.

Example 3: Retail Operations Tool

An internal tool for a retail business that manages inventory across three physical locations. They process around 500 items daily without any performance or security issues, all on a Bubble-built application.

Bubble scales because it's built on AWS — the same infrastructure powering software used by millions of people. It's not Bubble that will limit your growth; it's almost always something else.

When Switching to Custom Code Actually Makes Sense

That doesn't mean switching to code never makes sense. Here are legitimate reasons to consider it:

1. Specific Technical Requirements: When you need complex real-time processing, intensive calculations, or specialized integrations that no-code tools genuinely can't handle.

2. Extremely Custom UI/UX: When you need design and interaction patterns that push beyond what Bubble can deliver. This is rare, but exists for certain types of applications.

3. Technical Team Structure: When you have a technical co-founder or have built a development team with strong coding skills where ownership of the codebase makes more sense.

4. Performance-Critical Applications: When you're building something where granular performance optimization matters — like shaving milliseconds off load times for a financial trading platform.

5. Regulatory Requirements: When your industry has specific compliance needs that require certain infrastructure setups no-code platforms don't support.

Notice what's not on this list? User count. Transaction volume. General scaling concerns. These are rarely actual limitations of no-code tools.

Real Examples of Transitions

Let's look at some companies that did make the switch:

One marketplace startup started on Bubble, grew to about 8,000 monthly users, and eventually switched to a custom stack. The reason wasn't performance issues but because they hired a CTO and development team who preferred to work with specific technologies they had expertise in.

Another company built a SaaS product on Bubble, reached about $30K MRR, and then transitioned to a hybrid approach — custom code for the backend with an API, while keeping their frontend in a low-code environment. Their reason? They were adding specialized features for enterprise clients that required custom integrations.

The pattern we've noticed is that technical limitations are rarely the primary driver. It's usually about team structure, specific feature requirements, or preference once a company has the resources.

The Hidden Costs of Switching

What most founders don't realize is the true cost of switching from no-code to custom code:

1. Rebuilding Takes Time: Often 3-6 months for even a relatively simple app, during which you're not building new features.

2. The Real Cost is Higher: Typically 3-5x higher than anticipated.

3. Feature Loss: You'll likely lose some features or flexibility in the transition.

4. Increased Maintenance: You'll need developers not just for new features but for ongoing maintenance.

5. Slower Iteration: What took hours in Bubble might take days or weeks in a custom environment.

One founder told us: "We spent $60,000 and 6 months rebuilding our Bubble app in custom code, and we ended up with fewer features than we started with."

Making the Right Decision for Your Business

So how do you decide what's right for your business? Here's a framework:

1. Identify actual technical limitations you're facing, not theoretical ones. Are users experiencing issues? Is development speed actually impaired?

2. Calculate the full cost of switching — not just development, but opportunity cost of features not built during transition.

3. Consider hybrid approaches — maybe certain components could be custom code while keeping the main app in Bubble.

4. Evaluate your team structure — do you have or want to build an in-house development team?

5. Be honest about your growth trajectory — is the switch really needed now, or are you planning for problems you don't yet have?

The founder who told us they'd "switch to code by the end of the year" hasn't made the switch two years later. Why? Because Bubble wasn't actually limiting their growth or development speed.

Conclusion

Here's our honest take:

For most businesses, no-code tools like Bubble are completely sufficient for years of growth. They'll easily take you to thousands of users and millions in revenue.

Making the switch to custom code usually makes sense when you have specific technical requirements, not general scaling concerns.

The decision should always be business-driven, not based on what feels more "legitimate" or what you think you "should" do.

Remember, your users don't care what your tech stack is. They care that your product solves their problems reliably and continues to improve.

If you're building something that works on Bubble, Webflow, or any other no-code tool — keep building! Only switch when you have concrete limitations that are actively holding back your business.