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Why Vibe Coding Wins Over No-Code In 2025

  • Writer: Harshal
    Harshal
  • Sep 11
  • 4 min read

AI-Powered Coding Assistants Vs Drag-and-Drop Platforms

While discussing abstractions with a startup, I wondered: Is generative AI making no-code tools irrelevant?

I believe it is. Generative AI is changing how we build software, making vibe-coding platforms a better choice for many entrepreneurs than no-code platforms.

1 - If you are building a product, build a vibe-code platform for your users before considering a no-code platform.

2 - If you want to accelerate your product building, lean towards a vibe-coding platform instead of a proprietary no-code or low-code platform.

I spent 1 hour and 25 minutes writing this. You need 3 minutes to read this.

Bright future of vibe-coding vs the dull side of no-code tools.
Bright future of vibe-coding vs the dull side of no-code tools.

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I’ve used most of the tools I mention below.

Platforms like Bubble.io, Zapier, Make, Twilio Studio, and MLOps platforms were designed to hide the complexity of Kubernetes, Docker, Slurm, HTML, JavaScript, and APIs. They created their own abstractions so non-developers could build without touching real code. That approach worked well for years.

But in 2025, we can vibe code.

Thanks to GenAI coding assistants like Lovable, v0, Replit, Bolt, Github CoPilot, and Codex, beginners can describe what they want in plain language and instantly generate Python, HTML, GUI, API scripts, or shell scripts.

Gotchas In Vibe-Coding

In 2023, I wrote some vibe-coding learnings. But tech has changed so much, so here is an updated short version:

  1. Learn to think like a programmer. Break problems into logical steps. (Clip from YellowJokes below)

  2. Break down the solution into small chunks to test each one independently and iteratively.

  3. Have a way to test the output. Don’t assume AI-generated code is correct.

  4. Combine multiple sources of information. For example, brainstorm with GPT5 or search using Perplexity, while building with Lovable that uses Claude.

  5. Add context. Provide screenshots, wireframes, code samples, or pseudocode to guide the AI.

I have also written more Lovable vibe-coding tips here.

think like a programmer using if-then statements.
think like a programmer using if-then statements.

3 Examples

I write based on these examples:

Example 1: Job Hunt Tool

A few years ago, I understood the customer’s needs and had a solution in mind. I even had a UI mockup. But I couldn’t code, which blocked me from delivering value. I explored Bubble and other tools. Finally, I vibe-coded it with ChatGPT and generated revenue.

Example 2: Naming Tool

My wife and I were choosing baby names. We used Lovable to build a web app with a Tinder-style interface to:

  • Rank our favorite names.

  • Hear names in different accents.

  • Record our first impressions.

This helped us select our baby’s name.

Example 3: Startup Web UI Prototype

While working with a startup, my team and I built a prototype of our web UI. This served two purposes:

  1. Product management communicated desired features and user experience (UX) to engineering.

  2. By adding upcoming features to the prototype, we could show sales prospects what they would see when onboarding - aligning with the several-month sales cycle and development timeline.

Vibe-Coding Vs No-Code: What To Consider?

I compare the two approaches on 4 main axes:

  • Support or FAQs

  • Vendor lock-in

  • Platform Scalability

  • Team scalability / Delegation

Trade-off: Support or FAQs

Learn a proprietary no-code builder, and you’ll pick up niche syntax with limited export options. You’ll rely on the platform’s support discussions or documentation. Building in Zapier, Bubble, or TwiML means learning a language you can use only in that ecosystem.

Vibe-coding with Python, JavaScript, or Node.js taps into decades of community knowledge — Stack Overflow answers, official documentation, and broader developer forums. Open, widely used languages have far more resources than vendor-specific tools.

Trade-off: Vendor lock-in

Build an amazing no-code app in Bubble, and you can’t easily migrate it to a competing service if pricing changes or scalability becomes a concern.

Code the same app in JavaScript, and you can move it to another hosting solution with minimal friction.

“You don’t need a 3rd-party wrapper to talk to a vector DB. Just use proper input/output. You really need that full control & ownership.”

Trade-off: Platform scalability

User interviews and community discussions (e.g., Zapier or n8n forums) often highlight scalability concerns. High request-per-second workloads can strain some no-code tools, while code-based solutions typically scale with more flexibility.

Trade-off: Team scalability / Delegation

Imagine a team where 2 engineers know a low or no-code tool. Your next 2 new hires must learn it, assuming only 20% of the engineers you can hire know that tool beforehand. By contrast, most developers (say 80%) already know mainstream languages, allowing them to contribute immediately.

For entrepreneurs or solo operators hiring freelancers, a specialized no-code tool limits your talent pool. Producing output in a widely used language like Python increases the number of people who can work with it.

What Will You Choose?

“No-code was great before generative AI. But now you can just tell ChatGPT what you want and copy-paste into your terminal or IDE.”

No-code tools aren’t disappearing — they still shine for drag-and-drop prototypes or non-technical users. But if you have even a bit of technical thinking, vibe-coding can offer a faster, more scalable path.

No-code is like taking a guided bus tour. You see the sights, but only what’s on the route.

Vibe-coding is renting your own car with GPS. You might take a wrong turn, but you’ll reach places the tour never shows.

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