What are remote meetings ? Also known as virtual meetings, remote meetings happen when a group of people, who are dispersed across different locations, use video and audio facilities to connect online. Remote meetings are extensively used by organisations who hire hybrid teams.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of remote meetings as in-person meetings became restricted. Â This was specifically true with multinational corporations with a global presence. Â The shift to remote meetings was quick and absolute. Â It became necessary to define ways that would maintain the purpose of remote meetings and design creative ways to bring the team together. Some key benefits of remote meetings are –
Recorded meetings
With time-zone differences, it may not be possible for everyone to join. Â In such a scenario recorded meetings allow team members to catch up on what transpired adding context to the notes taken at the meetings.
Optimal Use of Time
Virtual meetings with a set agenda are focused and to the point. Â They are time-bound, agenda bound and aim at a results-driven approach.
Outlining all the advantages while, at the same time, building a process that is an excellent case study for making remote meetings extremely effective is GitLabâs Remote Meetings process.
What is GitLab?
GitLab is a DevOps software package that combines the ability to develop, secure and operate the software on a single application. Â Ukrainian developer Dimitry Zaporozhets and Dutch developer Sytse Sijbrandij created this open-source software. Â GitLab Inc. was founded around this pre-existing GitLab software project by these developers in 2014 as a limited liability corporation. In 2018, GitLab Inc. was considered the first partly Ukrainian unicorn to be valued at more than USD 1 billion.
GitLab Annual Revenue from 2020 to 2022
As the largest all-remote company in the world, GitLab has approximately 30 million registered users with one million being active licensed users. Â Since its inception, GitLab has been centred around remote work.
GitLab is a free platform that offers a range of paid services. The company adopted a policy not to accept new customers unless it’s legally required. Additionally, they even prohibited political conversations in the workplace.
GitLab Remote Meetings
As an all-remote company with employees scattered in 65 regions across the globe, GitLab is an example of how to practice clear communication to stay connected and work efficiently. Working towards this agenda, GitLab has built a framework of policies and guidelines which help maintain the sanctity of a remote meeting.
GitLab Policies
Anti-harassment policies
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
GitLabâs Whistle-blower Policy
Confidentiality Policy
Social Media Policy
These policies are enforceable and are also within the purview of the law of the land in which the company operates. Â Any deviation or deliberate action against what these policies specify is punishable by law and GitLab adheres to these policies firmly.
Guidelines for Effective and Responsible Communication
As a company that functions in the virtual space, GitLabâs guidelines are process-driven, practical to implement, encouraging and inclusive. Â These guidelines work across borders and are applicable in every region their staff operates.
Follow Company Values
Assume Positive intent and begin with a position of grace
Be kind to colleagues and refrain from sending negative messages
Express thoughts responsibly and inclusively
If one says it, he or she owns it
Be a role model of specified company values
Give and receive feedback regularly
Asynchronous 1:1 communication is necessary to clear misunderstandings and a zoom call is effective for this
It is important to adhere to GitLab policies
Avoid discussing things that are not under the direct influence
Every team member in the meeting is a moderator
Avoid topics of a sensitive nature involving politics, religion, etc.
The culture and working style of GitLab is a poster child of modern-day professionalism. Globalisation has given businesses access to talent across the world and technological advances have eased the working culture that is no longer boundary-limited or time-bound.
Hiring and Working all over the world. No central hiring
Flexible working hours
Writing and recording knowledge
Written processes
Sharing of information
The results of work â over the hours put in
Formal communication channels
Key Practices During Meetings – Internal or External
Effective, efficient and focused meetings are a result of a team that is well-organised, clear on expectations, results-driven and solutions-focused. Â GitLabâs best practices during meetings are a shining example of remote meetings.
Keep the video on during the entire meeting. Â This is a way to communicate undivided attention and it promotes comfort between both parties
Have a list of clear agendas to be discussed during the meeting. Â This agenda must be shared via email before the meeting so everyone is aware of it.
Follow the 70/30 Rule. Â Allow the other attendees to speak 70% of the time by asking open-ended questions. Â This ensures equal participation for all
Taking Notes is a valuable skill as it helps retain and recall important information
Record all meetings. Â This way if someone is unable to attend, they have access to all discussions
Conclusion
It is true that what an in-person meeting or a personal touch can accomplish, goes far beyond the studied brilliance of remote meetings. However, the world is becoming smaller with technology. The Metaverse is a near-future reality. How companies will evolve to utilize this technology remains to be seen. In the meantime, GitLabâs success at conducting remote meetings is worth a study and, if possible, put into practice wherever applicable.
FAQ
What are some advantages of remote meetings?
The following are the advantages of remote meetings
Everyone Can Be Involved
Less Expensive
Shorter Sessions
More Frequent Meetings
The Chance to Record Meetings
Minimal Scheduling Needs
Better for Health
How do I know if my virtual meeting was effective?
You can ask for feedback in your meeting follow-up email. You can also take steps to make your meeting as effective as possible in the planning process.
Are there ways to improve remote employee engagement in my virtual meeting?
You can improve employee engagement by using icebreaker questions, sharing meeting itineraries and objectives, and carefully moderating your meeting to make sure everyone participates.
What is the purpose of a virtual meeting?
The purpose of a virtual meeting is to discuss important issues, achieve critical goals, or build and maintain healthy office relationships.
Ancient practices such as tithing or the offering of first fruits may be regarded as the precursor of the income tax. Â However, they lacked precision and were not based on the concept of a net increase. Â As civilization progressed, taxes were based on other factors like wealth, social position and ownership of the means of production.
The modern concept of income tax is based on a pre-supposition of a money-economy, accurate accounting and a general understanding of receipts, expenses and profits and an orderly society with reliable records. Â Hence, income tax can be defined as a tax imposed on individuals, commonly known as tax-payers, in respect of the income or profits earned by them.
In India, most taxpayers know about and take advantage of the INR 1.5 lakh deduction that is available under Section 80C. Â However, there are many other tax-saving opportunities that can help if further reducing taxes paid.
National Pension Scheme (NPS) Under Section 80CCD (1B)
Over and above the benefit that can be claimed by Section 80C, additional tax can be saved by investing up to INR 50,000 in NPS. Â This investment can increase the total deduction to be claimed to INR 2 lakh
Share of Instruments in Gross Household Saving
Interest Component of Home Loan Under Section 24
The interest component of a home loan can be claimed as a tax deduction under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act. Â A maximum amount of INR 2 lakh can be claimed on the interest payment on a home loan for a self-occupied property. If the residential property is not self-occupied and rented or deemed to be rented, the entire interest amount can be claimed as a tax deduction as there is no maximum limit has been prescribed. If the residential property is not self-occupied due to reasons of employment, business or profession, a maximum tax deduction amount of INR 2 lakh can be claimed under section 24.
Interest Repayment for First-Time Home Owners Under Section 80EE
This is applicable for first-time homeowners who do not have any other residential property on the date their home loan is sanctioned from a financial institution. Â Such homeowners can claim a tax deduction of up to INR 50000 under Section 80EE. Â This tax deductible amount is over and above the INR 2 lakh available under Section 24. Â Rules applying to claim this amount as a tax deduction specify that the total value of the residential property must be less than INR 50 lakh and the loan value should not exceed INR 35 lakh. Â This section was initially introduced in 2013-14 and was available for only two years before being re-introduced in 2016-17. Â This particular tax benefit is applicable till the loan amount is repaid with the annual limit capped at INR 50000.
Premiums Paid on Health Insurance Under Section 80D
The tax incentive for Section 80D allows for tax deductions the total amount that is paid as the premium amount for health insurance as well as the expenses that are incurred towards healthcare. Â Depending on the people and their age, who are included under the insurance coverage the limit to claim tax deductions can range from INR 25000, INR 50000, INR 75000 or INR 1 lakh.
Interest Earned From Savings Bank Account Under Section 80TTA
Section 80TTA allows all individual taxpayers and HUF to claim tax deductions on the interest earned from savings bank accounts in banks or banking companies, savings accounts in post offices or savings accounts in cooperative societies involved in the banking business. Â The maximum amount that can be claimed from all savings accounts is INR 10000. Â Interest earned above this limit is considered as âIncome from Other Sourcesâ and is taxable. Â For senior citizens who are taxpayers, Section 80TTB is applicable which was introduced on April 1, 2018, and carries a lower tax implication on the interest income. Under Section 80TTB, up to INR 50000 can be claimed as a deduction.
Medical Expenses for Disabled Dependent Under Section 80DD
This tax deduction has been offered to help taxpayers take care of dependent disabled family members. Â These dependents are defined as spouses, children, parents or siblings. Disabilities covered under this policy include blindness, low vision, locomotor disability, hearing impairment, mental retardation, mental illness, autism and cerebral palsy. The following medical expenses can be claimed as tax deductions â
Expenses incurred towards medical treatment, nursing, training, rehabilitation of a dependent with a disability
Amount paid as premium for an insurance policy designed for such cases and satisfying the conditions mentioned in the law
The amount that can be claimed varies on the degree of the disability of the dependent. Â Up to INR 75000 can be claimed as a tax deduction annually if the dependent suffers at least 40% of any specified disability. Â A severe disability of 80% or more in a dependent allows the taxpayer to claim up to INR 1.25 lakh. Â A medical certificate from qualified institutions must be submitted by taxpayers to claim such tax deductions.
Treatment of Specified Diseases Under Section 80DDB
A taxpayer suffering from diseases like cancer, neurological diseases like dementia, motor neuron diseases, Parkinsonâs or AIDS entailing expensive treatment costs can avail of tax deductions under Section 80DDB. Â The amount that can be claimed as a deduction is INR 40000 or the actual amount, whichever is lower. Â For senior citizens who are taxpayers or dependents, this limit is increased to INR 1 lakh.
Amount Paid as Rent With No HRA Payment Under Section 80GG
An individual taxpayer who does not receive HRA as a salary component or is self-employed can claim tax deductions towards rent up to INR 60000 annually under Section 80GG. Â The conditions for availing such tax deductions do not include taxpayers who own a house but live in rented accommodations within the same city or living in rented accommodations in another city and claiming deductions under Section 24 for repayment of home loan interest.
Repayment of Education Loan Under Section 80E
Students availing of education loans to pursue higher education are eligible to claim tax benefits on the repayment of the interest component under Section 80E. This deduction is available on taking an education loan from financial institutions and not from relatives or other family members. The tax deductions can be claimed from the year the repayment of the loan begins for seven consecutive years or until the interest is paid in full, whichever is earlier. There is no limit to the deduction claimed on the interest amount repayment.
Donations Made to Charitable Institutions Under Section 80CCC
Donations made to approved charitable institutions are eligible for tax deduction claims with appropriate supporting documents like a stamped receipt from the trust or institution, complete address, name of the trust and the PAN card number of the trust or institution. A tax deduction of 50% or 100% can be claimed depending on the charitable institution to which the donation is made. However, the total donation amount should not exceed a maximum of 10% of the adjusted gross total income of the taxpayer. The four ways in which donations can be categorized to claim the deduction are â
Donations to the National Defence Fund set up by the central government can be claimed as a 100% deduction without any qualifying limit
Donations to Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund or the Prime Ministerâs Drought Relief Fund can be claimed as a 50% deduction without any qualifying limit
Donations with 100% deduction subject to 10% of adjusted gross total income such as Government or any approved local authority, institution or association to be utilized for the purpose of promoting family planning
Donations with a 50% deduction subject to 10% of adjusted gross total income such as any institution which satisfies conditions mentioned in Section 80G(5)
Conclusion
These tax saving instruments can be a huge help for taxpayers to save on income tax and reduce income liability. Â This income, can then, be utilized towards investment and growing savings.
FAQ
Which is the best tax-saving instrument in India?
The following are the best Tax-Saving Instruments you can use
Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS)
Public Provident Funds (PPF)
Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS)
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojna (SSY)
Tax Saver Fixed Deposit (FD)
National Pension Scheme (NPS)
National Savings Certificates (NSC)
Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIP)
How to save tax for 12 LPA?
Tax Deductions under Section 80(C) can help you to reduce your taxes. You can invest in PPF, EPF, ELSS, NSC and others to save taxes.
How can I save tax smartly?
Under Section 80C you can save your tax and these are the scheme which comes in 80C
Equity-Linked Savings Scheme: Equity Linked Savings Schemes are a type of mutual fund with a lock-in period of three year
Senior Citizen Savings Scheme
National Pension System
Term Life insurance premium
Public Provident Fund
National Savings Certificates
Tax-saving FDs
Home loan repayment
How much income is tax-free?
If your income is below âš2.5 lakhs, you do not have to file Income Tax Returns (ITR).
Spotify is a premium music streaming service and one of the most popular internet destinations. It’s an excellent platform for musicians, artists, content creators, and other podcasters to share their work with a worldwide audience. Among the numerous digital media, Spotify possesses a number of traits that distinguish it as the undisputed king of music and audio streaming services.
Daniel Ek created Spotify in 2006 with the straightforward idea of deterring music piracy and assisting artists in becoming more fairly compensated. Because of its simplicity and marketing approach, it now has nearly all of the best up-and-coming singers and songwriters as well as local musicians on its platform. Â Spotify’s exceptional product and the time of its launch are both key contributions to its success.
The average Spotify user is committed, spending around 118 minutes each day listening to the service, and the audience is more feminine than male (56% to 44% male). Young adults are the most common Spotify users, although elderly folks also like the app.
Spotify leverages user data to find and follow up-and-coming local musicians, who are subsequently marketed to a global audience. This article discussed some key factors that influenced this companyâs activities.
Spotify Monthly Active User Region wise
Letâs look into the  top strategies in detail that help Spotify to secure a 34% market share
Freemium Model
A free basic service is provided as part of a freemium pricing strategy. Freemium, which offers a limited, ad-supported music service for free, continues to be what sets Spotify apart from its competitors. Between-song advertisements are a source of revenue for Spotify for those who choose the free membership. The beauty of the freemium business model is that users can listen to music for free, which in turn helps to eliminate the need for piracy.
Spotify’s free service is a great way to increase its user base and get more word-of-mouth referrals. Having a free version of the service allows more people to try it out and see how it can benefit them. In turn, these users are more likely to tell their friends about Spotify, which helps the company grow even more. More than half of Spotify’s listeners choose the free version, which boosts the chance of word-of-mouth referrals while simultaneously helping the company generate revenue from ad listening. These referrals can boost sales.
Spotify Annual Revenue from 2016 to 2022
Personalization
Spotify’s AI interface is designed to be personalized for each user. Whether it’s a millennial using Spotify for podcasts or music, or Gen X searching for trending Instagram music, Spotify is ready to cater to all their preferences. Personalization may help organizations stand out in a crowded market. Businesses may differentiate themselves from the competition and retain customers by producing content that is specifically tailored for the user.
In order to make its AI interface more individualized for each user, Spotify redesigned it in 2016. Accordingly, each user gets content that is customized to them (such as pre-made personalized playlists). In addition to making the entire experience more pleasurable, this assists individuals in discovering new music that they are more likely to appreciate.
Minimalistic App Interface
It’s important for brands that offer services on digital platforms to prioritize the user experience above all else. Spotify excels in this area by offering in-app features that are user-friendly and on target. Spotify’s simple design is an improvement over other music apps’ complex designs and offers a premium experience, even in the free version.
Spotify wins users over with its sleek and ad-free design. The app’s audio ads are interactive and non-intrusive, which shows that the company knows how to strike a balance between being impactful and keeping things simple! The color scheme used on the app and the website is very energetic and attracts the millennials and GenZ.
Number of Spotify Premium Subscribers
Connecting Artists for Collaboration
Spotify not only increased its audience base by collaborating with artists, but it also gained exclusive content. This is a familiar technique that not many companies use. By including visual and audio elements in their songs for free, Spotify made the artistâs work more accessible to their listeners. This is a major reason that more and more artists want their music to be published on Spotify.
In 2020, when people were stuck at home, the podcast community started to grow. Spotify saw an opportunity and entered the market. They not only signed deals with big brands like Joe Rogan, but also featured people like Robert Downey Jr, Elon Musk, and Mike Tyson exclusive on Spotify. This gave them a huge advantage over their competitors.
Emotional Ads for Promotion
In 2013, after Spotify started to face competition from companies such as Apple and Amazon, they released an advertising campaign that focused on the emotional power of music. The campaign was very successful in helping Spotify stand out from its competitors and remains one of the company’s most memorable marketing moments.
They released three video ads showing people of all ages and backgrounds enjoying music. While the ads feature different people, they all capture the joy and emotion that comes with listening to your favourite artist. The narration describes the feelings the people are experiencing, and how music can transport you to another place entirely.
The following year, Spotify introduced its #thatsongwhen campaign, which invited users to express the feelings and experiences connected to their favourite songs. At a period when Spotify had just about 8 million paying users, both of these efforts aimed to raise the company’s brand awareness (compared to 155 million today). #Onlyyou campaign in 2021 and #Spotifywrapped in 2022 were all part of the emotional marketing strategy. Spotify also leverages emotional marketing to refresh its connection with its audience.
People’s decisions can be influenced through emotional marketing. Ads become more memorable, shareable, and likely to boost purchases when they appeal to human emotions. When you examine the data, you’ll see that emotionally driven businesses get three times as many word-of-mouth recommendations and that emotionally driven advertisements are almost twice as likely to be successful. They also result in a 23% boost in sales.
Jump Onto Social Media Trends
You must follow Spotify on social media if you enjoy music. The well-known music streaming service frequently publishes articles on various musicians and new album information. Spotify works on keeping unified branding across all of its social media profiles, which include separate accounts for various geographic regions. This social media marketing helps Spotify gain a large audience base. The platform not only runs various hashtag campaigns and social media trends to create awareness for its brand but also collaborates with social media influencers and runs sponsored ads. By working with influencers, the platform is able to promote its brand in a variety of styles that are sure to reach a wide audience.
Social media trends can quickly make or break a business. In 2018, an auditory illusion was posted on Reddit that went viral. While some listeners claimed a man was saying the name âYanny,â in an audio clip, others were certain it was the word âLaurel.âSpotify noticed the trend and decided to create a new billboard that capitalized on the conversation. Yet again, the brand’s cutting-edge approach was a hit and caught the attention of social media users.
Brand Collaborations
As of 2022, Spotify has partnered with 76 companies across the globe. Spotify partners with a variety of publishers and music labels to expand their digital reach and connect with new audiences. By collaborating with these different companies, Spotify is able to offer a wider range of music and videos to their users.
A notable brand collaboration is with Starbucks where Starbucks members are able to curate Spotify playlists that will be played in their stores. Apart from this Starbucks employees get a Spotify premium subscription. This is a great way for Spotify to get more exposure and reach a wider audience.
Although Spotify is a very creative company, its logo is very bland and unassuming. It’s surprising that a company like Spotify, whose identity is based on music and innovation, would have a symbol that is anything less than artful. But I guess the crooked classic Wi-Fi emblem is just so iconic at this point that it’s become their identity. The key, obviously, is consistency.
Over the years, Spotify has evolved and changed its brand identity several times to reflect different styles and eras. However, the company has kept its original icon throughout these changes to offer a sense of familiarity and consistency to its subscribers.
Leveraging User Data
Spotify has changed the game when it comes to how technology and data are used together. Their algorithms are designed specifically to help users explore new music and expand their list of songs. By recording users’ behaviours, interests, and past actions, Spotify is able to create a customized playlist for each person with personalized recommendations. This is just one example of how they’re using technology and data in an innovative way to improve the user experience.
Spotifyâs best example of leveraging user data is its âDiscover Weeklyâ feature. Another is Spotifywrapped. Hope this helps you craft your business marketing strategy better!
Conclusion
Spotify is a great solution if you enjoy streaming music and podcasts. Not only do they have a huge selection of music and artists, but you can create your own playlists, save songs for offline listening, and follow your favorite artists.
Spotify is one of the most popular streaming music apps and made many positive changes in the music industry. It not only allows the audiences to discover musicians but also local artists will be able to use Spotify as a platform to reach a global audience.
FAQ
What is Spotify’s target market?
The typical Spotify user is young adults â Millennials and Gen Z â however there is not a small audience of older adults aged 55+ who also enjoy the app’s music.
What is Spotify’s biggest market?
The United States is responsible for the single largest Spotify market in the world.
What makes Spotify unique?
Spotify keeps listeners listening with its personalized Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists. Listeners who want to put in a little effort to find new music can sift through any number of the artist- and song-specific radio stations.
What are the best marketing strategies for Spotify?
The following are the best strategies of Spotify
Freemium Model
Personalization
Minimalistic App Interface
Connecting Artists for Collaboration
Emotional Ads for Promotion
Jump Onto Social Media Trends
Brand Collaborations
Consistent Brand Identity
Leveraging User Data
How does Spotify use social media to promote?
Spotify runs multiple regional accounts on Instagram, which has more than 8.5 million followers. They regularly post images of popular artists and top tracks trending on the platform. This helps them share only the most relevant content for each country, thereby targeting the right audience for their content and business.
Are you tired of slow loading times and frustrated customers? A Content Delivery Network (CDN) may be the solution you need! According to research, a 1-second delay in page load time can result in a 7% reduction in conversions. A CDN can help speed up your website by caching and delivering content from servers closer to the user’s location. In fact, a study by Akamai Technologies found that using a CDN can increase website performance by up to 40%.
Today in the fast-paced world, nobody wants to wait for more. Slow-loading websites will significantly reduce your reach because customers will leave your site and may visit your competitor’s site. So to grab your customer and provide an incredible browsing experience, Content delivery networks will help you.
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a globally distributed network of servers that are designed to deliver content to users with high availability and performance. The primary function of a CDN is to cache and distribute content, such as images, videos, and other multimedia files, from the origin server to a network of edge servers. This network of servers is strategically located in data centres around the world, so that content can be delivered to users from the server that is closest to them.
The use of a CDN improves the speed and performance of websites and web-based applications by reducing the physical distance that data must travel. This results in faster load times and improved user experience, particularly for users who are located far away from the origin server. Additionally, CDNs also improve the availability of content by distributing it across multiple servers, thus reducing the risk of downtime in the event of a server failure.
Global Content Delivery Network Market
CDN also helps to reduce the traffic on the origin server, by caching the most frequently accessed files on the edge servers, it will help to reduce the load of the main servers, and also provides security benefits by filtering out malicious traffic.
The Best Content Delivery Network
Content Delivery NetworkProviders serve content to end-users with high availability and high performance through a distributed network of proxy servers deployed in data centres. Here we have provided the list of the best CDN available which is used widely by companies.
Cloudflare
Rating
4.5/5
Best For
Larger Sites and Web Hosting
Cloudflare is a popular Content Delivery Network (CDN) that helps to improve the performance and security of websites. It operates one of the largest networks of its kind, with data centres located in over 275 cities worldwide. This allows it to provide fast, reliable access to websites and other web-based content, no matter where the user is located.
Cloudflare
In 2022, IDC recognized Cloudflare as a leader in IDC MarketScape for Commercial Content Delivery Network Services worldwide. On average 39 million HTTP requests are served by Cloudflare every second. It is a trusted, secure, and reliable content delivery network to consider.
The company provides a range of security features designed to protect websites from various types of attacks, including DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, which can cripple a website by overwhelming it with traffic. Additionally, Cloudflare offers several performance enhancements such as minification, bundling and compression, and caching to improve website speed.
ââFeatures Of Cloudflare:
It supports newer protocol versions like HTTP/3 and QUIC that allows faster and more efficient communication between browsers and servers.
CNAME Flattening feature that allows Cloudflare to be used as an origin server, allowing users to use their own domain name while still taking advantage of Cloudflare’s features.
Cloudflare provides detailed analytics and logging, giving website owners insights into how their site is performing and helping them to identify and troubleshoot issues.
It allows for easy SSL/TLS encryption for a website, which not only makes the website safer but also improves SEO.
Cloudflare’s WAF (web application firewall) is designed to protect websites from common web-based attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other types of injection attacks.
Advanced DDoS protection includes features such as traffic filtering, rate limiting, and automatic IP blocking.
Pros:
Modern Static & Dynamic Caching
The free plan is available
Advanced cache control
Role-based access
Single sign-on
24/7 email & phone support
100% uptime
Cons:
Configuration is complex
Lack of learning resources
Pricing:
Free: $0
Pro: $20 /month
Business: $200 /month
Enterprise: Custom
Google Cloud CDN
Rating
4.5/5
Best For
Better Collaboration and Website Page Loading
Google Cloud CDN is a service offered by Google Cloud Platform that enables users to serve content to end users with low latency and high availability. It is built on top of the same global network that powers Google’s own services like Search and YouTube, which provides a high level of performance and reliability.
Google Cloud CDN
it integrates seamlessly with other Google Cloud services, such as Google Cloud Storage and Google Cloud Load Balancing. This makes it easy for users to configure and manage their content delivery infrastructure within the same platform they’re already using to host their content.
The service supports a wide range of content formats, including HTML, JavaScript, images, and videos, and automatically optimizes content for fast delivery.
âFeatures Of Google Cloud CDN:
It offers security features such as an IP-based firewall, Security policy, and DDoS protection to secure your content and protect it against DDoS attacks.
It provides control over how content is cached and also provides the ability to invalidate cached content as needed to ensure freshness.
Offers features such as SSL offloading, which allows users to serve content securely over HTTPS without having to manage SSL certificates themselves.
It can cache your content across all its edge locations which helps to improve the load time and reduces the load on your server.
Automatically compresses text and images, and can also resize images to reduce their file size.
Offers Cloud CDN and media CDN to cater to different types of files.
Compliance with all major standards including, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC1, SOC2, SOC3, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, and ISO 27701.
Pros:
Supports every latest protocol including HTTP/3 and QUIC
Logging and monitoring
Google Cloud Armor support
Identity and Access Management
configurable expiration time for caches
Pay-as-you-go pricing
$300 free to use the services for 90 days
Cons:
Complex to use for beginners
Difficult to estimate the final cost
Pricing:
Cache egress: $0.02-$0.20 per GB
Cache fill: $0.01-$0.04 per GB
HTTP/HTTPS cache lookup requests: $0.0075 per 10,000 requests
Note: Pricing is based on usage of cache fills, Cache egress, and cache lookup requests in GB (gigabyte). Rates are different for different regions.
Amazon Cloudfront
Rating
4.4/5
Best For
Static Content
Amazon CloudFront is a powerful and widely used content delivery network (CDN) offered by Amazon. Amazon provides its cloud-based services under the name Amazon web services (AWS). It offers easy integration with other AWS services, such as S3, Elastic Load Balancing, and Amazon Route 53. This allows customers to easily distribute their content globally while also taking advantage of other AWS services.
Amazon CloudFront
When a user requests content that is served by CloudFront, the request is routed to the edge location that is closest to the user, and the cached content is delivered from there. This reduces the distance that data needs to travel and improves the speed at which the content is delivered to the user.
Its unique set of features, combined with its global network of edge locations and integration with other AWS services, make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to deliver content quickly and securely to a global audience.
Features Of Amazon Cloudfront:
Provides support to a range of content types, including static and dynamic content, as well as live events and streaming media.
Ability to serve up content securely using HTTPS and WebSocket protocol, which helps to protect the privacy and integrity of data.
AWS management console to manage the offered services with a simple web interface.
To prevent the data from being attacked it uses the AWS shield, AWS web application firewall (WAF), and Amazon route 53.
It provides access to only authenticated viewers using token authentication.
Offers features like Lambda@Edge that improve the computation speed significantly and increase the performance.
Pros:
Offer pay per use pricing plan
SSL/TLS encryptions and HTTPS
Complaint with all major compliance standards
DevOps friendly
AWS free tier pricing to start using CloudFront for free
Excellent support
Cons:
Documentation lacks in providing better assistance
Costlier than competitors
Pricing:
All data transfer: $0.020 – $0.160 per GB
HTTP requests: $0.0075 – $0.0160 per 10,000
HTTPS requests: $0.0100 – $0.0220 per 10,000
Note: pricing is based on the amount of data transferred and the number of HTTPS requests. Rates are different for different regions.
Microsoft Azure CDN
Rating
3.7/5
Best For
Building, Deploying and Managing Services
Microsoft Azure CDN is a powerful and versatile content delivery network that allows users to deliver their content quickly and efficiently to users around the world. With its integration with other Azure services and wide range of features, it’s an ideal choice for businesses that want to optimize their content delivery and improve the performance of their online presence.
Microsoft Azure CDN
It allows users to deliver content, such as web pages, images, videos, and other files, to users faster by caching copies of that content on servers located in various geographic locations. This allows users to access the content from the server closest to them, reducing the amount of time it takes for the content to be delivered.
Azure CDN is an ideal solution for businesses and organizations that need to deliver large amounts of data and media to users around the world, and that want the flexibility and integration that Azure services can provide.
Features Of Microsoft Azure CDN:
Azure CDN support for various protocols such as HTTP/HTTPS, WebSockets, HTTP/2, and QUIC.
It offers features such as caching rules, security options, and analytics for monitoring the performance of its content.
Custom domain and origin support, which allows customers to use their domain names to deliver content.
It provides seamless integration with other Azure services and hence easy management of different services.
HTTPS, WAF, and DDoS protection to protect the data from cyber-attacks.
token-based authentication to help protect against unauthorized access.
SSL and TLS security to ensure proper deliverability of data over the internet.
StackPath CDN is a content delivery network (CDN) service that helps to distribute content quickly and efficiently to users all over the world. It offers a wide range of advanced security features, such as a Web Application Firewall, DDoS protection and SSL/TLS encryption. This makes it well-suited for businesses that need to protect sensitive data or are at a higher risk of cyberattacks.
StackPath CDN
A unique feature of StackPath CDN is its “Custom Rules Engine” which allows for advanced customization of caching and delivery rules, such as creating custom caching headers, setting up custom origin pull rules, and even creating “edge workflows” which allow for complex logic to be executed at the edge of the network.
It offers a user-friendly interface with real-time analytics and a range of advanced features. This makes it easy for website owners to monitor their website’s performance and make adjustments as needed. It is an all-in-one solution for website owners looking for an efficient and secure way to deliver their content to a global audience.
Features Of Stackpath:
StackPath has a robust API that allows for automation and integrations with a wide range of tools and services.
It allows users to add custom rules to the CDN configuration, which makes it easy to optimize their website’s performance and security.
Offer DNS services that empower website owners to manage their DNS records and improve website loading time.
Real-time analytics to monitor the performance of the website and modify the settings as per the requirement.
Edge computing service to compute complex computation on the edge of the network, rather than at a central location.
Custom rules engine that automates the content delivery behaviour.
Pros:
Content customization
Built-in analytics and reporting
Asset optimization
Serverless scripting
Image optimization
SSL certificate management
Cons:
Limited price range
The pay-as-you-go plan is not available
Pricing:
Basic: $25 /month
Enterprise: Contact sales
KeyCDN
Rating
4.5/5
Best For
Static content, HLS and HTTP live Streaming
KeyCDN is a robust content delivery network (CDN) that helps businesses speed up their online content delivery to customers around the world. It provides a simple and intuitive user interface that allows customers to easily set up and manage their CDN service, without the need for any technical expertise.
KeyCDN
KeyCDN offers a variety of advanced features such as real-time analytics, custom SSL certificates, and a powerful API. This allows businesses to have more control over their content delivery, and the ability to customize their CDN to fit their specific needs.
Features Of KeyCDN:
Integration with all the major content management systems including WordPress, Joomla, Magento, Drupal, Prestashop, laravel, etc.
Robust image processing to optimize the image in such a way that it loads faster.
It offers a 14-day free trial with no requirement for a credit card.
Secure token authentication creates an additional layer of security by allowing requests with only valid tokens.
The bad bot blocking feature will help you to reduce the load on your server by blocking bad bots, and crawlers.
You can use account access rules to restrict the access of your resources based on IP address or network.
Pros:
24/7 customer support
DDoS protection
Two-factor authentication
Easy-to-use and affordable
User-friendly dashboard
RESTful API is available
Cons:
Minimum credit requirement of $49
Poor support
Pricing:
$0.01 – $0.10 per GB (Pay as you go)
Note: pricing is based on bandwidth usage and location.
CDN77
Rating
4.7/5
Best For
Web Resource Loading
CDN77 is a top-performing Content Delivery Network (CDN) that is revolutionizing the way web content is delivered to users around the world. Unlike traditional CDNs, CDN77 is built on the latest technologies, utilizing cutting-edge hardware and software to ensure lightning-fast delivery of your content. With over 80+ points of presence (PoPs) located in key data centres across the globe, CDN77 is able to deliver content to users in even the most remote locations. This ensures that your website or application is always available and responsive, regardless of where your users are located.
CDN77
CDN77 differentiates itself from other CDN providers in several ways. One key differentiator is their focus on providing an easy-to-use, user-friendly interface for managing the delivery of content. The CDN77 platform includes a variety of tools and features that make it simple for users to configure and manage their CDN service, such as an intuitive control panel, real-time analytics, and integration with popular content management systems like WordPress.
Features Of CDN77:
The service supports various protocols such as HTTP/2, QUIC, WebSocket, and others.
Customizable caching rules of CDN77 allow you to create custom caching rules to fine-tune the way content is delivered to users.
Detailed statistics and analytics on the performance of your website or application, can be used to optimize delivery and identify potential issues.
Simple to block traffic from any specific IP address or country using the feature of IP & Geo whitelisting/blacklisting.
OWASP Core Rule Set (CRS) helps to protect your data with the top 10 vulnerabilities.
You can generate a secured link with an expiry for any specific IP address with the help of a secure token.
Prefetch to upload the content on the edge server and Purge to delete the cached content from the edge server.
Pros:
A free trial is available
Smart WAF (web application firewall)
Data centre control
REST API for CDN Management
User-friendly interface
AWS S3 storage linking
Cons:
User onboarding is not available
Pricing:
Upto 150TB: $0.009 – $0.033 per GB
150TB – 50PB: Contact sales
50PB – 500PB+: Contact sales
Akamai
Rating
4/5
Best For
Caching Content and Traffic Management
Akamai Technologies is a company that provides a content delivery network (CDN) service called Akamai Intelligent Platform. Akamai’s CDN is one of the largest and most widely used in the world, with over 365,000 servers in more than 135 countries. It is often used by large organizations and companies, such as banks, media companies, and e-commerce websites, to deliver content and services to their customers.
Akamai Technologies
It’s been 20 years since this company engaged in this field and has a decent amount of experience. Forrester recognized Akamai as a leader in bot management. It is awarded other various awards in this field for its commitment to providing a reliable solution.
Akamai’s clients include 50% of Fortune 500 companies, major banks, news organizations, government agencies, and other widely recognized names. As of 2021, Akamai handled up to 30% of the entire internet traffic at peak.
Features Of Akamai:
Akamai’s CDN is highly customizable and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of different types of businesses and websites.
It includes advanced threat protection, web application firewall, and distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection to help keep websites safe from attacks.
automation solution that allows customers to manage their CDN services programmatically through APIs, providing more flexibility and control over the CDN services.
It provides analytics and monitoring tools that allow businesses to gain insights into the performance of their websites and the behaviour of their users.
It also provides cloud-based solutions such as Cloud Connect and Cloud Security Solutions.
Akamai’s CDN includes features that optimize the delivery of content to mobile devices, such as adaptive streaming and mobile-specific content delivery.
Pros:
Dedicated solution for video streaming
API automation
Advanced analytics
DDoS protection
Well-optimized for mobile phones
Cons:
Pricing is not disclosed
Complex to setup and use
Pricing:
Contact sales
CacheFly
Rating
4.5/5
Best For
Video Streaming
CacheFly is a Content Delivery Network that specializes in delivering high-bandwidth content, such as video and software downloads. It has a global network of over 50 points of presence (PoPs) in more than 30 countries and serves content at a rate of up to 10 Gbps per second, with less than 60 ms of latency. The advanced Control feature of CacheFly will help to take charge of how your content would get delivered. You can easily route traffic across different servers and maintain proper balance. This will reduce the latency significantly and improve the overall performance.
CacheFly
CacheFly’s differentiator is its use of proprietary software and hardware to optimize content delivery. The company claims to be the world’s first TCP-anycast-based CDN. It uses Anycast routing to ensure that content is delivered from the server that is closest to the end user, reducing the latency and improving the performance of the content delivery.
Features Of CacheFly:
Mobile content optimization option to optimize the content for better deliverability on mobile phones.
It provides a fully managed CDN so that you don’t need to take the headache of your CDN and pay attention to your business.
Storage optimization system ensures no-cache miss so that no of your user redirects to your origin server.
The VOD cache layer ensures fast delivery of content from the nearest edge server.
Pros:
Free for the first month
Multi-CDN
100% uptime
Smart image optimization
Single sign-on
Two-factor authentication
Cons:
Customer support via call is not available
Pricing:
Contact sales
Bunny CDN
Rating
4.7/5
Best For
Web Acceleration
ââBunny CDN is a great option for users looking for a fast, reliable, and affordable CDN service. With its global network coverage, advanced features, and pay-as-you-go pricing model, Bunny CDN is a great choice for businesses of all sizes. Starting its operation in 2014, this CDN has more than 112 points of presence globally. It has served companies like Hyundai, Optinmonster, and Appsumo to boost their content delivery speed and increase overall user experience.ââ
Bunny CDN
Bunny CDN has a global network of servers that are strategically located in key data centres around the world. This allows the company to provide fast and reliable content delivery services to users in multiple regions.
Features Of BunnyCDN:
Real-time monitoring of the performance of the website to manage it efficiently and deliver the content fast.
Super fast deliverability of images with features like image optimization.
Set your custom edge rules to meet your expectations.
Geo-blocking feature that blocks access from any specific location to ensure safety.
Insightful analytics to keep you updated with how much bandwidth is delivered and performance-related stats.
Pros:
14-day free trial
Pay-as-you-go pricing
DDoS protection
Token authentication
Intuitive Control Panel
Customizable Caching
Cons:
WAF is not available
Pricing:
Standard network: $0.01 – $0.045 per GB up to 100TB
Volume network: $0.002 – $0.005 per GB up to 1PB
Conclusion
The content delivery network is the need of today’s businesses to build a healthy online presence. Since long wait times can reduce your potential customer, it’s important to serve the content to customers at a lightning-fast speed. So to help you to boost your content delivery speed, we have provided a list of the best CDN. Just choose the one that suits your needs and enhances your site speed.
FAQ
Does Amazon have its own CDN?
Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) service built for high performance, security, and developer convenience.
Which is faster CDN or local?
CDNs deliver faster loading speeds for readers. It can store content in different formats, which can contribute to faster loading for different users.
Can CDN fail?
CDNs don’t fail very often but sometimes they can fail.
What is the difference between CDNs and caching?
CDNs are geographically distributed networks of proxy servers and their objective is to serve content to users more quickly. Caching is the process of storing information for a set period of time on a computer.
How many types of CDN are there?
The main types of servers are Push CDN and Pull CDN. Both have their distinct characteristics and depend on what your intentions are with the website as well as the kind of traffic you are able to pull in on a regular basis.
The COVID-19 lockdown brought a dynamic shift in how consumers interact with businesses. Along with this, it saw a huge increase in digital adoption and more people are online than ever before. With e-payments in full swing, it gave online retailers the option to integrate their e-commerce platform with BNPL service companies.
While shopping online, most of you would have come across websites that allow Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service while shopping on their website. However, with a sense of scepticism about online banking, we never quite reached out to find out what it all meant.
As online stores are gradually becoming more aware of their customer’s needs and requirements, they are simultaneously coming up with customer-friendly payment solutions. All these solutions are continuously being integrated with e-commerce platforms.
In addition, BNPL service companies and traditional banks have entered into the system allowing similar payment arrangements. So, what is a BNPL service provider? How does it work? Letâs find out
Once a completely unknown concept, BNPL companies are slowly starting to make their way into the world of e-commerce. A âBuy Now Pay Laterâ company allows customers to pay for goods and services in a series of instalments rather than paying the full amount upfront.
A few popular examples of such BNPL companies include apps such as AfterPay, Affirm, Laybuy, Â Klarna, and others. A BNPL service provider, popularly referred to as BNPL apps are easy to use and generally has low-interest rates and high credit limits allowing customers to make common purchases with ease.
BNPL service providers develop and create an app-based form of payment that can be used for both in-store and online payments. The BNPL model is relatively similar to a credit card as BNPL apps allow users to pay for items in a series of instalments over time.
In simple words, a BNPLis a micro-credit option that allows you to shop online and pay off the amount in either days or weeks with little or no interest whatsoever. Â The rise in BNPL services has filled in a huge gap brought about by the pandemic. Apart from the e-commerce platform, BNPL service options can now be found on food delivery, travel booking, grocery shopping and other relevant platforms as well.
How Do BNPL Service Providers Contribute to E-commerce?
Not just an e-commerce platform, BNPL Service App can also be used for in-store payments. Every time a consumer buys a product using the BNPL Seva App, the seller (merchant) gets the full payment instantly. Meanwhile, the customer can pay the fee in a series of instalments over time.
Moreover, these BNPL applications charge no interestfor customers that stick to their payment deadline. The process of using a BNPL app is simple. Approvals are straightforward and BNPL Company can run a quick and easy credit check that will not affect your credit score.
Top 11 BNPL Product Categories
BNPL service applications not only benefit the customer but also have several advantages for retailers and online store owners. There are several reasons why an online store owner chooses to integrate a BNPL service into its e-commerce platform. Such benefits are
Makes it easy for merchants to sell to a particular of customers who use a BNPL service regularly
Offers customers the ability to buy an item even when they donât have the full amount upfront.
Stay on top of the market competition or try to get an edge over the market by matching the customer experience offered by other market players.
Helps improve and increase consumer spending by enabling customers to make larger purchases without requiring a credit card.
This opens up another market segment comprising a young audience that has a higher shopping frequency.
Recently, BNPL companies have started to market various brands they work with by mailing vouchers and other exciting offers directly to their customers either via email, newspapers and others. The primary intent behind this isnât to attract new customers, but to increase the purchasing frequency of the existing ones.
Top 10 Best BNPL Service Providers
The market is highly dynamic in the 21st century. So, if you are a store owner or an e-commerce website, you must be aware of the market trends to better serve your customers and create a completely satisfactory user experience.
Along with this, you need to pay due attention to the payment method used by your customers to pay for their purchases. Being aware of this will only aid in customer satisfaction and help improve the purchase frequency of your existing customers. To achieve this, many e-commerce websites have integrated themselves with BNPL service companies, allowing their customers to have BNPL options as they check out. However, given the abundance of BNPL service companies at your disposal, choosing the right company for your business can be difficult.
To make things easier for you, we have put together the top 10 BNPL service providers that you can opt to go for in 2023.
Simpl
Rating
4/5
Founded
2016
Beneficial to both merchants and customers alike, Simpl was launched in India way back in 2015. Over a period of time, it has grown to become one of the largest players in the BNPL segment in India. Launched as a mobile-first platform, Simpl offers instant approvals that allow a user to pay with a single tap.
Simpl
With Simpl, you have the option to pay later at your convenience. Alternatively, you also have the option to pay in a series of 3 instalments with zero additional charges. Simpl is known to have partnered with 4,500 sellers and merchants across India with a customer base of almost 7 billion.
Pros:
Customisable checkouts option
You can do mobile payments anywhere
Cons:
No free trial provided
Monoova
Rating
4.2/5
Founded
2017
If you are looking to add to the efficiency of your payment workflows, then Moonovaâs API integration is exactly what your business needs right now. Thanks to the appâs simple API integration, you get instant account reconciliation, real-time debts and payments, and can assign unique account numbers to the different accounts on your payroll.
Monoova
Moonova uses multi-factor authentication that helps to protect you from online fraud, phishing, and other malicious websites by adding another solid layer of security to all your transactions. The company has recently partnered with Truelayer, a global leader in open banking to ensure smarter, faster, and streamlined data-enabled payments in the market.
The platformâs rock-solid algorithm allows you to conduct the heaviest of transactions with maximum ease. Additionally, the platform offers local support at all times followed by easy-to-use developer tools that you can use within your existing infrastructure
Pros:
Streamlined data-enabled payments
Muti-factor authentication
Maximum stability
Cons:
Needs regular updates and maintenance
PayPal Pay Later
Rating
4.4/5
Founded
2020
Whether you are a small business owner or a company with your own name, PayPal Pay Later is a great option for both. Not only is this great for business owners, but it is also highly convenient as a payment method for BNPL application buyers, allowing them to opt for PayPal Pay Later credit plans.
PayPal Pay Later
The PayPal Pay later credit plan allows users to choose from six to 36 months as their preferred payment plan. Business owners using PayPal for their transactions have direct and automated access to BNPL services. For this, all the business holders need to integrate the BNPL option of PayPal on their website.
Though the app is not compatible with in-store purchases, it integrates with most of the e-commerce platforms present in the market. Finally, PayPal offers a PayPal Purchase Protection Plan that assumes all credit risk and can be used for all PayPal purchases.
Pros:
Low processing fees
PayPal purchase plan
Integrates with most eCommerce platforms
Cons:
Not available for in-store purchases
High late fees
Afterpay
Rating
4.1/5
Founded
2014
Afterpay is a pay-in-four BNPL app that lets users enjoy interest-free instalments with a guaranteed payment of 48 hours to the seller. This BNPL service primarily caters to the needs of Gen Z who are learning to manage money on the go. Smart cards have limits for customers who want to inculcate good spending habits. By 2022, the app has been integrated with around 19 e-commerce websites and can also be used as an API. Operating in 8 countries, the app does not charge any cross-border fees.
Afterpay
Although pricing is not available on the website, popular user reviews indicate that this BNPL service charges between 4% to 6% plus 30 cents per transaction. As a Gen Z shopper, all you need to do is add Afterpay to your digital wallet.
Unlike PayPal, Afterpay is available for both in-store and online purchases. When using Afterpay, you need to put down 25% of the amount in the first phase and then pay the balance in six weeks without any interest charges.
Pros:
48-hour guaranteed payout
Works on the POS system
Integrates with several eCommerce platforms
0% APR
Cons:
Pricing not available
No monthly financing plan present
ZestMoney
Rating
4.2/5
Founded
2015
ZestMoney has rapidly grown to become one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in India. Similar to most BNPL services, ZestMoney allows users to make online purchases and pay back the money in a series of instalments with minimal interest charges.
ZestMoney
The platformâs algorithm integrates mobile technology, digital banking and AI under the same bracket to provide capital access to those who cannot afford loans through traditional mediums. However, unlike the rest, ZestMoney is designed explicitly for heavy purchases such as furniture, flight tickets, or other so on that arenât covered by other BNPL lending platforms. The app offers interest-free instalment options to select merchants for a period of six to ten months.
Pros:
No-cost EMI on selected platforms
Instant loan approval and disbursal
Flexible EMI options
Cons:
Caters to heavy purchases only
The issue with user privacy
Klarna
Rating
3.5/5
Founded
2005
Klarna was started by the Stockholm School of Economics and is one of the most popular BNPL companies of the 21st century. With Klarna, you shop and you have the flexibility to split your purchases into 4 simple interest-free payments.
Klarna
You can get more time to make payments whenever you need them by simply extending your due date in the app. Once all the payments are done, all you have to do is report it on the app and all the payments will automatically stop. Shop wherever you are and pay directly from a desktop, smartphone or in-store.
Pros:
Available online and in-store
Multiple payment structures
Available in multiple countries
Cons:
Each purchase requires Klarna’s approval
High late fee
Zip
Rating
4.8/5
Founded
2013
Earlier known as Quadpay, Zip provides savvy buyers with greater freedom and essential flexibility to make payments anytime, anywhere using the BNPL platform. Established in Australia in 2013, this BNPL service extends to more than 12 international markets.
Zip
Whether you are a shopper or a merchant, Zip offers transparent and interest-free credit options to all that don’t hassle or disrupt the traditional credit card model. Similar to Klarna, Zip allows you to pay in 4 interest-free instalments. With Zip, you can pay for products directly using your phone or in-store.
Sezzle has now over 3 million active users comprising over 50,000 merchants on its platform. Operating primarily in the US and Canada, Sezzle serves as an alternative payment platform with 4 instalment free payment options spanning over 6 weeks.
Sezzle
As a certified nonprofit B corporation, you have the flexibility to reschedule your payments for up to two weeks at a time. You can shop and pay for your favourite brands both online and in-store using the Sezzle app.
Pros:
Options to Reschedule Payments
Virtual Credit Card Options are available both online and in-store
Cons:
Missed payments result in Account deactivation
Single Payment structure
Affirm
Rating
4.3/5
Founded
2017
Since 2017, Affirm has financed over 17 million purchases and is currently available to more than 30,000 retailers in the US. The company primarily operates in financial lending of instalment loans to their customers for use at every PoS purchase.
Affirm
Depending on your payment plan and eligibility, you can avail of up to 0-30% interest. This US-based BNPL service provider provides you with a flexible, transparent, and more convenient way of helping customers pay overtime as per the payment selection made by the customer.
Pros:
It has email Notifications
It has Customer Portal for financial tracking
Cons:
Very high-interest rates which vary from 10%-30%
It requires a credit check
Upstart
Rating
3.3/5
Founded
2012
The greater the access to affordable credit schemes, the greater the risks and associated costs. However, Upstart is a leading AI lending platform that works with banks and credit unions to help consumers settle their loans with simple payment plans.
Upstart
The process of applying for an UpStart loan is quick and easy. You start by checking eligibility without worrying about whether or not it will affect your credit score. Even if you are not eligible for the amount you requested, they offer some other options. You can then choose different amounts to get estimated APRs.
Pros:
Available In-store and Offline
Active Notification
Cons:
Single Payment Structure
Conclusion
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has become a bit reluctant to venture out to shop. This has put an emphasis on online shopping in a big way allowing more and more e-commerce platforms to grow and develop every day. Meanwhile, online retailers and e-commerce websites are also making more efforts to match the user experience as per the market competition. For this, most of the e-commerce platforms have implemented a convenient BNPL service.
Without further ado, BNPL services are already making an impact on customers and vendors alike. Looking at the pace at which it is developing, BNPL service companies are all set to become a big element of both in-store as well as online shopping in the years to come. Whether you own a store or an e-commerce website, you need to be updated about the modern payment methods customers use to make their purchases. Doing so will only aid in customer satisfaction and ultimately generate more sales.
FAQ
How much do BNPL providers charge merchants?
Most BNPL retailers do not publicly disclose their merchant fees, but they typically range between 2% and 8% of a customer’s purchase amount.
What are BNPL services?
Buy now Pay later or BNPL is a type of instalment loan. It divides your purchase into multiple equal payments, with the first due at checkout. The remaining payments are billed to your debit or credit card until your purchase is paid in full.
What is Amazon BNPL?
Amazon Monthly Payment is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) option. However, if it isn’t offered on your product or does not meet your payment needs, you could choose a third-party BNPL provider.
Is BNPL a product or service?
BNPL products are credit products, just like any other loan, and will take regular repayments from your bank accounts or credit card.
Is BNPL a payment method?
The buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) scheme is a method of payment which allows consumers to pay for their purchases in short instalment periods without any interest charges or fees.
When navigating through a web application, SaaS software, or even a software page on the web, you have most likely stumbled across the term API. Although for developers this term has become somewhat habitual, it is not so well understood by everyone. And while there are hundreds of web pages which offer more than enough information about APIs, making sense of it is not so facile.
Acronym for Application Programming Interface, an API is more like a software mediator, that facilitates communication between two applications. The API in this manner also helps with the privacy and security of your device, since neither your phone is completely exposed to the server, nor the server to your phone. APIs also adhere to HTTP and REST standards and hence have become developer-friendly in the more recent time.
A no code API builder is a platform or tool that allows users to create and publish APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) without writing any code. These platforms typically provide a visual interface or drag-and-drop tools that make it easy for users to connect different data sources and automate data flows to create custom APIs. No-code API builders are often used by businesses, developers, and individuals who want to quickly build APIs to integrate different systems or expose data without having to invest time and resources in learning a programming language. No-code API builders can be useful for a wide range of applications, including data integration, automation, and application development. However, they may not be suitable for more complex or high-performance applications, in which case a traditional code-based approach may be necessary.
API, in short, help users make a request, which then they process and extract the requested data for, to return to the user. The communications are generally made possible through JSON, a programming language that uses JavaScript. The requests that can be made to the APIs are-
POST: To help the user create a new product.
GET: Get requested information by the user.
DELETE: To delete an existing piece of data.
PUT: To update an existing piece of data.
Owing to the all-round functionality of APIs, every day more and newer APIs are being developed, and since they are built with JSON, APIs have been created by developers. That was until now since there are web applications which help you build APIs without having to code. These applications do not require the user to have any coding prowess and can help build an API through simple and intuitive tools and interface.
Here we provide the details on the top 8 no code API development platformsthat you can use to create APIs quickly and easily without writing any code:
Most no-code API platforms work by connecting an API to Google Sheets, and Mixed Analytics API Connector is no exception. It offers an efficient way for users to import JSON files with an intuitive GUI and helps a great deal to users who work with CSV files to export them on different platforms. Whether you have to pull out API data or make API requests, Mixed Analytics makes it easy for users who wish to develop APIs without having to code. You can use Mixed Analytics API Connector to connect API data directly to Google Sheets. Generate personalized reports and dashboards without specialized coding or a complex data warehouse.
Features Offered by Mixed Analytics API Connector
Mixed Analytics allows users to manage data from multiple sources without any manual resources or data warehouses.
You can also automate tasks of API requests and time them on an hourly, daily, or even weekly basis using API custom functions.
With API connector, you can pull data from thousands of sites through APIs, directly into your Google sheets.
API Connector also allows you to base request URL on the sheet cells to turn them into variables, and them reference them in requests.
Mixed Analytics is specially designed for working with spreadsheets and can pull data from any platform that uses API keys.
Pull API data into Google Sheets with API connector
Pros:
Ability to run via google sheet
Free plan available
Highly customizable
More than 100 API integration to use
Visual field editor
Knowledge base
Cons:
Support via contact form only
Not interactive interface
Pricing Plans for API Connector
Mixed Analytics API Connector offers a Free plan and 3 different pricing plans, called the Pro Plan, Business Plan, and the Team Plan. While the Pro and Business Plan is meant for individual use, the Team Plan can be utilized by up to 5 users. The pricing details of each plan are given below:
Pro
$15/month when billed monthly or $12/month when billed yearly
Business
$29/month when billed monthly or $23/month when billed yearly
Team
$58/month when billed monthly or $46/month when billed yearly
DreamFactory
Rating
4.1/5
Free
Free Trial and Free Version
Best Suited For
Organization looking to unlock legacy data with SOAP to REST
DreamFactory-No-Code-API-Generator
DreamFactory is an API lifecycle management platform that quickly creates comprehensive, well-documented REST APIs. DreamFactory is a no-code API generator for MySQL servers or even other data sources. Its advanced security controls offer users a platform that creates and manages a number of APIs also allowing them to optimize the software by integrating several applications. You can collect and merge data in a single API cell with scalability and robust security. DreamFactory also offers user 24/7 phone, chat and email, support.
Features Offered by DreamFactory
DreamFactory allows users to mask the data while importing, and also create reports and analytics to retrieve and distribute data.
DreamFactory also enables users to secure every endpoint with role-based access controls, and also manage API keys behind firewalls.
It offers you to create a secure, industry-standard, Â reusable and well-documented code, within weeks.
DreamFactory also allows users to integrate legacy technology into their applications in turn extending their life-cycles.
You can manage and merge data from multiple sources into a single API cell without a line of code and effortlessly turn SOAP to REST.
Pros:
Role-based access control
Runs on any OS
Excellent support via phone, email, and chat
Custom development
SSO authentication
Compliant with GDPR and HIPAA regulation
User-friendly interface
Cons:
Highly CPU intensive
Limitations on SQL features via API
Pricing Plans for DreamFactory
They offer custom pricing for various packages. You can contact vendor for pricing details.
Canonic
Rating
4.4/5
Free
One Free Plan and 21-Day Free Trial on Paid Plans
Best Suited For
Creating REST and GraphQL APIs in minutes
Canonic – Low Code API Builder
Canonic is a low code platform that enables you to quickly build and host APIs with minimal coding. Our user-friendly interface allows you to easily define your schema and provides you with hosted backend and essential CRUD APIs. It also allows users to create REST and GraphQL APIs along with webhooks and workflows in no time. Canonic furnishes its users with a graph-based editor and helps them visualize data and relations using content platforms. Moreover, the drag and drop interface along with an efficient CMS makes publishing a piece of cake. Also, with Canonic, users can use a number of integrations including Slack, AWS Lambda, and Gatsby, along with webhooks and workflows based on data changes.
Features Offered by Canonic
Canonic offers users a GraphQL API playground where you can instantly test your APIs, with autocomplete.
You can also have the ability to automatically trigger workflows every time your data changes, deploying builds, functions, and messages.
Canonic helps develop CRUD API and allows you to create, modify, and delete them at will with the built-in code editor.
Documentation is no longer something you need to be worried about, since Canonic does that automatically, along with examples and parameters.
Along with auto-generation of documentation, Canonic allows for instantaneous deployment, creation of authentication APIs, access tokens along with user invitations for collaboration.
Canonic Walkthrough | Low Code API Tool
Pros:
Easy integration with third-party services
Drag and drop UI
Premade templates
Free forever plan is available
Built-in CMS
Extension learning resources
Discord community
Cons:
Support via chat only
Pricing Plans for Canonic
Canonic has a Free Plan that allows for 5k API calls per day and limited upto 3 Projects. And four paid plans include, Individual plan, Team plan, Growth plan and the Enterprise Plan. Enterprise Plan offers a custom plan and the user needs to contact support for pricing of this plan. Pricing details are given below:
Individual
$15/month
Team
$99/month
Growth
$249/month
Enterprise
Custom plan
PrestoAPI
Rating
4.7/5
Free
One Free Plan and Free Trial on Paid Plans
Best Suited For
Generating REST APIs from any database, without code
Presto API – No Code API Development Platform
PrestoAPI is a powerful, cloud-based, no-code platform for creating REST APIâs. With this tool, developers can quickly create REST APIs from any data source, doing away with the backend development of modern mobile, web, and IoT apps. PrestoAPI helps you build APIs with just 3 simple steps. All you need to do is connect with your database through a connections string or a server address, select your data and the data request and customize your API, and voila! Your API is ready to be used. PrestoAPI allows you to connect with a database, create projects, enable collaboration, and all of this without having to type a single line of code.
Features Offered by PrestoAPI
PrestoAPI offers a plethora of database supports including SQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Oracle, and PostgreSQL.
PrestoAPI also offers an integrated security feature that allows you to assign roles to different users throughout the completion of the project.
With the Enterprise Plan, you can choose any number of databases and projects that you want along with custom server connections.
You can also have custom API Endpoints, custom scripts and API statistics.
PrestoAPI also offers users with API calls and custom number of users with IP whitelists and SSH tunnels.
Build CRUD API with PrestoAPI
Pros:
Free plan is available
Documentation is available to get started
Support via phone, email, and chat
Both hosted and self-hosted plan is available
Supports Get, Post, Put, and Delete methods
Role-based authorization
Cons:
Some difficulties in connecting with DB
Pricing for PrestoAPI
PrestoAPI offers one Free Plan with all the basic features. And, 3 paid plans i.e. Basic, Pro and Enterprise. The Basic Plan offers custom scripts with API statistics and more. The Pro Plan offers IP Whitelists and SSH tunnels, while the Enterprise Plan offers custom pricing in accordance with the features. Pricing details are given below:
Xano is an API builder that allows you to create and manage APIs without the need for coding. You can use the visual interface for building and managing APIs, the ability to connect to various data sources, and the ability to create custom logic and workflows. It allows you to easily create and manage endpoints, connect to databases, and automate common tasks without writing any code.
Features offered by Xano
simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to create and manage endpoints.
Store data with no limit on PostgreSQL.
Every user database is stored separately and dedicated CPU resources are allocated to every user.
You have the flexibility to choose the location which is nearest to your customer, this ensures fast delivery of services.
Customers with enterprise plans can choose to deploy the Xano at the cloud infrastructure of their choice.
It provides easy collaboration with the team of developers to work on a project and share files seamlessly.
Pros:
Free plan is available
Powered by the Google cloud platform
Compliant with GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and CCPA
Learning resources are available
Application of custom code
Good support
Cons:
Only capable of building RESTful APIs
Pricing for Xano
Xano offers one Free Plan and 3 paid plans i.e. Launch, Scale 2x, and Enterprise. The Free Plan offers 1 Workspace, Â 10,000 total records, and more. The Launch Plan offers 3 workspaces, no record limit, 10 GB of media storage, and more. Scale 2x plan offers auto-scaling, 2x API capacity, and 2x database capacitywhile the Enterprise Plan offers custom pricing in accordance with the features. Pricing details are given below:
Build
Free
Launch
$67 Per Month or $708 billed yearly (Save $96 per year)
Scale 2x
$405 Per Month or $4,272 billed yearly (Save $588/year)
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
NoCodeApi
Rating
4.1/5
Free
Free Plan
Best Suited For
Connect to APIs without code
NoCodeApi Builder
NoCodeApi builder is a platform that helps you to create and deploy APIs. It allows you to build APIs by connecting to various data sources and defining the data flow and structure. You can easily create, test, and deploy APIs using a simple drag-and-drop interface. With 40+ third-party applications, one can easily connect and use the features provided by this tool. It is a powerful tool for automating tasks, integrating different systems, and building custom software that can be used by businesses, startups, and individuals.
Features offered by NoCodeApi
NoCodeAPI builder allows users to test their APIs automatically, ensuring that they are working properly before deployment.
It automatically generates API documentation making it easy for developers to understand and use the API.
Built-in security features to ensure that the APIs are protected against unauthorized access.
The platform allows users to easily connect their APIs with other services such as databases, cloud storage, and more.
It is accessible from anywhere and at any time because it is cloud-based.
It provides a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to create and connect different API endpoints.
Pros:
Free plan is available
HTTPS encryption
Chat, email, and technical support
Create logs of every call
User-friendly interface
Cost-effective
Cons:
Limited customization
Require subscription to utilize its full potential
Pricing for NoCodeApi
Xano offers one Free Plan and 3 paid plans i.e. Personal, Professional, and Business. The Free Plan is best suited for hobby projects and experiments. The Personal Plan includes core features and a higher volume. The professional plan includes higher volume to build your MVPswhile the Business Plan offers a complete suite of advanced features. Pricing details are given below:
Free
$0
Personal
$12 Per Month or $120 Per Year
Professional
$29 Per Month or $290 Per Year
Business
$49 Per Month or $490 Per Year
Appsmith
Rating
5.0/5
Free
Free Plan and Trial
Best Suited For
Building everything you need, 10x faster
Appsmith – low-code API development platform
Appsmith is a low-code platform that allows developers to create web applications. It provides a visual editor for building and designing web apps, which can be used to create custom forms, reports, dashboards, and more. Appsmith also includes built-in support for data sources, authentication, and other common app functionality. It helps developers to create custom web apps without being limited by pre-built templates or pre-defined workflows. This provides more flexibility to create the specific app that is needed.
Features offered by Appsmith
Built-in support for connecting to various data sources, including databases, APIs, and cloud services.
It helps developers to use JavaScript to add custom logic and extend the platform’s functionality, which provides more flexibility to create complex apps as needed.
The hot-reloading feature allows developers to make changes to the code of their web app and see the changes reflected in the app without having to manually refresh the page.
Error tracking feature empowers developers to automatically detect and track errors that occur in their web app.
Debugging support is provided to help developers debug their web apps.
Pros:
Simple and intuitive user interface
Error tracking and debugging support
Open-source platform
Free plan is available
Cloud and self-hosted options are available
Learning resources
Pre-built templates
Cons:
Live support is not available
Pricing for Appsmith
Appsmith offers a Community Plan which is a Free Plan and a paid plan i.e. Business. Pricing details are given below:
Community
Free
Business
$20 per user per month (Regular User) or $0.4 per user per hour (Occasional User)
Building API from Google Sheet in less than 5 minutes
Sheety – No Code API Builder
Sheety is a tool that allows users to turn their Google Sheets into APIs. It provides easy access to the data in a spreadsheet by providing an API endpoint for each sheet. This empowers developers to access the data in a structured format, such as JSON or CSV, and use it in their applications. Sheety is a free service, with the option to purchase additional features such as custom domains and increased usage limits.
Features offered by Sheet
You can set up webhooks to automatically notify when data in the sheet changes, allowing you to trigger actions in other systems.
Password protection to their API endpoint to keep their data secure.
Custom domain feature for the API endpoint to give them a more professional look.
Filter the data in the sheets using query parameters in the API endpoint.
It automatically generates an API endpoint for each sheet in a Google Sheet, making it easy for developers to access the data in a structured format.
Creating REST API from Google Spreadsheet using Sheety
Pros:
Fully Restful JSON API
Easy integration with Google sheet
Free plan is available
Pre-built templates
Cons:
Only email support is available
Limited templates
Pricing for Sheety
Sheety offers a Free Plan and 4 paid plans i.e. More Sheety, Extremely Sheety, Extremely Sheety XL, and Extremely Sheety Pro. Pricing details are given below:
Developers today know how No-code API builders are a useful and convenient way to create and publish APIs without writing any code. They provide a visual interface or drag-and-drop tools that make it easy for users to connect different data sources and automate data flow to create custom APIs. While no-code API builders can be a good choice for quickly building simple APIs, they may not be suitable for more complex or high-performance applications. In those cases, it may be necessary to use a more traditional code-based API development approach.
The above-mentioned No Code API developers can help users in different ways and offer a variety of features and pricing plans. Keeping in mind the number of projects that you need to develop, database requirements, number of users and other factors, you can choose the best suited for your needs. Ultimately, the best no-code API builder for you will depend on your specific needs and requirements.
API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other.
What does API stand for?
Application programming interface.
What are the types of API?
Types of API include Open APIs, Partner APIs, Internal APIs, and Composite APIs.
What are some examples of no-code API builders to use in 2023?
Some popular no-code API builders to use in 2023 include Mixed Analytics, Assemble, DreamFactory, Canonic, and PrestoAPI.
Who uses no-code API builders?
No-code API builders are often used by businesses, developers, and individuals who want to quickly build APIs to integrate different systems or expose data without having to invest time and resources in learning a programming language.
Are no-code API development programs suitable for all types of applications?
No-code API development programs can be useful for a wide range of applications, including data integration, automation, and application development. However, they may not be suitable for more complex or high-performance applications, in which case a traditional code-based approach may be necessary.
How do I choose the best no-code API builder for me?
The best no-code API builder for you will depend on your specific needs and requirements. Consider factors such as the complexity of your API, the data sources you want to connect, the automation capabilities you need, and the level of support and documentation provided by the platform. It may also be helpful to try out different no-code API builders and see which one best meets your needs.
HR plays a crucial role in the management and development of a business. Be it a small business company or a multinational company, all need to be worked out with proper HR resources to have a better check on the working system as well as place.
The HR department of an organization holds the responsibility of managing one of the most significant assets, human capital. Therefore, its efficient operation directly affects the businessâs bottom line.
In recent years, a trend is prevailing where companies are outsourcing the HR department for several reasons. If you are grappling to understand why you should outsource your HR department and who provides the best service in the field, read on to learn more.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Outsourcing?
What Is HR Outsourcing?
HR outsourcing is delegating key HR functioning, such as talent acquisition, employee training, benefits administration, payroll and taxes, and risk management and compliance, to a third-party company.
Businesses are entering into contractual agreements with third-party service providers to handle the management of their human resources for consideration.
Why Should You Outsource Your HR Department?
HR Outsourcing Reasons by their percentage
The core idea behind HR department outsourcing is that for activities that are not strategically aligned with the business bottom line and can be done cost-effectively by a third party, it is best to get them done from outside.
The goal of any business is to focus on its core operation and channel resources toward that. Therefore, HR activities that do not contribute directly to the company and are not confidential in nature can be delegated to third-party service providers and save the cost of internal operations.
If you have a small business, maintaining a separate HR department may be burdensome for you. It will not only add to the cost of the resources but also increase the workload. In such a situation, transferring the management of your HR activities to another entity is the right decision.
By outsourcing the non-critical HR functioning, you can save money, time, and resources that can be devoted to more productive and mainstream activities. Besides, third-party HR service providers are specialized entities in the field.
Therefore, they can provide more efficient services than an internal team of HR managers and staff. For example, recruiting agencies have better coordination and understanding of the online job portals and thus can access a richer and wider pool of talent compared to your internal HR team.
In addition, these agencies also maintain a professional recruitment process to select the best in the market. As a result, you will get the best of the talents with the help of recruiting agencies at a much lower cost and time.
How Popular Is HR Outsourcing in the USA?
A report by Technavio stated that the human resource outsourcing market is anticipating a growth of USD 10.90 billion globally between 2021 and 2026. The center of the growth will be North America. This region will contribute 56% of the market growth during the forecast period. The USA and Canada are the two primary countries for human resource outsourcing.
Two driving forces have pumped up the outsourcing trend in HR activities in the USA: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Industry 4.0 trend. According to Finvisor, 42% of US employees turned into full-time remote workers in 2020.
The transition was due to the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the subsiding of the pandemic waves, companies continue to keep the work-from-home policies in place. As a result, HR operations are becoming complex for enterprises with smaller HR teams.
On the other hand, advanced technologies, such as cloud computing, IoT, big data, augmented reality, and analytics, are digitizing business operations and transforming their processes.
As a result, more resources are needed to be dedicated to the core operations than peripheral activities such as HR. Therefore, enterprises are outsourcing HR activities to lower per-person access costs and enhance overall productivity.
Another trend that is driving HR outsourcing in the USA is the adoption of recruitment analytics. Several organizations are using analytics to deal with a large volume of employee data.
They employ scientific and statistical models to draw meaningful insights from raw data. The increasing use of social media in proactive recruitment has also added momentum to outsourcing HR functioning.
Top HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
ADP
Rating
3.8/5
Best For
Overall HR Solution especially for Small Business
Pricing
The Pricing starts from $29/month
Website
www.adp.com
ADP – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
ADP is one of the oldest HR service providers in the USA established in 1949 and Headquartered in New Jersey, USA. With around 58000 employees, this organization is offering services to companies that need HR services on a piecemeal basis.
They have a lengthy catalogue of HR services. Companies can choose from it as per the solution they need. In particular, ADP is best at providing benefits administration, including Recruitment and consulting, Attendance management, Payroll processing, Business insurance for employees, and Retirement planning.
Insperity
Rating
3.8/5
Best For
Mid-Sized Business
Pricing
NA
Website
www.insperity.com
Insperity – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
Insperity was set up in 1986 and is now headquartered in Houston, Texas, USA. Now with a 3000+ workforce, it is best for mid-sized businesses as it offers Full-Service HR functions based on the employee strength of the hiring company, so, the higher the employee strength, the better the cost-effectiveness of the solutions.
Insperity HR solutions effectively streamline and automate primary HR operations, such as benefits management, payroll processing, retirement planning, performance and training management, etc. It also assists organizations in providing health insurance coverage to their workforce.
TriNet
Rating
3.8/5
Best For
Remotely Reporting and Tracking
Pricing
The Pricing starts from $80 per user/month
Website
www.trinet.com
TriNet – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
TriNet was established in 1988 in Dublin â California, USA. It is best known for its industry expertise. As an HR service provider, TriNet covers every aspect of the field and is a good choice for established companies.
TriNet offers simplified solutions to the already complicated HR process of moderate to large companies. Additionally, the company is well known for its highly consistent training programs for all categories of employees, including those in leadership roles.
ACS
Rating
3.8/5
Best For
Remotely Reporting and Tracking
Pricing
NA
Website
www.acsicorp.com
ACS – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
ACS was established in 1998 and is renowned for its end-to-end talent management solutions. It is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, USA, and provides specialized recruitment processes so that the client organization gets to select the right person for the right job.
ACS also provides training programs if necessary, and manages the critical areas of day-to-day responsibilities. It also assists employee relationship management and drives culture change through various programs.
Gusto was established in 2011 as an HR service company headquartered in California, USA. Their speciality is full-service payroll management. Gusto helps its client organizations automatically file payroll taxes and tracks time-off requests and employee benefits. In addition, it keeps the client abreast of the changes in tax laws and stores employee 1-9s, contractor 1099s, and W-2s online.
With a workforce of less than 5000, it has earned a reputation for its mobile wallet app. With this app, employees can manage their deposits and paychecks, save money, access emergency cash, and do many other things.
Bambee
Rating
3.8/5
Best For
Remotely Reporting and Tracking
Pricing
The Pricing starts from $99/month
Website
www.bambee.com
Bambee – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
Bambee was established in 2016 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Bambee is one of the newest additions to the HR consultancy market and it has carved a niche for itself as a saviour of startup businesses. This organization mostly caters to the HR needs of companies with less than 500 employees.
Their HR solutions are customized according to the clientâs requirements. Bambee has professionally skilled HR personnel who can devise solutions for its clients and excelled them in automating different HR tasks.
Rippling
Rating
3.8/5
Best For
Remotely Reporting and Tracking
Pricing
The Pricing starts from $8 per user/month
Website
wwww.rippling.com
Rippling – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
Rippling was established in 2016 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA. Rippling is known chiefly for its full-fledged PEO solutions. The company provides a platform/software to its clients that simplify processes, such as talent recruitment and onboarding, right from its start till the end.
In addition, Rippling also specializes in payroll management and training. The platform has everything integrated for separate HR and IT but it still keeps all data in a unified place of the workforce.
It allows the customers to automate their workflow with the Rippling Automator, such as adding new hire information, application reviews, employee compensation, and even updates for engineering documentation.
Paychex
Rating
3.8/5
Best For
Payroll Services
Pricing
NA
Website
www.paychex.com
Paychex – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
Paychex was established in 1971 and headquartered in Rochester, New York, United States. It provides HR consultancy alongside a full range of PEO services with a customized package that suits customers’ business needs. It handles almost all HR tasks, right from payroll and benefits to legal services and training.
It ensures error-free payrolls for the workers which is one of the most critical tasks for any HR department. It allows employees to change their own personal information and also allows a two-way conversation with employees, receive real-time reports and automate essential activities. It makes HR operations efficient and affordable and provides full PEO service with maximum efficiency.
INFINITI HR
Rating
3.8/5
Best For
Large Companies
Pricing
The Pricing starts from $159 per month
Website
wwww.infinityhr.com
Infiniti HR – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
Another name on the list is Infiniti HR, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Burtonsville, MD. It is an excellent PEO provider for all sorts of large organizations.
Its HR solutions come in four different strands that cover the critical HR responsibilities of any organization. The strands cover from payroll and recruitment to insurance, risk management, and benefits and all these solutions are extremely customizable.
G&A Partners
Rating
3.8/5
Best For
Employee Traning and Development
Pricing
NA
Website
www.gnapartners.com
G&A Partners – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
G&A Partners, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Houston â Texas, United States provides full-service HR outsourcing for things like payroll, benefits, compliance, workplace safety, performance management, and recruitment and it does so with its own WorkSight platform, which offers single sign-on access to a range of easy-to-use modules for tackling every key HR task.
It provides 24/7 access to services for staff and managers, and it has on-demand data available alongside scheduled reports. It uses advanced technology to help find and track applicants for new jobs. G&A Partners comes with a customizable size and range of services and the firm’s in-house specialists tackle all of the relevant tasks and answer any questions.
There are two different ways a company can work with G&A Partnersâ through a PEO or an ASO (administrative services only) model. There are also plenty of reporting tools and dashboards for the company and its employees, in order to provide them with the correct options they need. It has training content including things like quizzes, videos, interactive assignments, and AICC and SCORM courses.
Tandem HR
Rating
3.6/5
Best For
Evaluating Risk Management
Pricing
NA
Website
www.tandemhr.com
Tandem HR – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
Tandem HR is another great platform helping businesses by providing them with HR solutions along with infrastructure and expertise solutions too. Tandem HR is known to provide similar multiple services such as payroll, human resources, etc. However, the thing that makes it better than others is its risk management system.
They allow you to keep track of and calculate your risk management system. They make their client’s businesses prepared for any uncertain situations to arrive. Tandem HR allows its risk management system to help clients by providing services such as safety audits, accident investigations, etc.
Engage PEO
Rating
4.5/5
Best For
Medium and Large Complex Businesses
Pricing
The Pricing starts from $15 user/month
Website
www.engagepeo.com
Engage PEO – Best HR Outsourcing Services in the USA
Engage PEO is another great platform one can think of. They are the best choice for most medium and large complex businesses. They provide top-level services in the field of HR outsourcing.
Engage PEO has multiple services to offer such as payroll, tax admission, hiring, recruitment assistant, etc. However, it is more popular for its client-based work. It is known to provide the services by keeping the client’s needs in mind as a top priority. And the most important fact about Engage PEO is that every HR is an attorney. Hence this makes it a perfect stop for complex businesses.
Conclusion
Despite being a core business operation, HR activities are outsourced because they are challenging and time-consuming. A reliable HR outsourcing company can offer stability and clarity to the business and allows the customers to focus more on important areas.
Specialized HR outsourcing companies adopt the latest technologies and capitalize on outsourcing trends to keep your business one step ahead of competitors.
FAQs
What are the top 3 global HR services firms?
The top 3 global HR services firms are Deloitte, Accenture, and Ernst Young.
In which country is HR in demand?
Some of the countries with high HR demand are the UK, the USA, and Canada.
What are the 4 types of HR?
There are many types of HR. The most common 4 types of HR are Administrator Human Resources (HR), Human Resources (HR) Assistant, Employment Specialist, and Director of Human Resources.
What is the best HR platform?
Some of the best HR platforms are BambooHR, Zenefits, Gusto, etc.
Customer feedback plays a vital role when trying to manage business insights. Knowing the interests and choices of your customers would not only help you provide them with a better experience next time but, will also let you design better products and business strategies.
Surveys are the best way to get your customer feedback and understand their opinions. With a number of online survey tools available you can easily approach your customers and collect their feedback. These tools not only let you create and distribute surveys but also help you evaluate the responses to understand customer expectations.
However, every business has different needs, and hence, choosing the right tool that caters to your business requirements is extremely important. Today, we have brought you the top 10 online survey tools that will help you know your customers better and grow your business faster in 2023.
Best 5 Online Survey Tools to Check Out
How to Choose the Best Online Survey Tool?
The performance of a survey tool is gauged by the amount of information it is able to extract through open-ended questions. The traditional close-ended questions are easy to tabulate but can only collect minimal information. The modern generation survey tools use AI and NLP to clean and organize the gathered information in real-time which would manually take days.
With the overwhelming number of online survey tools available in the market choosing the right one can be difficult. While deciding which is the best online survey tool for you, you must have a good idea about your requirements as well as your budget. There are tools available for free but they only have limited features embedded, on the other hand, you have tools loaded with every feature you require but are expensive to use.
Other than this you must also pay close attention to the three basic steps of surveying i.e. creation, distribution, and evaluation while reviewing a survey tool. The tool must be reliable and should provide the best features, as per your business needs, for all three steps.
âOne of the leading survey tools, SurveyMonkey has over 40 million registered customers including 95% of the Fortune 500 companies. This is the best tool if you are a scaling business and need a survey tool that is simple with an easy interface and basic functions.
It is a flexible online survey tool that lets you design and customizes surveys from the scratch without having any coding experience. It allows you to run the survey and collect feedback via multiple channels such as web links, Â mobile chats, social media platforms, emails, etc. It has a basic analytics dashboard.
This tool uses word cloud and sentiment analysis to break down text responses. After analyzing results it also exports and integrates data.
Pros:
It is free to start with surveys with up to 10 questions
Offers 100+ expert templates with sample questions
Deeper data analysis through multiple integrations
Cons:
The free plan does not allow you to access the collected data
Successive price hikes have made it expensive to use
Pricing Plan:
SurveyMonkey Basic plan is FREE. And, its subscription plans are divided into two versions i.e. individual and team. They also have an Enterprise plan, you can also request a demo to get custom pricing.
It is an uncomplicated survey tool with advanced design options. Instead of complex questionnaires, it follows a completely different approach to feedback collection. It helps you design surveys, polls, quizzes, and forms that are visually engaging and fun to answer. Also, these are easy to run and can be distributed through multiple channels like email, chats, web apps, etc.
Typeform focuses on user experience and interaction for better responses. The surveys developed by Typeform have an average of four times the completion rate in comparison to the standard industry rate.
While the free plan lets you collect around 10 responses per month, the professional plan gets you 500 responses along with unlimited logic jumps, conversion tracking, and HubSpot integration.
Alongside surveys, Typeform also deals with video apps for face-to-face conversations and no-code chatbots.
Getting started with Typeform
Pros:
Multiple readymade survey templates with customization options.
Break down responses and prepare sharable reports.
Scalable pricing and excellent customer service.
Cons:
No protection against bots.
Customer support can be improved.
Pricing Plan:
Typeform offers one FREE plan and 3 paid plans i.e. Basic plan, Plus plan, and Business plan. Pricing details of each plan are given below:
Jotform is an online survey builder recognized for its ease of use and intuitiveness. It is a coding-free solution that helps you to generate leads, distribute and analyze surveys, collect payments, and much more. It has over 100 survey templates and a drag-and-drop survey creator. It helps distribute surveys via shareable links or as website embeds.
It also has a smart, easily fillable PDF form creator with an option to pre-fill the forms. All its plans have an inbuilt feature for table creation.
Pros:
Design and distributes specific forms.
Payment collection feature.
Inexpensive and easy to use.
Cons:
Limited technical support.
Poor customer service.
Pricing Plan:
Jotform offers an unlimited free-to-use plan that lets you collect around 100 submissions, there are other paid plans for which the limit and features extend with the price. A special 50% discount is also available for educational institutions and NGOs. Pricing details of each plan are given below:
Google Forms – Free online survey software platform
âGoogle Forms is a free online survey software platform that lets you create, edit, and share surveys and forms over the Internet. It is one of the best choices if you do not require some kind of exotic or complicated reviews or feedback from your customer. The simple templates make it easy for the user to respond. These are available for free as a part of G Suite for business plans or personal editions and do not require specific skills for the survey conductor or responder.
The designs of surveys are customizable. The responses are saved in Google sheets automatically, which can easily be transferred into excel format later. You can also gather real-time information and charts from the platform.
Pros:
Very easy to use.
These are available absolutely free of cost.
Data collected can be synced with other Google products.
Cons:
Very limited template designs are available.
Users cannot be tracked easily.
Pricing Plan:
You can use Google Forms for free.
Zoho Survey
Rating
4.6/5
Founded in
1996
Best suited for
Best for UI, User Interface
Free
Free Trial and Free Plan
Zoho Survey – Free online survey software
Zoho Survey is an easy-to-use online questionnaire and survey-building software. It has a rich array of features but is incapable of handling complex requirements. It has several template options, however, customization options are very limited. The surveys are designed to function optimally on any screen size, making it easier to boost the response rate. This tool enables businesses to obtain feedback through offline surveys, expanding their reach. For ease of use on the go it also offers taking surveys on iOS as well as android devices. Although, a free version of this tool is available, once outgrown you will have to buy the paid version. It allows you to view the responses in real-time.
Pros:
It also supports offline surveys.
Easily integrates with other Zoho applications.
The mobile app allows real-time monitoring of survey responses.
Cons:
No support for display logic and question blocks.
The user interface isn’t up to date.
Pricing Plan:
Zoho Survey offers a free plan that lets you create unlimited surveys, 10 questions & 100 responses per Survey. It also has three paid plans i.e. Plus, Pro and Enterprise. Pricing details of each plan are given below:
Plans
Monthly Price
Annual Price
Free
$0
$0
Plus
âš800/month
âš600/month, billed annually
Pro
âš2,500/month
âš1700/month, billed annually
Enterprise
âš5,700/month
âš3900/month, billed annually
Sogolytics
Rating
4.7/5
Founded in
2009
Best suited for
Best for quizzes
Free
Free Trial and Free Plan
Sogolytics – Online Survey Tool
It was previously recognized by the name SoGoSurvey. It is a feature-rich, easy-to-use online survey tool with top-notch reporting options. It has a variety of plans that can be customized to fit any business size.
Whether you are in need of quizzes, customer feedback, or other surveys, this tool lets you create them easily. It is a mobile-friendly platform that has strong data security, intuitive UI, in-depth analytical reports, and great customer support.
It is capable of including pivot tables in the records and also offers bulk editing mode. The data storage is secure with SSL encryption. It also has the option to embed audio, videos, images, or descriptive texts in the surveys to help the user understand the context.
Pros:
It has features for working with multiple surveys such as a dashboard, merging, or reporting canvas.
Various question types are available such as text boxes, multi-select, radio buttons, etc.
Advanced support options are also available.
Cons:
Display logic questions limit re-ordering.
Help resources are not strong.
Pricing Plan:
Sogolytics offers a free plan that lets you create unlimited surveys. It also has four paid plans i.e. Plus, Pro, Premium, and Enterprise Feedback. Pricing details of each plan are given below:
This tool has an essential user interface with a clean and well-spaced layout. It offers 30+ language options allowing you to gather insights from a larger number of customers. The surveys can be embedded on your site, circulated on social media, or sent through emails to get a response. Surveyplanet offers an intuitive platform for creating and analyzing surveys, as well as exporting data. Businesses can use this online survey tool to create customized surveys such as brand development, market research, exit interviews, job application forms, etc. You can view a live version of your survey while you are creating it on the same page.
Along with unlimited surveys and questions, it allows you to get unlimited responses even on the free plan. Although it supports skip logic, it does not support display logic, piping, or masking.
SurveyPlanet Tutorial
Pros:
Clean and minimalist user interface.
It is quite an affordable tool.
Also provides an overview of branching questions.
Cons:
Limited question types and no support for matrix questions.
The panel purchase option is not integrated.
Pricing Plan:
SurveyPlanet offers a free plan with a robust set of free features to get you started with your survey. It also offers a paid plan i.e. Pro plan with advanced features such as custom themes, question branching, survey results filtering, and more. Pricing details of the Pro plan are given below:
Plans
Monthly Price
Annual Price
Free
$0
$0
Pro
$20 month
$180 year
SurveySparrow
Rating
4.4/5
Founded in
2017
Best suited for
Best for Conversational Surveys
Free
Free Trial and Free Plan
SurveySparrow – Conversational Survey Tool
SurveySparrow tool offers a conversational approach to surveys i.e. the surveys are engaging with a chat-like experience for the responder. It is easy to use and allows you to create omnichannel surveys, automate feedback processes, and create smart reports post-result evaluation. It also has a customer journey mapping feature.
SurveySparrow offers multiple types and formats of surveys such as NPS, chatbots, offline surveys, etc. alongside several survey distribution options like email, websites, pop-ups, SMS, and others. Also, it has the option to create templates from scratch.
Pros:
The executive dashboard makes reporting and data analysis easy.
Integrations, webhooks, and APIs.
The recurring survey feature allows scheduling the re-surveys.
Cons:
360 assessment and NPS require a separate subscription.
Poor customer support.
Pricing Plan:
SurveySparrow offers a Free plan that allows 10 questions per survey. It also offers 2 paid plans i.e. Premium plan and the Basic plan with advanced features such as display logic, case management, scoring, and more. Pricing details of the paid plans are given below:
Alchemer was formerly recognized by the name SurveyGizmo. Earlier just a simple survey tool it has now turned into a customer feedback management platform. It is a highly capable tool that uses custom coding to accommodate a wide array of tasks.
Apart from designing and running surveys it also lets you manage your contacts, set up customer feedback workflow, analyze data, and much more. It allows you to run any type of survey and also perform complicated research.
It offers advanced branching and skip logic features along with multiple survey distribution channels. It also has native integrations including Google Analytics, Google sheets, and Salesforce.
Pros:
It streamlines operations through bulk edit mode.
Sophisticated layout and reporting features.
Well supported by phones, forums, conferences, and videos.
Cons:
Does not integrate with other tools easily.
Poor back-end hosting.
Pricing Plan:
Alchemer offers four paid plans i.e. Collaborator plan, the Professional plan, Full Access plan, and the Enterprise Platform. Pricing details of the paid plans are given below:
Plans
Monthly Price
Annual Price
Collaborator
$55 per user per month
$315 per month per year
Professional
$165 per user per month
$1075 per month per year
Full Access
$275 per user per month
$1895 per month per year
Professional
Custom Plan
Custom Plan
Qualtrics
Rating
4.4/5
Founded in
2002
Best suited for
Best for AI
Free
Free Trial
Qualtrics – online survey tool
Qualtrics is a powerful online survey tool extremely suitable for professionals. It has several types of readymade survey templates with more than a hundred types of questions. The key features of this tool include email triggers, logic branching, and display logic that provide a great user experience.ââ
It offers over 30 graph types to choose from and also allows you to read real-time web reports as well as export results to CSV or SPSS at your convenience. You can enable the forest or tree view of the surveys using the best-in-class survey flow screen of the tool.
Pros:
It supports masked or carry-forward answer choices.
Allows editing non-modal questions.
Desktop and mobile questionnaires can be put into synchronized previews.
Cons:
This tool is slightly expensive to use.
Does not have the ability to maintain multiple shared reports.
Customer feedback is the key to a successful business and having the right survey tool is the best way to know your customers better. With its ability to customize the survey questions as per the business and customer requirements, a good survey tool helps you in providing better customer engagement and satisfaction.
Other than creating surveys that are pleasant for the audience, it lets you distribute the surveys through multiple, relevant, and effective channels as well as evaluate the results efficiently.
In this article, we have listed the best online survey tools for 2023 with their features as well as pros and cons. We certainly hope this will help you choose the best survey tool for your business.
FAQs
What are the top survey tools for 2023?
The top survey tools for 2023 are currently considered to be:
SurveyMonkey
Typeform
Jotform
Google forms
Zoho Survey
Sogolytics
SurveyPlanet
SurveySparrow
Alchemer
Qualtrics
What features should I look for in a survey tool?
When evaluating survey tools, you should look for features such as:
User-friendly interface
Customizable survey templates
Advanced logic and branching capabilities
Support for multiple question types
Ability to skip or redirect based on previous answers
Data export options (such as CSV or Excel)
Collaboration and sharing options
Robust reporting and analysis capabilities
Are there free survey tools available?
Yes, there are many free survey tools available such as Google Forms, JotForm, SurveyPlanet, and Zoho Survey. However, these free tools may have limitations on features and capabilities when compared to paid tools.
What is the most popular survey tool?
As of 2023, SurveyMonkey is considered to be the most popular survey tool.
What is the best survey tool for enterprise use?
As of 2023, Qualtrics, SurveyGizmo, and SoGoSurvey are considered to be the best survey tools for enterprise use.
How long can I wait before I run my first survey?
The length of time you should wait before running your first survey depends on several factors, such as the nature of your business or organization, the purpose of the survey, and the resources you have available to conduct the survey. In general, it’s best to run your survey as soon as possible after you’ve established the goals and objectives of the survey, developed the survey questions, and identified the target audience.
How many team members need access to the survey tool?
The number of team members who need access to the survey tool will depend on the size and structure of your organization, as well as the purpose of the survey.
Why should I use a survey tool?
Survey tools can help you to efficiently collect, analyze, and make decisions based on accurate data, which can ultimately help you to improve your business or organization in various ways.ââ
In this digital era of technology, AI is emerging as a way to make work easier and faster. Companies are adopting AI to build software with advanced capabilities. Text-to-image is a feature of software powered by AI to convert natural language inputs into visually appealing images.
An image is a great way to express something in a way that positively hits the viewer’s mind. You might be amazed to know the fact that the Human mind can process images almost 60,000 times faster than normal text. This is one of the reasons why companies prefer images over text for advertisements and marketing campaigns on social media.
Thanks to AI, we have opportunities to create visually appealing images from text input. In simple words, you can use a text-to-image generator to create images. So for the sake of your convenience, we have provided the list of the best text-to-image generators along with their salient features, pros, cons, and pricing.
Text-to-image generator is a software that generates images based on the input you provide. For example, If you want an image of a red car flying in the air, you can easily create that image just by typing this input into the search field.
Global AI market size from 2022 to 2026
A deep learning algorithm and technology like generative adversarial networks (GANs) work behind the scenes for the processing of each input. The GAN consists of a generator and discriminator, whenever you pass any input to the software, the generator synthesizes an image based on the query and sends it to the discriminator. The discriminator distinguishes the image and sends it to the generator for modification. The process goes on again and again until it creates a perfect image for you. The technology keeps updating with time and this text-to-image generator is becoming more powerful day by day with different updates.
List of Top 10 Text-to-Image Generators
Text-to-image generators allow usto generate images based on a text description. Text generation models can be used together with text-to-image models to create diverse text prompts. It helps to shape our imaginations and create beautiful images. Let us discuss some of the best AI-based Text-To-Image Generators.
Photosonic
Rating
3.4/5
Launched in
2020
Photosonic is an AI tool of the very popular AI-based content creation company Writesonic. It started its operation in October 2020, this company has raised more than 2.6 million in funding. Since Writesonic was already engaged in the development of AI to make content production easier for companies, Photosonic is a great addition to their list.
Photosonic
This tool has the capability to convert your imagination into digital art that you can use in your project. Varieties of options are available to give your art a texture, like painting, illustrator, 3-D, cartoon, fantasy, anime, etc. Whatever prompts you, type it in the search field, and it will provide you with the best results as per your requirement.
Square, vertical, and horizontal are the orientation of the image which you can choose to create the perfect fit for your image. It offers a free plan in which you will get 15 credits that you can utilize to generate images.
Pros:
Availability of free plan
Full right to use images commercially
Based on the latent diffusion model
Simple to use
Cons:
Images are sometimes blurry and distorted
Less credit in the free plan
Pricing:
Free: $0 /month (15 credits)
Basic: $10 /month
Unlimited: $30 /month
Jasper.ai Art
Rating
4.5/5
Launched in
2021
Jasper Art is an incredible tool to generate images using text prompts. The AI of this tool is well-trained and capable of identifying the difference between a sad dog and a happy dog. You can apply different styles, moods, and mediums to your imagination by selecting the appropriate option from the dropdown menu, which again enhances the quality of your images significantly.
Jasper.ai Art
The most interesting part of this tool is “No credit”, yes you’ve heard right, while other text-to-image generators use credit systems to generate images, this tool provides unlimited image generation facility with their plan ” Jasper Art Unlimited”. Although you are not provided with any separate free plan to test this tool, you get 5 days of free access to the tool in the paid plan at no additional cost.
The amazing part is that you can create up to 200 images in the 5-day free access with 2k resolution, and after that unlimited images with a paid plan. There is a separate knowledge base provided by the company to help you use their tool more effectively. This simple and powerful AI tool will skyrocket your productivity through realistic images of your imagination.
Pros:
2K high-resolution images
Very Simple to use interface
No credit limit
Variety of styles, moods, mediums, and keywords to choose from
Dall-E is a new AI system that can create realistic images from the description of natural language. It’s a very popular text-to-image generator created by Open.ai and has a separate craze in the market. No doubt! Creating images from text is an integral feature of this tool but on top of that, it can also edit the existing image according to your need so that looks damn real.
Dall-E
Launched in January 2021, Dall-E gathered so much popularity among the people, and soon after one year of launch, Open.ai released the updated version of Dall-E with the name Dall-E 2. Dall-E 2 is more efficient and capable than the previous version which can create images with 4X greater resolution.
Also, you can create different variations of the generated image and make them more unique. Keep in mind that every time you create an image, it will cost you one credit, and every time you try different variations, it will charge an additional credit. Overall, Dall-E is a great tool to consider for generating images from a text prompt.
Pros:
Availability of free 50 credits without a time limit
The image creation process is relatively fast
Image variations
Editor to edit the generated image
Filters violating, hateful, and sexual prompt
Cons:
Low art quality for some prompt
Don’t have the option to choose an art style
Pricing:
Free: 50 credits on first-time signup and 15 credit every month
Paid: 115 credits for $15 on top of the free credits
Fotor
Rating
4.4/5
Launched in
2009
The Fotor AI image generator is the most powerful yet underrated AI image generator that holds amazing capabilities to create high-resolution images from a text prompt. The most interesting part is that it is completely free to use, and you can create unlimited high-quality images. The more Description you provide in the search box, the more accurate result you’ll get.
Fotor
Once you’ve generated your image, you can play with different styles and apply them to the newly generated image to get the desired result. It supports the length and width of images between 512 Px to 2048 Px. You can also select the orientation of the image from the square, landscape, or vertical.
Whenever you refresh the image, it will generate a different image from the same text prompt and whenever you choose from a different style it will refresh the image and apply the style in no time.
Midjourney is a text-to-image generator that is developed by an independent research lab. It is a self-funded initiative of some people to harmonize design with AI. To access this tool and create realistic high-quality images, you need an account on discord, because Midjourney is only accessible as a bot on the discord app.
Midjourney
Images generated by this tool are of high resolution and come with different variations. To generate an image, you need to first go to the Midjourney website and click on the button “Join the beta”, after that you’ll get a ship-like icon on your discord app. Just click on the icon and join any newbie room to start generating images. Use the command prompt and type your text description of whatever you want to create.
Midjourney creates four variations of each image and you can try different variations to get the appropriate result. Also, keep in mind that it doesn’t work on a credit system, it works on a minute session system. This means, whenever you type a prompt in the command field it takes some time to render the image, that time is deducted from your plan.
The process of generating an image takes GPU resources, hence it provides two options in their pricing plan, Fast GPU time and Relaxed GPU time. The simple difference between these two is, the Fast GPU time generates the image in priority and is faster than the relaxed GPU time.
Pros:
High-resolution images
Different variations
Personal bot chat
Reasonable pricing
Community gallery access
Cons:
Complex to use
Available only through discord
Private visibility feature at an additional cost of $20/month
Pricing:
Free: 25 min/Lifetime
Basic: $10/month and 200 min/month
Standard: $30/month and 15 hrs/month
Corporate: $600/month and 120 hrs/month
Nightcafe
Rating
5/5
Launched in
2019
Turn your imagination into reality by leveraging the benefits of Nightcafe, an AI-based tool. Headquartered in Cairn, Australia, it generated more than 35 million artworks till October 2022. Since it also generates images from the text prompt, there are some features that distinguish it from the rest. Let’s have a closer look at its unique features.
Nightcafe
Nightcafe offers different algorithms that work on the backend to create beautiful images like Stable diffusion, CLIP+Guided diffusion also known as coherent, VQGAN+CLIP also known as Artistic, and OpenAi Dall-e 2 algorithm. You can choose any of the following algorithms and also choose varieties of styles to create your masterpiece.
Apart from creating images from text, you can also make appropriate changes to the existing image. After uploading the image, you are required to enter the text description with the changes you want in your image. One drawback of Nightcafe is that you need to pay extra credits for higher-resolution images.
Pros:
Different algorithms to choose from
Varieties of styles
Advanced option
Your creation belongs to you
Cons:
Charge extra credits for high-resolution image
Only 5 credits available to try this tool
Pricing:
AI Hobbyist: $9.99 /month
AI Enthusiast: $19.99 /month
AI Artist: $49.99 /month
AI Professional: $79.99 /month
Canva
Rating
4.7/5
Launched in
2012
Canva is not a new name for designers and anyone who loves to design. Since Canva offers varieties of designing services and is the leader in this segment, then how can it lag behind in the race of text-to-image generation? Recently Canva has launched its text-to-image generation AI to empower designers to create unique pieces of images.
Canva
Because it is also evolving its technology like other AI tools, you might have to face some distortion in the image. One major plus point of the Canva text-to-image generating tool is that it is completely free to use, with no credit limit. You can directly use the generated image in the project you are working on.
Different styles like photo, drawing, 3-D, painting, pattern and concept art are available to give an image a different look and feel. After typing the text prompt and selecting the desired style, you only need to hit the generate button and boom! Your unique image is ready to use.
AI-based photo-realistic images are the trend nowadays and Stable Diffusion is fueling this ongoing trend with its robust text-to-image generator. The most fascinating thing is that it doesn’t charge a single penny from you for the generation of images. It generates images on Nvidia and AMD GPUs of more than 6GB RAM to provide high-quality images in a short period.
Stable Diffusion
To increase efficiency and help you generate more accurate images, it provides a prompt database of more than 9 million searches. You can utilize this database and learn how to enter the text prompt effectively to generate high-quality intended images with less distortion.
The most important thing is that it takes care of your privacy seriously, it never stores any of your personal information, text prompts, or images. Even if you want to share your design, there is a separate button for it to share with the community, otherwise, it will remain private for you.
Since it is open source, you can install it locally on your computer and start creating AI images at no cost. Their AI community will help you with all the setup. Make sure you have an Nvidia GPU with more than 6 GB of ram for quick image generation.
Pros:
Easy-to-use interface
Doesn’t store any data about text and images
A huge database of text prompts
Advanced setting option
High-quality images
Free to use
Can install it locally
Cons:
Doesn’t have an option for styling and variations
Pricing:
Free of cost
Dreamstudio
Rating
4.5/5
Launched in
2006
Dreamstudio beta is an image generation AI powered by stability.ai. Don’t be confused between Dreamstudio beta and Stable Diffusion because both are powered by stability.ai, the only difference is that Stable Diffusion is open source and Dreamstudio is paid one. Dreamstudio provides free 100 credits to test the product and if you like to continue then you can purchase additional credits.
Dreamstudio
There is flexibility to utilize the credits based on the size and resolution of the image and it costs somewhere between 0.5 credits to 9.5 credits per image. The higher the resolution, the higher credit it will charge. It is empowered to create realistic images, art, portraits, paintings, and as many things as you can imagine and write in the text prompt properly.
Numerous options are available to choose from and get the desired result that best suits your imagination. Additionally, you have the flexibility to choose the different versions of the Stable Diffusion algorithm.
Pros:
Cheaper than competitor
Simple to use UI
Vast styling option
Ability to choose from different stable diffusion versions
High-resolution images
Cons:
Need to pay high credit for high-resolution images
Pricing:
100 free credits
StarryAI
Rating
4.4/5
Launched in
2021
StarryAI is another AI art generation tool that is also available in the form of iOS and Android mobile apps. To turn your imagination into reality and make images from natural language descriptions, this tool provides 5 free credits every day. It means you can leverage the benefit of AI image generation every day at no cost if you don’t want so many images.
Starryai
Just like other text-to-image generation tools, it also offers varieties of styles to choose from, and on top of that, you can create your own collection of art images. There is an explore tab in which you can see the images of other creators who’ve published their art in the community, you can take inspiration and make your own.
The most fascinating thing is that you can earn credits for image and video creation after completing certain tasks, like sharing the artwork on social media, watching ads, etc.ââ
Pros:
Easy to use
Different styles
Availability of iOS and Android app
Cheaper alternative
Credits Top-up everyday
Cons:
So many distortions
Creation is not always perfect
Pricing:
5 free credits every day
Conclusion
AI has made text-to-image generation easier and faster without any prior experience in designing. These tools will empower you to turn your imagination into realistic images with so many styling options. So choose the tool and figure out the best one that suits your needs.
FAQ
How do AI image generators work?
The technology can vary but most AI image generators use diffusion models. These work by destroying their training data through the addition of Gaussian noise, and then reversing the process to remove noise from the image.
Is DALL-E free to use?
Dall-E is not entirely free. The service runs on “credits”.You get 50 free credits at signup, and then 15 credits free per month after that.
What is the AI image generator?
The AI image generator is a tool that can be used to generate realistic images from text.
âDesign used to be the seasoning youâd sprinkle on for taste; now itâs the flour you need at the start of the recipe”, said John Maeda. And we cannot agree more as we see the impact UX and UI designers make on the world we live in.
As design enthusiasts, we are very proud of your work which is why we understand the importance of creating quality prototypes as a part of the UX development process.
Prototyping is an important stage in the UI/UX design process. It allows designers to create a mock-up of their design ideas and test them out with users before investing time and resources into building a final product. Prototyping is simply the creation of a simulation or a sample version of the final product. It helps designers to put ideas into place and validate them. The clients get a visual overview of the final product, and how it will look and feel. It helps in building a good understanding of what is required by the client, exploring options, and discussing barriers when seeing it visually. Now, a prototyping tool offers a platform for you to experiment, and apply your creative ideas, minimizing the risk and saving on efforts. As the faster you fail, the faster you learn with your mockup. You can iterate and improve the design by collaborating with the stakeholders using a prototype.
How to choose the right prototyping tool?
UX Prototyping Tools: How to Pick the Right One
The right tool for prototyping is very important to put your creativity into a visual presentation. With a plethora of prototyping tools available in the market, it is very important to find the one that gives you the highest flexibility, features, and creative freedom. Since every prototyping tool is different and has its pros and cons, these points will help you choose the right fit for your prototyping needs.
Ease of Use: The easier an app is for using, the more time and effort it saves. Instead of making a task more difficult, a smart prototyping tool will streamline the procedures needed to do it. It should not feel burdensome to use a tool that is meant to ease your effort.
Ease of learning: How suitable is a prototyping tool for your team if it takes a long time to understand it? Compare the time and effort spent on learning a tool because the learning curve should not exceed the usage of the tool. You can also opt for tools offering familiar interfaces. For example, Adobe XD will have a familiar UI if you have used Photoshop or Illustrator. The best way to detect this is by taking trials of the tools you are considering.
Fidelity level: The tool we choose should be based on the fidelity we are aiming for. When you need to quickly present your concept to your clients, low-fidelity prototypes are helpful and when you need a detailed prototype, including animation, interactions, transitions, etc high fidelity is critical. Framer, Origami Studio, Axure are good options in case of high fidelity. For low fidelity, you can try Figma and Sketch.
Ease of sharing: A prototyping tool is meant to encourage a cooperative working environment for all parties involved. Reviewing, providing suggestions, and making modifications, should enable syncing multiple people with one another. For example, prefer a tool that consolidates client feedback like InVision which has the option for commenting on a particular feature (similar to the comment feature in Google Docs)
Usage: Always make sure the tool works with the other tools you use and fits your design process. For instance, the best tool for you would be one that allows collaborating with the team via video call directly from the platform or integrates with another prototyping app or allows easy export of files. However, there is no one tool that will offer you everything that you need which is why it must allow integration with other apps and tools.
Cost: Although it is easy to be charmed with features, consider the cost of the apps. A prototyping tool will be utilized for a longer period of time and by several users, which could be costly for you in the longer run. It will also cost you the effort to learn and bring another prototyping tool into your teamâs design process.
There are many different prototyping tools available that cater to the needs of UI/UX designers, each with its own unique features and capabilities. In this blog, we will introduce some of the most popular prototyping tools and discuss their strengths and weaknesses, and suitability for different design needs.
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based, Mobile (iPad, iPhone, Android)
InVision – Popular Prototyping Tool
InVision is one of the most popular prototyping tools which quickly transforms your designs into clickable prototypes by applying hotspots to wireframes. It offers several well-designed tools, many features like repeatable components that can be changed in the entire site, very handy vector drawing tools, and animation and dynamic visual effect tools. Its project management page makes it simple to put the design elements into a status workflow. You can add features like a to-do column, in progress, review, etc. It establishes a centralized information source for all project participants and stakeholders.
Strengths
It has a straightforward interface that does not require any technical background to understand and work on the tool. You can just click and drag to link static screens and outside URLs.
It makes collaborating and sharing very easy. One can leave comments on specific design elements of the web app in the prototype.
It works very well with other design software meaning you can start in one app and then transfer your design to InVision.
Weaknesses
While it has many useful features and an easy interface, the app can sometimes lag. Plugins with other connected pages and software can slow it down.
It has a limited and basic animation library which means you wonât be able to create an advanced prototype.
Pricing Plans of InVision
Freehand (Free)
$0 upto 3 freehands
Freehand (Pro)
$4 per active user/month billed annually* or $4.95 billed monthly
Freehand (Enterprise)
Custom Plans
Figma
Rating
4.7/5
Best for
Planning and Prototyping
Used By
Zoom, AirBnB, BMW
Promotion
Free Version
Deployment
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based, Desktop (Mac, Windows), Mobile (iPad, iPhone, Android)
Figma – Prototype Design Platform
Figma is a cloud-based and on-premise platform that enables businesses to create unique designs, as well as share them with their team. It is an all-in-one tool that makes accessibility and collaboration easy for you. It handles everything â prototyping, wireframing, UI design, collaboration, and handoff. It allows you to turn static design files into interactive prototypes with zero coding requirements. Its intuitive builder allows you to connect various UI elements, and choose your animations and interactions. You can control the appearance of grids, texts, and other elements and view your prototype on your mobile app with Figma.
Strengths
It allows toggling between design and prototype seamlessly. You can make changes in the design mode and those reflect automatically in the prototype.
It allows remote designers to collaborate in real time, inspect the design and make changes. In short, it is exceptional for teams working remotely.
Weaknesses
When working with large files, it can sometimes slow down.
It does not come with an offline mode and needs active internet for using the tool.
Pricing Plans of Figma
Starter
Free for 3 Figma and 3 FigJam files
Figma Professional
$12 per editor/month billed annually or $15 month-to-month
Figma Organization
$45 per editor/month (Annual billing only)
AdobeXD
Rating
4.5/5
Best for
Creating Realistic Prototypes
Used By
Fujitsu, RedHat
Promotion
Free Trial and Free Version
Deployment
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based, Desktop (Mac, Windows)
AdobeXD – Best Prototyping Tool
Adobe XD is designed for modern UX/UI designers, enabling them to do their work with precise accuracy and effortless ease. It is a powerful prototyping tool that is a household name because of its applications like Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. This tool offers you a vector-based system for creating prototypes and dynamic functionalities like interactions, transitions, etc. Because of the vector-based system, it is easy to scale and resize with AdobeXD without any issues.
It is considered a full stack prototyping tool that lets you design your prototype from scratch, link pages together to create a clickable prototype and easy sharing options.
Adobe XD Design and Prototype Tutorial
Strengths
It is a brilliant choice for both, low and high-fidelity prototypes.
It helps in fast prototype development. It is one of the best tools for making simple demonstration prototypes quickly.
It is easy to link and works well with Adobe software, which is very obvious.
Weaknesses
It is a little tricky to understand its UI even if you have been using other Adobe products. It will take some time for you to learn everything you can do with the tool. This is also because new features are added very frequently (which is a positive side as well).
Limitations on how many people can collaborate and difficult handoff because it does not have a design-to-code export.
Prototyping Tool with Vector Editing and Reusable Elements
Used By
JP Morgan, American Express, Alibaba Travels
Promotion
Free Trial
Deployment
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based, Desktop (Mac)
Sketch – Prototyping Tool
Sketch is an all-in-one design and prototyping platform that allows designers to create artwork and collaborate with developers for product development. It is one of the oldest UX design platforms and offers support in creating vector-based designs that are clickable. It allows you to create a static design in the canvas using its flexible editing tools and then create a prototype to view the designs. Because it is also vector based it is scalable. It enables the quick creation of low-fidelity prototypes. It also allows copy-pasting reusable elements. It is used by more than one million designers, from individual freelancers to large companies, to create amazing products on a daily basis.
Strengths
Sketch has a complete ecosystem of templates, kits, integrations, and plugins which makes prototyping easy. It also has enough native functionality for performing simple prototype animations.
It is very fast if you just want to make initial designs or simple prototypes.
Weaknesses
It is only available for Apple users.
It doesnât offer robust functionality which is why a lot of designers prefer to start with Sketch but finish prototyping with some other tool.
Pricing Plans of Sketch
Standard
$9 per Editor, monthly Or $99 per Editor, yearly
Business
$20 per Editor, monthly (paid by annual subscription)
UXPin
Rating
4.2/5
Best for
Building Prototypes that Feel Like the End Product
Used By
Lenovo, Autozone, University of California
Promotion
Free Trial and Free Version
Deployment
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based, Desktop (Mac, Windows), Mobile (Android, iPhone, iPad)
UXPin – Prototype Design Tool
UXPin is the perfect tool for creating interactive prototypes, designing systems, and documenting them. It allows you to create mockups, prototypes, and UX documents and facilitate collaboration. UXPin does not require a long learning process to begin designing. The intuitive and modern editor of this app allows users to quickly design an ideal experience, from beginning to end, without ever needing to leave.
Being a full-stack UX platform, it supports end-to-end design processes and helps in creating high-fidelity prototypes bridging the gap between design and development. For example, its new technology Merge allows you to create a fully interactive prototype with production-ready code components. It also offers you to add elaborated animations and conditional interactions adding logic to the design.
Strengths
It has built-in interactivity which means you donât need to link static artboards to interactions. It makes it seem like you are interacting with a real product.
It simplifies the handoff process. Developers can take code from UXpin and use it in their development.
Weaknesses
Sometimes the tool might seem a little overwhelming because of too many features.
High price with a short trial period.
Pricing Plans of UXPin
Advanced
$39 per editor/month, billed monthly or $29 per editor/month billed yearly
Professional
$83 per editor/month, billed monthly or $69 per editor/month billed yearly
Company
$149 per editor/month, billed monthly or $119 per editor/month billed yearly
Framer is a powerful tool used by mobile designers to design layouts, add components, and create interactive prototypes. Framer allows you to build realistic animations from the ground up, or you can take advantage of the available resources in the community to find elements that suit your prototype. This solution facilitates the editing of your HTML and CSS, allowing for optimal customization of your UI and UX.
Framer offers smooth team collaboration and high-fidelity interactive prototypes. You can create completely functional prototypes by using the pre-made components and building animations and transitions. It has rich tools and features like adaptive layouts, and fully customizable interactive components that help in building rich layouts. You also get access to thousands of resources in the Framer X store where you find live maps, media players, UI kits, etc.
Strengths
The work done on Framer can be used by developers for developing the final product as it gets exported as React code.
Even though it offers code to be used by developers, it does not requires coding knowledge for anyone to use Framer.
Weaknesses
It is relatively very new which makes it difficult to completely judge it and trust it.
It is known to be difficult to learn ( their redesign is intended to fix this problem, though).
Pricing Plans of Framer
Free
âš0 per month per site
Mini
âš290 per month per site (Yearly)
Basic
âš520 per month per site (Yearly)
Pro
âš920 per month per site (Yearly)
Proto.io
Rating
4.4/5
Best for
Prototyping Tool With a Huge Asset Library
Used By
Amazon, Paypal, Ideo, and Showtime
Promotion
Free Trial and Free Version
Deployment
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based, Mobile (Android, iPhone, iPad)
Proto.io – Industry-Leading Prototyping Platform
Proto.io is an excellent browser-based prototyping tool used by many professionals. Designers, entrepreneurs, and developers can make interactive and accurate prototypes of websites or apps by using this powerful tool.
Proto.io has a very intuitive drag-and-drop interface. It has hundreds of ready-made components and templates, which lets you quickly create low-fidelity prototypes. You get an extensive UI library for basic UI elements, can polish your prototype using the 6000+ ready-to-use digital assets and animations and offers seamless audio-video integrations.
UI Design Prototype with Proto.io
Strengths
You can convert your low-fidelity prototype into high-fidelity realistic prototypes.
It allows you to import existing wireframes from AdobeXD, Figma, Photoshop, and Sketch.
It allows easy sharing with anyone by copy-pasting links.
Weaknesses
It has a bit of a learning curve because of its rich features.
Performance gets a little slow sometimes and it becomes harder to drag and drop assets.
Pricing Plans of Proto.io
Freelancer
$29 Per month, paid monthly or $24 Per month, paid annually
Startup
âš49 Per month, paid monthly or $40 Per month, paid annually
Agency
âš99 Per month, paid monthly or $80 Per month, paid annually
Corporate
âš199 Per month, paid monthly or $160 Per month, paid annually
Axure is an all-in-one design tool that can be used to create prototypes, specifications, and diagrams. It is a very intuitive platform and does not require you to know to code. It offers dynamic content for hover functions and unlimited combinations of event triggers and actions for exploring digital experience in the prototype. It enables you to create diagrams, wireframes, customer journeys, and other UX documentation right next to your prototype. You can keep track of notes easily and keep other assets organized and accessible.
Strengths
It offers easy sharing with the team and client. It also offers co-editing capabilities.
It is very fast and allows quick development of wireframes for showing clients.
Adaptive views enable the creation of responsive designs even with complex ideas.
Weaknesses
Quite difficult to learn because of come complicated features like repeater tables.
A little expensive if you need this for a large team.
Pricing Plans of Axure
Axure RP Pro
$ 25 per month per user billed annually or $29 month-to-month
Axure RP Team
$ 42 per month per user billed annually or $49 month-to-month
Axure RP Enterprise
Custom Plans
Origami Studio
Rating
4.8/5
Best for
All-in-one design, animation, and prototyping
Used By
Facebook, Scale, Teknologi.id
Promotion
Completely Free
Deployment
Desktop (Mac), Mobile (iPhone, iPad)
Origami Studio
Origami Studio is an absolutely Free design tool created by Facebook for designers who need advanced systems. Using it, designers can quickly create and share interactive designs. Origami Studio can be used to quickly prototype your design concepts, allowing you to gather user opinions before investing in a full-blown code version. The Patch editor feature of Origami Studio allows you to build logic, animations, interactions, and behaviors quickly. It also has a huge library with several pre-built options. You can quickly export prototype parts for designers to copy and paste code into the project. Origami Live is another powerful feature that enables easy and faster sharing for reviewing.
Strengths
It is compatible with Figma and Sketch which enables the creation of high-fidelity prototypes.
Using Origami Live, you can view mockups in real-time on your mobile.
Weaknesses
It has a bit of a learning curve.
It lacks collaboration features like commenting and viewing version histories.
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based, Desktop (Mac, Windows), Mobile (Android, iPhone, iPad)
Fluid UI is a great tool for designing prototypes, wireframes, and mockups with the help of real-time collaboration. This tool has one of the simplest and easy to use interfaces for rapid prototyping. It allows the creation of prototypes within minutes with over 2000 ready-to-use components with libraries for wireframing, material design, easy animations, and real-time collaboration. You can also upload your existing assets. You can also add mouse and touch gestures, and unique animations. When it comes to collaborating, it gives you features like video presentations, live video calling, built-in commenting, etc.
Learn how to prototype interactive apps using FluidUI
Strengths
Comprehensive pre-built drag and use UI kits.
You can test your prototype anywhere on a tablet, or mobile with the free player app.
You will not have to worry about choosing a target monitor resolution.
Weaknesses
Difficult positioning. You might end up moving an object you did not want to.
Comes with a learning curve as a lot of features are not intuitive.
Pricing Plans of Fluid UI
Solo
$8.25/month or $99/year
Pro
$19.08/month or $229/year
Team
$41.58/month or $499/year
Conclusion
Prototyping tools are essential for UI/UX designers to create and test their designs before they are built. They allow designers to quickly and easily create interactive prototypes that simulate the final product, allowing for better communication with clients and stakeholders and more efficient iteration of design ideas.
While the above-listed prototyping tools are amazing and will help you create working prototypes for your projects, there is one that will suit your needs better than the rest. Choosing a prototyping tool will highly depend on the goals you are trying to achieve, the team you are working with, and their skills as well as the type of project they are working on. For example, if you are comfortable working with codes Axure is a good choice. When you need regular handoffs, Framer and UXpin are better options. For a polished prototype go for Origami and if you spend a lot of time in wireframes, Figma, AdobeXD, and Sketch are the ones for you. Regardless of the tool chosen, however, prototyping is an invaluable tool for improving the design process and creating more effective and user-friendly products.
FAQs
What is a prototyping tool?
A prototyping tool is a software application that allows UI/UX designers to create interactive prototypes of their designs. These prototypes can be used to test and demonstrate design concepts, gather feedback, and communicate ideas to clients and stakeholders.
What are some top prototyping tools to use in 2023?
Some of the top prototyping tools to use in 2023 include InVision, Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, and UXPin.
Which is the easiest prototyping tool?
Framer is considered to be theeasiest prototyping tool.
How do prototyping tools benefit UI/UX designers?
Prototyping tools allow designers to quickly and easily create interactive prototypes of their designs, which can save time and resources during the design process. Prototypes also enable designers to test and gather feedback on their designs before they are built, which can help identify and fix problems early on.
Is it necessary for a UI/UX designer to use a prototyping tool?
While it is not strictly necessary for a designer to use a prototyping tool, it can be extremely beneficial in the design process. Prototyping tools allow designers to create realistic and interactive simulations of their designs, which can be very helpful for testing, demonstrating, and gathering feedback on their work.
Can prototyping tools be used for design projects of any size?
Yes, prototyping tools can be used for design projects of any size. From small websites to large-scale applications, prototyping tools can help designers create and test their designs efficiently.
Which is the most basic type of prototype?
The most basic type of prototype is a low-fidelity prototype, also known as a “lo-fi” prototype. Low-fidelity prototypes are typically rough, simplified versions of a design that are used to test and demonstrate basic concepts.
Where are prototypes used?
Prototypes are used in the design and development process to test and demonstrate design concepts. They can be used in a variety of settings, including in-house by designers and developers, with clients and stakeholders, and with end users.
Avantika Bhardwaj
