Top 7 Retool alternatives in 2024
Retool is a platform for low-code development that is highly efficient in constructing internal tools, resulting in significant time savings. However, if you have come across this post, we presume that you might be searching for viable alternatives to Retool, indicating a level of dissatisfaction with the product.
This guide presents a comprehensive comparison between Retool alternative low-code tools, covering their features, pricing, and overall functionality, while maintaining objectivity. Although we are convinced that UI Bakery is the ideal alternative to Retool, particularly for SMBs and SMEs, we aimed to provide an unbiased analysis of Retool competitors in 2024.
Retool
UI Bakery
Appsmith
Budibase
DronaHQ
Superblocks
ToolJet
Jet Admin
From $5/month/user
From $5/month/user
$5/month/user
From $15/month/user
From $8/month/user
Answering what is Retool is simple – it is an exceptional platform for constructing internal tools, making it a top choice for large businesses seeking a solution. With a wide range of features, connected data sources and quality it makes it one of the best choices in the market.
Large number of features that allow to scale internal tool development for large enterprises.
Large number of components and data sources available.
Git integration.
Embedded DB.
Workflows/Automations feature that allows to run scheduled jobs and web hooks.
Easy way to install a self-hosted version.
Enterprise self-hosted version base cost is very high.
Unpredictable per user pricing, that scales too quickly as you add more users.
Because of a single page app model, large applications can have bad performance.
Large applications are also hard to maintain and debug
Cloud instance may have performance issues. Mobile responsiveness support for web apps is very basic
What are the limitations of Retool?
Steep learning curve
Some users, especially those without a strong technical background, find the learning curve of Retool to be steep. This may hinder quick adoption and ease of use for non-technical team members.
Occasional bugs and performance issues
Users have been reporting occasional bugs and performance issues, particularly when dealing with complex tools. This could impact the overall reliability and user experience, especially as the complexity of applications increases.
Limited extensibility with сode
Retool's limited extensibility in code, including the lack of language support beyond JavaScript in Retool Apps and the limited support for writing custom components (such as those needing to display overlays), may present challenges for developers seeking more flexibility and customization in their applications.
Lackluster performance
Retool apps may experience poor performance due to one page app architecture, single-step queries, and a lack of global edge caching. This can affect the responsiveness and speed of applications.
Legacy On-Premise deployment
The legacy on-premise deployment of Retool is resource-intensive and complex. This can impede businesses from accessing new features and security fixes promptly, increasing the total cost of ownership for enterprises with stringent data security requirements.
Slow feature rollouts for On-Premise
New features are often not available in Self-hosted Retool for some time, potentially hindering businesses wanting to leverage new technologies in their internal tooling with their preferred deployment model.
Closed source code
Retool's closed source code prevents code audits by security teams and limits extensibility, potentially posing challenges for organizations with specific security and customization requirements.
Flowchart-based workflows UX
Retool employs a flowchart canvas for its Workflow UI. As logical complexity increases, this approach may become unwieldy, making the program’s logic challenging to understand, navigate, and debug.
By addressing these limitations, users can make more informed decisions when evaluating Retool and exploring alternative solutions.
Retool pricing
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Free plan
$0/month/any user (limited features and up to 5 users)
Team plan
$10/month/standard user
$5/month/end user
Business plan
$50/month/standard user
$15/month/end user
Enterprise plan
Custom plan for teams & orgs operating at scale
Retool reviews
The rating for Retool is 4.6 and is based on 241 reviews on G2.
Bugs and errors
There is struggle with persistent bugs and errors in Retool, which creates a challenging environment for developing and maintaining applications. These issues significantly hinder workflow and productivity.
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Limited customer support
People get a good vibe from Retool when they first hear the sales pitch, but then things go downhill once they're on board. There's talk about the company being pushy, getting folks to sign big contracts that they might not really need.
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High price
Retool offers an expensive UI builder for limited features and users, which doesn't allow the companies to scale and grow their internal tools.
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Not scalable
People find Retool's UI easy to work with and like how they can stack components. But when things get complex, it seems the platform can get a bit glitchy. Also, the editor might slow down your computer because it's a bit of a memory hog.
Conclusion
Retool is an optimal solution for businesses with an extensive budget and a high demand for internal tool creation. However, if your company's needs are limited to just one or two apps that need to be shared among multiple users, Retool may not be the most practical choice for you.
Superblocks is an enterprise ready low-code without limits platform for building custom internal applications, automated workflows, and scheduled jobs. Developers can extend Superblocks infinitely with code and deliver performant apps at scale, all while adopting extensively across their organization.
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Allows complex backend APIs with NodeJS and Python, leverage Javascript on the front-end, and build custom components with React within their own IDE and filesystem.
Multi-threaded front-end for smooth UI rendering.
Superblocks AI Copilot with support to generate, explain, and debug.
Available both as On-Premise Agent a Cloud App Builder.
Integrates with observability providers like Datadog, Splunk and New RelicSupports event-driven architectures like Kafka, Confluent, and Kinesis.
Offers usage-based pricing.
Components library is quite tiny.
No Workflows support for scheduled jobs and webhooks.
Exists only a couple years, meaning not mature enough.
No support for responsive apps.
Git integration is only at basic support.
Doesn’t support an air-gapped deployment.
No full control over platform upgrade.
Superblocks pricing
Free plan
$0 per user / month
Business plan
$49/month/creator
$15/month/user
Enterprise plan
Custom Pricing Plan.
Superblocks reviews
The rating for Superblock is 4.7 and based on 157 reviews on G2.
Conclusion
Superblocks vs Retool is considerable, yet still has some limitations and ways to improve. And being a newcomer gives an additional reason to worry in the current market.
Jet Admin is another example of a no-code internal tools builder. The platform allows users to easily create internal tools without coding.
No coding skills required for building UI. But it is necessary to be familiar with the general concepts.
Easy to build CRUD apps.
Workflows/Automation feature.
Nice looking UI, but is too large for business apps.
Rather large limitations for creating applications because of the no-code approach.
Vertically stacked and container based drag'n'drop - a rather atypical method of constructing an interface that differs from other similar applications.
No Git integration.
No query/action performance information.
The price for a minimum plan is quite high. Besides that with a lot of apps and users, the cost might scale rapidly.
Jet Admin pricing
Starter plan
$39/month/500 users.
Plus plan
$125/month/500 users.
Pro plan
$290/month/500 users.
Enterprise plan
$649/month/500 users.
Jet Admin reviews
The rating for Jet Admin is 4.2 and based on 6 reviews on G2.
Lack of customization
Despite the good basic features, users find that JetAdmin lacks customization for creating internal apps.
Conclusion
The application has the potential to serve as a viable alternative to Retool due to its user-friendly UI and no-code approach. However, it's worth noting that the platform's no-code approach may restrict the customization and extensibility of the created applications. Despite this, it could still be a suitable choice for simple use cases like CRUD applications. Nevertheless, the high cost and unpredictable pricing growth may make it an inconvenient alternative.
Unfortunately, Internal.io is shutting down. UI Bakery stands ready to assist with a seamless migration or become a robust alternative for your internal application needs.
Internal.io is an established player in the internal tooling market, having been in the industry for quite some time. Their primary objective is to enable individuals without coding expertise to develop secure internal applications.
No coding skills required for building UI. But it is necessary to be familiar with the general concepts.
Easy to build CRUD apps.
More advanced level of Roles Management on the lower-price plans than Retool has.
Git integration.
Workflows/Automation feature.
Auto-triggers for workflows - Pipelines.
Rather large limitations for creating applications because of the no-code approach.
Wide range of plans that can be confusing.
UI Builder canvas has overlaps.
Though it has a decent number of components and data sources (the smallest among all of the competitors), often they lack configuration capabilities.
End-user UI is significant in size, and there is limited capacity to customize its appearance.
No query/action performance information.
The system for creating queries and automations is not very user-friendly.
Internal.io pricing
Starter plan
$0 per user / month.
Teams plan
$5 per user / month.
Business plan
$19 per user / month.
Growth plan
$50 - per user / month.
Enterprise plan
Pricing is tailored to specific business.
Conclusion
While the extensive variety of plans in the pricing structure can help businesses find the most suitable option for their needs, it is important to note that the platform's no-code approach limits the customization and extensibility of the applications created on it. Nonetheless, for basic use cases such as CRUD applications, it may be worth considering.
Airplane.dev (shut down)
As Aiplane.dev has been acquired, UI Bakery extends a helping hand by offering seamless migration assistance or presenting itself as a robust alternative for uninterrupted low code development.
Airplane.dev ballooned in the code-first internal tools arena, offering a streamlined solution for creating UIs and workflow automations. As a newcomer to the internal tooling market, Airplane.dev focuses on empowering developers to effortlessly build workflows and dashboards.
Custom internal workflows and dashboards with Tasks.
User-friendly workflows, executing SQL, JavaScript, Python or Docker with Views.
Prebuilt component library and minimal code.
Progressive automation of schedules and workflows.
Limited set of prebuilt components.
Lack of sufficient number of templates.
Expensive price plans.
Steep learning curve for beginners.
Little to no integration options available.
Airplane.dev pricing
Free plan
$0 per user / month.
Teams plan
$10 per user / month.
Business plan
$40 per user / month.
Enterprise plan
Tailored pricing for specific business needs.
Conclusion
Airplane.dev's solution options cater to a range of business needs, but users should be mindful of the component scarcity limitations that may impact application customization. For straightforward use cases, particularly admin panel or support ticket dashboard, Airplane.dev stands as a compelling option in the low-code landscape.
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🏁 To sum it all up
In conclusion, exploring Retool alternatives reveals a landscape where each solution boasts unique strengths and weaknesses. The versatility and efficiency of low-code solutions make them a compelling choice for various development needs. Among these alternatives, UI Bakery emerges as the standout winner, combining intuitive functionality with robust features to offer the most comprehensive and user-friendly solution in the market.
The versatility and efficiency of low-code solutions make them a fool-proof choice for various development needs. Figuring which one of Retool competitors to use can be a daunting task, so UI Bakery is always there to help - drop us a line to talk to our tech experts.
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