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UI Bakery
vs. Appsmith
In-depth comparison of two popular low-code platforms.
Low code platforms are becoming increasingly popular as they allow developers to build applications faster and more efficiently. Two popular options in this space are UI Bakery and Appsmith. This article will compare the two platforms and explore their features, advantages, and limitations. Whether you are a seasoned developer or just starting out, will find valuable insights about which platform is best suited for your needs.
1. UI library and component design
Both tools have the necessary set of components for creating internal applications. Currently, UI Bakery has a wider range of components and UI options, as well as a custom component that allows users to add any widget to the application.
Component library
UI Bakery offers a wider library of components for building applications.
UI Bakery
70+ components available.
There is a feature that allows for convenient searching of components and grouping them by meaning.
Adding of component can be by two ways: by clicking and by drag-n-dropping on a working area.
Custom component available.
45 components.
Adding of component can be only by drag-n-dropping on a working area.
Custom component not available.
UI component design
It goes without saying that design is always a matter of personal taste, and both applications feature as sleek and attractive design for their elements. But in this case design is like a game of chess, both sides have their pieces but some moves are more elegant and strategic than others. And we like to think of our design as the grandmaster of the game 😉
rather UI Bakery
2. UI building experience
Both tools employ the same method for creating interfaces - utilizing drag-and-drop functionality to compose components within a column-based layout system. Appsmith has additional mode, that is less versatile for their specific needs of internal apps creation.
Working area and canvas
Both applications have familiar to the user grid. But UI Bakery boasts a fine-tuned control over dimensions due to its more frequent layout and more smooth grid response.
rather UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
UI Bakery uses 24-column layout and 4px row layout for working area and cards.
- UI Bakery
UI bakery has better UX experience while interacting with canvas.
- Retool
Appsmith offers two layout modes: Auto layout and Fixed layout. The Fixed layout operates similarly to the layout systems found in solutions provided by Appsmith’s competitors. On the other hand, Auto layout offers a different approach, functioning like a large display-container that facilitates the creation of equally wide columns, with limited customization in terms of widths and heights. While this feature may have its applications, some developers creating internal apps might find it useless for their specific needs.
- Retool
In Fixed layout mode Appsmith uses 64-column layout and 8px row.
Adding a component to a card
UI Bakery offers a more intelligent working area experience when adding components.
equally
- UI Bakery
If the component is too large to fit in the card, it will shift the other components and cause a scrollbar to appear.
- Retool
If the component is too large to fit in the card, it will shift the other components and cause a scrollbar to appear.
Development mode
UI Bakery presents a delightful, user-friendly and easy-to-understand interface for building UI with a dark theme, making it more convenient for developers during the development process.
UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
Dark theme - that helps to differentiate the development UI and end-user interface. Also, dark theme is considered a better one for human eyes in case developer works with the tool daily.
- Retool
Standard light theme.
Templates
Both applications provide users with templates that can be utilized to quickly start working within the application from scratch. But UI Bakery templates are more efficient and of a better quality.
rather UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
UI Bakery provides 30+ templates.
- Retool
Appsmith provides 20+ templates.
3. Datasources
For low-code tools, the number of integrations that can be connected to them is crucial. Both applications provide at least minimum of most popular datasources and integrations.
Number of datasources and integrations
UI Bakery doesn't have as many native data source connections
Retool
- UI Bakery
18 - databases
17 - third-party services and APIs
- Retool
10 - databases
9 - third-party services and APIs
4. Developer experience (Actions & logic)
The tools have similar development experience, but UI Bakery’s is better in several aspects that are related to debugging apps and building more advanced multi-step logic. Besides, UI Bakery allows adding CRON jobs and creating webhooks through the Automations features, which allows creating simple ETL workflows, alerting, etc.
Development flow
In general, the tools are similar to each other, the principle of the interface is the same.- Connect your data source.
- Build an app using ready-made components.
- Use actions (or queries) to feed data from data sources to components and create logic inside app.
- Publish your app and invite users.For flexibility, you can dive in and write JavaScript to extend the functionality of your apps and make them more customized.
equally
Action steps variety
UI Bakery offers a wider selection of action steps and data handling options compared to Appsmith, and also boasts a more thoughtfully designed and user-friendly interface for working with actions, catering to a broader range of user needs.
UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
Multiple action steps within a single action.
Action folders.
Action scope: global and page-specific.
Auto-triggers for actions.
Logs available.
Performance information.
Scheduling back-end jobs and creating webhooks using automations.
Debug with UI Bakery AI Assistant
AI code generation
BUT: Action type list might be a little bit confusing because of the large number of actions.
- Retool
Auto-triggers for actions.
Logs available.
BUT: There is no Multiple action steps, no system in the actions, all in one list, and NO Performance information.
Scheduled CRON jobs and webhooks
UI Bakery allows for the creation of server-side workflow automations, utilizing one or multiple data sources such as SQL databases and HTTP APIs. These automations can be activated through webhook triggers and scheduled jobs akin to cron.
equally
- UI Bakery
Through Automations feature.
- Retool
Appsmith doesn't have Automations feature.
Environments
UI Bakery provides more flexible ways to manage app environments.
UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
UI Bakery has an embedded environments feature which provides a way to maintain different app versions on a single UI Bakery instance.
- UI Bakery
UI Bakery allows to have multiple isolated environments by installing multiple self-hosted instances.
- Retool
Appsmith allows using multiple environments ONLY by installing multiple self-hosted instances.
Performance
UI Bakery provides information about performance of published apps.
rather UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
Great performance of the builder and published apps.
- Retool
NO performance information.
Custom Libraries
UI Bakery offers the capability to connect custom libraries.
UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
Custom libraries can be added through the App settings.
- Retool
Only embedded libraries.
5. Workspace management and users
Currently, UI Bakery's user management is better organized and has more advanced features than Appsmith.
Roles management
Currently, UI Bakery boasts a more advanced level of roles management.
UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
UI Bakery has 3 standard pre-defined roles (admin, editor, user). You can also create additional roles with granular access to datasources and applications. Custom roles are available from the Team plan.
- Retool
Appsmith has 3 standard pre-defined roles (administrator, developer, app user), which don't have granular access. User can also create additional roles with granular access. Custom roles are available from the Business plan.
Audit logs
UI Bakery offers Audit logs for more admin control.
equally
- UI Bakery
Audit logs are available.
- Retool
Audit logs are available.
Integrations with external analytics and logging solutions
UI Bakery provides integration with different external analytical tools.
UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
Can be integrated with Datadog, Google Analytics 4, etc.
- Retool
NO external analytics solutions.
6. On-premises experience
Both tools can be installed within the customer's own infrastructure. The on-prem versions are shipped as a set of docker containers.
Installation
Both apps have self-hosted versions, providing users with the option to host and manage the tools on their own servers for added security and control.
equally
- UI Bakery
You can try self-hosted version by copying and executing CURL to obtain a 14-days license key.
UI Bakery is shipped as a set of docker containers that can be deployed using, for instance, docker-compose, Kubernetes, etc.
- Retool
Community edition install instructions are available in documentation.In order to install and try business edition, you need to contact sales.
7. Releases & version control
UI Bakery has additional snapshot history feature which could be used when Git is too much. заменить на UI Bakery also has an additional snapshot history feature.
Git version control
Both tools offer integration with Git control, allowing for streamlined version management and collaboration within teams.
equally
- UI Bakery
By connecting a Git repository, it is possible for the apps to be developed by multiple users in parallel. The changes can then be pushed to Git repo, and it is possible to do a code review before merging changes to the main branch which is protected by default.
- Retool
Appsmith provides similar experience with Git version control.
Integrated version control option without Git
Apart from Git version control, UI Bakery also offers a more simple version control.
UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
The feature is available.
- Retool
The feature is not available.
8. Onboarding process and studying materials
Both Appsmith and UI Bakery have detailed documentation with examples that help users to understand how to use the tools effectively and efficiently.
Onboarding
Appsmith and UI Bakery each adopt unique strategies for their onboarding processes, addressing the diverse requirements of their users. Appsmith features a succinct step-by-step guide, whereas UI Bakery offers a meticulously designed Tour, aiming to deliver a smooth and user-friendly experience.
equally
- UI Bakery
The onboarding process for UI Bakery includes a discreet tour that allows you to learn the basics of using the application, from connecting a data source to adding users to an organization. The tour is unobtrusive and offers the option to exit or navigate to documentation links.
- Retool
Appsmith has a 9-step onboarding process in where a user goes through a process of creation of a basic table and a form, or can read a note with 3 main steps how to start the creation process.
Studying materials
Both tools offer educational resources for learning how to use the applications, but UI Bakery takes a more personalized approach to customer support, while Appsmith places a greater emphasis on community involvement and user self-sufficiency.
rather Appsmith
- UI Bakery
Great customers support and documentations.
- UI Bakery
Enterprise customers get access to a shared Slack channel where they get the engineering help in realtime.
- UI Bakery
Has videos on youtube.
- Retool
Good documentation.
- Retool
Has discord and community.
- Retool
Tutorials in blog and videos on Yotube.
9. Security
Both tools offer similar level of security measures they take to ensure that customer's data source credentials do not get exposed.
Security and compliance
Both tools provide data source credential encryption which is the most important for this type of platforms.
equally
- UI Bakery
UI Bakery has multiple strategies to ensure security including encryption of data source credentials.
Full list of them could be read here: https://docs.uibakery.io/security
- Retool
Appsmith safely encrypts all your database credentials and stores them securely.
10. Open-source
Appsmith community is open-source, which means that you can potentially extend the system and make the bug fixes on your own.However, there is no guarantee that any changes made will be accepted by the core team. Furthermore, the community has the potential to discover security vulnerabilities, but once these vulnerabilities become known, they are exposed to everyone.
Open-source
Appsmith appears to be a strong contender in this category. However, it should be noted that their business version is not open-source. Additionally, if you are looking for a low-code solution, this typically means that you do not wish to work on extending the platform.
rather Appsmith
11. AI integration
Since AI has become an indispensable component of our daily lives, numerous products have integrated AI technologies into their applications. Both platforms have introduced AI functionalities to cater to their users' needs.
AI Assistance
Currently, UI Bakery leverages AI capabilities slightly more for internal interface development. Beyond standard code generation tips, UI Bakery allows for code debugging using an AI Assistant and direct chatting with it.
rather UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
Generate AI code
- UI Bakery
Debug with UI Bakery AI Assistant
- UI Bakery
AI Chat Assistant
- Retool
Generate AI code
12. Pricing
Both of the products offer free plans with limited features and paid plans with advanced features. Appsmith’s paid plan with advanced features is available only for self-hosted version of the product.
Appsmith’s pricing model works better for startups and small businesses.
UI Bakery pricing model might be a better choice for mid-sized+ businesses. UI Bakery offers the option for teams with a large number of internal or external users (vendors) to acquire unlimited seats for a set price - Shared Permission Group. This approach positions UI Bakery as a more economical choice for sizable teams.
Pricing
UI Bakery plans offers similar capabilities for a much more affordable cost. Besides, UI Bakery has Shared Permission Groups that makes UI Bakery more cost-effective for large teams.
rather UI Bakery
- UI Bakery
UI Bakery offers both a free version with basic features for less than 5 users and paid versions with more advanced features.
The pricing for the paid versions starts from $10 per user per month to $40 per user per month.
Shared Permission Group is available from Business plan. - UI Bakery
The self-hosted version of UI Bakery presents four pricing tiers: a free option, two standard plans, and an Enterprise plan with flexible pricing. While the free version is entirely complimentary, it comes with restricted features and user limits. Starting with the standard plan, it supports over 5 users, and the Business plan introduces the Shared Permission Group. The Enterprise plan's cost is tailored based on the specific needs of the customer.
To calculate the pricing for a particular use case, schedule a call with UI Bakery tech expert. - UI Bakery
Enterprise prices are visible and predictable.
- Retool
Free version with the basic features is the only available option
- Retool
There is a free community self-hosted version with limited features.
The price starts from $15 per user/month.
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