Retool vs Appsmith, and the open-source option that also builds the app.
Retool is the proprietary incumbent with the broadest integrations and an AI layer metered in credits. Appsmith is the open-source alternative that self-hosts free but bills every user and stops at code assistance. ToolJet is open source too, and adds whole-app generation, an MCP server for coding agents, and SSO on a published Team price.
Published by ToolJet. Compare the trade-offs and check the vendor sources for your requirements.
Tencent, Swisscom, Duolingo, Gojek, Orange, Unity and hundreds more run internal tools on ToolJet.
Implementing ToolJet has been a massive accelerator for our internal operations. It allows us to rapidly build, deploy, and standardize mission-critical internal data apps and CRUD applications at a fraction of traditional development time.
Key takeaways
Open source changes the self-hosting maths
Appsmith and ToolJet both self-host free on Docker or Kubernetes with the source published. Retool lists self-hosting on Enterprise for new deployments. Of the two open-source options, only ToolJet includes SSO, audit logs and Git sync on a published per-builder price.
Docker
Kubernetes
AWS
Google Cloud Run
Azure Container Apps
Everyone bills differently
Retool bills every builder and every end user: $50 and $15 on Business. Appsmith bills every user the same $15 up to 99, then Enterprise at $2,500 a month. ToolJet bills builders only and includes end users up to the plan limit, 100 on Team.
Assistance, relay, or a real build
Appsmith's Ask AI writes JavaScript and SQL snippets, self-hosted only, with your own key, and has no MCP server. Retool AI generates apps for credits, and its MCP relays your agent's prompt to that AI. ToolJet's built-in agent runs on GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok, or your own coding agent builds with no credits.
Claude Code
Codex
GitHub Copilot
Cursor
Grok Build
What a team of ten actually pays
Ten builders and ninety end users, on the tier that includes SSO and audit logs.
$1,850 a month, and SSO still needs Enterprise.
- Business is $50 per builder and $15 per end user: $1,850 for ten builders and ninety end users.
- That tier has audit logs and RBAC. SSO/SAML and Git sync require an Enterprise contract with no published price.
- Free tier for up to 5 users with 250 AI credits.
$15 a head, and the hundredth user is a cliff.
- Business is $15 per user per month for builders and end users alike, up to 99 users: $1,485 for ten builders and 89 end users.
- The hundredth user moves you to Enterprise at $2,500 a month for 100 users.
- Business includes SSO, audit logs and RBAC; self-hosting and cloud hosting are both included.
$1,990 a month with governance included.
- Team is $199 per builder per month, billed annually, with SSO, audit logs, Git sync, custom user groups and white labelling: $1,990 for ten builders.
- Up to 100 end users are included on Team, unlimited on Enterprise, not billed per head.
- Basic at $29 per builder per month, billed monthly, with 2,000 AI credits, and a free tier below that.
Two open-source platforms, one proprietary one
Appsmith and ToolJet publish their source and self-host free. Retool does neither, and the governance features sit on different tiers for all three.
Self-hosted on Enterprise with custom pricing.
- No public codebase. New self-hosted deployments require Enterprise with custom pricing.
- Enterprise includes SSO and advanced deployment options; contact Retool for self-hosted pricing.
- Air-gapped deployment is an Enterprise feature.
Free to self-host, Business for governance.
- Open source under Apache-2.0 with around 40,800 GitHub stars and 380 contributors.
- Self-hosting from Free; SSO, audit logs and RBAC arrive on Business at $15 per user.
- Air-gapped deployment is an Enterprise add-on.
Free to self-host, governance on Team.
- Open source under AGPL-3.0 with over 40,800 GitHub stars and 650 contributors; the MCP server is MIT.
- Whole platform on Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP, on-premise from the free Community Edition, with air-gapped deployment through an Enterprise add-on.
- SSO with SAML, OIDC and LDAP, audit logs and Git sync on Team at $199 per builder per month, billed annually.
Assistance, relay, or a real build
Three different answers to the same question: what happens when you ask AI for an app?
Retool AI builds React apps for credits.
- Retool AI generates apps and queries, metered in pooled credits that reset monthly.
- The MCP's single build tool forwards your agent's prompt to Retool AI and bills credits; or import a React app you wrote locally.
- BYOK for OpenAI and Anthropic keys is Enterprise-only.
Helps you write code inside the app.
- Ask AI generates JavaScript and SQL in JS modules and queries, self-hosted only, with your own Anthropic, OpenAI, Azure OpenAI or Ollama key.
- No whole-app generation and no MCP server, so a coding agent cannot drive the builder.
- Appsmith AI is a keyless runtime datasource for text and image tasks; the LLM datasource adds RAG.
Our agent, or the one you already use.
- ToolJet AI is built in, needs no setup, and runs on GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok, your choice.
- Or Claude Code, Codex or any MCP client composes the app over the MIT-licensed MCP server: around 50 tools, no ToolJet credits.
- Either way the result is a native app you can inspect and edit in the visual builder.
- Claude Code
- Codex
- GitHub Copilot
- Cursor
- Grok Build
Retool vs Appsmith, feature by feature
Verified against each vendor's published pricing and documentation on 7 September 2026. Vendors change plans often; if something has moved, tell us.
| Feature | Retool | Appsmith | ToolJet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licensing & deployment | |||
| Open source | Proprietary | Apache-2.0 | Community Edition, AGPL-3.0; MCP server MIT |
| Self-hosting | Enterprise for new deployments | Free and above | Free, Team and Enterprise |
| Cloud hosting | All plans | Free, Business and Enterprise | All plans |
| Air-gapped | Enterprise | Enterprise add-on | Enterprise add-on |
| Pricing | |||
| Free tier | Up to 5 users, 250 AI credits | Up to 5 users, cloud | 2 builders, 50 end users, self-hostable |
| Cheapest paid plan | Team: $10/builder + $5/user per month | Business: $15 per user per month | Basic: $29/builder/mo, billed monthly, with 2,000 AI credits |
| Tier with SSO and audit logs | Enterprise for SSO; audit logs on Business at $50/builder + $15/user | Business: $15 per user, every user | Team: $199/builder/mo, billed annually |
| End users | Per user on cloud Team and Business | Billed like builders; Business caps at 99 users | Included up to 100 on Team; unlimited on Enterprise |
| Enterprise entry | Custom | $2,500/mo for 100 users | Custom pricing, unlimited end users |
| AI & coding agents | |||
| AI app generation | Retool AI, credit-metered | None; Ask AI writes JS and SQL snippets | Multi-page apps from a prompt on every plan |
| Built-in AI agent | Retool AI on Retool-managed OpenAI and Anthropic keys | Ask AI: self-hosted only, your own key required | ToolJet AI; choose GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok on paid plans |
| MCP server | Public beta since May 2026 | None | Open source, MIT; Claude Code and Codex plugins, any MCP client |
| What your agent does | Relays your prompt to Retool AI, or imports React you wrote | Not applicable | Composes the app itself from ~50 tools |
| Bring your own LLM key | Enterprise only | Any self-hosted instance; Anthropic, OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Ollama | Self-hosted Enterprise add-on; not available on Cloud |
| Runtime AI inside apps | AI actions and agents, credit-metered | Appsmith AI keyless datasource plus LLM datasource with RAG | OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Cohere and more via marketplace plugins |
| Security & governance | |||
| SSO / SAML | Enterprise | Business and above | Team plan: SAML, OIDC, LDAP, Google, GitHub |
| Audit logs | Business | Business and above | Team plan |
| RBAC | Business | Business and above | Custom user groups on Team |
| Source control / Git sync | Enterprise | Git sync with branches, PRs and CI/CD | Team plan; any cloud or self-hosted Git |
| Environments | Staging on Team; unlimited on Business | Dev, staging, production | Multi-environment on Enterprise |
| White labelling | Branding on Business; full on Enterprise | Remove branding on Business | Team plan |
| Platform | |||
| Training & certification | Retool University: courses, labs and digital badges. | Documentation, tutorials, videos and webinars. | ToolJet Academy: hands-on courses and certifications. Explore Academy |
| Integrations | Broad first-party library | 25+ databases plus REST and GraphQL | 100+ |
| Components | Extensive library | 45+ widgets | 78+ components, custom via React |
| Code in apps | JavaScript; Python in Workflows | JavaScript | JavaScript and Python |
| Workflows | Retool Workflows | Open beta on Business and Enterprise | Visual builder with JS and Python, generally available |
| Built-in database | Retool Database | Integrated PostgreSQL, doubles as a vector store | ToolJet Database on PostgreSQL, no-code editor |
| Community | No public codebase | 40,800+ stars, 380+ contributors, 4,700+ forks | 40,800+ stars, 650+ contributors, 5,400+ forks |
Sources: ToolJet Academy · Retool University · Appsmith learning resources · Retool pricing · Retool MCP tools reference · Appsmith pricing · Appsmith AI assistant setup · ToolJet pricing
ToolJet is an open-source, AI-native platform for building internal tools, business applications, workflows and AI agents. The Community Edition is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and has over 40,800 GitHub stars and 650 contributors. It runs on ToolJet Cloud or self-hosted on Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP, on-premise, with air-gapped deployment through an Enterprise add-on. Apps can be generated by the built-in ToolJet AI on GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok, composed by Claude Code or Codex over an MIT-licensed MCP server, or built visually with 78+ components and 100+ integrations. ToolJet is SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR compliant and is used in production by Tencent, Swisscom, Duolingo, Gojek, Orange, Unity, ClearScore, Bandwidth, Toss, Endeavour Group, ShareChat, YMCA NYC and hundreds of other organisations. Plans: Free; Basic at $29 per builder per month billed monthly; Pro at $79 and Team at $199 per builder per month billed annually ($99 and $249 respectively when billed monthly). Team includes up to 100 end users, SSO, audit logs, Git sync and white labelling. Enterprise has custom pricing with unlimited end users, SCIM, multi-environment, an optional air-gapped add-on, custom data retention and a dedicated support manager.
SOC 2
ISO 27001
GDPR
Retool vs Appsmith, answered
Is Appsmith a good alternative to Retool?
For teams that want open source and free self-hosting, yes: Appsmith is Apache-2.0, self-hosts from the free tier, and puts SSO and audit logs on Business at $15 per user. The trade-offs are that every user is billed the same rate with a 99-user cap before Enterprise, workflows are still in open beta, there is no Python, and AI is limited to an in-editor assistant. ToolJet is the other open-source route and adds whole-app generation, an MCP server for coding agents, GA workflows and Python.
Which is cheaper, Retool or Appsmith?
Appsmith for most teams: $15 per user per month on Business against Retool's $50 per builder plus $15 per end user. Ten builders and 89 end users is $1,485 on Appsmith and about $1,835 on Retool Business, and Retool still needs Enterprise for SSO. Appsmith's catch is the hundredth user, which moves you to Enterprise at $2,500 a month. ToolJet Team is $199 per builder per month, billed annually, with up to 100 end users included: $1,990 for ten builders with SSO, audit logs and Git sync in the price.
Can Retool and Appsmith be self-hosted?
Both can. Appsmith self-hosts on the free tier and above. Retool lists new self-hosted deployments on Enterprise with custom pricing. ToolJet self-hosts the whole platform, on Free, Team and Enterprise, with air-gapped deployment available as an Enterprise add-on.
Which has better AI, Retool or Appsmith?
Retool. Retool AI generates apps and queries and ships agents, metered in pooled credits, and its MCP server lets a coding agent relay prompts to that AI. Appsmith's Ask AI generates JavaScript and SQL snippets, only on self-hosted instances with your own model key, and Appsmith has no MCP server. ToolJet generates whole multi-page apps on every plan, on GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok, and lets Claude Code or Codex build directly with no credits.
Do Retool or Appsmith work with Claude Code or Codex?
Retool does, in a limited way: its MCP server's one build tool forwards your prompt to Retool AI, which generates a React app and consumes credits, or you can import a React app you wrote locally. Appsmith has no MCP server. ToolJet's MIT-licensed MCP server exposes around 50 build tools so the agent composes a native app itself.
Which plans include SSO, audit logs and Git sync?
Retool: SSO/SAML and Git sync on Enterprise, audit logs on Business. Appsmith: SSO and audit logs on Business; Git sync with branches and CI/CD is available. ToolJet: all three on Team at $199 per builder a month, billed annually.
Is ToolJet enterprise-ready, and who uses it?
Yes. ToolJet runs in production at Tencent, Swisscom, Duolingo, Gojek, Orange, Unity, ClearScore, Bandwidth, Toss, Endeavour Group, ShareChat and YMCA NYC, among others. It is SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR compliant. Team includes SSO with SAML, OpenID Connect and LDAP, audit logs, Git sync, custom user groups and white labelling; Enterprise adds SCIM, multi-environment, custom data retention and a dedicated support manager; air-gapped deployment is an Enterprise add-on.
Open source, and it builds the app
Self-host the Community Edition free, or start on cloud. Either way your coding agent can do the building.