Retool vs Appsmith, and the open-source option that also builds the app.
Retool is proprietary, with an extensive integration library and AI app generation metered in credits. Appsmith is open source, self-hosts free and offers Ask AI plus MCP beta on Business Cloud and Self-hosted Enterprise, with per-user paid plans. ToolJet adds built-in whole-app generation, an MIT-licensed MCP server and SSO on a published Team price.
Published by ToolJet. Compare the trade-offs and check the vendor sources for your requirements.
Retool or Appsmith: which fits your requirements?
Retool: existing apps or web and mobile requirements
Shortlist Retool when you already operate its apps or need its mobile offering. Its MCP uses Retool AI credits; the CLI supports local React development. Obtain an Enterprise quote for SAML/OIDC SSO or new self-hosted deployments.
Appsmith: open source and JavaScript development
Shortlist Appsmith for free whole-platform self-hosting and a JavaScript-first visual builder. Business adds audit logs and granular access. SAML/OIDC SSO requires Enterprise, and pricing counts builders and end users together.
ToolJet: native AI-built apps and deployment control
Consider ToolJet for prompt-based app generation, coding-agent builds through MCP and native apps you can edit visually. Team includes SSO, audit logs and Git sync; Workflows require Self-hosted. Test the same data, permissions and user count before choosing.
Compare ToolJet and Retool
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.
AI assistance, generated apps and coding agents
Appsmith's Ask AI writes JavaScript and SQL snippets on self-hosted instances with your own key; its opt-in MCP beta supports compatible coding agents on Business Cloud and Self-hosted Enterprise. Retool's MCP uses Retool AI credits; its CLI supports local React development without Retool AI credits during public beta. ToolJet offers built-in AI or your coding agent, with no ToolJet AI credits over MCP.
Claude Code
Codex
GitHub Copilot
Cursor
Grok Build
What a team of ten actually pays
Ten builders and ninety end users at published Business or Team rates. Retool requires an Enterprise quote for SSO. Appsmith reaches Enterprise at 100 users, so its Business rate is not a quote for this example.
$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 up to 99 users. Ten builders plus ninety end users requires Enterprise, starting at $2,500 a month for 100 users.
- SAML/OIDC SSO also requires Enterprise. Google and GitHub OAuth are available on Free and Business.
- Business includes audit logs and RBAC; SAML/OIDC SSO requires Enterprise. Self-hosting and cloud hosting are both available.
$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.
Self-host free; Business for audit logs, Enterprise for SAML/OIDC.
- Open source under Apache-2.0 with around 40,800 GitHub stars and 380 contributors.
- Self-hosting starts on Free. Business adds audit logs and granular access; SAML/OIDC SSO requires Enterprise.
- Air-gapped deployment is an Enterprise add-on.
Free to self-host, governance on Team.
- Open source under AGPL-3.0 with over 41,000 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.
AI assistance, generated apps and coding agents
Three different answers to the same question: what happens when you ask AI for an app?
Choose Retool AI through MCP or local React development through the CLI.
- Retool AI generates apps and queries, metered in pooled credits that reset monthly.
- MCP building uses Retool AI credits. The CLI supports coding-agent development and publishing of React apps locally, without Retool AI credits during public beta.
- BYOK for OpenAI and Anthropic keys is Enterprise-only.
Code assistance and an external-agent build path.
- Ask AI generates JavaScript and SQL in JS modules and queries, self-hosted only, with your own Anthropic, OpenAI, Azure OpenAI or Ollama key.
- MCP beta lets compatible clients build and edit apps on Business Cloud and Self-hosted Enterprise, after an administrator enables it.
- Runtime AI uses direct OpenAI, Anthropic and Google AI datasources. The legacy Appsmith AI datasource ended on 30 September 2026.
Our agent, or the one you already use.
- ToolJet AI is built in with Luna on Free; Haiku 5.5, GPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok are available on paid plans.
- Or Claude Code, Codex or any MCP client builds native apps over the MIT-licensed MCP server on Cloud or Self-hosted, without ToolJet AI credits. On Self-hosted, MCP also authors and validates workflow drafts; execution is explicit.
- 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
Comparison baseline checked against each vendor's published pricing and documentation on 7 September 2026. Later source checks are noted where available. Confirm current features and plan terms with the vendors before purchasing.
| 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 | Enterprise: $2,500/mo for 100 users; audit logs on Business | 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 | Ask AI snippets; compatible clients build and edit apps through MCP beta on Business Cloud and Self-hosted Enterprise | 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: Luna on Free; Haiku 5.5, GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok on paid plans |
| MCP server | Public beta since May 2026 | MCP beta: Business Cloud and Self-hosted Enterprise; administrator-enabled | Open source, MIT; Claude Code and Codex plugins, any MCP client |
| What your agent does | MCP relays prompts to Retool AI; CLI builds React apps locally | Compatible AI clients build and edit apps and resources within the key owner’s permissions | Composes native apps; creates and edits workflow drafts on Self-hosted only |
| Bring your own LLM key | Enterprise only | Any self-hosted instance; Anthropic, OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Ollama | Enterprise (Cloud or Self-hosted) |
| Runtime AI inside apps | AI actions and agents, credit-metered | Direct OpenAI, Anthropic and Google AI datasources; legacy Appsmith AI ended 30 September 2026 | OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Cohere and more via marketplace plugins |
| Security & governance | |||
| SSO / SAML | Enterprise | Enterprise; Google/GitHub OAuth on Free and Business | SAML, OIDC and LDAP on Team and above; Google/GitHub login on Self-hosted Free and above |
| Audit logs | Business | Business and above | Team plan |
| RBAC | Business | Business and above | Custom user groups on Team |
| Source control / Git sync | Enterprise | Git versioning: Free and above; unlimited repos on Business; CI/CD on Enterprise | Team plan; any cloud or self-hosted Git |
| Environments | Staging on Team; unlimited on Business | Dev, staging, production | Self-hosted Team and above; Cloud 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; MCP draft authoring and validation, explicit execution; Self-hosted only |
| 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 | 41,000+ stars, 650+ contributors, 5,400+ forks |
Sources: ToolJet Academy · Retool University · Appsmith learning resources · Retool pricing · Retool MCP tools reference · Retool CLI and AI credits (checked 4 October 2026) · Appsmith pricing · Appsmith SAML SSO (Enterprise; checked 4 October 2026) · Appsmith AI assistant setup · Appsmith MCP beta (Business Cloud / Self-hosted Enterprise; checked 6 October 2026) · Appsmith AI datasource end of life (checked 6 October 2026) · ToolJet pricing
ToolJet is an open-source, AI-native platform for building internal tools and business applications, with Workflows and AI agents on Self-hosted only. The Community Edition is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and has over 41,000 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; Self-hosted Team also includes multiple environments. Enterprise has custom pricing with unlimited end users, SCIM, Cloud multi-environment, an optional Self-hosted air-gapped add-on, custom data retention and a dedicated support manager.
SOC 2
ISO 27001
GDPR
Frequently asked questions
Is Appsmith a good alternative to Retool?
Which is cheaper, Retool or Appsmith?
Can Retool and Appsmith be self-hosted?
Which has better AI, Retool or Appsmith?
Do Retool or Appsmith work with Claude Code or Codex?
Which plans include SSO, audit logs and Git sync?
Is ToolJet enterprise-ready, and who uses it?
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.