Connect to any database or API and build internal tools, admin panels, and dashboards with drag-and-drop components.
Each app below addresses a specific gap in Retool's offering. We picked them based on real user review patterns and feature differentiation.
Appsmith is an open-source alternative to Retool that can be self-hosted. It provides drag-and-drop UI components, database connectivity, and JavaScript-based logic.
Explore Appsmith data →Budibase is an open-source tool for building internal apps, forms, and portals. It supports external databases, REST APIs, and has built-in authentication and role management.
Explore Budibase data →Tooljet is an open-source internal tool builder with 45+ built-in components, support for 50+ data sources, and self-hosting capabilities.
Explore Tooljet data →Forest Admin connects to your database and automatically generates an admin panel. It supports customization through its API and has role-based access control.
Explore Forest Admin data →Airplane (now part of Airtable) is a platform for building internal tools that blends code (SQL, Python, JavaScript) with UI components. It is aimed at developer-led teams.
Explore Airplane data →Glide builds mobile and web apps from Google Sheets, Airtable, Excel, or SQL databases. It focuses on simple, visual data-driven apps for business users.
Explore Glide data →Retool is widely adopted by engineering teams who need to build internal tools quickly without the overhead of building custom frontend applications from scratch.
Retool offers a self-hosted deployment option for organizations with strict data security requirements. The cloud version stores query credentials in Retool's infrastructure.
Basic Retool apps can be built with minimal coding using drag-and-drop components. More complex logic requires JavaScript, and connecting data sources requires knowledge of SQL or REST APIs.
Retool connects to PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, REST APIs, GraphQL, and many other data sources.
App Vulture tracks pricing changes, feature updates, and user review sentiment for developer tools. We identify when tools significantly change their pricing model or feature set.
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