ToolJet is a platform for building internal tools such as admin panels, dashboards and operational apps on top of your existing databases and services. It is aimed at teams that need custom work tools, and it can be self-hosted or used as a cloud service.
Appsmith is a platform for building internal business tools such as dashboards and admin panels. It is aimed at teams and organizations that need custom apps for their own staff.
Budibase is an open-source platform for building internal business apps, automations and AI agents without writing much code. It is for teams that want to run their internal tools and workflows on their own servers or on Budibase's cloud.
18kActiveWindowsAGPL-3.0Open coreRuns on your own server
Windmill is a platform where engineers write small scripts that automatically become web forms, APIs, scheduled jobs, workflows and internal apps. It is aimed at companies that want engineers and business teams to build internal tools together.
ILLA Builder is a tool for developers to quickly build internal business tools, such as admin panels and dashboards, by dragging ready-made components onto a canvas and connecting them to databases or APIs. It is aimed at programmers and teams who need custom internal software.
6.2kQuiet for a yearAGPL-3.0Runs on your own server
Openblocks is a tool for building internal business apps, such as dashboards and admin panels, by connecting to databases and APIs and arranging ready-made components on screen. It is aimed at software teams and companies that need custom tools for their staff or customers.
Lowdefy is a framework where you describe a web app in YAML config files instead of writing code, and it runs the app for you. It is aimed at developers and teams who build internal business tools.
1.9kQuiet for a yearAGPL-3.0Replaces partlyRuns on your own server
DashPress turns a database into a ready-made admin dashboard for managing its records. It is aimed at developers and teams who need an internal admin panel without writing much code.
Runs on your own server · GitHub
None of these match. Try another device.
Before you build
Planning something for an alternative to Retool? See what exists first, so you can reuse parts or explain what's different. Paste this into any AI assistant:
Read the list of open-source alternatives at https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/internal-tools.json. Compare it with my project or idea below. Tell me which projects overlap, what I could reuse instead of rewriting, and what mine does that none of them do.
My project or idea:
Here is a list of open-source alternatives to Retool, from Open Source Everything (CC BY-SA 4.0):
- ToolJet (AGPL-3.0, https://github.com/ToolJet/ToolJet; replaces fully): ToolJet is a platform for building internal tools such as admin panels, dashboards and operational apps on top of your existing databases and services. It is aimed at teams that need custom work tools, and it can be self-hosted or used as a cloud service.
- Appsmith (Apache-2.0, https://github.com/appsmithorg/appsmith; replaces fully): Appsmith is a platform for building internal business tools such as dashboards and admin panels. It is aimed at teams and organizations that need custom apps for their own staff.
- Budibase (GPL-3.0, https://github.com/Budibase/budibase; replaces fully): Budibase is an open-source platform for building internal business apps, automations and AI agents without writing much code. It is for teams that want to run their internal tools and workflows on their own servers or on Budibase's cloud.
- Windmill (AGPL-3.0, https://github.com/windmill-labs/windmill; replaces fully): Windmill is a platform where engineers write small scripts that automatically become web forms, APIs, scheduled jobs, workflows and internal apps. It is aimed at companies that want engineers and business teams to build internal tools together.
- ILLA (Apache-2.0, https://github.com/illacloud/illa-builder; replaces fully): ILLA Builder is a tool for developers to quickly build internal business tools, such as admin panels and dashboards, by dragging ready-made components onto a canvas and connecting them to databases or APIs. It is aimed at programmers and teams who need custom internal software.
- Openblocks (AGPL-3.0, https://github.com/openblocks-dev/openblocks; replaces fully): Openblocks is a tool for building internal business apps, such as dashboards and admin panels, by connecting to databases and APIs and arranging ready-made components on screen. It is aimed at software teams and companies that need custom tools for their staff or customers.
- Lowdefy (Apache-2.0, https://github.com/lowdefy/lowdefy; replaces partly): Lowdefy is a framework where you describe a web app in YAML config files instead of writing code, and it runs the app for you. It is aimed at developers and teams who build internal business tools.
- DashPress (AGPL-3.0, https://github.com/dashpresshq/dashpress; replaces partly): DashPress turns a database into a ready-made admin dashboard for managing its records. It is aimed at developers and teams who need an internal admin panel without writing much code.
Compare it with my project or idea below. Tell me which projects overlap, what I could reuse instead of rewriting, and what mine does that none of them do.
My project or idea:
