Softr vs. Retool

Softr and Retool are both platforms for businesses to create business apps. With Softr you can create portals and internal tools, while Retool’s most typical use cases are internal tools. Customers usually choose Softr over Retool because it is easier to use, cheaper, and can build apps both for internal and external use.

softr-vs-retool
Our awesome features

"I had already tried other tools, so when I started using Softr, it was clear immediately that the capabilities were beyond what I found elsewhere." 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yohei Nakajima General Partner, Untapped Capital

6 features that make Softr better than Retool

Softr stands out as a simpler and more powerful alternative to Retool, with customers consistently choosing to switch for the reasons highlighted below.

Compare features: Softr vs Retool

 

Pricing
From $0 to $323 per month
From $0 to $155'000 per month (for the same number of users)
External & Internal apps
Unlimited applications both internal and external-facing
Mostly internal-facing apps
Public pages (no login required)
Advanced authentication options (SSO, Google Sign-in, Magic Links, Sign in without passwords, Sign in with SMS and more)
Design Flexibility & Customization
Intuitive and flexible design
No-code required
Great templates to start from
Responsive design (web, tablet, mobile)
Data sources
Airtable
Google Sheets
Rest APIs

coming soon

Excel

coming soon

Real-time data retrieval and update
Advanced Building Blocks
Chart block
Kanban block
Calendar block
Organizational View block
Built-in User Groups & Permissions functionalities
User Groups with powerful AND and OR conditions
Field level Create/Read/Update/Delete permissions
Record level Create/Read/Update/Delete permissions
Page & block level visibility rules (per user group)
Integrations
32
25
Zapier & Make native integrations
Stripe Payments (one-off and subscription)
Google Analytics, Mailchimp, Hotjar, etc.
Support
24/7 Free Support
Video tutorials
Training & onboarding
Paid plan
Paid plan

Don't take our word for it

See what some of our 500,000+ users from across the globe have to say.

Softr helps you take action on your ideas quickly by allowing you to leverage your Airtable data and build powerful websites and web apps. I was blown away by how user-friendly and well-documented the entire product was! I was able to create an app within hours without any external help.

Karthik Puvvada (KP)
Program Director, On Deck No-Code Fellowship

Softr’s ease and speed of use is it’s standout characteristic. No tool is faster to create with. Although there is limited design customizability, this should be viewed as a strength of Softr as it acts as a positive restraint to help you ship things more quickly than you ordinarily would.

Max Haining
Founder, 100DaysOfNoCode

I have been impressed with the flexibility of Softr. The ability to pull data from different Airtable bases into different blocks and display them on one page was one of the main reasons I chose Softr.

Dan Smith
Director, DS Automotive

I had already tried other tools, so when I started using Softr, it was clear immediately that the capabilities were beyond what I found elsewhere.

Yohei Nakajima
General Partner, Untapped Capital

They say that if you can’t explain it in a simple way, you don’t understand it well enough. I say the same thing about any software. If you can’t figure it out in the first 10 min by yourself without any tutorial, it’s probably not for you. Since the first moment we discovered Softr, we started the work.

Akiki Rachid
COO, Bookzdoctr Inc

It took me one day to build the product, learn the integrations, and see how the customer service acts. I was completely flashed that it is so easy, and that everything is working really well. So, I quickly decided 3 weeks later to set up our main page and transferred it to Softr.

Sabine Wildemann
Co-Founder, KidsCircle

As a small business, we needed to use a tool that could grow with us, and we feel that this is what Softr offers us. After wasting time and money trying every web builder under the sun, Softr came to save the day. We cannot recommend this platform enough – it's perfect, easy to use even for a non-technical person like me.

Lucia Borraccino
Founder, Nanny Network

I like the diversity of templates that are available and the thoughtfulness that has been taken in making the building process as simple as possible for non-coders.

Kwaku Dapaah-Danquah
Entrepreneurship Manager, YSYS

I used Softr to build the MVP for my company www.tallsize.com.When I discovered how easy it was to use Softr to create a frontend interface for our users, my mind was blown!!! It was so easy to set up that I literally launched my site in a single weekend. Their support team was incredible throughout this journey and the ability to customize everything the way I wanted was very intuitive and easy to accomplish.

Nicole Murphy
Founder, Tall Size

I have been using Softr for a few months now, and the list of new features & improvements is PHENOMENAL. A no-brainer pick for now and a really good bet for the future!

Nic Touron
Founder, ToolMeUp

With Softr, I’m able to create beautifully intuitive and responsive front-ends that integrate directly with Airtable and Stripe. Softr allows me to create and iterate at least twice as fast as traditional web platforms.

Connor Gustafson
Founder, LendingApp

Softr is THE website builder to use. From SEO and site responsiveness to database backends and customer support, Softr is the deal of the century!

Patrick Ford
Founder, Adastacks

4.9/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.7/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.8/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Check out the wall of love for more feedback from the Softr community.

Wall of love

Make the right choice

We don’t think the “best” no-code solution exists. Rather, we believe each business has different needs that require different solutions. Here are some resources to help you make the right choice.

Build better apps

Migrate your app to Softr

If you’re coming to Softr from Retool, you’ll be able to migrate your app quickly. Got any questions? Contact us ->

Get started for free

Custom domain. Unlimited applications. No credit card is required. Get started ->

Frequently asked questions

Got a question? We've got answers.

Absolutely! We offer a free consultation and answer any questions you may have. Our support and Softr experts teams are ready to jump in and help you move everything effortlessly. To get started, please create an account, reach out to support@softr.io and schedule a consultation call.

No. Your data is always stored in your Airtable. We do not store your data in our systems, but only retrieve it via Airtable API, and map it to our frontend. Your data is always secure.

Yes. Softr Integrates with both Zapier and Make which lets you run more powerful automation in your Softr app.

Yes. Softr provides a native Stripe integration, that lets you sell any goods or services, add subscriptions to your SaaS or offer premium membership to your community.

Yes. Softr offers a 30% discount to all non-profits, educational institutions and students. To apply, please create an account and contact us via support@softr.io.

If you know how to use apps like Canva, Mailchimp or Zapier, you’ll have an easy time building apps with Softr. As for Retool, you’ll either need a good big-picture understanding of how backend development works and it’s helpful to know SQL and JavaScript to take advantage of all the features.

Softr and Retool both have extensive documentation to help you understand and use all of the available features. The main differences lie in the technical skill requirements for each app. Softr’s documentation is more accessible for a non-technical audience, while Retool’s is at times more extensive but frequently uses developer jargon and coding examples.

Softr has an active community that you can engage with in our forum. As for help resources, we have a YouTube channel filled with videos to help unpack each feature, a dedicated Get Started page with plenty of links to begin your journey, a Softr Academy for structured learning, and range of workshops to provide a more hands-on experience. We also have a blog where you can read Softr news, learn more about Google Sheets and Airtable, and dive deeper into the world of building apps without code. Retool also has an active community, both on the forum and on a Discord server, and offers a blog with technical advice and feature highlights.

Yes. Softr helps you create progressive web apps (PWAs): apps you can use on your mobile phone that require a connection to the internet. You can deploy mobile apps when you subscribe to the Business plan. Retool offers both PWAs and native apps (native apps can run offline on your mobile phone), but require you to pay $10 more for each mobile user, per month on top of your regular plan.

Softr doesn’t offer the possibility of hosting your own apps on your own infrastructure. Retool does let you choose either cloud (hosted by Retool) or self-host (on your servers, with a set of feature constraints).

Definitely! Both Softr and Retool are great options to build internal tools and dashboards for your company. The main difference here has to do with the technical skills of your team. Softr is more accessible as it doesn’t require your team to know anything about code to start building. As for Retool, you need to have a good understanding of how backend development works and SQL and JavaScript skills to build freely. This could reduce the number of people participating in the tool-building process, so keep it in mind as you make a decision.

Softr’s quality of support is rated on G2 at 9.7 out of 10. You can connect with our support team via email and live chat. Retool’s quality of support is rated on G2 at 9.0 out of 10. You can access support via live chat.

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