replacing Retool
Low-code internal tool builder — Retool pricing: $10-$50/user/month. Below: 5 free, self-hostable open source projects that cover the same ground, ranked by real GitHub adoption.
There are 5 open source Retool alternatives tracked on this registry, against Retool pricing of $10-$50/user/month. The most-adopted is ToolJet with 40,936 GitHub stars under AGPL-3.0, written in JavaScript. Together the set has 167,607 stars across 2 languages and 3 licences. All 5 are free to self-host with no licence fee, and 5 of 5 received a commit in the last 90 days. 5 head-to-head Retool comparisons are available.
ToolJet is an open-source low-code platform for building internal tools—admin panels, dashboards, and operational applications—by connecting to existing databases, APIs, and SaaS systems. It lives in the JavaScript ecosystem and is licensed under AGPL-3.0.
AGPL-3.0 · JavaScript · Retool vs ToolJet →
Appsmith is a low-code application builder for internal software. Organizations use it to assemble dashboards, admin panels, customer 360 views, IT automation, and service management tools so that their teams can work more efficiently and effectively. The project ships as a GUI-based builder, tagged across topics including admin-dashboard, admin-panels, app-builder, automation, crud, custom-internal, gui, and internal-tools, and sits in the Developer Tools / Frameworks & Platforms category within this registry. User interface work, data binding, and deployment are handled through the platform rather than through hand-written front ends for every internal tool.
Apache-2.0 · TypeScript · Retool vs AppSmith →
Refine is an open-source React meta-framework for building CRUD-heavy internal tools, admin panels, dashboards, and B2B applications. It operates in the React ecosystem and targets developers who need structured, scalable frontends without the constraints of low-code platforms or the overhead of building everything from scratch.
MIT · TypeScript · Retool vs Refine →
Build internal tools rapidly without coding
Empower your team to build custom internal tools rapidly
Build data-rich React apps with ease and flexibility
Build powerful web apps without complex coding
Flexible database meets intuitive spreadsheet interface
last updated nightly · ranking method: github stars, live-tracked
ToolJet is the most-starred open source alternative to Retool in this registry, with 40,936 GitHub stars. 5 alternatives are compared here in total.
Yes. Every project listed on this page is open source and free to self-host — there is no licence fee. Some projects also sell a managed hosted version, but the self-hosted path costs nothing.
Compare licence terms, community size (stars), primary language and release activity. A fast-moving project with a compatible licence and an active maintainer base matters more than raw star count when you are committing to a migration.