Best for
Best for engineering teams that want self-hosted internal tools with the source under an open licence.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
AI App Builders Comparison
Appsmith vs. Zoho Creator
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for teams that want low-code apps with a native mobile version out of the box and the option to host them anywhere, including their own servers.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Appsmith | Zoho Creator |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; Business $15 / user / month Business is billed monthly by credit card for up to 99 users. Enterprise starts at $2,500 per month from 100 users and is usually billed annually. The self-hosted community edition is free. | Not stated |
| Free trial | Free plan for up to 5 users, plus a 15-day Business trial for new cloud signups | 15-day free trial, no credit card required, defaulting to Professional features; a free edition covers one custom application |
| Output | Internal web apps: admin panels, dashboards and service tools | Custom web applications with a matching native iOS and Android app, plus portals, business processes, integration flows and BI dashboards |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Hosting | Appsmith cloud or self-hosted (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS AMI) | Zoho's cloud, AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or installed on your own servers on-premise |
| What it generates | Internal tools: admin panels, dashboards, customer 360 views and IT or service-management apps, assembled from a widget library | Custom web applications with a native iOS and Android app for every app built, plus PWA support and built-in mobile device management, and beyond single apps portals, business processes, integration flows and BI and analytics. CoCreator, powered by Zia, builds the app from a plain-language description, and conversational analytics answers questions about a dataset in plain English |
| Stack and frameworks | Drag-and-drop widgets with JavaScript available in every binding; an in-product AI copilot helps write queries, JavaScript and interface changes rather than generating a whole app from a prompt | A drag-and-drop builder over an app schema with more than 40 form field types; custom logic is written in Deluge, Zoho's own scripting language |
| Auth and database | 25+ databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Snowflake, Redshift, DynamoDB, Databricks), REST and GraphQL, and 30+ SaaS connectors; Google SSO on the free plan, SAML and OIDC SSO with SCIM provisioning on Enterprise | Role-based access control with single sign-on, IP restrictions, automated user management and SAML and Active Directory integration for large organisations |
| Hosting and deploy | Appsmith cloud, or self-hosted with Docker, Kubernetes or an AWS AMI; an air-gapped edition on Enterprise | Zoho's cloud with auto-scaling and data centres in multiple geographies, or deployment to AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or installation on your own servers on-premise. ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018 certified and SOC 2 compliant |
| Payments | No built-in payments; Stripe is one of the SaaS connectors an app can call | Payment fields run through pre-integrated gateways, configured once and then reused by workflows; Razorpay, Cashfree and PayPal appear in the documentation, and which gateways are available depends on the data centre and the country and currency configured |
| Access to the code | Apache 2.0 and self-hostable, with Git version control against GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket or Azure: 3 repositories on the free plan, unlimited on Business | The Deluge script behind every component can be read and edited in the Application IDE under Developer Tools, and an application's Deluge Script can be downloaded as a .ds file; that export is refused when a report in the application shows data from 150 fields or more |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum | more entries Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat, Community forum |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials |
| Company size | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries PostgreSQL, MongoDB, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Snowflake, Redshift, DynamoDB, Elasticsearch, Redis, Firestore, Databricks, Amazon S3, Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Jira, Asana, Notion, Google Sheets, Airtable, Stripe, monday.com, Linear, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI | Zoho CRM, Zoho Books, Zoho People, Zoho Analytics, Zoho Desk, Zoho Flow, Salesforce, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle E-Business Suite, QuickBooks, SharePoint, Google Workspace, PayPal, Stripe, Razorpay, Twilio, Zapier |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Free trial Appsmith Free plan for up to 5 users, plus a 15-day Business trial for new cloud signups Zoho Creator 15-day free trial, no credit card required, defaulting to Professional features; a free edition covers one custom application
- Hosting Appsmith Appsmith cloud or self-hosted (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS AMI) Zoho Creator Zoho's cloud, AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or installed on your own servers on-premise
- Support Appsmith Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum Zoho Creator Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat, Community forum
- Output Appsmith Internal web apps: admin panels, dashboards and service tools Zoho Creator Custom web applications with a matching native iOS and Android app, plus portals, business processes, integration flows and BI dashboards
- What it generates Appsmith Internal tools: admin panels, dashboards, customer 360 views and IT or service-management apps, assembled from a widget library Zoho Creator Custom web applications with a native iOS and Android app for every app built, plus PWA support and built-in mobile device management, and beyond single apps portals, business processes, integration flows and BI and analytics. CoCreator, powered by Zia, builds the app from a plain-language description, and conversational analytics answers questions about a dataset in plain English
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Appsmith
Strengths
- Apache 2.0 licence with a free self-hosted community edition
- Connects to 25+ databases plus REST, GraphQL and 30+ SaaS services
- Git version control, including on the free plan
Limitations
- AI assists the person building rather than generating a whole app from a prompt
- Enterprise starts at $2,500 a month and 100 users
- SAML and OIDC SSO and SCIM provisioning are Enterprise-only
Zoho Creator
Strengths
- Every app built comes with a native iOS and Android app, not only a responsive web view
- Runs on Zoho's cloud, on AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or on your own servers on-premise
- CoCreator, powered by Zia, builds an application from a plain-language description
- Payment fields are built in and route through pre-integrated gateways
- ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018 certified and SOC 2 compliant
Limitations
- Zoho does not print figures on the pricing page, so plans can be compared by content but not by cost without asking for a quote
- The Standard plan is limited to a single application; unlimited apps start at Professional
- Custom logic uses Deluge, a scripting language specific to Zoho
- AI model allowances and cloud function calls are capped per plan and per user per day
- Which payment gateways are available depends on the data centre and the currency configured
Plans
Pricing
Appsmith
- Free $0 Cloud, up to 5 users: 5 workspaces, 3 Git repositories, Google SSO, community support.
- Business $15 Per user per month, billed monthly, up to 99 users. Adds unlimited workspaces and Git repositories, workflows, premium integrations, custom roles and audit logs.
- Enterprise $2,500 Per month from 100 users, typically billed annually. Adds SAML and OIDC SSO, SCIM, CI/CD, private app embedding, an air-gapped edition and support with SLAs.
- Community (self-hosted) $0 Open source under Apache 2.0, self-hosted.
Zoho Creator
- Free edition $0 One custom application, for individuals and small teams exploring low-code development.
- Standard Not stated Amount not published. 1 application, 20 custom and 50 ready-to-use AI models, 5 data sources, 5 custom connectors, 50 cloud function calls per user per day.
- Professional Not stated Amount not published. Unlimited applications, 100 custom and 250 ready-to-use AI models, 15 data sources, 10 custom connectors, 100 cloud function calls per user per day.
- Enterprise Not stated Amount not published. Unlimited applications, 100 custom and 250 ready-to-use AI models, 30 data sources, 20 custom connectors, 200 cloud function calls per user per day, with advanced integrations and analytics.
- Flex Custom Quoted by Zoho for tailored requirements.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Appsmith
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Zoho Creator
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Appsmith https://www.appsmith.com · no check date recorded yet
Zoho Creator https://www.zoho.com/creator/ · no check date recorded yet
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.