Best for
Best for operations teams automating forms, approvals and internal requests, self-hosted or in the cloud.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
AI App Builders Comparison
Budibase vs. OutSystems
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for enterprise IT teams that want AI-generated applications inside a governed low-code platform with its own architecture guard rails.
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Budibase | OutSystems |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free self-hosted; cloud from $19 / month Cloud on annual billing: Pro $19, Premium $49 and Business $299 per month. On monthly billing that becomes $22.80, $58.80 and $358.80. Extra creators $50 and end users $5 per month. Enterprise on request. | Free Personal Edition; OutSystems Developer Cloud quoted by the vendor ODC is metered on three things: application complexity in Application Objects, which is the sum of screens, database tables and API methods, with a typical medium app around 150 AOs; the number of internal and external end users; and advanced add-ons. A base subscription starts with one medium production application and 100 internal users. |
| Free trial | Free self-hosted open-source edition | Free Personal Edition, no credit card required, for up to 100 internal users |
| Output | Internal apps, forms, automations and AI agents | Full-stack enterprise web and mobile applications with data model, server-side logic and UI screens |
| API | Not stated | Yes, API-first with CI/CD APIs and APIs for uploading external libraries |
| Hosting | Budibase cloud or self-hosted (Docker, Kubernetes, DigitalOcean, Portainer) | OutSystems Cloud on AWS; self-hosting is available as an advanced add-on |
| What it generates | Internal operations: forms, approvals, task routing and admin tools, plus automations and AI agents that act across connected systems | Full-stack enterprise applications: Mentor generates the data model, server-side logic and UI screens from a natural language prompt or an uploaded requirements document, shows a visual blueprint before building, and then evolves the app through conversation inside the IDE with human sign-off on each implementation plan |
| Stack and frameworks | Visual builder with automations; AI generates JavaScript bindings, cron expressions and table schemas from a written description rather than building a whole app from a prompt | .NET Core on Linux containers, each application isolated in its own container, orchestrated with Kubernetes on AWS; developers extend apps with custom .NET code uploaded as high-code external libraries, whose methods are exposed to the visual editor as server actions |
| Auth and database | Internal BudibaseDB built on CouchDB, plus external SQL databases such as PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server, REST APIs and custom datasource plugins; app users sign in with OpenID Connect or Google | Amazon Aurora Serverless with PostgreSQL compatibility as the managed database; ISO 27001 compliance is included and SOC 2 Type II and PCI DSS are advanced add-ons |
| Hosting and deploy | Budibase cloud, or self-hosted with Docker, Docker Compose, Kubernetes, DigitalOcean or Portainer | OutSystems Cloud with development, testing and production runtimes and a 99.5 percent uptime guarantee, upgradeable to 99.95 percent; extra runtimes and a self-hosted option are advanced add-ons. Built-in CI/CD pipelines with monitoring, tracing and logging |
| Payments | No built-in payments; a payment provider is reached through a REST datasource like any other API | No checkout of its own; payment providers are integrated through components from the OutSystems Forge, including Stripe connectors for both ODC and OutSystems 11 that handle charges, customers and refunds, and a payments plugin covering Apple Pay, Google Pay and Stripe |
| Access to the code | Open source: GPL v3 core, MPL client and component libraries so apps built with it can carry their own licence, and a Business Source Licence on the paid features | Applications are built visually rather than in a repository of hand-written source; custom C# and .NET logic enters as external libraries uploaded through the SDK and APIs, decorated so their methods surface as server actions |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Community forum | Email helpdesk, Community forum |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | more entries Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Enterprise |
| Integrations | PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, REST API, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, OpenRouter, Groq | Not stated |
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
- Starting price Budibase Free self-hosted; cloud from $19 / month OutSystems Free Personal Edition; OutSystems Developer Cloud quoted by the vendor
- Free trial Budibase Free self-hosted open-source edition OutSystems Free Personal Edition, no credit card required, for up to 100 internal users
- Company size Budibase Small and mid-sized, Enterprise OutSystems Enterprise
- Hosting Budibase Budibase cloud or self-hosted (Docker, Kubernetes, DigitalOcean, Portainer) OutSystems OutSystems Cloud on AWS; self-hosting is available as an advanced add-on
- Output Budibase Internal apps, forms, automations and AI agents OutSystems Full-stack enterprise web and mobile applications with data model, server-side logic and UI screens
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Budibase
Strengths
- Free self-hosted edition with unlimited actions, apps, agents and users, SSO included
- AI agents deploy into Slack, Microsoft Teams and Discord
- Choice of AI provider: Budibase AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, OpenRouter or Groq
Limitations
- Cloud plans below Business include only one creator, with extra creators at $50 a month
- Cloud usage is metered in actions and AI credits, so cost tracks volume
- AI assists with parts of an app rather than generating one from a prompt
OutSystems
Strengths
- Mentor generates a complete application, data model and server logic included, from a requirements document rather than only from a chat prompt
- Shows a visual blueprint and asks for sign-off before applying changes, instead of building unseen
- Runs on containerised .NET Core with Kubernetes, managed Aurora PostgreSQL and built-in CI/CD, monitoring and tracing
- Free Personal Edition for up to 100 internal users needs no credit card
- Self-hosting is available, unlike most tools in this category
Limitations
- No published prices at all, so every evaluation starts with a sales conversation
- Pricing is metered on Application Objects and user counts, which makes cost hard to predict as an app grows
- The Personal Edition is a development runtime only and cannot run production apps
- Self-hosting, 24x7 support, higher uptime and SOC 2 or PCI DSS compliance are all paid add-ons rather than part of the base subscription
- Base support is 8x5 business hours
Plans
Pricing
Budibase
- Pro $19 Per month on annual billing ($22.80 monthly). 5,000 actions and 2,000 AI credits a month, 1 creator, 1 workspace.
- Premium $49 Per month on annual billing ($58.80 monthly). 20,000 actions, 10,000 AI credits, 10 workspaces, custom branding, backups and SSO.
- Business $299 Per month on annual billing ($358.80 monthly). 250,000 actions, 50,000 AI credits, 3 creators, unlimited workspaces, 30-day log retention, email support.
- Enterprise Custom Quoted by the vendor. Unlimited actions, Active Directory and SCIM, audit logs, 365-day log retention and priority support with SLAs.
- Open source (self-hosted) $0 Unlimited actions, apps, automations, agents and users on one workspace, SSO included, community support.
OutSystems
- OutSystems Personal Edition $0 Free, no credit card required. Development runtime only, up to 100 internal users, hosted on OutSystems Cloud. For test applications, not production, and with no uptime guarantee or compliance options.
- OutSystems Developer Cloud Custom Quoted by the vendor, priced on application complexity in Application Objects, end user counts and add-ons. Includes development, testing and production runtimes, professional support 8x5, OutSystems Cloud hosting, a 99.5 percent uptime guarantee and ISO 27001. Starts with 100 internal users and one medium-sized application.
- Advanced add-ons Custom 24x7 professional support, additional non-production and production runtimes, a self-hosted option, a 99.95 percent uptime upgrade, SOC 2 Type II and PCI DSS compliance, and additional users or larger applications.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Budibase
- 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.
OutSystems
- 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
Budibase https://budibase.com · no check date recorded yet
OutSystems https://www.outsystems.com · 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.