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. Quickbase
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for operations teams whose departmental processes have outgrown spreadsheets and whose IT department wants governance around whatever replaces them.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Budibase | Quickbase |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | lower value 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. | From $35 / user / month Team is $35 and Business $55 per user per month, priced annually. Neither figure includes the platform minimum, a base charge on top of the per-user price. All users in an account must be on the same plan. Enterprise is quoted by Quickbase. |
| Free trial | Free self-hosted open-source edition | 30-day free trial with the Business plan features |
| Output | Internal apps, forms, automations and AI agents | Custom operational applications with tables, forms, reports, dashboards, roles and workflow automation |
| API | Not stated | Yes, JSON REST APIs; the platform analytics API and solutions API are Enterprise only |
| Hosting | Budibase cloud or self-hosted (Docker, Kubernetes, DigitalOcean, Portainer) | Not stated |
| What it generates | Internal operations: forms, approvals, task routing and admin tools, plus automations and AI agents that act across connected systems | Custom operational applications: tables and forms for the data, more than 13 report types and personalised dashboards, roles and permissions, and pipelines for workflow automation. Pave, the AI builder, takes a description of how the work happens today and constructs the application, including data structures with linked records, user roles and permissions, automation and hosting |
| 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 | There is no framework or language to choose. An application is assembled in Quickbase's own builder and runs on Quickbase's platform, and it is widened rather than swapped: more than 40 pre-built Pipelines integration channels connect it to other systems, and Quickbase Extensions, a paid package, adds document generation, e-signatures, SMS, email notifications and mapping to the same app |
| 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 | Quickbase's own tables and linked records, with role-based permissions, encryption, audit logs and data classification. Single sign-on and SCIM provisioning arrive with the Business plan; restricting user creation to realm admins and managing token permissions is Enterprise |
| Hosting and deploy | Budibase cloud, or self-hosted with Docker, Docker Compose, Kubernetes, DigitalOcean or Portainer | Hosted by Quickbase, with the application ready to use once built. On-premise connectivity and data warehouse integrations are Enterprise features |
| Payments | No built-in payments; a payment provider is reached through a REST datasource like any other API | No payment collection or checkout of its own, and none is documented for the apps built on it: these are internal operational applications rather than customer-facing products. Money stays in the systems Quickbase connects to, through the financial software category among the 40+ pre-built Pipelines channels or through the JSON REST APIs |
| 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 | Code pages let a builder add custom HTML, CSS or JavaScript to an app and surface it through a button, a hyperlink, a formula URL field or an iframe; JSON REST APIs cover programmatic access |
| Deployment | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Community forum | Email helpdesk, Community forum |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Live online demos and webinars |
| Company size | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, REST API, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, OpenRouter, Groq | Salesforce, Jira, ServiceNow, Procore |
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 Quickbase From $35 / user / month
- Free trial Budibase Free self-hosted open-source edition Quickbase 30-day free trial with the Business plan features
- Deployment Budibase Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise Quickbase Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
- Output Budibase Internal apps, forms, automations and AI agents Quickbase Custom operational applications with tables, forms, reports, dashboards, roles and workflow automation
- What it generates Budibase Internal operations: forms, approvals, task routing and admin tools, plus automations and AI agents that act across connected systems Quickbase Custom operational applications: tables and forms for the data, more than 13 report types and personalised dashboards, roles and permissions, and pipelines for workflow automation. Pave, the AI builder, takes a description of how the work happens today and constructs the application, including data structures with linked records, user roles and permissions, automation and hosting
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
Quickbase
Strengths
- Pave builds a working app, data model and permissions included, from a description of the existing process
- Governance is part of the platform: roles and permissions, encryption, audit logs and data classification
- No-code connectors to Salesforce, Jira and ServiceNow, plus JSON REST APIs
- Code pages allow custom HTML, CSS and JavaScript where the no-code builder stops
- Quickbase states that customer data is not used to train the AI
Limitations
- The published per-user price excludes a platform minimum that is not published, so the real cost needs a quote
- AI capability beyond Pave, namely the AI agent, Data Analyzer and AI Actions, is a paid Intelligence Package add-on
- Single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, a sandbox and FDA and HIPAA compliance require the Business plan
- All users in an account must be on the same plan, so one requirement can lift the whole account a tier
- Platform analytics and solutions APIs are restricted to Enterprise
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.
Quickbase
- Free trial $0 30 days with the Business plan features.
- Team $35 Per user per month, priced annually, on top of a platform minimum. Personalised dashboards, 13+ report types, workflow automation, user and data security, encryption and audit logs. The AI Intelligence Package is an optional add-on.
- Business $55 Per user per month, priced annually, on top of a platform minimum. Everything in Team plus single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, Gantt charts, a sandbox and FDA and HIPAA compliance. Quickbase Extensions and the AI Intelligence Package are optional add-ons.
- Enterprise Custom Quoted by Quickbase. Everything in Team and Business plus advanced performance tools, advanced encryption, on-premise connectivity, data warehouse integrations, the platform analytics and solutions APIs, and the extensions and AI add-ons.
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.
Quickbase
- 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
Quickbase https://www.quickbase.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.