Best for
Best for teams that want to turn spreadsheets and databases into internal tools and customer apps without writing code.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
AI App Builders Comparison
Glide vs. Retool
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for engineering and operations teams building internal tools on top of existing databases and APIs.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Glide | Retool |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free plan; paid from $25 / month Billed per month; Plus is $50, Pro $125 and Enterprise custom priced. Each plan carries a monthly credit allowance, from 100 credits on Basic to 500 on Pro. | lower value Free; paid plans from $10 / builder / month Annual billing: Team $10 per builder and $5 per internal user per month, Business $50 per builder and $15 per internal user. On monthly billing that becomes $12 / $7 and $65 / $18. Enterprise on request. |
| Free trial | Free plan (1 project, limited credits) | Free plan for up to 5 users |
| Commercial use | Yes | Not stated |
| Output | No-code business apps for web and mobile, built on your existing data | Internal web and mobile apps, workflows and AI agents |
| API | Not stated | Yes, the Retool API manages the organisation, its users and Spaces |
| Hosting | Not stated | Retool cloud or self-hosted |
| What it generates | Business apps such as CRMs, inventory, dashboards and internal tools on web and mobile; can be generated from data, a file or a prompt | Internal tools: web and mobile apps, scheduled and event-driven workflows, and AI agents; an AI app builder starts an app from a prompt next to the classic drag-and-drop editor |
| Stack and frameworks | No-code editor; no generated code to manage or export | Drag-and-drop component library with JavaScript in queries, bindings and transformers; custom components are written in React and TypeScript and published to the organisation's component library |
| Auth and database | Glide Tables plus Google Sheets, Excel, Airtable and databases like PostgreSQL and Snowflake; per-user sign-in with role-based access (SSO on Enterprise) | Connects to any database, API or LLM provider, with a hosted Retool Database included; permissions and audit logging from the Business tier, SSO and SCIM on Enterprise |
| Hosting and deploy | Published to a web-accessible URL and installable as a mobile app | Retool cloud or self-hosted; the free, Team and Business tiers can both be self-hosted, Enterprise adds unlimited end users and white-labelling |
| Payments | Yes, a Stripe integration that creates and sends invoices from inside the app; access may require a paid plan | No built-in billing or checkout; a payment provider is connected as an API resource like any other |
| Access to the code | No code access, visual no-code editing only | Apps live in Retool rather than as an exportable codebase; JavaScript and custom React components extend them, and Git-backed source control is an Enterprise feature |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise |
| Support | more entries Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum | Community forum |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Airtable, PostgreSQL, Snowflake, Stripe, OpenAI, Slack | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI |
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 Glide Free plan; paid from $25 / month Retool Free; paid plans from $10 / builder / month
- Free trial Glide Free plan (1 project, limited credits) Retool Free plan for up to 5 users
- Deployment Glide Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based Retool Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise
- Company size Glide Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Retool Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- Support Glide Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum Retool Community forum
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Glide
Strengths
- Turns an existing spreadsheet or database into a working app quickly
- Connects to Glide Tables, Google Sheets, Excel, Airtable, PostgreSQL and Snowflake
- Per-user access controls so each role sees only the right data
Limitations
- No access to or export of the underlying code
- Paid plans meter AI usage with credits
Retool
Strengths
- Connects to any database, API or LLM provider instead of starting from its own data
- Self-hosting is available on every tier, the free one included
- Extensible with JavaScript everywhere and custom React and TypeScript components
Limitations
- Priced per builder and per internal user, so cost tracks headcount rather than apps
- Apps are not an exportable codebase, so leaving the platform means rebuilding
- Git source control, SSO and SCIM are Enterprise-only
Plans
Pricing
Glide
- Free $0 Per month, with limited credits.
- Basic $25 Per month, 100 credits.
- Plus $50 Per month, 250 credits.
- Pro $125 Per month, 500 credits. Starts at five team members with 50 credits included per member, and adds human support.
- Enterprise Not stated Custom pricing, with a dedicated success manager and priority support.
Retool
- Free $0 Up to 5 users, unlimited apps, 500 workflow runs a month, 5 GB database and 5 GB file storage, 250 AI credits a month.
- Team $10 Per builder per month on annual billing ($12 monthly); internal users $5 ($7 monthly). 5,000 workflow runs a month, staging environment, release versions.
- Business $50 Per builder per month on annual billing ($65 monthly); internal users $15 ($18 monthly). Adds audit logging, rich permissions, portals and external user access.
- Enterprise Custom Quoted by the vendor. Adds SSO and SCIM, Git source control, unlimited end users and white-labelling.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Glide
- 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.
Retool
- 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
Glide https://www.glideapps.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-03
Retool https://retool.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.