Best for
Best for enterprise IT organisations that want AI-generated applications as governed visual models and the freedom to run them on their own cloud or servers.
- Enterprise
AI App Builders Comparison
Mendix 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 | Mendix | Zoho Creator |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free tier; Standard from $1,090 / month The Standard tier is $1,090 / month for a One App plan and $2,725 / month for Unlimited Apps. Cloud resources are charged on top of the subscription in both cases. Premium is quoted by the vendor. | Not stated |
| Free trial | Free tier with no commitment and no credit card required | 15-day free trial, no credit card required, defaulting to Professional features; a free edition covers one custom application |
| Output | Enterprise web and mobile applications and AI agents, built as visual models executed by the Mendix Runtime | Custom web applications with a matching native iOS and Android app, plus portals, business processes, integration flows and BI dashboards |
| API | Yes, apps publish REST services with OpenAPI documentation and OData or GraphQL services | Yes |
| Hosting | Mendix Cloud on AWS, Mendix on Kubernetes, Mendix on Azure, SAP Business Technology Platform, private cloud or on-premise | Zoho's cloud, AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or installed on your own servers on-premise |
| What it generates | Enterprise web and mobile applications, AI agents and orchestrated processes. Maia is the agentic AI built into the platform, and Maia Make executes multi-step development autonomously from requirements to working software, generating into visual models rather than raw code | 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 | An application model built in Studio Pro and executed by the Mendix Runtime, not a generated source tree. Custom logic is added through Java Actions and JavaScript Actions | 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 | Apps deployed to Mendix Cloud run on PostgreSQL and cannot be configured to use another database; self-managed deployments support MySQL and MariaDB, Oracle, SAP HANA and SQL Server | 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 | Mendix Cloud on AWS in multiple regions, with at least an acceptance and a production environment per licensed node and daily backups kept up to a year depending on the plan. Also Mendix on Kubernetes, Mendix on Azure, SAP BTP, private cloud and on-premise. Free apps sleep after roughly an hour of inactivity, run a single instance and get 0.5 GiB of database storage | 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 payment handling in the platform itself. A provider is added from the Marketplace, where Mendix publishes a Stripe Checkout Connector and partners publish further Stripe and Adyen integrations | 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 | The artefact is a visual application model rather than a repository of hand-written source; custom Java and JavaScript enter as Java Actions and JavaScript Actions | 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, Phone, Community forum | more entries Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat, Community forum |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Live online demos and webinars, On-site training | Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials |
| Company size | Enterprise | more entries Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | AWS, SAP, Siemens Teamcenter, Stripe | more entries 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 Mendix Free tier with no commitment and no credit card required Zoho Creator 15-day free trial, no credit card required, defaulting to Professional features; a free edition covers one custom application
- Company size Mendix Enterprise Zoho Creator Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- Hosting Mendix Mendix Cloud on AWS, Mendix on Kubernetes, Mendix on Azure, SAP Business Technology Platform, private cloud or on-premise Zoho Creator Zoho's cloud, AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or installed on your own servers on-premise
- Support Mendix Email helpdesk, Phone, Community forum Zoho Creator Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat, Community forum
- Output Mendix Enterprise web and mobile applications and AI agents, built as visual models executed by the Mendix Runtime Zoho Creator Custom web applications with a matching native iOS and Android app, plus portals, business processes, integration flows and BI dashboards
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Mendix
Strengths
- Free tier with unlimited users and one environment per app, no credit card and no commitment
- Runs on public cloud, private cloud, Kubernetes or on-premise, unlike most tools in this category
- Bring your own LLM, whether frontier, open-source or private, and connect existing data without migrating it
- Apps publish REST with OpenAPI documentation as well as OData and GraphQL services
- Backed by Siemens and named a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader for enterprise low-code nine years running
Limitations
- The step from the free tier to Standard is $1,090 / month, with no small paid plan in between
- Cloud resources are billed on top of the subscription, so the listed price is not the total
- Standard support runs 9 AM to 5 PM with a 99.5 percent uptime guarantee; 24/7 support, high availability and multi-region failover need the quoted Premium tier
- Free apps sleep after about an hour of inactivity and are capped at 0.5 GiB of database storage
- Apps deployed to Mendix Cloud are locked to PostgreSQL
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
Mendix
- Free $0 No hidden fees, no commitment, no credit card. Full platform access for exploration, prototypes and small applications, unlimited users, one deployment environment per app.
- Standard, One App $1,090 Per month, starting price, cloud resources extra. Agile project management, collaborative multi-user development, up to 3 environments per app, operations dashboard, identity provider integration, vertical scalability, support 9 AM to 5 PM and a 99.5 percent uptime guarantee.
- Standard, Unlimited Apps $2,725 Per month, starting price, cloud resources extra. The same platform capabilities as the One App plan; the difference is scope, not features.
- Premium Custom Quoted by the vendor, cloud resources extra. Adds a private marketplace, flexible environments, horizontal scalability, high availability and fallback, multi-region failover, 24/7 premium support and a 99.95 percent uptime guarantee.
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
Mendix
- 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
Mendix https://www.mendix.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-06
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.