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
AI App Builders Comparison
OutSystems vs. Xano
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for teams building a scalable backend and API without managing servers, with the frontend built elsewhere.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | OutSystems | Xano |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | 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 tier; paid from $85 / month Prices are billed annually: Essential $85 and Pro $224 per month. Custom plans are quoted by the vendor. |
| Free trial | Free Personal Edition, no credit card required, for up to 100 internal users | Free tier with rate limits, up to 100K database records and 1 workspace |
| Output | Full-stack enterprise web and mobile applications with data model, server-side logic and UI screens | Backends: PostgreSQL databases, REST APIs, background tasks and agent tooling |
| API | Yes, API-first with CI/CD APIs and APIs for uploading external libraries | Yes, the platform's purpose is generating APIs, with autogenerated OpenAPI docs and an MCP server |
| Hosting | OutSystems Cloud on AWS; self-hosting is available as an advanced add-on | Xano-managed regions or self-hosted on Azure, AWS, GCP or on-premise |
| What it generates | 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 | The backend rather than the whole app: database, REST APIs, custom functions, middleware, background tasks and triggers, with the frontend left to another tool |
| Stack and frameworks | .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 | PostgreSQL with Redis caching and Docker microservices; logic is built visually or written as XanoScript, which the CLI syncs to files on disk; works with React, Next.js, Flutter, Webflow, Framer and AI-generated frontends from Lovable and Bolt |
| Auth and database | 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 | PostgreSQL with unlimited records from the Essential tier; authentication endpoints (/signup, /login, /me) ship by default on JWE tokens, with role-based access control and enterprise SSO through GitHub, Google and Microsoft |
| Hosting and deploy | 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 | Xano-managed hosting across multiple regions, or self-hosted on Azure, AWS, GCP or on-premise; releases are immutable versioned objects promoted through staging |
| Payments | 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 | Not stated |
| Access to the code | 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 | XanoScript is readable and editable, and the CLI syncs the workspace to files on disk; APIs carry autogenerated OpenAPI documentation |
| MCP-ready | No | stated Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Community forum | Chat, Community forum |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials |
| Company size | Enterprise | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | Not stated | Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Lovable, Bolt.new, Webflow, Framer, Flutter, Datadog |
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 OutSystems Free Personal Edition; OutSystems Developer Cloud quoted by the vendor Xano Free tier; paid from $85 / month
- Free trial OutSystems Free Personal Edition, no credit card required, for up to 100 internal users Xano Free tier with rate limits, up to 100K database records and 1 workspace
- Company size OutSystems Enterprise Xano Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- Hosting OutSystems OutSystems Cloud on AWS; self-hosting is available as an advanced add-on Xano Xano-managed regions or self-hosted on Azure, AWS, GCP or on-premise
- Support OutSystems Email helpdesk, Community forum Xano Chat, Community forum
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
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
Xano
Strengths
- Self-hosting on Azure, AWS, GCP or on-premise, not only the vendor's cloud
- Frontend-agnostic: pairs with React, Flutter, Webflow, Framer, Lovable or Bolt rather than dictating one
- An official MCP server, so external AI agents build against the same workspace rules
Limitations
- The first paid tier is $85 a month, a steep step up from the free one
- It builds only the backend, so a second tool is needed for the interface
- The free tier is rate-limited to 10 requests per 20 seconds and watermarks stored images
Plans
Pricing
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.
Xano
- Free $0 Core building tools, rate-limited to 10 requests per 20 seconds. Up to 100K database records, 1GB watermarked image storage, 1 workspace.
- Essential $85 Per month billed annually. Dedicated infrastructure without API rate limits, unlimited database records, 3 workspaces, 5 team seats, 100GB storage.
- Pro $224 Per month billed annually. 5 workspaces, 10 team seats, 250GB storage, managed load balancer, role management, 99.99% SLA.
- Custom Custom Quoted by the vendor. Self-hosting, advanced security, multiple tenant configurations and dedicated support.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
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.
Xano
- 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
OutSystems https://www.outsystems.com · no check date recorded yet
Xano https://www.xano.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.