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. 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 | OutSystems | Zoho Creator |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Not stated |
| Free trial | Free Personal Edition, no credit card required, for up to 100 internal users | 15-day free trial, no credit card required, defaulting to Professional features; a free edition covers one custom application |
| Output | Full-stack enterprise web and mobile applications with data model, server-side logic and UI screens | Custom web applications with a matching native iOS and Android app, plus portals, business processes, integration flows and BI dashboards |
| API | Yes, API-first with CI/CD APIs and APIs for uploading external libraries | Yes |
| Hosting | OutSystems Cloud on AWS; self-hosting is available as an advanced add-on | Zoho's cloud, AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or installed on your own servers 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 | 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 | .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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 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 | 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 | 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 | 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, Community forum | more entries Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat, Community forum |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials |
| Company size | Enterprise | more entries Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | Not stated | 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 |
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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 OutSystems Free Personal Edition, no credit card required, for up to 100 internal users Zoho Creator 15-day free trial, no credit card required, defaulting to Professional features; a free edition covers one custom application
- Company size OutSystems Enterprise Zoho Creator Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- Hosting OutSystems OutSystems Cloud on AWS; self-hosting is available as an advanced add-on Zoho Creator Zoho's cloud, AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or installed on your own servers on-premise
- Support OutSystems Email helpdesk, Community forum Zoho Creator Email helpdesk, Phone, Chat, Community forum
- Output OutSystems Full-stack enterprise web and mobile applications with data model, server-side logic and UI screens 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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
OutSystems https://www.outsystems.com · no check date recorded yet
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.