Surveys · alternatives
Alternatives to Retool
22 surveys tools sit alongside Retool in this directory. Below is what separates each from Retool on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 22
- With a free tier
- 14
- Cheaper to start
- 0
- Retool starts at
- Free
Why people look past Retool
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Retool entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
Retool publishes 4 tiers, from Free up to On request. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the Retool pricing page breaks each one down.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Powerful forms made easy
- Starts $24 a month dearer, at $24/month.
Customer and employee feedback platform
- No free tier, where Retool has one.
- Sold on a quote model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to Retool's 4.
The most trusted WordPress forms plugin
- No free tier, where Retool has one.
- Starts $59 a year dearer, at $59/year.
- 3 tiers to Retool's 4.
Powerful forms get more done
- Starts $39 a month dearer, at $39/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 5 tiers to Retool's 4.
Offline-first data collection for humanitarian, development and research field work
- Starts $21 a month dearer, at $21/month.
- Sold on a Per month by submission count model rather than subscription.
- 5 tiers to Retool's 4.
Offline field survey platform priced by submissions rather than seats, built for research data quality
- Starts $225 a month dearer, at $225/month.
- Sold on a Per month by submission volume model rather than subscription.
- 5 tiers to Retool's 4.
Every Retool alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retool (this page) | Free | Subscription | 4 | |
| Cognito FormsPowerful forms made easy | Free, then $24/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Retool |
| GetFeedbackCustomer and employee feedback platform | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Retool |
| Gravity FormsThe most trusted WordPress forms plugin | $59/year | Subscription | 3 | vs Retool |
| JotformPowerful forms get more done | Free, then $39/month | Freemium | 5 | vs Retool |
| KoboToolbox | Free, then $21/month | Per month by submission count | 5 | vs Retool |
| SurveyCTO | Free, then $225/month | Per month by submission volume | 5 | vs Retool |
| QuestionPro | Free | Per user per month | 4 | vs Retool |
| Sogolytics | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs Retool |
| SurveyLegend | Free, then $15/month | Per month by responses per survey | 4 | vs Retool |
| LimeSurvey | Free | Open source, with paid cloud hosting | 2 | vs Retool |
| Tally | Free, then $29/month | Free tier, paid for branding and team features | 2 | vs Retool |
| Zoho Survey | Free | Free tier, then per user per month | 2 | vs Retool |
| Fillout | Free, then $15/month | Per month by response count | 6 | vs Retool |
| Microsoft Forms | Free | Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately | 4 | vs Retool |
| Google Forms | Free | Included with Google Workspace, not sold separately | 4 | vs Retool |
| Paperform | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs Retool |
| Medallia | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Retool |
| Device Magic | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Retool |
| Zonka Feedback | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Retool |
| Qualtrics CoreXM | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Retool |
| Alchemer | On request | Tiered annual subscription published on the vendor site | - | vs Retool |
| Formstack | On request | Tiered monthly subscription published on the vendor site; HIPAA-capable plans priced separately | - | vs Retool |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Retool badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (14)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Cognito Forms , Free, then $24/month
- Jotform , Free, then $39/month
- KoboToolbox , Free, then $21/month
- SurveyCTO , Free, then $225/month
- QuestionPro , Free
- Sogolytics , Free
- SurveyLegend , Free, then $15/month
- LimeSurvey , Free
What you would be giving up
Retool is most often brought in for building internal admin tools and dashboards over existing databases and apis, giving operations teams a ui for data they would otherwise query by hand. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Retool is broadly right and the question is cost, the Retool pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Surveys category lists everything the directory holds, and best surveys tools ranks them.
Retool runs on web, self-hosted. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Retool alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Retool?
- 22 other surveys tools are listed in this directory, led by Cognito Forms, GetFeedback, Gravity Forms, Jotform. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Retool?
- 14 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Cognito Forms, Jotform, KoboToolbox, SurveyCTO, QuestionPro.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Retool?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Retool?
- Retool is most often brought in for building internal admin tools and dashboards over existing databases and apis, giving operations teams a ui for data they would otherwise query by hand. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Retool?
- None of the surveys tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Retool alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Surveys, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Retool against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Retool covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every surveys tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Surveys category, 22 tools beside Retool. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.