Softwr

Spreadsheets · head to head

Budibase vs Ray

Budibase logo

Budibase

Spreadsheets

Build business apps in minutes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ray logo

Ray

Machine Learning

Scale AI and Python applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Budibase cloud plans are metered on automation actions, from 5,000 a month on Pro to 250,000 on Business; Ray windows support is beta and multi node Ray clusters are untested on Windows
  • They diverge on capability: Budibase covers Drag-and-drop builder, Ray covers Distributed computing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Budibase and Ray actually diverge.

Attributes where Budibase and Ray differ
AttributeBudibaseRay
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedLinux, Mac, Windows
CategorySpreadsheetsMachine Learning

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2019).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Budibase

  • Drag-and-drop builder
  • Database design
  • REST API
  • User management
  • Custom code
  • Workflows
  • Responsive design
  • 100+ integrations

Only in Ray

  • Distributed computing
  • Ray Train
  • Ray Tune
  • RLlib
  • Ray Serve
  • PyTorch
  • TensorFlow
  • Hugging Face

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Budibase

  • Building internal tools over existing databasesnot Ray
  • Self-hosting an open source low-code platformnot Ray
  • Admin panels and CRUD apps for operations teamsnot Ray
  • Automations triggered by data changesnot Ray

Ray

  • Distributed AI model training and servingnot Budibase
  • Large-scale data processingnot Budibase
  • Reinforcement learning workloadsnot Budibase
  • ML inference servingnot Budibase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Budibase

  • Cloud plans are metered on automation actions, from 5,000 a month on Pro to 250,000 on Business
  • Creator seats are limited and cost $50 each beyond the included count
  • End users are $5 per user per month on top of the plan
  • Custom branding needs Premium, SSO enforcement and environment variables need Business, and audit logs are Enterprise only
  • Log retention is tiered from 1 day on Pro to 365 days on Enterprise
  • Monthly billing costs 20 percent more than annual

Ray

  • Windows support is beta and multi node Ray clusters are untested on Windows
  • Windows lacks copy on write forking, which raises memory requirements, and Ray code assumes UNIX filenames
  • Multi node clusters are untested on Apple Silicon Macs
  • The Java API is experimental and community supported only, and requires matching Java and Python versions
  • Python 3.13 support is beta

Pricing, plan by plan

Budibase

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Self-hosted
    • Community support
  • FreeFree
    • Cloud hosted
    • Limited features
  • Premium$50/month
    • Advanced features
    • Email support

Ray

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full Ray framework
    • All libraries
    • Community support
  • Anyscale PlatformFree
    • Managed infrastructure
    • Enterprise support
    • SLAs

Which should you pick?

Choose Budibase if

  • You need drag-and-drop builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want database design.
Budibase review

Choose Ray if

  • You need distributed computing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want ray train.
Ray review

Questions people ask

Is Budibase or Ray better?
Neither clearly leads. Budibase starts at Free and Ray at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Budibase or Ray?
Budibase starts at Free and Ray at Free.
Does Budibase or Ray run on more platforms?
Budibase runs on Web, Self-hosted. Ray runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
Can I use Budibase for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Budibase best used for?
Budibase is most often used for building internal tools over existing databases, self-hosting an open source low-code platform, admin panels and crud apps for operations teams, automations triggered by data changes. Of those, building internal tools over existing databases and self-hosting an open source low-code platform are not what Ray is typically brought in for.
What can Budibase do that Ray cannot?
Budibase covers Drag-and-drop builder, Database design, REST API, User management. Ray covers Distributed computing, Ray Train, Ray Tune, RLlib.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Budibase: What happens if I exceed the monthly action limit on my plan?

Actions are hard monthly limits. Once you reach the limit on your plan (5K for Pro, 20K for Premium, 250K for Business), you must upgrade to a higher tier to continue using the service.

Source
Ray: Is Ray free?

Yes. Ray is free and open source software with over 34,800 GitHub stars and 1,000+ contributors. Users can download and use the Ray framework at no cost.

Source
Budibase: Is there a charge for additional users beyond what is included in my plan?

Yes. Each plan includes a limited number of creators (1 for Pro, expandable for Premium, 3 for Business), but end users are charged at $5 per user per month as an add-on.

Source
Ray: Is there a paid option for Ray?

Yes. Anyscale, the managed platform built by Ray's creators, offers paid tiers with enterprise features like governance and advanced tooling. Specific Anyscale pricing details are not listed on the Ray website.

Source
Budibase: How much extra do I pay if I choose monthly billing instead of yearly?

Monthly billing costs 20% more than the yearly equivalent. For example, paying monthly for Pro at $19/month equals $228 per year, versus $190 per year on a yearly subscription.

Source
Ray: Can I try Ray with credits?

Yes. New users can try Ray with $100 credit on Anyscale's managed platform to explore the service.

Source
Budibase: Can I try Budibase before committing to a paid plan?

Yes. All paid cloud plans include a 14-day free trial. The open source version is also available free with unlimited actions and unlimited users, though with community support only.

Source
Budibase: Does the free open source plan include the same features as paid plans?

The open source plan includes unlimited actions, unlimited apps, automations, agents, and users, but support is community-only rather than through Budibase directly. Paid plans add features like AI credits, custom branding, backups, and email or priority support.

Source
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