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Spreadsheets · head to head

Budibase vs Seldon

Budibase logo

Budibase

Spreadsheets

Build business apps in minutes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Seldon logo

Seldon

Machine Learning

Kubernetes model serving whose current version is licensed under the Business Source Licence

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; Seldon seldon Core v2 is under the Business Source Licence rather than Apache 2.0, so production use requires a commercial agreement, and a team that evaluated it believing it was open source discovers the licence is the blocker exactly when the project is ready to ship.
  • They diverge on capability: Budibase covers Drag-and-drop builder, Seldon covers Kubernetes custom resources.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Budibase and Seldon actually diverge.

Attributes where Budibase and Seldon differ
AttributeBudibaseSeldon
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedLinux
CategorySpreadsheetsMachine Learning
Founded20192014

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

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 Seldon

  • Kubernetes custom resources
  • Inference graphs
  • Traffic strategies
  • Open Inference Protocol
  • Alibi Explain
  • Alibi Detect
  • Kafka-backed pipelines in v2
  • Commercial control plane

What people use each for

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

Budibase

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

Seldon

  • Serving an ensemble or a multi-stage inference path as one versioned deployment rather than as a chain of separate servicesnot Budibase
  • Running genuine production experiments where a share of live traffic goes to a candidate model and the results are comparednot Budibase
  • Regulated environments needing explanations and drift monitoring attached to the served model rather than bolted on laternot Budibase
  • Organisations with an established Kubernetes platform team who want serving expressed as manifests under existing deployment controlsnot 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

Seldon

  • Seldon Core v2 is under the Business Source Licence rather than Apache 2.0, so production use requires a commercial agreement, and a team that evaluated it believing it was open source discovers the licence is the blocker exactly when the project is ready to ship.
  • Core v1 remains Apache 2.0 but is in maintenance, so taking the free route means running software that receives no new development while the architecture it belongs to moves on without it.
  • Version 2 is a different system rather than a newer release, with different custom resources, a scheduler component and a Kafka-based pipeline model, so migrating from v1 is a re-implementation of every deployment manifest rather than an upgrade.
  • Kafka is a dependency for v2 pipelines, so an organisation that does not already operate it takes on a distributed log with its own storage, retention, rebalancing and failure modes purely in order to serve models.
  • Everything assumes Kubernetes fluency and the failure modes are Kubernetes failure modes, custom resource version mismatches, an operator that will not reconcile, admission webhooks and resource limits terminating an inference pod mid-request, so it needs a platform engineer rather than a data scientist.

Pricing, plan by plan

Budibase

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

Seldon

Free
  • Seldon CoreFree
    • Open source
    • Kubernetes deployment
    • Model serving
  • Seldon DeployFree
    • Enterprise features
    • GUI
    • Monitoring

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 Seldon if

  • You need kubernetes custom resources.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want inference graphs.
Seldon review

Questions people ask

Is Budibase or Seldon better?
Neither clearly leads. Budibase starts at Free and Seldon at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Budibase or Seldon?
Budibase starts at Free and Seldon at Free.
Does Budibase or Seldon run on more platforms?
Budibase runs on Web, Self-hosted. Seldon runs on Linux.
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 Seldon is typically brought in for.
What can Budibase do that Seldon cannot?
Budibase covers Drag-and-drop builder, Database design, REST API, User management. Seldon covers Kubernetes custom resources, Inference graphs, Traffic strategies, Open Inference Protocol.

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
Seldon: Is Seldon open source?

Partly, and this is the thing to check before you build on it. Core v1 is Apache 2.0 but in maintenance. Core v2 was moved to the Business Source Licence in 2024, which allows evaluation but not unlicensed production use. Verify the current licence of each component you intend to run, including MLServer and the Alibi libraries.

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
Seldon: What is the difference between v1 and v2?

Architecture, not just version number. v2 introduces a scheduler, a different set of custom resources and Kafka-backed pipelines. Manifests, mental model and operations all change, so treat a move as a project.

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
Seldon: Do I need Kubernetes?

Yes. It is a Kubernetes-native system and there is no meaningful deployment without a cluster and someone competent to run it.

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
Seldon: What is MLServer?

Seldon's Python inference server implementing the Open Inference Protocol, usable inside Seldon deployments or on its own. Check its current licence alongside Core's, since the company has moved projects onto the Business Source Licence.

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
Seldon: Do I have to run Kafka?

For v2 pipelines, yes. If you only need single models served, that dependency is a large amount of infrastructure for the benefit, and a simpler serving layer may be the better answer.

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