No-Code · head to head
Corteza vs Mathesar
Corteza
No-Code
Apache-licensed open source low-code platform, formerly Crust, positioned against Salesforce
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Mathesar
Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet style interface that edits an existing PostgreSQL database directly, with no schema of its own
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Corteza planet Crust is a small company of roughly a dozen or so people, so the entire commercial support capability behind Corteza is thin and a large deployment can outgrow the vendors ability to respond.; Mathesar there is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.
- They diverge on capability: Corteza covers Corteza Low Code, Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Corteza and Mathesar actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 Corteza
- Corteza Low Code
- Automation and workflow
- Bundled CRM
- Case management
- Federation
- Role-based access control
- Corteza Messaging and integrations
- Self-hosted deployment
Only in Mathesar
- Direct PostgreSQL editing
- PostgreSQL permissions
- Schema editing
- Data exploration
- Relationship navigation
- Import of tabular files
- Self hosted only
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Corteza
- A European public body that needs a case management system on servers inside its own jurisdiction with an auditable licence and no per-seat vendor feenot Mathesar
- An NGO replacing a Salesforce donation that has run out, needing to keep the data model but remove the recurring costnot Mathesar
- An integrator building a regulated vertical application it intends to resell, requiring a permissive licence it can ship commerciallynot Mathesar
- A mid-size European company that wants one platform for internal applications and a sales pipeline without paying per seat as headcount growsnot Mathesar
Mathesar
- A nonprofit or research group whose data is already in PostgreSQL and whose staff cannot write SQLnot Corteza
- Giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already existnot Corteza
- Replacing a hand built Django or Rails admin screen that nobody wants to maintainnot Corteza
- Editing production reference data where an export, edit and reimport cycle would risk losing concurrent changesnot Corteza
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Corteza
- Planet Crust is a small company of roughly a dozen or so people, so the entire commercial support capability behind Corteza is thin and a large deployment can outgrow the vendors ability to respond.
- No pricing is published for Planet Crusts support, hosting or implementation services, so the true running cost of a supported deployment cannot be estimated without a sales conversation.
- The connector ecosystem is small compared with commercial low-code platforms, so integrations with common SaaS tools usually mean writing against the REST API rather than installing something.
- Hiring is hard: almost nobody has Corteza on a CV, so you are training internal developers on a niche platform and you cannot easily replace them.
- The bundled CRM is a starting point rather than a mature product, and teams that expect Salesforce-equivalent sales functionality out of the box will spend months building the gap themselves.
Mathesar
- There is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.
- It works only with PostgreSQL, so a MySQL, SQL Server or SQLite estate is excluded outright.
- There are no automations, no webhooks and effectively no integration catalogue, so it edits data and does nothing else.
- Because it writes to the live database, a careless bulk edit or column type change is a production change with no staging step and no undo.
- Development is grant and community funded rather than commercially funded, so roadmap pace and long term continuity carry a different risk profile from a venture backed vendor.
Pricing, plan by plan
Corteza
Free- Corteza communityFree
- Apache 2.0 licensed with no feature gating
- Low-code builder, workflow engine, CRM and case management included
- Self-hosted on your own infrastructure
- Planet Crust support and services$undefined/year
- Commercial support, hosting and implementation from Planet Crust
- Custom application development
- Training
Mathesar
Free- Self hosted open sourceFree
- No licence fee
- No hosted option offered
- Connects to your existing PostgreSQL database
Which should you pick?
Choose Corteza if
- You need corteza low code.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
- You also want automation and workflow.
Choose Mathesar if
- You need direct postgresql editing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Linux.
- You also want postgresql permissions.
Questions people ask
- Is Corteza or Mathesar better?
- Neither clearly leads. Corteza starts at Free and Mathesar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Corteza or Mathesar?
- Corteza starts at Free and Mathesar at Free.
- Does Corteza or Mathesar run on more platforms?
- Corteza runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker. Mathesar runs on Web, Linux.
- Can I use Corteza for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Corteza best used for?
- Corteza is most often used for a european public body that needs a case management system on servers inside its own jurisdiction with an auditable licence and no per-seat vendor fee, an ngo replacing a salesforce donation that has run out, needing to keep the data model but remove the recurring cost, an integrator building a regulated vertical application it intends to resell, requiring a permissive licence it can ship commercially, a mid-size european company that wants one platform for internal applications and a sales pipeline without paying per seat as headcount grows. Of those, a european public body that needs a case management system on servers inside its own jurisdiction with an auditable licence and no per-seat vendor fee and an ngo replacing a salesforce donation that has run out, needing to keep the data model but remove the recurring cost are not what Mathesar is typically brought in for.
- What can Corteza do that Mathesar cannot?
- Corteza covers Corteza Low Code, Automation and workflow, Bundled CRM, Case management. Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing, PostgreSQL permissions, Schema editing, Data exploration.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Corteza: Is Corteza the same thing as Crust?
Yes. The project was branded Crust and renamed Corteza in 2019 when Crust Technology donated it to the Commons Conservancy.
Mathesar: Is there a cloud version?
No. Self hosting is the only option, and that is a deliberate project decision rather than a gap waiting to be filled.
Corteza: Who owns the code?
The Commons Conservancy, a Dutch foundation. Planet Crust in Cork is the primary developer and sells commercial services around it.
Mathesar: How does it handle permissions?
Through PostgreSQL roles and privileges directly, so there is no second permission model to keep in step.
Corteza: Is there a paid enterprise edition?
No. Corteza is Apache 2.0 with no feature gating. Planet Crust sells support, hosting and development instead of a restricted edition.
Mathesar: What is the row limit?
Whatever PostgreSQL can handle. Mathesar adds no storage layer of its own.
Corteza: Can it genuinely replace Salesforce?
For case management and a straightforward sales pipeline on a self-hosted footprint, yes. For a large sales organisation relying on AppExchange products and a mature ecosystem, no.
Mathesar: Does it support databases other than PostgreSQL?
No.
Mathesar: Can it replace Airtable?
Only for editing and exploring data. There are no automations, apps or integrations.
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