Is Kintone or Retool better?

Neither clearly leads. Kintone starts at $24/month and Retool at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Kintone or Retool?

Retool has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $24/month for Kintone and Free for Retool.

Does Kintone or Retool run on more platforms?

Kintone runs on Web. Retool runs on Web, Self-hosted.

Can I use Retool for free?

Yes. Retool has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Kintone starts at $24/month.

What is Kintone best used for?

Kintone is most often used for low-code business application development, workflow automation, team collaboration and project management. Of those, low-code business application development and workflow automation are not what Retool is typically brought in for.

What can Kintone do that Retool cannot?

Retool covers Drag-and-drop builder, Database integration, REST API, Real-time data binding.

No-Code · head to head

Kintone vs Retool

Kintone

No-Code

Customizable workplace platform by Cybozu for no-code data, task and team management

From: $24/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Retool

Surveys

The rapid internal tool platform

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Retool has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Kintone minimum order of 5 users required ($120/month floor); Retool builders and internal users are billed as separate seat types, so the true cost depends on the mix rather than the headcount

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kintone and Retool actually diverge.

Attributes where Kintone and Retool differ
Attribute	Kintone	Retool
Starting price	$24/month	Free
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web	Web, Self-hosted
Category	No-Code	Surveys
Founded	Unknown	2017

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 Kintone

Nothing recorded that Retool does not also cover.

Only in Retool

Drag-and-drop builder
Database integration
REST API
Real-time data binding
Workflow automation
Custom code
Version control
200+ integrations

What people use each for

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

Kintone

Low-code business application developmentnot Retool
Workflow automationnot Retool
Team collaboration and project managementnot Retool

Retool

Building internal admin tools and dashboards over existing databases and APIsnot Kintone
Giving operations teams a UI for data they would otherwise query by handnot Kintone

Where each one falls short

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

Kintone

Minimum order of 5 users required ($120/month floor)
API calls limited to 10,000 per day

Retool

Builders and internal users are billed as separate seat types, so the true cost depends on the mix rather than the headcount
The free plan is capped at 5 users, 500 workflow runs a month and 5 GB of database capacity
Audit logging, permission controls, portals and custom branding all require the Business plan at $50 per builder per month billed annually
External user access is Business only, and is charged in bands above 50 users
Self hosted deployments mirror the cloud tiers but need Enterprise for unlimited users and SSO

Pricing, plan by plan

Kintone

$24/month

Standard$24/month
- Minimum 5 users ($120/month minimum)
- 900 apps
- 300 spaces

Retool

Free

FreeFree
- Unlimited web and mobile apps
- 500 workflow runs monthly
- 5GB database capacity
Team$10/month
- Builders: $10/month (annual) or $12/month (monthly)
- Internal users: $5/month (annual) or $7/month (monthly)
- 5,000 workflow runs monthly
Business$50/month
- Builders: $50/month (annual) or $65/month (monthly)
- Internal users: $15/month (annual) or $18/month (monthly)
- Audit logging
Enterprise$null/contact sales
- Custom pricing
- SSO integration
- Unlimited users

Which should you pick?

Choose Kintone if

Nothing in the data separates Kintone from Retool on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Kintone review

Choose Retool if

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

Retool review

Questions people ask

Is Kintone or Retool better?: Neither clearly leads. Kintone starts at $24/month and Retool at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kintone or Retool?: Retool has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $24/month for Kintone and Free for Retool.
Does Kintone or Retool run on more platforms?: Kintone runs on Web. Retool runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Retool for free?: Yes. Retool has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Kintone starts at $24/month.
What is Kintone best used for?: Kintone is most often used for low-code business application development, workflow automation, team collaboration and project management. Of those, low-code business application development and workflow automation are not what Retool is typically brought in for.
What can Kintone do that Retool cannot?: Retool covers Drag-and-drop builder, Database integration, REST API, Real-time data binding.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kintone: How much does Kintone cost per user?

Kintone costs $24/user/month with a minimum of 5 users required, totaling $120/month minimum. All features are included in the single tier.

Source

Retool: How much does Retool cost?

Retool offers a free tier. Paid cloud plans start at $10/month (Team - builders) or $5/month (Team - internal users), $50/month (Business - builders) or $15/month (Business - internal users). Enterprise pricing is custom. Annual billing provides 20% savings.

Source

Kintone: Are there different pricing tiers for Kintone?

No, Kintone offers one unified pricing model at $24/user/month with all features included. No tiered plans at different price points.

Source

Retool: What is the difference between builders and internal users?

Builders are users who create applications in Retool, while internal users are those who only access and use the applications. Internal users cost significantly less than builders on all paid tiers.

Source

Kintone: Does Kintone offer pricing for nonprofits?

Yes, special pricing is available for 501(c)3 nonprofits, educational institutions, and government organizations. Contact Kintone for details.

Source

Retool: Can I self-host Retool?

Yes, Free, Team, and Business tiers support self-hosting with comparable features to cloud versions. Enterprise is required for unlimited users, SSO, and advanced self-host features.

Source

Kintone: What are Kintone's storage and API limits?

Each user gets 5GB storage. Accounts include 10,000 API calls per day, 900 apps, 300 spaces, and up to 50,000 records per app.

Source

Retool: What are AI credits and how do they work?

AI credits are used for app building and AI actions. Free tier includes 250 monthly credits, Team includes 1,000, and Business includes 3,000. Credits renew monthly without carryover and are pooled at the organization level.

Source

Kintone vs Retool

Kintone

Retool

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Kintone

Only in Retool

What people use each for

Kintone

Retool

Where each one falls short

Kintone

Retool

Pricing, plan by plan

Kintone

Retool

Which should you pick?

Choose Kintone if

Choose Retool if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Kintone

More on Retool

Keep looking

Other head to heads