No-Code · head to head
Corteza vs Noloco
Corteza
No-Code
Apache-licensed open source low-code platform, formerly Crust, positioned against Salesforce
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Noloco
No-Code
Client portals and internal tools built over data you already have
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Corteza has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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.; Noloco pricing follows user counts, and a client portal is by definition many low-activity users, so an agency with a few hundred client logins climbs the bands quickly for people who sign in twice a month.
- They diverge on capability: Corteza covers Corteza Low Code, Noloco covers Row-level permissions.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Corteza and Noloco actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (No-Code).
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 Noloco
- Row-level permissions
- Multiple data sources
- Client portals
- Workflows
- Forms and record detail pages
- White labelling
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 Noloco
- An NGO replacing a Salesforce donation that has run out, needing to keep the data model but remove the recurring costnot Noloco
- An integrator building a regulated vertical application it intends to resell, requiring a permissive licence it can ship commerciallynot Noloco
- A mid-size European company that wants one platform for internal applications and a sales pipeline without paying per seat as headcount growsnot Noloco
Noloco
- Giving clients a branded portal onto their own records in an Airtable basenot Corteza
- Replacing shared spreadsheets with a permissioned internal tool for an operations teamnot Corteza
- A lightweight CRM over a PostgreSQL database that already existsnot Corteza
- Partner or contractor dashboards where each party must see only its own jobs and documentsnot 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.
Noloco
- Pricing follows user counts, and a client portal is by definition many low-activity users, so an agency with a few hundred client logins climbs the bands quickly for people who sign in twice a month.
- Limits are inherited from the data source. Airtable record ceilings, API rate limits and slow queries appear in the portal your customers use, and no setting inside Noloco can fix them.
- Design control is deliberately narrow. You get a consistent application shell rather than a bespoke interface, which is fine for operations and a problem for anything marketing-led.
- It is a small vendor competing directly with Airtable Interfaces and Softr, both far larger, so roadmap pace and long-term viability are legitimate procurement questions.
- Output is responsive web only, with no native mobile application and no offline mode, so field staff on poor connections are not served by it.
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$undefined/year
- Commercial support, hosting and implementation from Planet Crust
- Custom application development
- Training
Noloco
On request- Noloco$undefined/year
- Tiered plans differentiated by user counts, data sources and white labelling
- Trial period rather than a permanent free plan
- Higher tiers add custom domains, advanced permissions and priority support
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Corteza or Noloco better?
- Neither clearly leads. Corteza starts at Free and Noloco at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Corteza or Noloco?
- Corteza has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Corteza and On request for Noloco.
- Does Corteza or Noloco run on more platforms?
- Corteza runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker. Noloco runs on Web.
- Can I use Corteza for free?
- Yes. Corteza has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Noloco starts at On request.
- 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 Noloco is typically brought in for.
- What can Corteza do that Noloco cannot?
- Corteza covers Corteza Low Code, Automation and workflow, Bundled CRM, Case management. Noloco covers Row-level permissions, Multiple data sources, Client portals, Workflows.
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.
Noloco: Do I need Airtable to use it?
No. Airtable is the most common source but PostgreSQL, MySQL, Google Sheets, HubSpot and built-in Noloco tables all work.
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.
Noloco: Can external clients log in without paying for seats?
Client and internal users are counted differently, but they are still counted, so a portal with many client logins moves you up the plan bands. Check the current band definitions before committing to a per-client model.
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.
Noloco: How is this different from Softr?
Both build portals over existing data. Noloco leans harder on permissions and multiple database sources; Softr leans on templates, speed to a first version and a bigger ecosystem.
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.
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