No-Code · head to head
Corteza vs Stacker
Corteza
No-Code
Apache-licensed open source low-code platform, formerly Crust, positioned against Salesforce
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Stacker
No-Code
Permissioned portals over data that stays in Airtable, Salesforce or Postgres
- 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.; Stacker there is no source export and no self-hosting, so leaving means rebuilding the entire interface and permission model elsewhere, even though the underlying records remain yours.
- They diverge on capability: Corteza covers Corteza Low Code, Stacker covers Per-record permissions.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Corteza and Stacker 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 Stacker
- Per-record permissions
- External user portals
- Live connection to the source
- Page and layout builder
- Workflow actions
- Custom domains and branding
- User onboarding
- Role based navigation
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 Stacker
- An NGO replacing a Salesforce donation that has run out, needing to keep the data model but remove the recurring costnot Stacker
- An integrator building a regulated vertical application it intends to resell, requiring a permissive licence it can ship commerciallynot Stacker
- A mid-size European company that wants one platform for internal applications and a sales pipeline without paying per seat as headcount growsnot Stacker
Stacker
- Giving clients a login that shows only their own records inside an internal Airtable basenot Corteza
- Contractor or franchisee portals where each account must see one slice of a shared datasetnot Corteza
- Replacing a spreadsheet emailed to partners with a permissioned live view of the same datanot Corteza
- Putting a usable interface on a Salesforce or Postgres dataset for users who should never see the underlying systemnot 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.
Stacker
- There is no source export and no self-hosting, so leaving means rebuilding the entire interface and permission model elsewhere, even though the underlying records remain yours.
- Performance is bounded by the data source, so an Airtable base near its row limit or an API under rate limiting produces a slow portal that no amount of Stacker configuration will fix.
- Pricing distinguishes internal editors from external portal users, so a portal that succeeds by adding hundreds of light-touch external users can end up costing more than the internal system it fronts.
- Custom logic is limited to the actions and conditions the builder exposes, so anything resembling a calculation engine or a branching multi-step approval hits a wall and needs an external automation tool bolted on.
- It is a portal and CRUD tool by design, with no offline mode, no native mobile application and no real reporting layer, so it will not be the only system a growing operation runs.
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$undefined/year
- Commercial support, hosting and implementation from Planet Crust
- Custom application development
- Training
Stacker
On request- Stacker$undefined/month
- Priced by workspace tier with caps on apps and users
- External portal users charged differently from internal editors
- Higher tiers add permission depth and 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 Stacker better?
- Neither clearly leads. Corteza starts at Free and Stacker at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Corteza or Stacker?
- Corteza has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Corteza and On request for Stacker.
- Does Corteza or Stacker run on more platforms?
- Corteza runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker. Stacker runs on Web.
- Can I use Corteza for free?
- Yes. Corteza has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Stacker 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 Stacker is typically brought in for.
- What can Corteza do that Stacker cannot?
- Corteza covers Corteza Low Code, Automation and workflow, Bundled CRM, Case management. Stacker covers Per-record permissions, External user portals, Live connection to the source, Page and layout builder.
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.
Stacker: Where does my data live?
In the source you connect: Airtable, Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Sheets or your own Postgres. Stacker reads and writes to it rather than becoming the system of record.
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.
Stacker: Can I export the app if I cancel?
No. The data stays in your source system, but the interface, permissions and workflows are Stacker configuration and do not come with you.
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.
Stacker: Is it suitable for hundreds of external users?
Technically yes; check the pricing arithmetic first, because external portal users are charged separately and that is where the bill grows.
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.
Stacker: Will it replace Airtable?
No, it sits in front of Airtable. If the base itself is at its limits, the fix is moving the data to Postgres rather than changing the portal.
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