CREAO vs Retool (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Retool grades higher than CREAO: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Retool grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CREAO
AI agent builder that runs scheduled work in your tools
Retool
Platform for building internal apps, workflows and AI agents
Which one is for you
Pick CREAO if
- Fits if you want a recurring task, like a weekly summary from your inbox, handled by an agent
- Works for people who already live in Slack, Gmail and Linear and want those connected
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a website or an app, because it builds agents and automations rather than standalone apps
- Tight if you stay free: 30 one-time credits and 5 a day per team
- Pricey if you outgrow Pro, as the next steps are $50, $150 and $1,000 a month
- Watch out: in a team every member gets the owner's plan and only the owner pays, so one account carries the bill
- Watch out: the prices shown are for monthly billing, and yearly billing is advertised as 20% less
Pick Retool if
- Fits if you build internal dashboards over company databases
- Works for small teams that start free and add builders later
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you grow: every internal user adds $5 or $15 on top of builders
- Watch out: external users and embedded apps need Business at $50 a builder
- Watch out: SSO, SCIM and Git source control are Enterprise only
- Watch out: extra workflow runs cost $75 per 5,000 a month
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACREAOFair | 2.8GPARetoolGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $20 a month on monthly billing, the middle of what AI app builders charge, and credits beyond the plan cost $0.15 each. | BTeam is $10 a builder plus $5 an internal user on yearly billing, in the cheaper quarter, though Business jumps to $50 and $15. |
| Free plan and trial | C1 member with 30 one-time credits plus 5 a day per team, standard models and one personal connector per agent app. Enough to try it, not to run it. | BFree: up to 5 users, 250 AI credits and 500 workflow runs a month, production only. One person could live on that. |
| Features | CCovers agents from chat, schedules, triggers, approval gates, memory and connectors. It builds automations, not standalone apps, so it only partly overlaps its category. | BAI app builder, workflows, agents, import from Lovable and Replit, and self-hosting. The listing shows no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You describe the agent and connect your accounts, which is setup work. | CNo store rating on record. It's a web builder where you connect data and build the app yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with a real list of connectors including Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Teams, Linear, Asana, Drive and Zoom. | BWeb app with GitHub, import from other builders and a self-hosting option, on a long integration list. |
| Best for | agents that run scheduled work in your tools | internal tools, workflows and agents |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: CREAO and Retool. How we grade
Price against what you get
CREAO starts at $20 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Retool starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7.
Retool scores higher and starts $10 a month lower. Of the other AI app builders on the chart, 14 score higher than CREAO for less, and 1 scores higher than Retool for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Retool is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- CREAO also covers image generation and video generation.
- Retool also covers app builder.
At a glance
| CREAO | Retool | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $20 per month, billed monthly | $10 per builder / month, billed annually (plus $5 per internal user) |
| Free plan | 1 member, 30 one-time credits plus 5 daily credits per team, standard models and one personal connector per agent app. | Up to 5 users, 250 AI credits a month and 500 workflow runs a month, production environment only. |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial on Team and Business; length not stated |
| Web | ||
| Made by | CREAO AI | Retool |
| Price read from | creao.ai | retool.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
CREAO
- Prices shown are for monthly billing; the page labels yearly billing as saving 20%.
- Extra credits cost $0.15 each, or 30% less when buying 4,000 or more.
- Inside a team, every member gets the owner's plan and only the owner pays.
- It builds agents and automations rather than standalone apps, unlike most tools in this category.
Retool
- Seats are split into builders and internal users, and each is billed separately.
- External users and embedded apps need Business at $50 per builder / month.
- Extra workflow runs cost $75 per 5,000 runs a month.
- SSO, SCIM and Git source control are Enterprise only.
Key features
CREAO
- Agents from chat
- Describe a recurring task and CREAO builds an agent for it, with a Super Agent for general requests.
- Schedules and triggers
- Agents run daily, weekly, on a webhook or when a Slack message arrives.
- Approval gates
- Write or destructive actions pause for sign-off until an agent is switched to full auto.
- Memory
- Preferences and decisions from conversations carry over to new agents.
- Media generation
- Agents can generate video, images and voice narration, and operate a browser.
- Connectors
- Over 30 built-in connectors, including Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Teams, Linear, Asana and Google Drive.
Retool
- AI app builder
- Describe an app in a prompt and it is generated against connected data, then refined by hand.
- Import from other builders
- The homepage says apps built in Lovable, Replit and similar tools can be imported by ZIP or GitHub sync.
- Workflows and agents
- Workflow runs are capped per month by plan, and agents are billed hourly outside the credit pool.
- Governance
- Business adds audit logs and permissions; Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM and Git source control.
- Self-hosting
- The FAQ says Retool can run in a company's own VPC, with Enterprise supporting both cloud and self-hosted.
Plans
CREAO
Free$0
1 member, 30 one-time credits plus 5 daily credits, standard models, 1 concurrent scheduled run.
Pro$20
per month, billed monthly
Up to 3 people, 200 credits a month on one team wallet, premium models and 2 concurrent scheduled runs.
Pro Plus$50
per month, billed monthly
Up to 5 people, 600 credits a month, large uploads and priority support.
Max$150
per month, billed monthly
Up to 10 people, 2,000 credits a month, 4 concurrent scheduled runs and dedicated support.
Ultra$1000
per month, billed monthly
Up to 50 people, 20,000 credits a month and founder office hours.
EnterpriseCustom
Volume credits, SSO and a dedicated partner; sold through sales.
Retool
Free$0
Up to 5 users, 250 AI credits a month, Retool Cloud, production only.
Team$10
per builder / month, billed annually
Plus $5 per internal user. Unlimited users, 1,000 AI credits, staging and production.
Business$50
per builder / month, billed annually
Plus $15 per internal user. 3,000 AI credits, external users, embedded apps, audit logs.
EnterpriseCustom
10,000 AI credits, SSO and SCIM, Git source control, self-hosted or air-gapped options.
Ways to pay less
CREAO
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
The pricing page labels the Yearly option as saving 20% compared with monthly billing.
Retool
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
The Team and Business plans are billed annually and state a 20% saving versus monthly.
- Education
Free Business account for students and educators
The pricing FAQ says students and educators can apply for a free Business account.
- Nonprofit
25 free seats for nonprofits
The pricing FAQ says nonprofits can apply for 25 free seats on cloud or self-hosted plans.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, CREAO or Retool?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Retool is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $20 a month for CREAO. CREAO starts at $20 per month, billed monthly, and Retool starts at $10 per builder / month, billed annually (plus $5 per internal user).
Which has a free plan, CREAO or Retool?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both CREAO and Retool have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.