Kintone review (2026): is it worth $24 a month per user?
No-code database apps with workflows and team discussion
Black Friday: is there a Kintone sale?
Kintone report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for teams building database apps with approvals and comments
Kintone is a no-code builder for database apps with forms, workflows, comments next to records and dashboards, on web, iPhone and Android. It starts at $24 a user a month with a 5-user minimum, and anything beyond basic customisation needs the $28 plan.
Who Kintone is for
- Fits if a team wants approvals and discussion kept next to its records
- Makes sense if you are moving spreadsheets into proper apps for five or more people
Who Kintone is not for
- Pricey if you are alone or a pair, as you pay for at least 5 users, $120 a month
- Tight if you need advanced customisation, which is only on the $28 Custom plan
- Watch out: the page doesn't say how monthly or annual contracts change the price
- Watch out: the page shows a first-time-buyer sale, and $24 and $28 are the prices without it
- Watch out: payment on the page is by credit card only
Why Kintone gets a 2.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyProfessional is $24 per user a month from 5 users, which is $120 a month at the floor. Spreadsheet tools sit around $12 in the middle, and the $16 first-time price on the page is a sale.
- DFree plan and trialA 30-day trial with every feature, but the page doesn't say whether it needs a card. There is no free plan.
- BFeaturesDrag-and-drop apps, spreadsheet import, process management, discussion beside records, permissions, audit logs and an API. The listing shows no gap in the core job.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. It is a web app where the work is building the apps, so there is a learning curve.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, iPhone and Android, plus an API. No desktop app is listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Kintone's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/kintone#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/kintone.svg" alt="Kintone: 2.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Kintone stands among spreadsheet and database tools
Kintone's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 9 of the 42 other spreadsheet and database tools we grade, and level with 5.
It stands best on features (B, above 19 of 42) and worst on free plan and trial (D, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $24 a month for each person, against a middle price of $11.38 for the category: 25 of the 35 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 7 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 43 spreadsheet and database tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Kintone’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 9 of 42, level with 18
- DFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 42, level with 5
- BFeaturesAbove 19 of 42, level with 20
- CEase of useAbove 5 of 42, level with 25
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 7 of 42, level with 32
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 42 spreadsheet and database tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Kintone, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Kintone you would be making a builder that other people can use without writing code. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 28 of the 42 other spreadsheet and database tools grade higher. It costs $288 a year.
What you could not
- A builder that other people can use without writing code.
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- A tool that builds and hosts other apps.
- Databases with views, filters and links between them.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: audit logs and roles and permissions.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Kintone’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Kintone?
Kintone is a no-code workplace platform for building database apps with drag-and-drop forms. Records sit next to comments, approval workflows and dashboards, and existing spreadsheets can be converted into apps. It has web, iOS and Android access and a built-in AI assistant.
Worth knowing
- Plans are sold from 5 users; the page does not say how a monthly or annual contract changes the per-user price.
- The regional site shows a first-time-buyer sale; the $24 and $28 figures are the prices without it.
- Advanced customization options are limited to the Custom plan.
- Payment is by credit card only on the page; other methods go through a local sales partner.
Key features
- Drag-and-drop app builder
- Build database apps from forms without code, or start from the app template library.
- Spreadsheet conversion
- Upload Excel files and turn them into database apps.
- Process management
- Custom approval processes with branch criteria, all-or-any approvals and status history.
- Discussion beside records
- Comments, user profiles, private messages and tagging sit with the data they refer to.
- Permissions and audit logs
- Access can be set by department, space, app, record and field, with audit logs of app changes and record actions.
- API and customization
- REST API, webhooks and JavaScript and CSS customization, plus native iOS and Android apps.
Kintone pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Kintone is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $24 per user / month, 5-user minimum ($16 for first-time buyers).
- Starts at
- $24 per user / month, 5-user minimum ($16 for first-time buyers)
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial with access to all features
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | $24per user / month, from 5 users | All basic features. First-time subscribers see a $16 price on the page. Monthly or annual contract. |
| Custom | $28per user / month, from 5 users | Professional plus advanced customization options. First-time subscribers see a $20 price on the page. |
Read from kintone.com on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Kintone before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Other savingsFirst-time buyer sale
The pricing page shows $16 (Professional) and $20 (Custom) per user per month for first-time subscribers; how long it lasts is not stated.
Stated on kintone.com
Kintone alternatives
- Kintone vs Quickbase
Free trial · from $35/mo
- Kintone vs Knack
Free trial · from $49/mo
- Kintone vs Ragic
Free plan · from $5/mo
- Kintone vs Caspio
Free trial · from $270/mo
- Kintone vs Ninox
Free plan · from $31/mo
Common questions
Does Kintone have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Kintone is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Kintone have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Kintone is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Kintone open source?
Kintone is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Does Kintone have an API?
Yes. Kintone offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.