# Retool review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Platform for building internal apps, workflows and AI agents Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Retool is a platform for building internal software. Its rebuilt app builder generates apps from a prompt connected to a company's own data, and it also covers workflows and agents. It runs in Retool's cloud or, on Enterprise, self-hosted in a company's own infrastructure. - **Category:** AI App Builders - **Made by:** Retool - **Website:** https://retool.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Pricey if you grow: every internal user adds $5 or $15 on top of builders. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Retool has a free plan, and paid plans start at $10 per builder / month, billed annually (plus $5 per internal user). - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Up to 5 users, 250 AI credits a month and 500 workflow runs a month, production environment only. - **Free trial:** Free trial on Team and Business; length not stated. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | 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. | | Enterprise | Custom | 10,000 AI credits, SSO and SCIM, Git source control, self-hosted or air-gapped options. | Read from https://retool.com/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Retool before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **20% off with annual billing** (Annual discount): The Team and Business plans are billed annually and state a 20% saving versus monthly. Source: https://retool.com/pricing - **Free Business account for students and educators** (Education): The pricing FAQ says students and educators can apply for a free Business account. Source: https://retool.com/pricing - **25 free seats for nonprofits** (Nonprofit): The pricing FAQ says nonprofits can apply for 25 free seats on cloud or self-hosted plans. Source: https://retool.com/pricing ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Companies building internal tools on their own databases - IT teams that need audit logs and access control ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Retool builds internal apps, workflows and AI agents on your data, and Free covers up to 5 users. Seats split into builders and internal users, each billed separately, and external users, embedded apps and audit logs need Business at $50 a builder. - **Value for money: B.** Team 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: B.** Free: up to 5 users, 250 AI credits and 500 workflow runs a month, production only. One person could live on that. - **Features: B.** AI app builder, workflows, agents, import from Lovable and Replit, and self-hosting. The listing shows no gap in the core job. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. It's a web builder where you connect data and build the app yourself. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web app with GitHub, import from other builders and a self-hosting option, on a long integration list. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Retool's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among AI app builders - Retool's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 43 of the 52 other AI app builders we grade, and level with 7. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 45 of 52) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $10 a month, against a middle price of $20 for the category: 1 of the 50 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 1 tool scores higher and costs less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/ai-app-builders ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Retool you would be making a tool that builds and hosts other apps. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 43 of the 52 other AI app builders we grade. It costs $120 a year. - You could not: A tool that builds and hosts other apps. - You could not: An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. - You could not: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. - You could not: A builder that other people can use without writing code. - You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on, SCIM, audit logs and roles and permissions. - You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Lovable, Replit, GitHub **Tags:** App builder, AI features, AI agents, Workflow automation, No-code, Self-hostable ## Alternatives - [Appsmith](https://toolgpa.com/tools/appsmith): Open-source low-code platform for internal apps. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/appsmith-vs-retool) - [Superblocks](https://toolgpa.com/tools/superblocks): Governed platform for AI-built internal apps and agents. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/retool-vs-superblocks) - [UI Bakery](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ui-bakery): Low-code and AI builder for internal tools. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/retool-vs-ui-bakery) - [Softr](https://toolgpa.com/tools/softr): No-code builder for client portals and internal tools, with AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/retool-vs-softr) - [Zite](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zite): AI builder for business apps, workflows and databases. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/retool-vs-zite) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://retool.com/pricing - https://retool.com Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/retool Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).