Render vs Retool
Render and Retool are both developer tools tools. Render is aimed at developers, while Retool is aimed at developers and enterprise. Retool costs less, from $12/mo versus $25/mo for Render. Both have a free plan.
| Pricing | Freemium · $25 | Freemium · $12 |
| Starting price | $25/mo | $12/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Developers | Developers, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | US · 2018 | US · 2017 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Render if
Teams wanting PaaS simplicity with predictable costs.
- Predictable pricing
- Easy Heroku migration
- Managed databases
Look elsewhere if: Complex enterprise infrastructure.
Choose Retool if
Engineering and operations teams at startups and enterprises who need internal tools fast.
- Fastest way to build internal tools
- Rich component library and connectors
- Free for 5 users
Look elsewhere if: Customer-facing apps or non-technical builders without SQL/JS basics.
Render vs Retool pricing
Render
- Hobby$0Plus compute; up to 25 services, 5 GB bandwidth
- Pro$25/moFlat fee plus compute; unlimited seats, 25 GB bandwidth
- Scale$499/moFlat fee plus compute; SAML SSO, HIPAA, 1 TB bandwidth
- EnterpriseCustomUptime SLAs, dedicated account team
Retool
- Free$0Up to 5 users, 500 workflow runs/mo
- Team$12/builder/mo$10 billed annually; internal users $7 ($5); 5,000 runs/mo
- Business$65/builder/mo$50 billed annually; internal users $18 ($15); audit logs
- EnterpriseCustomSSO, SCIM, Git, up to 6 instances
Render · Key features
- Web services and static sites from Git
- Managed Postgres and Redis
- Background workers and cron jobs
- Preview environments
- Private networking and autoscaling
- Blueprints (IaC)
Cons
- Free services spin down
- Fewer regions than big clouds
- Platform fee on top of compute
Retool · Key features
- 100+ components with drag-and-drop layout
- Native connectors to databases and APIs; SQL and JS everywhere
- Retool Workflows for automation and cron
- Retool Mobile for native internal apps
- AI components and Retool Agents
- Permissions, audit logs, source control and self-hosting (Enterprise)
Cons
- Per-user pricing adds up for large orgs
- Complex apps hit the limits of the model
- JavaScript knowledge needed for real logic
Render vs Retool: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Render or Retool?
Retool starts at $12/mo and Render at $25/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Render and Retool have a free plan?
Yes, both Render and Retool have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.