Is Budibase really free?

Yes. Budibase is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Retool, on the other hand, costs €11 a month.

Do I need to code to install Budibase?

No. The level is intermediate and the install takes about 20 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.

How is it different from Retool?

Budibase does most of what Retool does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.

Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.

Free alternative

Free alternative to Retool

Retool costs €11 a month. Budibase does the same job for free, in open source: you install it on your machine or a small server, and you stop paying.

Public entry price, taken from Retool’s website (retool.com). Over a year, that is €132 that stays in your pocket.

What replaces Retool

The main alternative

Budibase

🟡 Intermediate⏱️ ~20 min to installSave €22/mo

Budibase is the open-source alternative to Glide and Softr. Same principle: you start from your data, a Google Sheet, a Postgres or MySQL database, a REST API or the built-in database, and you assemble screens, tables, forms and automations without code. You get a web app for your team or your clients. The difference is hosting: Budibase runs on your server with Docker, and the self-hosted version is free, with as many apps and users as you want. Since 2026 the tool also ships AI agents that read your data and trigger actions, with your own API key. The core is GPL v3, the building blocks inside your apps are MPL, so the apps you build stay yours. Over 28,000 stars on GitHub, and a release almost every week.

Loucash’s verdict on Budibase

8/10

If you pay for Glide or Softr to turn a spreadsheet into an app, Budibase does the job on your own server and for free. The builder is mature, the project is very active, and the self-hosted version gives you a single workspace but as many apps and users as you want. You can plug in a Google Sheet, a Postgres or MySQL database, an API, or start from scratch with their built-in database. And since 2026, AI agents are in the box, with your own key. What gets in the way. It is heavy: one image, but inside it a CouchDB database, object storage and Redis. The docs ask for 2 cores and 6 GB of RAM, so forget the €4 VPS. On your server, Google Sheets requires setting up Google access (SSO) before it works, and that is paperwork. And on security: about forty advisories were published at once in July 2026 (SQL and NoSQL injections, SSRF, account takeover through SSO). The team fixes them release after release, but that means an instance you keep updated, behind HTTPS, with a serious admin password. Some options stay paid even self-hosted: built-in backups, environment variables, user groups, enforced SSO, white label. Their cloud starts at €16 per month for a single creator, plus €4 per end user. Who it is for. A freelancer or a small team that wants an internal tool, a client portal or a back office on its own data, without paying per user. Do not confuse it with NocoDB or Baserow: those replace Airtable, the database itself. Budibase is the layer above, the screens, the forms and the automations. The two combine very well.

Who it is for: You pay for Glide or Softr to build a home-made app on your spreadsheets or database, and you want the same thing on your server, with no subscription and no per-user price.

See the full page →See the tool ↗

The prompt that installs Budibase

Paste this prompt into Claude: it checks the repository, asks you its questions and installs the tool step by step.

Déploie Budibase (le constructeur d'apps métier open source, repo GitHub Budibase/budibase) avec Docker sur mon serveur ou mon VPS, ou en local sur ma machine pour tester : regarde ce que j'ai et dis-moi ce qui est le mieux. Utilise l'image officielle tout-en-un budibase/budibase en suivant la doc docs.budibase.com/docs/docker : un volume persistant pour les données, le port 10000, et des secrets aléatoires pour JWT_SECRET, INTERNAL_API_KEY, MINIO_ACCESS_KEY, MINIO_SECRET_KEY, REDIS_PASSWORD, COUCHDB_USER et COUCHDB_PASSWORD. Si je suis sur un serveur avec un nom de domaine, configure l'accès HTTPS (la variable CUSTOM_DOMAIN, ou un reverse proxy Caddy devant le port 10000) et vérifie que le certificat est valide. Ouvre ensuite l'interface, guide-moi pour créer le compte admin au premier lancement, puis crée un premier workspace. Connecte une première source de données pour vérifier : la base interne Budibase DB avec une table de test suffit, et si je veux un Google Sheet, explique-moi la configuration du SSO Google qu'il faut faire sur un serveur auto-hébergé. Termine en me montrant comment mettre Budibase à jour, car des correctifs de sécurité sortent souvent. Explique chaque étape simplement, je débute.

Review the GitHub repository and check whether it is safe to install given my machine and my infrastructure. Ask me as many questions as possible, using widgets, to clarify my request and be as precise as you can.

Frequently asked questions

Is Budibase really free?: Yes. Budibase is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Retool, on the other hand, costs €11 a month.
Do I need to code to install Budibase?: No. The level is intermediate and the install takes about 20 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.
How is it different from Retool?: Budibase does most of what Retool does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.
Do I own my data?: Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.