\n\n\n\n
TL\/DR: <\/strong>Retool’s pricing consists of three elements: users, hosting, and features. Its annual cost is variable and depends on how you combine these three elements. Other internal tool builders, such as Five, offer a fixed monthly fee per application<\/a>, eliminating the guesswork from calculating the annual cost of custom-built internal tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we delve into Retool’s pricing plans, let’s discuss users<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the world of internal tool builders, such as Retool, AppSmith, Superblocks, or Five, users are an important concept and have a direct impact on pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the case of Retool, there are three types of users:<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, the first question to answer when evaluating Retool’s pricing is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Question 1: How many standard<\/em>, end<\/em>, and external <\/em>users do I expect on the platform?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Retool’s gives two options for hosting: managed hosting (Retool hosts your applications) and self-hosting (you host your applications developed in Retool).<\/p>\n\n\n\n These two hosting options have a direct impact on pricing. If you choose to self-host, Retool’s more affordable plans are capped at 25 users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Question 2: Where will my Retool application be hosted: on their servers or my servers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Retool’s pricing plans come with different features and inclusions. We won’t go into every feature and inclusion for every plan, but will only focus on two: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Both of these features are only <\/em>included in Retool’s Business <\/em>plan. While simple applications, such as a read-only sales tracker dashboard, can probably do without an audit log, permissions are critical to almost every application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Question 3: What features do I need from Retool? Are permissions, access controls and audit logs important to my application?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s put it all together and compare a few pricing scenarios. All numbers stated in this article are taken from Retool’s pricing website as of the time of writing and stated in US$, on an annual subscription plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. The Start-Up Scenario:<\/span> I have no more than 5 users, who are a mix of developers and end users.<\/strong> Everyone can access everything. <\/strong> 2. The Scale-Up Scenario:<\/span> We are a team of 2 developers and plan to build an app for 8 end users in my sales department.<\/strong> 3. The Medium-Sized Company Scenario:<\/span> I have 3 developers, and plan to build an app for 15 end users. I also need audit logging and permissions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Choose the Business <\/strong>plan at an annual cost of US$4,500 per year. Every additional end user will add US$180 in cost per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4.<\/strong> The Business Partner Portal Scenario:<\/strong><\/span> We plan to build a business partner portal<\/strong> with dozens of external users.<\/strong> Retool’s pricing can seem difficult to understand<\/strong>, but once you break it down into three parts – users, hosting, and features – it’s quite easy to predict the annual cost of an application developed in Retool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With its pricing, Retool has succeeded in making the cost of custom-built internal tools comparable to off-the-shelf SaaS solutions<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Off-the-shelf SaaS solutions, such as CRM systems, for example range from US$10 (Odoo) to US$90 (Hubspot) per user and month. Retool’s pricing per end-user is within the same ballpark, and its end-user pricing appears relatively cheap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The disadvantage of pricing per user is that it may create the wrong incentive in the development process. <\/strong>Who should be included or excluded from the application? Projects can get sidetracked by discussions of whether granting access to a certain user is worth the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Retool is also not suited for large groups of anonymous users<\/strong>. Its pricing also gets expensive once you require access control for your application, a critical feature in application development. As your team grows, your Retool application will also become costlier to run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Last, Retool is not suited for building applications that you plan to sell or monetize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are looking for a more predicable alternative offering a fixed monthly subscription fee per application, Five, a rapid development environment for internal tools is the right choice. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Five offers a transparent fixed monthly fee per application<\/a><\/strong>, starting from as little as US$27.49 per app\/month, without limits on internal or external users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nTable of Contents<\/h2><\/div>
\n\n\n\nA Step-by-Step Guide to Retool’s Pricing<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Retool](\"https:\/\/preview-php85.dzine.org\/five\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-6-1024x730.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStep 1: Understanding Users<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\n\n\nStep 2: Understanding Retool’s Hosting Options<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStep 3: Understanding Features and Inclusions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStep 4: Putting It All Together<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Great. With less than five users, you can use Retool for free, regardless of hosting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Choose the Team<\/strong> plan at an annual cost of US$720. The annual cost will be the same regardless of hosting. If you require audit logs, the annual cost increases to US$2,640 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Retool only lets you have annual users on their Business<\/em> plan and does not<\/em> disclose the annual fee per external user. On the Business<\/em> plan, the annual cost per standard user is US$600, plus US$180 per end user. Presuming you have two developers working on the business partner portal, your minimum cost will be US$1200+. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nRetool’s Pricing: Pros and Cons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFurther Reading<\/h2>\n\n\n\n