Retool is hired to put an internal screen on top of a database so staff can look things up and make changes without code. The bill follows builder and internal-user seats. Below: what the plans cost as published, the open-source builders and the small custom path, and what to settle about permissions before an internal tool is switched off.
An internal tool starts as a quick screen for one team, then becomes how the business runs a task: checking an order, approving a refund, correcting a record. By the time anyone asks what it costs, a dozen people depend on it.
The tool is rarely documented. The queries and permissions live inside the app, the person who built it may have moved on, and replacing it means rediscovering what it does. That is the real cost, and it is why counting seats is a better first step than comparing products.
Only alternatives we have checked. An open-source project is listed with the license its repository reports, on the date shown; one whose license could not be read as a single standard id is not offered as open source. Read the license guide before running any of them.
| Alternative | Kind | License | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appsmith | Open source | Apache-2.0 | Appsmith repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| ToolJet | Open source | AGPL-3.0 | ToolJet repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
Each feature below is what the product's own page or README says, linked to where we read it on the date shown. Pros and cons are limited to what those pages state and to what the path itself changes. We do not rank products on quality.
| Plan | Price as published | Includes | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retool Free | Free | Up to 5 users; 250 pooled AI credits a month; production environment only | Retool pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Retool Team, builder | $10 per month billed annually, $12 billed monthly | Builder seat; unlimited users; staging and production environments | Retool pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Retool Team, internal user | $5 per month billed annually, $7 billed monthly | Internal user seat on the Team plan | Retool pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Retool Business, builder | $50 per month billed annually, $65 billed monthly | Builder seat; unlimited environments; metered external users | Retool pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Retool Business, internal user | $15 per month billed annually, $18 billed monthly | Internal user seat on the Business plan | Retool pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
List prices as printed on the vendor's page on the checked date, per user per month and excluding tax. The page states that annual billing saves 20% compared with monthly. Prices at checkout can differ.
Retool is hired to put a screen on top of a database so staff can look things up and make changes without writing code. The pricing page prices builders and internal users separately, so the first question is whether people billed as builders are building.
An internal tool often holds power: it can edit customer records or issue refunds. Moving it is less about the screens and more about permissions and review. A replacement that works but lets people change data without a trail is worse than the tool you are leaving.
Samples are made up and are not Retool's prices. Type in the figures from your own invoice or order form.
The honest yearly cost of running open-source software yourself, set against the bill it replaces, with the seat count where it stops paying.
Paid seats against seats in use: what the idle ones cost a year, and what you save by right-sizing at renewal.
Arithmetic only, not tax, accounting or legal advice. Check the figures against your own order form.
Move one app at a time, and treat permissions as part of the move, not an afterthought.
List every app, its owner, the data sources it connects and the last time anyone used it. Retire the ones nobody opened in 90 days after asking their owner.
For each app, write what users can read, edit and delete, and whether the database role it uses is wider than the screens need.
Count billed builder seats against the people who built or edited an app this quarter. This may be the cheapest saving before any move.
Rebuild the simplest read-only app first in the replacement, with a database role limited to what it needs. Compare its results with the old app on the same records.
For apps that change data, run old and new side by side on a copy of the database, and check that every write lands as expected and leaves a record of who made it.
Switch users over, turn off the old app on the same day, and agree who owns the new one and how problems are reported.
Wait a full billing cycle, keep a written copy of each old app's logic, rotate every credential it used and end the plan inside the contract's notice window.
A replacement for one internal tool is a small project when it covers only the screens people use. It is written from scratch for that narrow job, with no copied code, screens or branding from any vendor, and it should be built to the way your team works rather than imitating another product.
Costs of building software for internal use may be capitalizable as internal-use software or expensed. Decide that with a CPA before you start, so the time is recorded the right way from the first day.
Run the vendor report for QuickBooks Online or Xero, then open the free audit.
General information, not legal advice. See cancelling without penalties. Last reviewed Oct 25, 2026. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify them.
Send us the export and see which lines are worth a second look. A connected version is planned. Retool is one of the lines worth a look.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
| Self-hosting, per year | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hosting, backups, tooling | 720.00 |
| Admin and restore-test time | 2,640.00 |
| Total | 3,360.00 |
| One-off set-up (not in the yearly total) | 1,200.00 |
The saving holds only if the time is real. Price the admin hours at what that person's time costs the company, not at zero.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
“In use” is your call: last sign-in in the past 30 or 90 days from the vendor's admin report. A seat for someone on leave is not idle.