Appsmith

✓ Verified FOSSApache-2.0

Top open-source alternative to Retool

⭐ 41,053 Stars Official Website ↗

Platform to build admin panels, internal tools, and dashboards. Integrates with 25+ databases and any API.

Tech StackJava, React, TypeScript

Self-Host DifficultyEasy

License ModelApache-2.0

GitHub Repositoryappsmithorg/appsmith

Recommended VPS & Hardware Sizing

Estimated Hosting: $4 - $6/mo (e.g. Hetzner CX22 or DigitalOcean)

Min RAM:1 GB

Rec RAM:2 GB

Compute:1 vCPU

Disk Space:10 GB SSD

Appsmith vs Retool Comparison Matrix

Evaluation Criteria	Appsmith (Open Source)	Retool (Proprietary)
Per-user Fee	$0 / Server Compute Only	$10 - $50 / user / month
Viewer Licenses	Unlimited Free Viewers	Paywalled per seat
Self-Hosting	1 Docker container	Retool On-prem requires Enterprise

INTERACTIVE TCO MODELEstimated Rate: $30/user/mo

Financial Impact: Migrating from Retool to Self-Hosted Appsmith

Detailed Stack Calculator →

Active Team Members / Seats: 25 Users

5 Users (Early Startup)50 Users (Scaleup)200 Users (Enterprise Org)

Retool (Cloud SaaS)Per-Seat Tax

$9,000per year ($750/mo)

3-Year Spend:$27,000

* Excludes enterprise SSO add-ons & usage overages

Appsmith (Self-Hosted)Zero Per-Seat Fee

$120per year ($10/mo Linux VPS)

3-Year Compute:$360

* Commodity Hetzner / DigitalOcean compute instance

Cumulative 3-Year ROI+$26,640Net savings across 36 months (99% reduction)

Annual Free Cash:+$8,880/yr

Need C-Level Buy-In? Generate an instant ROI proposal memo to present to your CTO or CFO.

HEAD-TO-HEAD BATTLES // SIDE-BY-SIDE AUDIT

Compare Appsmith Head-to-Head

Custom Comparison Engine →

★ PRIMARY REPLACEMENTFOSS vs SaaS

Appsmithvs

Retool

Comprehensive benchmark comparing Appsmith against proprietary Retool licensing and features.

View Full Battle Report→

DatabasesPEER BENCHMARK

Supabasevs

PocketBase

Enterprise Multi-Service PostgreSQL vs Single-Binary Go/SQLite

Inspect Comparison→

DatabasesPEER BENCHMARK

Supabasevs

Firebase

Open-Source Relational Postgres vs Google Proprietary NoSQL

Inspect Comparison→

DatabasesPEER BENCHMARK

PocketBasevs

Firebase

Self-Hosted Zero-Config SQLite vs Google Pay-Per-Read NoSQL

Inspect Comparison→

DatabasesPEER BENCHMARK

NocoDBvs

Baserow

Connect to Any Existing MySQL/PG vs Dedicated PostgreSQL Airtable Clone

Inspect Comparison→

DatabasesPEER BENCHMARK

NocoDBvs

Airtable

Connect Existing MySQL/PG Databases vs $20-$45/User/Mo Airtable Paywall

Inspect Comparison→

Core Capabilities & Features

✓45+ Pre-built UI Widgets

✓Connect PostgreSQL, MySQL, REST, GraphQL

✓Custom JS Code Queries

✓Git-based Source Control

Self-Host Appsmith with Docker Compose

Tweak configuration ports, secrets, and volumes live. Download or copy your ready-to-run container file:

1-Click Docker Compose Generator

Generate production-ready container definitions with customizable ports and volumes.

Select Open-Source Project:

AppsmithApache-2.0

Open source low-code framework to build internal tools and dashboards fast

Difficulty: Easy41,053 ⭐

Configure Parameters

Web Port (PORT)

SSL Port (SSL_PORT)

docker-compose.appsmith.yml

version: "3.8"
services:
  appsmith:
    image: index.docker.io/appsmith/appsmith-ce:latest
    container_name: appsmith
    ports:
      - "${PORT:-80}:80"
      - "${SSL_PORT:-443}:443"
    volumes:
      - appsmith_stacks:/appsmith-stacks
    restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
  appsmith_stacks:

Frequently Asked Questions: Self-Hosting Appsmith

How do I self-host Appsmith using Docker Compose?

You can deploy Appsmith (appsmithorg/appsmith) on any Linux server by copying the docker-compose.yml template on this page, configuring your desired host port and persistent volume directory, and running 'docker compose up -d'.

How does Appsmith compare to Retool?

Appsmith is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Retool built with Java, React, TypeScript. Unlike Retool ($10 - $50 / user / month), Appsmith has zero per-user licensing fees and keeps 100% of your data on your own infrastructure.

What are the minimum VPS RAM and CPU requirements for Appsmith?

For production self-hosting (Easy difficulty tier), we recommend at least 2 GB RAM (minimum 1 GB), 1 vCPU, and 10 GB SSD storage, which typically costs $4 - $6/mo (e.g. Hetzner CX22 or DigitalOcean).

Is Appsmith free for commercial business use under the Apache-2.0 license?

Yes. Distributed under the Apache-2.0 license, Appsmith can be self-hosted internally by businesses and engineering teams of any size without per-seat royalties.

README INTEGRATION // REPO EMBED

Embed Official Appsmith Badge in GitHub README

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Live Preview:

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SIMILAR REPOSITORIES // PEER COMPARISON