Appian vs Retool comparison

Appian and Retool are both solutions in the Rapid Application Development Software category. Appian is ranked #10 with an average rating of 7.9, while Retool is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.3. Appian holds a 8.5% mindshare in RADS, compared to Retool’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Appian users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Retool users who would recommend it.

Appian

Read 63 Appian reviews

7,841 Views
2,038 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Retool

Read 7 Retool reviews

343 Views
152 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Appian

Retool

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Appian and Retool are competing platforms that serve businesses looking to streamline their application development processes. Appian offers a comprehensive set of tools geared towards large enterprises, while Retool is considered superior for start-ups and smaller companies due to its flexibility and ease of use.

Features: Appian's valuable features include robust process design, low-code capabilities, and rapid application deployment, making it well-suited for enterprise-scale processes. Retool offers easy integration with APIs, drag-and-drop components, and extensive customization options, ideal for creating internal tools quickly.

Room for Improvement: Appian could enhance its low-code features to cater to even less technical users and improve user interface options for customization. It might also benefit from streamlining integration processes further. Retool may need improvements in scaling for larger enterprises, offering more in-depth process automation, and increasing support for complex business logic.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Appian provides strong deployment support with scalable solutions and dedicated assistance, making it suitable for large-scale operations. Retool offers a quickly deployable and intuitive setup, benefiting smaller teams with hands-on service for faster iterations.

Pricing and ROI: Appian involves a higher setup cost but promises significant ROI for enterprises through automation and efficiency gains. Retool provides a cost-effective entry point, aligning with the budget constraints of startups and promising ROI through rapid development cycles.

To learn more, read our detailed Appian vs. Retool Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Appian vs. Retool

June 2025

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Helped 860,592 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Appian

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

10th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Management (BPM) (12th), Process Automation (7th), Low-Code Development Platforms (5th), Process Mining (8th)

Retool

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

17th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Appian is 8.5%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Retool is 0.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rapid Application Development Software

Featured Reviews

Nitin-Agarwal

Delivery Manager (Intelligent Business Automation) - Pega at Persistent Systems

Seamless integration enhances workflows while memory optimization can improve complex processes

I am working with all of these products: Pega, Appian, and OutSystems. I use Appian as a process orchestrator for workflow and rule-based routing, and it is preferred when I am developing an enterprise-wide application. The application is mobile-friendly, allowing me to use it across any device…

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Tabraiz Ahmed

Technical Lead at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Its focus lies in building dashboards for cloud operations and data management, as well as generating analytical reports

In some of my past projects, I collaborated with others, and we used GitHub for version control. It served as a repository where we pushed our code updates, facilitating seamless collaboration and version tracking among team members. One limitation of Retool currently is the lack of support for parallel editing, meaning that multiple users cannot collaborate on the same application simultaneously. This restriction aligns with the application's context, as it's typically more practical for only one person to edit an application at a time. They recently integrated AI models, such as Ahmed AI, and consistently incorporate new OpenAPI module releases into the cloud environment. This integration allows users to leverage the latest advancements, including AI assistance for error detection and resolution within queries, particularly in JavaScript and SQL, enhancing the development experience in Retool. If you are going to invest in Retool and you have a clear vision. Definitely, it is worth it. Some users say it is a bit pricey. There are a couple of other software like Ubiquiti, but even Microsoft also providing a low code platform, but it's more enterprise-level based applications, not for everyone. Retool is still leading and have a good price plan, which users are comfortable with. It will not be too difficult if you have some technical background. If you know how to write JavaScript queries, how SQL queries work, and understand how front-end development operates in real-time, then maybe one or two years of development experience will be sufficient for a user to develop a basic application in Retool. However, it does require some level of development experience. For example, a project manager without any development experience would not be able to work within Retool and develop a dashboard or define a workflow unless they first educate themselves and gain some proficiency with the tool. A normal business user cannot use it; you must have some development experience. When you mention a low-code platform, it implies that a user with a certain level of development knowledge can develop applications. That's where we may fall short. However, looking at the advantages, you can customize and control your application at a very detailed level within Retool. So, it excels in both positive and negative aspects. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The application life cycle is very clear. I started learning it and giving some workshops to my team. Creating the users and the building is very structured. Documentation is nice and it's easy to learn."

"The most beneficial aspect of Appian is its data management capabilities and the process engine in general."

"The solution's most valuable features are the regular periodic and quarterly updates, they are very useful updates. They keep improving the solution more often, and that helps the platform or code always be up to date with the latest features."

"It has very flexible adaptation and the ability to save and automate processes."

"The tool is very flexible."

"Appian helps you do a lot of things. It's easy to configure and build an application platform, and it offers a lot of features that you find in an RPA solution. It's flexible so you can reuse it for a variety of use cases."

"Appian is easy to install and set up, and it does not come out with your audit. It has accessible process orchestration and process management. With Appian, the time to market is much faster."

"The most valuable features are the low coding and low code data."

More Appian pros

"The most valuable feature of Retool is the workflow because I can integrate multiple features, such as RESTful API, JavaScript API, or different databases on the same dashboard."

"The stability is okay."

"Retool provides us with the opportunity to save time and be more efficient."

"We can create the dashboards quickly."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is connectivity with APIs and other databases."

"There are several key aspects to Retool that make it stand out. Firstly, its extensive range of components makes integration straightforward. Secondly, its support for SQL and JavaScript allows for the implementation of complex logic, which is particularly beneficial for developers like yourself with experience in .NET development."

"Retool's most valuable features are its drag-and-drop components and the ability to customize them extensively."

Cons

"Appian could be improved by making it a strict, no-code platform with free-built process packs."

"There is no UI customization possible."

"Authoring tool is slow to use resulted in limitations on how quickly solutions can be built."

"The product’s pricing could be improved from the developers' perspective."

"Appian has a few areas for improvement, which my organization raised with the Appian team. One is the Excel output which is limited to fifty columns when it should be up to two hundred or three hundred columns."

"There are four areas I believe Appian could improve in. The first is a seamless contact center integration. Appian does not have a contact center feature. The second is advanced features in RPA. The third would be chatbot and email bot integration—while Appian comes with chatbot and email bot, it's not as mature as it should be, compared to the competition. The fourth area would be next best action, since there is not much of this sort of feature in Appian. These are all features which competitors' products have, and in a mature manner, whereas Appian lacks on these four areas. I see customers who are moving from Appian to Pega because these features are not in Appian."

"We would like to have more granular control for interface styling."

"Architecture of product and scalabiility issues."

More Appian cons

"Retool should add more resource integration."

"The part where we can add some custom logic or custom plugins could be better."

"The solution lacks inbuilt customization to customize bar charts."

"Retool could enhance support, including efforts to establish support centers in Europe, which was lacking previously. However, the community is still in the growth phase, leading to potential delays in receiving responses to queries."

"There are restrictions on the front-end side."

"One area for improvement in Retool is expanding its library support to include a broader range of third-party JavaScript libraries."

"The components are changed frequently, which is very irritating."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Appian is very flexible in their pricing. In general, Appian's pricing is much, much lower when compared to competition like Pega or other products. Appian also has a flexible licensing model across geographies. Pega usually goes with a single licensing cost—which is a US-based cost—for all global customers, and it's costly. Whereas Appian has a different regional licensing cost model and it can be cheaper, depending on geography. So Appian's licensing is very flexible, and cheaper when compared to other competition."

"You can't really test the software properly without actually buying the license first."

"The price of this solution is a little high here in Mongolia."

"I think that if somebody is really serious at looking at business value, then by all means, the product is well worth the value. You get representative business value for the price that you pay for the product, and for the implementation of the product."

"The license is not very cheap. It's on the expensive side."

"Product pricing compared to some of the earlier vendors, like IBM, CA, and Oracle, is quite well-priced. Although, we do feel that as we increase the number of users and the workload increases, we will have to spend more."

"The solution offers a monthly subscription model. That's what we use. I recall it being about $90 a month. They do have different tiers."

"Licensing of Appian is less expensive when compared to other BPMs in the market."

More Appian pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is very expensive. It costs for each user, for automated users, open-end users, et cetera."

"I don't know Retool's current pricing, but it cost around $12 per month earlier."

"For new users, evaluate the scale of their administrative needs as Retool provides excellent free services for smaller setups, but larger deployments might require transitioning to a paid plan."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"For me, I'm in India right now, and we have Retool's subscription for one team member for $10 per month."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Educational Organization

14%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

14%

University

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which do you prefer - Appian or Camunda Platform?

Appian is fast when building simple to medium solutions. This solution offers simple drag-and-drop functionality with easy plug-and-play options. The initial setup was seamless and very easy to imp...

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Is Appian a suitable solution for beginners who have no additional preparation?

Appian is actually pretty big on educating its users, including with courses that reward you with certifications. There is a whole section on their company’s website where you can check out the edu...

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Is it easy to set up Appian or did you have to resort to professional help?

We had some issues when we were setting up Appian. It was quite surprising, since this is a low-code tool which, in its essence, means it is meant for business users and inexperienced beginners. So...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Retool?

For new users, evaluate the scale of their administrative needs as Retool provides excellent free services for smaller setups, but larger deployments might require transitioning to a paid plan.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Retool?

One area for improvement in Retool is expanding its library support to include a broader range of third-party JavaScript libraries. This would enhance the tool's versatility and allow more complex ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Retool?

I employ Retool primarily to build admin panels that effectively manage office and backend project staff. These panels facilitate the management of various organizational functions and streamline u...

See all answers

Comparisons

ServiceNow vs Appian

Compared 11% of the time

OutSystems vs Appian

Compared 10% of the time

Salesforce Platform vs Appian

Compared 10% of the time

Camunda vs Appian

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs Appian

Compared 7% of the time

More Appian Competitors

Streamlit vs Retool

Compared 76% of the time

Pega Platform vs Retool

Compared 24% of the time

More Retool Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Appian

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Retool

June 2025

Download Retool product report

Also Known As

Appian BPM, Appian AnyWhere, Appian Enterprise BPMS

No data available

Overview

Appian is a unified low-code platform and solution used by businesses to build enterprise applications and workflows. This product adapts to the needs of clients and the technologies they are already using to combine their data in a single workflow and maximize resources. The platform has four main components through which it transforms the work process for companies of various sizes. They are:

Complete automation: Through complete automation, companies are able to coordinate and manage employees, existing systems, bots, data, and artificial intelligence (AI) in a single workflow. The solution offers a way to centrally manage all third-party automation vendors as well.
Low-code applications: Appian offers the ability to build applications faster with visual development and low-code tools. All applications are ready-made to be suitable for mobile.
Low-code data: Appian lets companies source data from multiple types of sources, eliminating the need for data migration. Through no-code and low-code solutions and industry-standard connectors, the platform also eliminates the need for data silos.
Enterprise ready: The platform offers options for companies to scale their businesses to an enterprise level without complications.

Appian is utilized across a diverse set of industries, including automotive and manufacturing, energy and utilities, education, financial services, telecom and media, transportation, retail, insurance, healthcare, and life sciences. The most frequent use cases of Appian are customer journey, governance, risk and compliance, operational efficiency, supply chain, distributed order management, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management.

Appian Features

Appian has various features that allow users to create solutions for their businesses. These features can be separated into a few groups according to function, including automation, low-code application development, and integrations and data. Some of the most frequently used features of Appian include:

Robotic process automation (RPA): Users of Appian can assign software bots to perform rules-based tasks that need to be repeated over a set course of time. This can improve efficiency and performance within an organization while saving human resources.
Intelligent document processing: The tool offers a feature for quick and accurate extraction and structuring of data. This can reduce time and costs for organizations because it eliminates the need for outsourcing such services.
AI: Appian utilizes artificial intelligence to enhance applications, workflows, and automation. AI is also used to address complex processes and unique situations.
Business rules: Organizations can automate and simplify work processes while adhering to their operating procedures.
Application development: Appian provides a low-code development feature that allows users to deploy applications over ten times faster than through conventional approaches. This feature not only allows for quick application building, but also applications that run on multiple types of platforms, seamless data integration, and business scalability.
Integrations and data: Appian allows for data integration from a wide array of sources without the need for migration. This contributes to easy access to data across systems, real-time data insights, improved user experience, and accelerated development.

Appian Benefits

The benefits of using Appian include:

The solution ensures seamless organization growth, as it supports various UX patterns, common data schemes, and upgrades, used to facilitate application development on a bigger scale.
Appian can increase process speed and deliver applications considerably faster compared to conventional development.
The platform is easy to use and suitable for complete beginners to build applications and workflows.
Appian offers a variety of design tools that facilitate development and deployment.
Appian offers detailed real-time data insight which allows organizations to access relevant information about their processes as they are developing.
The solution offers clients the ability to move data between the cloud, on-premise, and hybrid configurations.
The platform is easy to optimize, which allows businesses to utilize it according to their personal needs.
Appian offers connectivity across web, mobile, email, voice, and chat, providing a multi-channel experience for companies and their clients.

Reviews from Real Users

A practice leader - digital process automation at a computer software company values Appian highly because the product is easy to develop, low-code, and has a good user interface.

Alan G., an advisory board member at Codecon VR, Appian offers a clear application life cycle, easy to learn documentation, and comes with a fundamentals course.

Appian

Retool enables rapid construction of internal tools with minimal coding, streamlining workflows across HR, customer support, and compliance. Praised for its drag-and-drop interface, extensive component library, and SQL support, it boosts organizational efficiency by automating tasks and enhancing data management.

Retool

Sample Customers

Hansard Global plc, Punch Taverns, Pirelli, Crawford & Company, EDP Renewables, Queensland Government Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (, Bank of Tennessee

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Buyer's Guide

Appian vs. Retool

June 2025

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