Retool vs Zoho Creator comparison

Retool and Zoho are both solutions in the Rapid Application Development Software category. Retool is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.3, while Zoho is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.7. Retool holds a 0.5% mindshare in RADS, compared to Zoho’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Retool users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Zoho users who would recommend it.

Retool

Read 7 Retool reviews

238 Views
152 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Zoho Creator

Read 21 Zoho Creator reviews

1,330 Views
722 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Retool

Zoho Creator

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Zoho Creator and Retool compete in the low-code application development category. Retool's advanced customization and integration capabilities give it the upper hand over Zoho Creator's competitive pricing and support.

Features: Zoho Creator facilitates app creation with pre-built templates, a drag-and-drop interface, and third-party integrations. Retool offers advanced customization, seamless database integration, and control through its feature-rich platform.

Room for Improvement: Zoho Creator could enhance its feature set for complex applications, improve workflow customization options, and expand its API integration capabilities. Retool may benefit from simplifying its deployment process, offering more beginner-friendly guidance, and reducing the complexity of its setup for less technically-inclined users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zoho Creator provides an intuitive deployment model with smooth onboarding and extensive support. Retool, while more complex, offers flexible deployment and robust technical support.

Pricing and ROI: Zoho Creator is cost-effective, appealing to budget-conscious small and medium enterprises with its attractive pricing and rapid ROI. Retool requires a higher initial investment but offers substantial long-term value through its extensive customization capabilities, appealing to those focusing on scalability.

To learn more, read our detailed Retool vs. Zoho Creator Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Retool vs. Zoho Creator

April 2025

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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

Retool

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

18th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zoho Creator

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

13th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Low-Code Development Platforms (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Retool is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoho Creator is 0.9%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rapid Application Development Software

Featured Reviews

Saurabh Tiwari

Back End Developer at Medha

Easy to use, I don't need to write extensive code and built-in components helps to develop tools

Retool provides multiple tools and functionalities that we can use. However, there are restrictions on the front-end side. From the back-end side, we can use anything, but on the front-end, we have limited tools. This limits our ability to enhance functionality. For example, if I'm creating a tool for you to collect feedback from your clients or users, we have limited resources on the front-end. For the back-end, we have unlimited resources, but for the front-end, we are restricted to creating dashboards and similar tools. If you want to enable other functionalities, we can add them, but this is a limitation on the front-end side.

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Gokulakrishnan G

Founder at GGSH&CO LLP

Quick turnaround on project closures with a drag-and-drop interface and good value for money

Zoho Creator provides a quick turnaround in terms of project closures, which is the most important benefit. Its drag-and-drop interface enhances app development. Integrations and schedulers are also used. Zoho applications are cloud-based, which makes updates automatic since it's a SaaS-based application. In terms of stability, we have had no issues. It is satisfactory and has value for money, especially if things are properly strategized to save time.

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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

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

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

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

"The stability is okay."

"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."

"We can create the dashboards quickly."

"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."

"Zoho Creator is a low-code platform that is easy to use and manage other resources. It stands out because of its modular platform approach. It offers an ERP system with the flexibility to create various applications like service applications, customer portals, and more. It's particularly useful if you already have an ERP system and want to extend its functionality with applications for customer portals, e-commerce, or internal processes such as HR approvals and inventory management. The platform simplifies workflow creation."

"Zoho Creator is a flexible and powerful solution. I like the tool's advanced modification feature which helps to modify its layout and setup scripts."

"It has a simple user interface, not so difficult to use. You can add AI models, integration, and third-party connections."

"Zoho Creator helps to maintain the products in development."

"Zoho Creator can be integrated with other platforms easily."

"Zoho Creator is a flexible open platform that is good for development in a complex environment that other platforms may not support. It isn't a challenge for me to develop any kind of complex application in Zoho."

"It is very easy to build applications on the product."

"The product’s MIS feature is very valuable to us."

More Zoho Creator pros

Cons

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

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

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

"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."

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

"Retool should add more resource integration."

"They should allow for more UI customization."

"When you're developing database-type applications, there is no way to see the actual database tables. They call them forms, and I don't like that. Zoho should also provide better user guides."

"The layout of the form site needs some improvements because you can only create a basic layout and templates in the forms."

"Zoho Creator's UX design needs to be improved."

"Sometimes, codes that are working fine can suddenly throw errors without any specific reason."

"We face issues while moving from one form to another form. We have a negative impression of the tool's support since they do not provide us assistance with our queries. They don't have solid answers to our questions."

"Zoho Creator falls short on data management, so we must connect it to other databases to handle larger datasets. However, it may still be sufficient for smaller databases. Better templates and examples for support teams or programming could be improved. Learning the Zoho Creator language, known as "Deluge," can be challenging for native programmers, so having clear examples and training materials would benefit users."

"I would like to see a simpler layout and interface. I would also like to see Zoho CRM and Zoho Campaigns integrated with the product."

More Zoho Creator cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

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

"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."

"We would prefer it if the price went down drastically."

"Zoho Creator's price is reasonable compared to other vendors."

"The tool's pricing is flexible."

"Anyone can start using the solution with less than 15 to 30 dollars a month per user. It is worth the money."

"Zoho Creator started at 800 rupees, about $10 per month."

"Zoho Creator is the cheapest option in the market right now that can deliver this level of quality."

"Zoho Creator's pricing is fine. It's subscription-based."

"It is at the bottom end of the price range."

More Zoho Creator pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Educational Organization

66%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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

What do you like most about Zoho Creator?

The deployment process is quite straightforward.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoho Creator?

Pricing is a little on the higher side for the Indian market, especially for mid-sized and small-sized companies with 30 to 40 users. Thus, it becomes a little price-sensitive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zoho Creator?

Sometimes, codes that are working fine can suddenly throw errors without any specific reason. This requires reaching out to support for resolution. In terms of scalability, there are certain limita...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Retool

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Zoho Creator

April 2025

Download Zoho Creator product report

Overview

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

Zoho Creator is a web-based platform that lets everyone build custom business applications without any prior technical knowledge
Zoho Creator offers a first of its kind drag-n-drop interface to create tables/forms, design, schedule workflows and perform a variety of automated actions.

Zoho Creator's powerful tools for data collection and management, analysis, reporting and collaboration make it the smart choice for small to large organizations to run their business online, without any additional costs, infrastructure, or software.

Zoho Creator is used by more than 400,000 users and 100,000+ apps have been already created. Don't let complex looking workflows and business rules scare you.

Zoho Creator is completely non-programmer friendly. Use the intuitive and feature-rich platform to build your custom database applications. Just write your business rules and let the software handle deployment and hosting. You can create your own forms/tables afresh or import data from standard formats (.xls .csv .mdb) and get your database application online within minutes, really!

Zoho

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Estate Crush Winery, Integra Services, Avidpays, Napa Valley Film Festival, Marionnaud, The Institute of Hormonal Health, Stone Tapert

Buyer's Guide

Retool vs. Zoho Creator

April 2025

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