Head-to-head · facts checked 13 Sept 2026
Dify vs Retool
Dify uniquely has 12 features · Retool uniquely has 6 features.
The verdict
Dify or Retool?
Section 01
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
Dify
Sandbox
Free
200 message credits, 1 workspace, 1 team member
Community
Free
All core features, single workspace, open source
Professional
$59/mo · $590/yr
6000 message credits, 1 workspace, 2 team members
Team
$159/mo · $1590/yr
10000 message credits, 3 workspaces, 50 team members
Enterprise
Custom
Advanced security, compliance, dedicated support
Retool
Team
$12/mo per builder + $7/mo per internal user · $10/mo per builder + $5/mo per internal user
5,000 workflow runs/month; 750 + 250 bonus = 1,000 AI credits/month; additional packs available
Business
$65/mo per builder + $18/mo per internal user · $50/mo per builder + $15/mo per internal user
Unlimited modules & resource environments; 1,500 + 1,500 bonus = 3,000 AI credits/month; additional packs available
Enterprise
Custom
Flexible pricing; SAML/SSO, full white-labeling, dedicated support; limited-time AI credits up to $10k/year
Section 02
Pros and cons
From each tool's full review, written from the same checked facts.
Dify
Pros
- Supports over 100 AI models including OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Mistral, and local Llama models through a consistent visual interface.
- RAG pipeline support is built natively into the workflow builder, eliminating the need to bolt on document retrieval separately.
- Flexible deployment options including cloud, VPC, and fully self-hosted via Docker or Kubernetes with official support for all three.
- Visual Workflow Studio uses drag-and-drop nodes covering agents, RAG steps, and decision branches for rapid development.
- Strong open-source traction with 151K+ GitHub stars indicating active community and ongoing development momentum.
- Ideal for development teams who want to ship production-ready AI applications without rebuilding infrastructure from scratch.
- Data residency and enterprise security requirements are accommodated through self-hosting options, a rarity at this price point.
Cons
- The platform is genuinely difficult to categorize, suggesting an unclear or overly broad product identity that may confuse buyers.
- User base claims of 500K+ cannot be independently verified, raising questions about the reliability of vendor-provided metrics.
- The review was not based on hands-on workflow building, meaning real-world usability limitations may not be fully captured.
- Moving faster than competitors in a fast-moving space increases the risk of instability, incomplete features, or shifting roadmaps.
- As a platform founded in 2023, long-term enterprise reliability and support track record remain unproven.
- Complexity of supporting 100+ models and multiple deployment methods may lead to inconsistent or under-documented edge cases.
Retool
Pros
- The drag-and-drop app builder allows developers to ship internal tools in an afternoon that would otherwise take weeks of custom engineering.
- Enterprise-grade governance features including audit logging, permission controls, staging environments, and source control are built into the core product, not added as afterthoughts.
- Supports web, iOS, Android, and self-hosted deployments, making it viable for regulated industries like financial services and manufacturing.
- The platform has expanded into four distinct layers — build, launch, scale, and govern — giving teams a structured path from prototype to production.
- AI-assisted app generation via AppGen can take a natural language prompt and produce a production-ready app.
- Native AI Agents capability includes observability and evaluation tooling built in rather than bolted on.
- With 10,000+ teams using it across seven years, Retool has a proven track record and mature product depth beyond basic app building.
Cons
- Retool occupies an awkward middle ground between no-code and developer platform, which creates real friction for teams that don't fit that specific profile.
- The platform's complexity and positioning means teams either find it a perfect fit or struggle with it from day one — there is little middle ground in user experience.
- Teams migrating from simpler tools like Appsmith or Budibase may find the governance overhead unnecessary if they don't have enterprise compliance requirements.
- The breadth of features — app builder, workflows, AI agents, and a database layer — can make the product harder to evaluate and onboard quickly.
- Self-hosting, while available, adds operational overhead that smaller teams or those without dedicated infrastructure may find burdensome.
- The aggressive push into AI features like AppGen and Agents introduces unproven capabilities that may not yet match the maturity of the core app builder.
Side by side
| Company | ||
| Founded | 2023 | 2017 |
| HQ | San Francisco, USA | San Francisco, USA |
| AI model | Multi-model (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Llama, and 100+ others) | Proprietary (AppGen) + OpenAI/Anthropic integrations |
| User base | 151K+ GitHub stars | 10,000+ teams |
| Platforms | Cloud, Docker, Kubernetes, VPC | Cloud, Self-host |
| Languages | 25+ | English primary; multi-language UI support |
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | No | Yes |
| Starting price | $59/mo | $12/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | Flexible/custom pricing |
| All plans | Sandbox — Free Community — Free Professional — $59/mo Team — $159/mo Enterprise — Custom | Team — $12/mo per builder + $7/mo per internal user Business — $65/mo per builder + $18/mo per internal user Enterprise — Custom |
| Positioning | ||
| Best for | Independent developers, small to medium teams, and enterprises building production AI apps | Developers and teams building internal tools and workflows |
| Differentiator | Three deployment modes: managed cloud, self-hosted enterprise with SSO/RBAC/ISO27001, and open-source community edition | Retool self-hosting requires substantial infrastructure knowledge; production deployments now use Kubernetes and Helm, while Docker is limited to non-production environments. |
| Competitors | Flowise, LangChain, n8n, Botpress, Relevance AI | Appsmith, Budibase, Internal.io, Airplane, Glide, Power Apps |
| Features | ||
| AI Credits Included | — | ✓ |
| API Rate Limit Control | ✓ | — |
| Audit Logging | — | ✓ |
| Custom Branding | — | ✓ |
| Document Processing | ✓ | — |
| Full Agent Runtime + Workflow Editor | ✓ | — |
| Helm Chart for K8s Deployments | ✓ | — |
| Knowledge Base | ✓ | — |
| Publish As Web App or API | ✓ | — |
| SOC 2 Type Ii + Iso 27001 | ✓ | — |
| SSO (Enterprise) | ✓ | — |
| SSO (Saml/Openid) | — | ✓ |
| SSO / Saml & Rbac | ✓ | — |
| Single Command Docker Deploy | ✓ | — |
| Trigger Events | ✓ | — |
| Unlimited Workflows | — | ✓ |
| White Labeling | — | ✓ |
| Workflow Automation | ✓ | — |
| AI Agents | ✓ | ✓ |
| API Webhooks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conditional Logic | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom Code | ✓ | ✓ |
| Data Transform | ✓ | ✓ |
| Error Handling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Execution Logs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Human in Loop | ✓ | ✓ |
| Num Integrations | 100+ AI models plus plugin marketplace integrations | 100+ (databases, REST APIs, GraphQL, Stripe, Salesforce, and many more) |
| Scheduled Runs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team Features | ✓ | ✓ |
| Trigger Types | webhook / schedule / API / workflow trigger events / external app triggers | webhook / schedule / app event / API / platform triggers (Enterprise) |
| Visual Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ||
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Workspace | ✓ | ✓ |
| Key Integrations | OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Mistral, Llama (Meta), Azure OpenAI | PostgreSQL, REST API, Stripe, Salesforce, Google Sheets |
| Openai Integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Slack | ✓ | ✓ |
| Webhook Support | ✓ | ✓ |
Section 03
Dify vs Retool: common questions
Is Dify or Retool cheaper?
Dify's cheapest paid plan is $59/mo and Retool's is $12/mo. Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
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