Workflow automation
Open-source alternatives to Retool, priced
1 open-source tool that can replace Retool, each shown with what it would actually cost to run for a team of 10 people. Retool on the Team tier costs $55.96 a month at that size.
The cheapest way to replace Retool here is Windmill, at $121 a month against $55.96, with your own time already counted.
| Tool | Server only | With your time | vs Retool | Operational weight | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windmill | $8.04 | $121 | -$2,775 | medium | source-available |
The final column is the 36-month difference: positive means self-hosting is cheaper.
Which one to pick
Windmill 17,901 stars
Rust server with PostgreSQL and one or more workers. Faster per job than the Node-based options, which matters if the workflow count is high.
At 10 people it needs 2.6 GB of memory and 16 GB of disk, which fits the CX23 (cost-optimized) at Hetzner Cloud for $6.70 a month. Setting it up is roughly 6 hours of work, then 1.5 hours a month to keep it healthy.
Full Retool versus Windmill breakdown · Windmill at every team size
How the pricing was established
Retool pricing was read from its own pricing page on 2026-09-14, quoted in euros and converted at 1.1193 dollars to the euro, the Frankfurter, European Central Bank reference rates rate for 2026-10-23. Server prices come from the providers listed on the hosting page. The sizing model and the cost of your time are set out in full on the methodology page.
Related
- All workflow automation compared
- Alternatives to Zapier
- Alternatives to Make
- Where to host it
What you would be running
| Tool | Licence | Written in | Setup | Upkeep | GitHub stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windmill | Other | Rust | 6 h | 1.5 h a month | 17,901 |
Questions people actually ask
Is there a free open-source alternative to Retool?
There are 1 on this page. 0 of them are open source, published under no standard open-source licence, with no licence to buy. Windmill ships its source under its own licence rather than a standard open-source one, so check its terms before commercial use. None of them is free to run: the cheapest, Windmill, costs $121 a month at 10 people once the server, backups and the time to look after it are counted.
How much does Retool cost?
Retool Team costs $55.96 a month at 10 people: EUR 5.00 per seat per month. That figure was read from the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-09-14.
What does it cost to self-host Windmill?
$121 a month at 10 people. That is $6.70 for the CX23 (cost-optimized) at Hetzner Cloud, plus backups, plus 1.5 hours a month of your own time priced at the published hourly rate.
How long before Windmill is cheaper than Retool?
Never, counting $450 of first-time setup. Over 36 months the difference is $2,775.
Which Retool alternative is the easiest to run?
Windmill, rated medium: about 6 hours to set up and 1.5 hours afterwards.