Staxly

Retool vs PocketBase

The low-code platform for internal tools, workflows, and AI agents
vs. Open-source backend in a single Go binary

Retool website ↗PocketBase (OSS) ↗

Pricing tiers

Retool

Free
$0. Up to 5 users. Unlimited apps + mobile. 500 workflow runs/month. 5GB DB + storage. 20 hrs/mo Agents.
Free
Team
$10/builder/mo + $5/internal user/mo. 5k workflow runs. Staging env. App releases.
$10/mo
Business
$50/builder/mo + $15/internal user/mo. Audit logs, rich permissions, portals, embedded apps, external user pricing.
$50/mo
Enterprise
Custom. SAML/OIDC SSO, source control, error monitoring, full white-labeling, volume discounts.
Custom
Retool website ↗

PocketBase

Self-Hosted
MIT-licensed single binary. Run on any VPS / Docker / bare metal. No usage caps — only limited by your server.
$0 base (usage-based)
PocketBase (OSS) ↗

Free-tier quotas head-to-head

Comparing free on Retool vs self-hosted on PocketBase.

MetricRetoolPocketBase
No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers.

Features

Retool · 14 features

  • Apps (Web + Mobile) — Drag-drop UI builder with 100+ components.
  • Audit Logs — Track every user action.
  • Custom JavaScript — Write JS anywhere in app logic.
  • MCP Support — Expose Retool workflows to AI agents.
  • Modules — Reusable component bundles.
  • Retool Agents — AI agents that use Retool queries + apps as tools.
  • Retool Database — Managed Postgres with GUI + collab.
  • Retool Embed — Embed apps into your SaaS.
  • Retool Forms — Public forms that write to DBs.
  • Retool Portals — External-facing apps for customers.
  • SAML/OIDC SSO (Ent) — Enterprise auth.
  • Source Control (Ent) — Git-backed version control for apps.
  • White-labeling (Ent) — Full brand customization.
  • Workflows — Cron + webhook-triggered automations with branching.

PocketBase · 12 features

  • Access Rules — Record-level access rules (filter expressions) referencing @request and @collect…
  • Admin Dashboard — Built-in web UI for schema + data management.
  • Auth — Email+password, OAuth2 (Google, GitHub, Facebook, Apple, Discord, Microsoft, etc…
  • Backups — Built-in backup/restore with S3 upload option.
  • Built-in Mailer — SMTP integration for verification, password reset, magic link emails.
  • Collections — Schema-defined record types with fields, validations, and record/admin/auth acce…
  • Embedded JS Engine — JavaScript VM (goja) lets you write hooks in JS without recompiling.
  • Extend as Go Library — Embed PocketBase in a larger Go app, add custom routes and events.
  • File Storage — Local filesystem or S3-compatible storage with access rules.
  • Hooks — Server-side Go or JavaScript hooks that run on CRUD events (OnRecordBeforeCreate…
  • Migrations — JS/Go migration scripts applied on startup.
  • Realtime Subscriptions — SSE-based subscriptions to collection changes.

Developer interfaces

KindRetoolPocketBase
SDK—Go API (extend as library), pocketbase (Dart), pocketbase (JS SDK)
RESTRetool REST API (Workflows)REST API
MCPRetool MCP—
OTHERRetool Database, Retool Editor, Self-Hosted (on-prem)Admin Dashboard, Realtime SSE
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Outbound links to Retool and PocketBase are plain references to their official websites. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.

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