REI3 in comparison

Is Retool a good alternative to REI3? We chose to compare Retool Business and REI3 Professional as they offer similar functionality.

References:

Retool

REI3

	Retool Business	REI3 Professional	Details
Deployment
Infrastructure	on-premise, private cloud, public cloud	on-premise, private cloud (self-hosted)	REI3 runs locally, in the cloud or from a USB stick. REI3 is not yet offered in a public cloud - private cloud hosting is available on request.
Operating systems	Linux	Windows Server, Linux	REI3 supports x64 and arm64 processors and runs on almost any server, including Raspberry Pis.
Corporate identity / branding		company logo, color, link, welcome text	Retool offers branding with Enterprise licensing.
Offline server			Retool requires internet access every 6 hours for license checks. REI3 does not require any internet access. Updates and applications can also be installed offline.
User experience
Client access	browser or PWA, directly or via app	browser or PWA	Retool offers native apps on iOS and Android to access available Retool applications.
Mobile devices	browser	browser or PWA, optimized user interfaces	Retool mobile is currently in beta. Applications for mobile must currently be created separately. REI3 can be installed on mobile devices as progressive web app (PWA). Cached applications help achieve very fast response times.
Offline client
Local file access		with client app (Windows, Linux, MacOS)	REI3 includes a client app that can open and edit files locally with one click.
Print function
PDF generation	can save current page as PDF
ActiveDirectory / SSO			Retool offers AD/SSO features with Enterprise licensing. REI3 supports user import, role assignment and same-sign-on via LDAP/ActiveDirectory.
Calendar sync		unlimited calendars via ICS
Data & storage
Record count	not relevant	unlimited	Retool usually connects to customer data sources instead of hosting its own data.
Database size	not relevant	unlimited	Retool usually connects to customer data sources instead of hosting its own data.
Change history
Data im-/export
Access control	applications, folders, records	applications, tables, attributes, records	REI3 can assign roles via ActiveDirectory group memberships.
SQL access	depends		Retool SQL access is possible when self-hosted. REI3 keeps data human readable and accessible for reporting.
Backups	daily automatic backups	as many/often as desired	REI3 also offers an integrated backup system for convenience.
Database systems	PostgreSQL	PostgreSQL	REI3 also offers an integrated database system for convenience.
Low code development
Predefined field types
Views	tables, forms, charts, calendars	tables, cards, forms, charts, gantts, calendars, kanbans
Data manipulation	frontend functions	frontend & backend functions	REI3 authors can directly access data. From working with translations, to email parsing and time calculations - data can be processed in the frontend and on the server side.
Automation	triggers	triggers, scheduled functions	Retool is looking at a function scheduler, no ETA yet.
Application templates	simple templates to use and expand on	production ready applications to use and build on
Ownership	database exports & export of applications in JSON format for transfer/backup	database exports & export of applications (signed, owned and sellable by the author)	REI3 applications are fully owned by the application author. They can be installed on other systems, sold and used as foundation for new applications.
Interfaces
Mail sending	unlimited	unlimited	REI3 was already used to build custom mail compaign solutions.
Mail receiving			REI3 can fetch and parse emails; a ticket system with advanced mailing capabilities exists for REI3.
REST access	unlimited	unlimited	REI3 can both serve as REST server as well as call external REST endpoints.
Security
Transport encryption (TLS/SSL)
End-to-end encryption at rest			REI3 includes an integrated user key management, to enable easy-to-use, but secure end-to-end encryption. Encrypted data stays protected even in case of theft.
Password policy
Open source code
GDPR conformity	attainable	attainable	GDPR conformity is not a simple product feature; it depends on many factors, for which a product can be well-suited for or not.
Costs and services
Software updates included
Email support
Premium support			Retool offers premium support with Enterprise licensing. REI3 offers premium support on request.
Vendor lock-in	closed-source, self-hosting is available with zero-cost licensing (strongly limited features)	open-source, self-hosting for free	REI3 is an open application platform; applications can be used and updates installed without paying for support services. The database is human readable and can be used without REI3.
Special conditions for educational and charity organizations
Country of origin	United States of America	Germany
Pricing	50,00 € per user and month	2,50 € - 5,00 € per user and month	REI3 user prices scale with count, more are cheaper.