Hey I’m Seth!

Founder, No Code MBA
Each week I share the latest No Code MBA tutorials, interviews, and tool recommendations with 20,000 subscribers.
I'd love for you to join as well.
2 min read only
Practical lessons
Free access to content
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form...
00
D
00
H
00
M
00
S
SPRING SALE: SAVE 10% →

Retool vs Webflow

An in-depth head to head comparison

In this article, read a side-by-side comparison between two no-code tools: Retool and Webflow. We'll compare pricing, the benefits, the drawbacks, give examples of what you can and can't build, as well as our overall recommendation.

What is Retool?

Build internal tools, remarkably fast
Go to tool
No items found.

What is Webflow?

Design, build, and launch powerful websites visually without coding
Go to tool

Learn everything you need to know about Webflow

Our in-depth course will take your from a beginner to expert

The Complete Guide to Webflow

Pricing

Retool pricing

  • Free plan with editor mode only and up to 5 modules
  • $10/month - $50/month per user enables user mode (people can use your app without the ability to edit your set up), version history, more modules, and more advanced features

Webflow pricing

  • Free to build with a Webflow domain and limited CMS functionality
  • $12/month - $36/month for custom domains and additional monthly visits and data storage, and additional features like e-commerce

Benefits

Retool benefits

  • Build internal apps connected to your company's data
  • Supports data from just about every database and data source
  • Lots of templates and components
  • Display, filter, and edit your company's data directly from retool
  • Allows businesses to create custom dashboards without developer resources

Webflow benefits

  • Complete control over all aspects of web design
  • Can build professional-level websites
  • Can export code (CSS/HTML) to host website on your own
  • Great integrations with other no-code tools like Jetboost (advanced search, filtering and more of Webflow site data) and Memberstack (create memberships and hide premium content).
  • The Webflow CMS lets you dynamically create pages or insert content stored in a database of content. A CMS is like a database that holds information about content for your website. Still a bit confused? Learn more about what a CMS is here.
  • Fantastic community
  • Best designer / responsive builder
  • Lots of templates

Drawbacks

Retool drawbacks

  • Somewhat high learning curve

Webflow drawbacks

  • Slightly higher learning curve
  • Slightly higher cost

What you can build

Retool use-cases

  • Internal dashboards
  • Internal apps for your business such as a refund management system, data visualization, inventory management, content scheduler, promo code manager and more

Webflow use-cases

  • Business websites with dynamically created pages via the Webflow CMS
  • Landing pages
  • Membership apps with accounts (a site like No Code MBA)
  • Content sites (like Startup Stash)
  • Custom blogs
  • E-commerce sites
  • Marketplaces where you charge a subscription to access all content

What you can't build

What you can't build with Retool

  • Customer-facing apps (Retool apps are meant to be used internally)

What you can't build with Webflow

  • Web apps with complex logic (check out Glide or Bubble)
  • Marketplaces like Fiverr (check out ShareTribe)
  • Mobile apps (check out Glide or Adalo)

Overall Recommendation

Retool recommendation

Retool is a fantastic tool for building internal apps at your business.

Where Retool really shines is allowing non-technical people to build apps that interact with a live database without needing to use developers.

Retool is the best tool for this use-case.

Webflow recommendation

Webflow is a versatile tool, which makes it a great option for many types of projects.

For general websites, it's my top pick because it can be fully customized and has a built-in CMS to dynamically create pages (for example, you could create a page for every project in your portfolio automatically). Squarespace is the most similar for general websites - it's easier to use but less powerful.

For basic landing pages, tools like Umso and Carrd are easier to use but also less customizable.

For web apps, Webflow integrates with Memberstack to build paid membership apps. This is great for sites with premium hidden content such as No Code MBA.

For marketplaces, Webflow is great if you charge a subscription to access all content. If you need to handle payments directly to vendors, I'd suggest ShareTribe.

For e-commerce stores, Webflow is a great option if you want to prioritize design over more complex e-commerce functionality. In almost all other cases I'd suggest Shopify as it's easier to use and has a larger app ecosystem and community for e-commerce.

For web apps with more complex logic, I'd recommend Glide or Bubble.

Access all of this with No-Code MBA Unlimited
Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Friendly Tip!
Companies often reimburse No Code MBA memberships. Here's an email template to send to your manager.

Bring Your Ideas to Life with AI and No Code

Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Access all of this with No-Code MBA Unlimited
Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Friendly Tip!
Companies often reimburse No Code MBA memberships. Here's an email template to send to your manager.

More tool comparisons