Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Pega Platform vs Retool comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Pega Platform
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
7th
Ranking in AI Software Development
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Business Rules Management (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (3rd), Process Automation (4th), Low-Code Development Platforms (7th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (7th)
Retool
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
15th
Ranking in AI Software Development
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Pega Platform is 5.7%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Retool is 1.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Pega Platform5.7%
Retool1.3%
Other93.0%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer4848291 - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of Digital, Process Automation at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Pega is a low-code platform that enables organizations to build, automate, and optimize business processes and customer experiences through AI-powered decisioning and workflow automation.
Here are the key areas where Pega Platform could be improved: 1. User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) Customization Limitations: The UI layer is tightly coupled with the platform, limiting flexibility for custom front-end development. Constellation Architecture: While it improves consistency, it restricts advanced UI customizations compared to older section-based designs. Learning Curve: Non-technical users find the UI unintuitive despite the low-code promise. 2. Integration & Extensibility Limited Out-of-the-Box Integrations: Users report challenges integrating with non-relational databases and legacy systems. Robotics Integration: Pega RPA (formerly OpenSpan) is not seamlessly integrated with BPM, creating silos in automation. 3. AI & Decisioning AI Capabilities Need Maturity: Users expect more advanced, native AI features without relying on external tools. CDH & Decision Hub: While powerful, these components require deep expertise to configure effectively. 4. Cost & Licensing High Licensing Costs: Pega is often seen as expensive, especially for small and mid-sized enterprises. Lack of Flexible Pricing Models: Calls for subscription-based or usage-based pricing to improve accessibility. 5. Performance & Scalability Scalability Concerns: Some users report performance degradation with large user bases or complex workflows. Upgrade Complexity: Platform upgrades can be time-consuming and disruptive if not planned well. 6. Documentation & Community Support Insufficient Learning Resources: Especially for advanced features, documentation is limited and community support is not as strong as competitors. Talent Availability: Finding skilled Pega professionals remains a challenge in many regions. 7. Low-Code/No-Code Experience Not Fully No-Code: Despite branding, some tasks still require technical intervention, and the drag-and-drop interface can be restrictive 2. Conflict Management: Simultaneous development by multiple users can lead to rule conflicts.
YL
IT consultant for healthcare sector at Freelancer
Has provided a quick way to build mobile apps and could improve usability for non-technical users
The best features Retool offers include the ability to quickly create a mobile app and use this mobile app in a native mobile app for Android. I found the process of creating and deploying those mobile apps for Android with Retool to be smooth as the documentation is very good, and I found answers and examples to create a mobile app. I can access a debug mode in the mobile app which was really convenient to make tests and find what can be improved, where I have a problem, and how to correct it. Retool positively impacted my organization as the proof of concept we built gave us a way to convince power users and key users before developing the real software. It was a way to maintain the launch date of the project, which helped speed up the project timeline and save resources.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Offers a unique environment where its entire architecture is very unified"
"It's a good tool for workflow automation."
"Case Management, as well as Workflow Automation, are Pega's most powerful capabilities."
"Pega BPM's most valuable feature is the use of CDX to solve problems."
"The solution offers excellent workflows."
"Scalable and stable BPM software with a powerful case management feature. It also has good workflow."
"The user interface and the ease of developing the workflow for an application are valuable features."
"Pega BPM offers a lot of out-of-the-box functionalities."
"Retool positively impacted my organization as the proof of concept we built gave us a way to convince power users and key users before developing the real software."
"Retool positively impacted my organization as the proof of concept we built gave us a way to convince power users and key users before developing the real software."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is connectivity with APIs and other databases."
"Retool positively impacted my organization as the proof of concept we built gave us a way to convince power users and key users before developing the real software."
"Retool can be used with many applications as it is language independent; anyone can use it easily and create various visualizations regardless of their programming knowledge—this is the main reason I recommend it."
"Retool provides built-in features with all processing happening within the platform, which is a significant advantage."
"There are several key aspects to Retool that make it stand out. Firstly, its extensive range of components makes integration straightforward. Secondly, its support for SQL and JavaScript allows for the implementation of complex logic, which is particularly beneficial for developers like yourself with experience in .NET development."
"Retool positively impacts our organization by saving costs compared to using other data repositories, and teams prefer Retool for daily tasks that perform customizations to showcase web pages or link their data backend, making it more efficient and cost-effective than other software available in the market."
 

Cons

"I would like to see Pega BPM improve the user experience."
"PegaRULES should provide a more drag-and-drop interface to make it a low-code, no-code product."
"It is scalable, but it also interacts with a lot of other systems. I think they thought that the interface to other systems, legacy systems, was its strength, but when problems do occur, quickly diagnosing those problems has been a challenge."
"The main problem with Pega is that it is quite complex, so it is very difficult for the developer to learn."
"The licensing costs are high, and the cost varies between clients."
"Compared to other BPM products, the interface is somewhat complex, so the usability could be improved."
"The quality of partners available with Pega specialisation can be improved."
"The pricing model needs to be improved. Right now, it's too expensive."
"Retool, being a low-code/no-code platform, could improve by allowing users, particularly non-technical users, to use it more easily."
"One area for improvement in Retool is expanding its library support to include a broader range of third-party JavaScript libraries."
"Retool should add more resource integration."
"In the mobile app development, you have to use JavaScript to interact with components, and for non-technical users, it's already too technical, so Retool has to add some integrated solutions."
"The solution lacks inbuilt customization to customize bar charts."
"AI tools, features, and machine learning capabilities should be added as they would be helpful in the future."
"AI tools, features, and machine learning capabilities should be added as they would be helpful in the future."
"The part where we can add some custom logic or custom plugins could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Users have to pay a yearly license cost for Pega BPM, which is expensive."
"May be somewhat more expensive than other solutions initially, but should have enhanced return on investment."
"The price of this solution, including installation and configuration, is comparable to competing vendors."
"I rate Pega BPM a seven out of ten."
"They have both on-premise and cloud licensing. If you are a small to medium company, go for the cloud option because that eliminates a lot of the setting up of your DevTest and performance environments, multiple environments, because you can buy that from Pega with the cloud option. So your setup time really goes down. If you're a large company, then you're better off putting it within your company. You have other skill resources within your company to create environments."
"The price of Pega BPM is in the middle range compared to other solutions."
"The licensing model for Pega BPM needs to be improved."
"Pega is expensive."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"I don't know Retool's current pricing, but it cost around $12 per month earlier."
"The pricing is very expensive. It costs for each user, for automated users, open-end users, et cetera."
"For me, I'm in India right now, and we have Retool's subscription for one team member for $10 per month."
"For new users, evaluate the scale of their administrative needs as Retool provides excellent free services for smaller setups, but larger deployments might require transitioning to a paid plan."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rapid Application Development Software solutions are best for your needs.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
14%
University
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise69
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

Is Pega BPM easy to work with and can beginners utilize this software?
You do need some preparation to be able to use all functions of Pega BPM. However, all users of this platform are in luck as it comes with good documentation and you can learn pretty much everythin...
Have you encountered any issues while using Pega BPM and were you assisted by the company?
My company has been using this tool for years and the only issue we have had, if you can call it that, was while setting it up. When we were setting it up initially, we had some drawbacks and could...
When you consider the features and benefits of Pega BPM, would you say this product is fairly priced?
Pega BPM can be considered overpriced for some; it all depends on the size of your company and the requirements of your customers. Sure, there are products out there that do the things that Pega B...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Retool?
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing experience were good as the free plan was enough for us.
What needs improvement with Retool?
Retool, being a low-code/no-code platform, could improve by allowing users, particularly non-technical users, to use it more easily. In the mobile app development, you have to use JavaScript to int...
What is your primary use case for Retool?
My main use case for Retool involves an inventory app project. I built a mobile app to make an inventory of chemistry products. Retool helped me with that project as it was a good way to show a qui...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Pega BPM, Pegasystems, SmartBPM, PegaRULES
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The State of Maine, ANZ, Coca-Cola, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ME, New South Wales, OptumRx, Texas Department of Transportation, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Pega Platform vs. Retool and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.