Pega Platform vs Retool comparison

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Pega Platform

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Pega Platform and Retool both offer business automation solutions, yet their strengths cater to different organizational needs. Pega stands out with its enterprise-grade capabilities, while Retool is preferred for fast, flexible internal tool development.

Features: Pega Platform provides advanced decisioning, case management tools, and AI-driven insights. Retool offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, seamless integration options, and a quick setup process.

Room for Improvement: Pega would benefit from a simplified user interface and reduced deployment complexities. It could also improve integration speed and reduce total cost of ownership. Retool could enhance its analytical capabilities, offer more out-of-the-box solutions, and expand support for large-scale enterprise deployments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Retool's cloud-based model allows for easy deployment without deep technical knowledge, supported by responsive customer service. Pega requires a more detailed setup and technical expertise, but offers comprehensive support tailored to complex deployments.

Pricing and ROI: Pega's higher setup costs are justified by its extensive capabilities, yielding significant ROI for large organizations. Retool's pricing is more accessible, providing a faster ROI with its efficient development environment, making it a cost-effective solution for small to mid-sized companies.

To learn more, read our detailed Pega Platform vs. Retool Report (Updated: April 2025).

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Pega Platform vs. Retool

April 2025

Helped 851,823 peers since 2012

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

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Rules Management (1st), Business Process Management (BPM) (6th), Process Automation (3rd), Low-Code Development Platforms (7th)

Retool

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

18th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Pega Platform is 6.3%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Retool is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rapid Application Development Software

Featured Reviews

Mallik-Kesavaraju

Independent Consultant at Selfemployed

Significantly improves the overall cycle time, and offers robotic automation, and the BPM workflow

The extensive availability of ready-made gadgets in Pega BPM is a double-edged sword. While it offers convenience, it also leads to a steeper learning curve. Our developers and business analysts need to invest significant time and effort to fully understand and utilize the platform's capabilities. In essence, it's a complex product that demands a deep understanding to be used effectively. So, it cuts both ways. This complexity can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, depending on the user's expertise. So, the learning curve is pretty high! So, it's very good if you are a professional user, but you need to be a really good professional user to use this solution effectively.

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Saurabh Tiwari

Back End Developer at Medha

Easy to use, I don't need to write extensive code and built-in components helps to develop tools

Retool provides multiple tools and functionalities that we can use. However, there are restrictions on the front-end side. From the back-end side, we can use anything, but on the front-end, we have limited tools. This limits our ability to enhance functionality. For example, if I'm creating a tool for you to collect feedback from your clients or users, we have limited resources on the front-end. For the back-end, we have unlimited resources, but for the front-end, we are restricted to creating dashboards and similar tools. If you want to enable other functionalities, we can add them, but this is a limitation on the front-end side.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In general, we use web services to integrate this solution with our other tools. It is the main approach we use with this solution and it integrates with all tools that we need. If you want to integrate with other solutions such ThreatFire or similar, it is possible as well."

"The most valuable feature of Pega BPM is step-by-step voice guidance that converts your problem statement into different diagrams and then implements the process."

"It is a stable product."

"The ability to define processes, build reports, and get insights or analytics on data is most valuable. It is a powerful platform."

"There is a feature to accelerate the development so that business analysts can directly create their user stories and assign the task to the developers."

"Allowed us to develop and quickly release with confidence using cloud technologies."

"When our clients automate the KYC and onboarding processes, they can reduce their manual force and then deploy them in much better tasks rather than the mundane activities of selecting forms and gathering information."

"It is quite configurable, which is the most exciting feature. We can easily configure it as per our needs."

More Pega Platform pros

"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's most valuable features are its drag-and-drop components and the ability to customize them extensively."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is connectivity with APIs and other databases."

"The stability is okay."

"We can create the dashboards quickly."

"Retool provides us with the opportunity to save time and be more efficient."

"The most valuable feature of Retool is the workflow because I can integrate multiple features, such as RESTful API, JavaScript API, or different databases on the same dashboard."

Cons

"The solution could be more scalable."

"Pega BPM could be improved by including token-based authentication and extending its integration options."

"There is a scarcity of resources who have worked with this solution before."

"Customers expect more out-of-the-box solutions."

"What PegaRULES should work on is the integration aspect. I can integrate it with other platforms, but that can take time. It would be good if integration could be automated or if the tool had more out-of-the-box integration features."

"Pega Cloud early adoption and use for cross enterprise capability was new to many. The early adoption meant version 2.0 of their cloud service may require refactoring and redesign of some services."

"The initial setup takes time."

"Pega is claiming they're into low code but as per Gartner Magic Quadrant, Pega is not there now."

More Pega Platform cons

"Retool should add more resource integration."

"Retool could enhance support, including efforts to establish support centers in Europe, which was lacking previously. However, the community is still in the growth phase, leading to potential delays in receiving responses to queries."

"The part where we can add some custom logic or custom plugins could be better."

"One area for improvement in Retool is expanding its library support to include a broader range of third-party JavaScript libraries."

"The components are changed frequently, which is very irritating."

"There are restrictions on the front-end side."

"The solution lacks inbuilt customization to customize bar charts."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its pricing is on the higher side, but they have come up with different plans and different small products that can be used by smaller organizations that don't have that much money to spend. They have different pricing packages depending on the number of users or depending upon the number of cases created in the production or live environment."

"I would rate the product's pricing a six 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."

"Licensing varies across geographical regions for us."

"It is cost-effective for medium enterprises. It is cheaper than ServiceNow."

"They're very cagey in giving out prices, and it is very difficult to find out the real price any organization is going to get. It is almost never their list price, if you can find it, and there are a lot of factors that go into the whole pricing."

"We do not have to purchase any licenses for the product."

"The price of Pega BPM is in the middle range compared to other solutions."

More Pega Platform pricing and cost advice

"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."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"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."

"I don't know Retool's current pricing, but it cost around $12 per month earlier."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rapid Application Development Software solutions are best for your needs.

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851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

28%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

20%

Comms Service Provider

16%

University

10%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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?

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.

What needs improvement with Retool?

One area for improvement in Retool is expanding its library support to include a broader range of third-party JavaScript libraries. This would enhance the tool's versatility and allow more complex ...

What is your primary use case for Retool?

I employ Retool primarily to build admin panels that effectively manage office and backend project staff. These panels facilitate the management of various organizational functions and streamline u...

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Product Reports

Download Pega Platform product report

Pega Platform

May 2025

Download Retool product report

May 2025

Also Known As

Pega BPM, Pegasystems, SmartBPM, PegaRULES

No data available

Overview

Pega Platform facilitates business process management, case management, and workflow automation for industries like banking, insurance, and healthcare. It supports digital transformation and customer service enhancements with its low-code capabilities and seamless integrations.

Pega Platform enables users to create efficient systems for case management, financial operations, and digital transformations. It provides tools for client onboarding, quoting, claims processing, customer experience improvements, and content management. Pega's low-code approach allows for the automation of complex processes, making it suitable for enterprises looking for adaptability and rapid deployment. While it offers strong real-time analytics and decision automation, users acknowledge challenges in user interface, integration, and performance aspects. High costs and a learning curve need attention, and enhancements in AI features and cloud services are desired.

What are the key features of Pega Platform?

Easy Implementation: Quick setup for fast project kick-off.
Seamless Process Adaptation: Adapts processes efficiently as business needs evolve.
Fast Prototyping: Enables rapid model creation and testing.
Unified Architecture: Streamlines operations across the platform.
Low-Code Environment: Facilitates swift application development.
Scalability: Supports growth and high-demand scenarios.
Real-Time Analytics: Provides immediate insights into operations.
Decision Automation: Automates standard decision-making processes.
Reusable Components: Encourages efficiency in development through component reuse.

What benefits do organizations find with Pega Platform?

Rapid Deployment: Quick launch of new processes saves time and resources.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces costs through automation and streamlined workflows.
Customer-Centric Solutions: Enhances customer experiences through integrated systems.
Improved Productivity: Automation frees up employee resources for other tasks.
Reliable Performance: Consistent platform performance ensures business continuity.

In banking, Pega Platform automates loan processing, accelerates customer onboarding, and manages compliance. Insurance companies benefit from streamlined claims processing and policy management. Healthcare sectors use the platform for patient engagement and care coordination, enabling organizations to adapt quickly to changing industry requirements.

Pega

Retool enables rapid construction of internal tools with minimal coding, streamlining workflows across HR, customer support, and compliance. Praised for its drag-and-drop interface, extensive component library, and SQL support, it boosts organizational efficiency by automating tasks and enhancing data management.

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