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Retool vs ServiceNow Now Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

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

Retool
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
AI Software Development (11th)
ServiceNow Now Platform
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Low-Code Development Platforms (9th), No-Code Development Platforms (4th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Retool is 1.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Now Platform is 2.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ServiceNow Now Platform2.0%
Retool1.3%
Other96.7%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Mayur Patil - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager at Wipro Limited
Has supported day-to-day operations through reporting, ticketing, and automation features
I am still using ServiceNow Now Platform. I have worked with Qualys in one of my customers, but not much. I wanted to know whether there is any module of Rubrik in ServiceNow Now Platform. I am an end user and do not work with the solution provided for ServiceNow Now Platform separately. I work with ServiceNow Now Platform. I have not worked with app development capabilities. Regarding the integration capability of ServiceNow Now Platform, I can say it is compatible with most of the technologies for my connectivity with other systems. I cannot comment on analytics insights, as I have not worked on it, so I cannot say it improved my service efficiency. I do not remember if I have worked with something different for the same purpose. My overall rating for this review is eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"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 provides us with the opportunity to save time and be more efficient."
"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."
"We can create the dashboards quickly."
"The primary feature we find valuable is data management."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"The incident management has been the most useful feature for us."
"It's very intuitive and easy to use. The flexibility and user-friendliness of ServiceNow are key reasons it's such a popular cloud solution."
"Scalability-wise, it is a very good solution."
"Now Platform's best features are collaboration, configurability, and customizability."
"ITOM Discovery is a great feature."
"ServiceNow Now Platform is very powerful in terms of data management."
 

Cons

"The UI of Retool could be improved, as I am not fond of the current design, and there should be a platform for learning how to use Retool efficiently, especially since our software team customizes it for their needs, leaving the operational team with limited knowledge on how to customize it."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"AI tools, features, and machine learning capabilities should be added as they would be helpful in the future."
"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."
"AI tools, features, and machine learning capabilities should be added as they would be helpful in the future."
"There are a few areas of concern when it comes to the product's support team where improvements are required."
"I think there may be some integration with AI and a smart way of reporting, reporting mechanisms, and automation mechanisms on the inputs from other tools that could be better."
"The price is a bit high and can be a bit of a barrier for some customers."
"The product should be integrated with Power BI."
"It is still difficult to build a set of services in ServiceNow. It can be done, but it is one of the more difficult things to do. If we're talking about scalability, we're talking about the ability to actually build that set of services a little easier."
"The integration towards other ERP systems could be improved."
"From an improvement perspective, the product's complicated initial setup phase can be made a bit easier."
"It's not quick or cheap."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For me, I'm in India right now, and we have Retool's subscription for one team member for $10 per month."
"The pricing is very expensive. It costs for each user, for automated users, open-end users, et cetera."
"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."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"ServiceNow is not open source, so there is a license you must pay. As for how much it costs, what I have observed is that it often depends on your subscriptions."
"It is expensive only."
"There are extra expenses for maintaining the product apart from the licenses."
"People seem to be buying the tool a lot. I think its licensing is okay."
"I don't have much exposure to the costs attached to the solution. I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is the lowest price, and ten is the highest price since it is a costly tool."
"The solution is expensive."
"Price-wise, I would describe the product's cost to be more than the average, but it compensates for that with the functionalities that it provides."
"Pricing is based on the number of users and user licenses, but the product is 20% to 30% more than the competition."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
14%
University
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise34
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What do you like most about ServiceNow Now Platform?
The integration with other tools is pretty good.
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Now Platform?
I do see some negative sides and room for improvement. I think there may be some integration with AI and a smart way of reporting, reporting mechanisms, and automation mechanisms on the inputs from...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
experian, beachbody, health partners
Find out what your peers are saying about Retool vs. ServiceNow Now Platform and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.