Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Appsmith VS Gestalt

Compare Appsmith VS Gestalt and see what are their differences

Appsmith logo Appsmith

Appsmith is an open source web framework for building internal tools, admin panels, dashboards, and workflows.

Gestalt logo Gestalt

Gestalt is Pinterestโ€™s design system. It provides an extensive set of React components for use in building larger web experiences and patterns.
  • Appsmith Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-17

Turn any datasource into an internal app in minutes. Appsmith lets you drag-and-drop UI components to build pages, connect to any API, database or GraphQL source and write logic with JavaScript objects.

  • Gestalt Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17

Appsmith features and specs

  • Open Source
    Appsmith is an open-source platform, which means it's free to use. Developers can also contribute to its development and customize the platform according to their needs.
  • Easy Integration
    Appsmith allows easy integration with a variety of data sources including REST APIs, databases, and third-party services, making it highly versatile for different applications.
  • Drag-and-Drop Interface
    The platform offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface for building dashboards and admin panels, which reduces the time required for development.
  • Pre-built Widgets
    Appsmith comes with a collection of pre-built widgets like tables, charts, and forms, which can be directly used in applications for rapid development.
  • Community Support
    Being an open-source project, Appsmith has a strong community that can provide support, share solutions, and contribute to the platform's growth.

Possible disadvantages of Appsmith

  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, there is still a learning curve involved, especially for developers who are new to the low-code/no-code paradigm.
  • Performance
    Performance can be an issue with more complex applications or very high data loads, and it may require optimization to ensure smooth functioning.
  • Customization Limitations
    While it offers various customization options, it may not be as flexible or powerful as fully custom-built applications for highly specific requirements.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    The platform may lack some advanced features found in more mature enterprise-level tools, potentially limiting its use for very complex or specific business needs.
  • Hosting and Maintenance
    As an open-source tool, hosting and maintenance are the user's responsibility, which can be a disadvantage for those who prefer a fully managed solution.

Gestalt features and specs

  • Design Consistency
    Gestalt provides a comprehensive design system that ensures consistency across various user interfaces within Pinterest, allowing for uniformity in design elements and interaction patterns.
  • Component Reusability
    The system offers a library of reusable components, which accelerates development time and reduces the effort needed to maintain code, as developers can implement and update UI features more efficiently.
  • Responsive Design
    Gestalt components are designed to be responsive, ensuring that applications using this system provide an optimal viewing experience across different devices and screen sizes.
  • Accessibility
    The Gestalt system emphasizes accessibility, providing guidelines and features that help developers create interfaces that are accessible to users with disabilities.

Possible disadvantages of Gestalt

  • Limited Customization
    While Gestalt offers consistency, it may restrict designers and developers who need highly customized or unique design elements that do not fit within the predefined system components.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might face a learning curve as they become familiar with the system's components, guidelines, and best practices, especially if they are accustomed to different design systems.
  • Dependency on Pinterest Ecosystem
    Gestalt is tailored for Pinterest and its products, meaning that using it outside the Pinterest ecosystem may lead to challenges in adapting the system to different brands or business needs.
  • Potential Overhead
    Incorporating such a comprehensive system might introduce unnecessary overhead for smaller projects that donโ€™t require extensive design consistency or complex interfaces.

Analysis of Appsmith

Overall verdict

  • Appsmith is generally considered a good solution for developers looking to create dynamic internal tools with minimal effort and cost. It provides a balance between ease of use and advanced functionality, making it a popular choice among startups, fast-growing companies, and teams with tight resources.

Why this product is good

  • Appsmith is an open-source internal tool builder that empowers developers to quickly create custom applications without the extensive overhead of traditional development. It is appreciated for its flexibility, allowing seamless integration with various data sources and APIs. The drag-and-drop interface and the ability to write custom JavaScript make it both user-friendly and powerful. The platform supports rapid prototyping and iteration, enabling teams to build robust applications efficiently. Additionally, the active community and comprehensive documentation contribute to a supportive development environment.

Recommended for

  • Startups and small businesses needing to develop internal tools quickly and cost-effectively.
  • Teams looking for a user-friendly yet powerful platform for building applications using existing data sources.
  • Developers who prefer open-source solutions with a supportive community and extensive customization options.
  • Organizations looking for an alternative to traditional software development for building internal dashboards and admin panels.

Analysis of Gestalt

Overall verdict

  • Gestalt is a solid choice for teams building products within or in the style of Pinterest's ecosystem, offering a mature, well-documented design system, though it's most valuable to organizations aligned with Pinterest's design philosophy rather than general-purpose use.

Why this product is good

  • Open-source design system actively maintained and used by Pinterest itself, ensuring real-world battle-testing
  • Comprehensive component library covering common UI patterns like buttons, forms, modals, and data visualization
  • Strong accessibility (a11y) considerations built into components by default
  • Detailed documentation with usage guidelines, do's and don'ts, and design rationale for each component
  • Built with React, making it easy to integrate into modern JavaScript/TypeScript codebases
  • Consistent visual language that promotes design coherence across large product teams
  • Regular updates and version control through npm, allowing easy dependency management

Recommended for

  • Engineering and design teams building React-based web applications
  • Companies seeking a proven, production-grade design system to bootstrap their UI development
  • Teams that value accessibility as a core requirement in their component library
  • Organizations wanting to reduce design-engineering friction with well-documented component APIs
  • Startups or teams looking for inspiration or a foundation to fork and customize for their own design system
  • Products with visual and interaction patterns similar to content discovery or social media platforms

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Appsmith and Gestalt)
Developer Tools
92 92%
8% 8
Components Library
0 0%
100% 100
No Code
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Appsmith and Gestalt

Appsmith Reviews

Top 9 Low-Code Tools for 2023 for low-code development
Appsmith is a low-code platform that empowers users to build business applications and workflows without writing extensive code. It offers a visual interface for designing UIs, integrating data sources, and creating custom logic. With Appsmith, users can connect to databases, APIs, and third-party services, and build dynamic and interactive applications. Its collaborative...
Appsmith vs ILLA Cloud: Comparing Two Low-Code Platforms
Deployment Options: Appsmith offers two deployment options: Appsmith Cloud and self-hosting. Appsmith Cloud is a free hosted service that lets developers start building their apps on any device without any installation or configuration. Self-hosting is a free option that lets developers host Appsmith on their own servers or cloud providers for more control and security.
Appsmith vs. Tooljet: Which Low-Code Platform is Better for You?
In this blog post, we will compare two popular LCDPs for building internal tools: Appsmith and Tooljet. We will also introduce ILLA Cloud, a new and innovative LCDP that offers a viable alternative to Appsmith and Tooljet.

Gestalt Reviews

React UI Components Libraries: Our Top Picks for 2023
Gestalt is a UI library that helps you create amazing user interfaces that people love using. Itโ€™s Pinterestโ€™s design tool as well and comes with many features and components. Its interface is also smooth to allow developers quickly get started with the tool.
Source: kinsta.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Appsmith seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 6 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Appsmith mentions (6)

  • Airplane acquired by Airtable and is shutting down
    Founder of Appsmith (https://appsmith.com) here. This is very unfortunate news. I have a lot of respect for the founders & the product. In fact I even used Airplane for a few side projects in the past. It's sad to see the product die. IMO, most folks alluding to them running out money is incorrect. I think they simply ran out of energy or the will to go on. This is very common among early stage companies. But, as... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Web no-code/low-code tool recommendation? Backend+frontend+analytics and simple to learn
    As well as Appsmith & Retool. They all have generous free tiers, in my opinion. Each can be self-hosted too. Source: over 3 years ago
  • No code platform that can be self-hosted on AWS
    Hello, you can check out Appsmith. It's an open-source platform with all the features you mentioned and it's great for building business apps! Source: over 3 years ago
  • Affordable low code platform for internal tools?
    Appsmith is self hosted right now. Itโ€™s as customizable as Retool, easy as Internal, and less glitchy than Budibase. Tooljet also offers a self hosted version, but Appsmiths dev team updates improvements so much faster. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • February Round-up: New Helm Charts, Product Updates, and Collabs
    If youโ€™ve followed Appsmith for a while, you know that we can do a lot in 30 days! In the second month of 2022, we cleared a few bugs and created an all-new event called How Do I Do X, where many frequently asked questions live. Source: over 4 years ago
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Gestalt mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Gestalt yet. Tracking of Gestalt recommendations started around Sep 2023.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Appsmith and Gestalt, you can also consider the following products

Retool - Build custom internal tools in minutes.

Material UI - A CSS Framework and a Set of React Components that Implement Google's Material Design

Budibase - What Wordpress is to websites, Budibase is to web apps. Budibase is a free and open source web app builder for creating, launching and growing web applications. Budibase eliminates repetition and dramatically reduces development time. Check it out.

Blueprint - http://bit. ly/bY8LhR Once your keyword research has identified a Site Concept (i. e., theme) and several related ..

Jet Admin - Build business apps really fast

ToolJet - Open-source alternative for Retool