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Appsmith VS KeystoneJS

Compare Appsmith VS KeystoneJS and see what are their differences

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Appsmith logo Appsmith

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

KeystoneJS logo KeystoneJS

Open source framework for developing database-driven websites, applications and APIs in Node.js.
  • 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.

  • KeystoneJS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-01

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.

KeystoneJS features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    KeystoneJS offers a straightforward and developer-friendly environment with its intuitive Admin UI, making it easy to work with for beginners and experienced developers alike.
  • Flexible Schema
    Its flexible data modeling allows developers to define custom schemas and relationships, which can be tailored to meet the specific needs of a project.
  • Built on Node.js
    Being built on Node.js, KeystoneJS benefits from Node's vast ecosystem, allowing for easy integration with other Node packages and tools.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, KeystoneJS has an active community that contributes to its development, ensuring regular updates and community support.
  • GraphQL API
    KeystoneJS automatically generates a GraphQL API based on your schema, providing modern API capabilities and powerful querying options.

Possible disadvantages of KeystoneJS

  • Development Community
    While active, the development community is smaller compared to other popular frameworks, which might limit the availability of third-party plugins and resources.
  • Documentation
    Some users have reported gaps in the documentation, which can pose challenges when trying to implement advanced features or debug issues.
  • Performance Overhead
    Like many CMS solutions, there can be significant overhead, and performance might not match solutions built from scratch for high-performance demands.
  • Learning Curve
    Though easy to start with, mastering its full potential requires a deep understanding of GraphQL and Node.js, which might be a hurdle for some developers.
  • Limited Built-in Features
    KeystoneJS provides a basic set of features out of the box, meaning additional functionality may often need to be custom-developed, increasing development time.

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.

Appsmith videos

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KeystoneJS videos

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How I prototyped a social network with KeystoneJS 5

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Appsmith and KeystoneJS)

Appsmith

KeystoneJS

No Code
100 100%
No Code
0% 0
CMS
0 0%
CMS
100% 100
Developer Tools
84 84%
Developer Tools
16% 16
JavaScript Framework
0 0%
JavaScript Framework
100% 100

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 KeystoneJS

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...
Source: blog.illacloud.com
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.
Source: blog.illacloud.com
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.
Source: blog.illacloud.com

KeystoneJS Reviews

Top 10 Next.js Alternatives You Can Try
You can build your web development projects with Keystone much faster than Next.js. This Next.js alternative allows you to explain schema for high-quality GraphQL API and beautiful management UI for content and data. Furthermore, you don’t need boilerplate or bootstrapping because Keystone APIs help you develop the web pages without sacrificing the custom backend.
Source: www.zegocloud.com
20 Next.js Alternatives Worth Considering
KeystoneJS kicks off our list with a sleek headless CMS under its belt, fusing GraphQL’s smarts with the flexibility of a customizable backend. It’s all about giving you the reins, whether you’re crafting a blog, a full-blown e-commerce site, or anything in between.
Source: tms-outsource.com
Best Node.js CMS platforms for 2022
With Keystone, we describe a schema for our content, and get a GraphQL API and beautiful management UI for the content.
Source: blog.logrocket.com
Top 14 Node.JS Frameworks: Which Will Rule in 2020?
Keystone is an extensible, flexible, lightweight, and open-source Node.js full-stack framework designed on MongoDB and Express.
Source: www.mindinventory.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, KeystoneJS should be more popular than Appsmith. It has been mentiond 32 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 1 year 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 2 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 2 years ago
  • Affordable low code platform for internal tools?
    Appsmith is self hosted right now. It’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 3 years ago
  • February Round-up: New Helm Charts, Product Updates, and Collabs
    If you’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 3 years ago
View more

KeystoneJS mentions (32)

  • Is Prisma ORM ready for production?
    Also, there are lots of exciting web frameworks that use Prisma as their default ORM layer (like RedwoodJS which is built by the founder of GitHub, Amplication which recently raised $6.6M in seed funding, Wasp (YC W21) or KeystoneJS) which should give you some more validation that Prisma is being used in a lot production applications :). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Free CMS for Next js
    Https://keystonejs.com/ is a nice smaller alternative. Source: over 2 years ago
  • 10 Node.js Frameworks Every Developer Should Know
    Keystone.js is a content management system and framework for creating server-side applications that interact with a database. It is based on the Express platform for Node.js and uses MongoDB for data storage. It is an alternative to CMS for web developers who want to create a data-driven website, but do not want to move to the PHP platform or too large systems such as WordPress. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • How do I implement Heroku background processes?
    I have a working graphql server written in Keystone CMS and hosted on Heroku. Source: over 2 years ago
  • which is best blog package to integrate in existing nextjs project?
    Even you can use WordPress through their API, I would recommend you to try KeystoneJsKeystone Js CMS, as others suggested before, there are several headless CMSs but Keystone is totally free, open source and self hosted, you can even deploy on vercel. Take a look. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

Retool - Build custom internal tools in minutes.

Strapi - Manage any content. Anywhere. The leading open-source headless CMS. 100% JavaScript / TypeScript and fully customizable.

ToolJet - Open-source alternative for Retool

Directus - Free and Open-Source Headless CMS

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.

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

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