Retool VS MIT App Inventor

Compare Retool VS MIT App Inventor and see what are their differences

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MIT App Inventor

App Inventor is a cloud-based tool, which means you can create apps for phones or tablets right in your web browser.

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2023-08-04

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2023-10-23

Retool

Website: retool.com
Pricing URL: Official Retool Pricing
$ Details: freemium $10.0 / Monthly (Startup)
Release Date: 2017 January
Startup details
Country: United States
State: California
City: San Francisco
Founder(s): David Hsu
Employees: 10 - 19

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MIT App Inventor

Website: appinventor.mit.edu
Pricing URL: -
$ Details: -
Release Date: -

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Retool features and specs

Speed of Development
Retool allows developers to rapidly build internal tools with a drag-and-drop interface, reducing the time it takes to get functional applications up and running.
Integration Capabilities
Retool supports integration with a wide range of databases, APIs, and other services, making it easier to connect different data sources and systems.
Customizability
While Retool provides prebuilt components, it also allows for custom code and scripting, enabling developers to tailor applications to specific requirements.
Collaboration Features
Retool supports collaborative features, such as sharing applications with team members and version control, making it easier to work in teams.
Security
Retool provides robust security features, including access control and data encryption, to help protect sensitive information.

Possible disadvantages of Retool

Cost
Retool can be relatively expensive compared to building internal tools from scratch or using some other platforms, potentially making it less accessible for smaller teams or startups.
Learning Curve
Despite its user-friendly interface, there can be a learning curve for new users who need to become familiar with its specific functionalities and scripting capabilities.
Customization Limitations
Though Retool offers customizability, there might be certain limitations compared to fully bespoke solutions, impacting highly specific or complex use cases.
Dependency on Retool
Relying heavily on Retool may create a dependency that could be problematic if the company changes its pricing, features, or discontinues services.
Performance
For very large datasets or highly complex operations, performance can become an issue, as it is with many platform-based solutions.

MIT App Inventor features and specs

User-Friendly Interface
MIT App Inventor offers a drag-and-drop interface, making it accessible for beginners and non-programmers to create mobile applications without writing code.
Educational Value
The platform is designed to teach the fundamentals of programming and computational thinking, which makes it an excellent tool for educators and students.
Cloud-Based
Projects are stored in the cloud, allowing users to access their work from any device with internet connectivity.
Extensive Resources
A wealth of tutorials, guides, and community forums are available to help users learn and troubleshoot.
Rapid Prototyping
The platform enables quick development and testing of app prototypes, which is useful for iterative design processes.
Real-Time Testing
Real-time testing on connected devices speeds up the development cycle by providing immediate feedback.

Possible disadvantages of MIT App Inventor

Limited Functionality
Advanced features and custom functionality can be difficult or impossible to implement due to the platform's limitations.
Performance Issues
Apps created with MIT App Inventor may not be as optimized or performant as those developed with more complex programming environments.
Dependency on Internet
Since it is a cloud-based tool, a stable internet connection is required to access services, which might be a constraint in some situations.
Basic User Interface Design
The drag-and-drop interface may lead to less polished or professional UI/UX compared to apps designed with dedicated design tools.
Limited Platform Support
Primarily supports Android development, which might be a downside for those looking to develop iOS applications.
Learning Curve for Complex Apps
While it is user-friendly for simple applications, creating more complex apps can still require a significant amount of learning and problem-solving.

Retool videos

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Retool - Logic Review

MIT App Inventor videos

+ Add

MIT App Inventor: Mobile Apps. Built by You.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Retool and MIT App Inventor)

MIT App Inventor

No Code

100 100%

No Code

0% 0

IDE

0 0%

IDE

100% 100

Developer Tools

73 73%

Developer Tools

27% 27

Application Builder

47 47%

Application Builder

53% 53

User comments

Share your experience with using Retool and MIT App Inventor. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Retool and MIT App Inventor

Retool Reviews

Top 5 Dynobase alternatives you should know about - March 2025 Review

The choice ultimately depends on your environment and use case. Many teams use a combination of tools: for example, Dynomate for developers, and a Retool app for operations or support teams. By understanding the strengths of each alternative, you can select the tool (or combination of tools) that best integrates with your AWS workflow, making DynamoDB development smoother...

Source: www.dynomate.io

React UI Components Libraries: Our Top Picks for 2023

Retool offers extensive documentation and support. Its support is available on its Discourse forum, Slack (if you are a Retool power user), Intercom for live chat, and dedicated support for enterprise customers.

Source: kinsta.com

ILLA Cloud vs. Retool vs. Bubble - Unveiling the Best Low-Code Platforms

In the quest for the best low-code platform, Retool, Bubble, and ILLA Cloud all offer unique features and capabilities. While Retool shines with its self-hosted option and Bubble contributes to the open-source community, ILLA Cloud stands out as a powerful and flexible low-code platform. With its comprehensive feature set, affordable pricing models, and self-hosted...

Source: blog.illacloud.com

Top 9 Low-Code Tools for 2023 for low-code development

Retool is a powerful low-code platform that enables developers to build internal tools and apps with ease. It offers a drag-and-drop interface and a wide range of pre-built components for seamless development. Retool integrates with various data sources and external services, allowing users to fetch data, perform calculations, and display results in real-time. Its...

Source: blog.illacloud.com

Superblock vs Retool: A Comprehensive Comparison for Low-code development Platforms

Retool caters to a diverse audience, including developers, product managers, and business professionals. Developers benefit from Retool's low-code capabilities, allowing them to build applications quickly without sacrificing customization. Product managers can leverage Retool to streamline internal workflows and enable teams to be more productive. Business professionals can...

Source: blog.illacloud.com

MIT App Inventor Reviews

Top 10 Android Studio Alternatives For App Development

MIT App Inventor is a visual programming environment which is developed by Google. It allows users to build apps for tablets and smartphones.

Source: www.geeksforgeeks.org

Top 5 App Builder To Build Your Own App Without Coding

Undoubtedly, Kodular has been the best app builder in recent years. It was founded on 6 July 2017 by the partnership of 7 people such as Conor shipp, Vishwas Adiga, Pavitra Golchha, Sander Jochems, Sivagiri Visakan, and Diego Barreiro. It is a Builder based on the MIT App inventor. You can make your apps on this platform without any charges. Everything is 100% free in this...

Source: www.neverspend.in

THE BEST 34 APP DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE IN 2022 LIST

AppInventor.org is a site for learning and teaching how to program mobile apps with MIT’s App Inventor. These tutorials are refined versions of the tutorials that have been on the Google and MIT App Inventor sites from App Inventor’s inception– thousands of beginners have used them to learn programming and learn App Inventor.

Source: www.edigitalagency.com.au

Best Mobile App Development Tools for Kids

MIT App Inventor is a web application integrated development environment originally provided by Google and now maintained by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It allows newcomers to computer programming to create application software(apps) for two operating systems (OS): Android, and iOS. It is free and open-source software released under dual licensing.

Source: codinghero.ai

10 Best Android Studio Alternatives For App Development

Thunkable is a powerful drag and drops app builder. And this is made by two of the very first MIT engineers on the MIT app inventor. The platform is geared for the most professional users, who may want higher quality and robust apps for their business, community or just for themselves. Thus, Thunkable has an amazingly active and engaged community. And it also offers live...

Source: techdator.net

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Retool should be more popular than MIT App Inventor. It has been mentiond 98 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.

Retool mentions (98)

Code or No Code? The AI Revolution in Web Development
Retool – Low-code platform for business applications. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
I keep turning my Google Sheets into phone-friendly webapps, and I can't stop
As mentioned by another poster, check out "Partner portals" section on https://retool.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
How to Build Internal Tools 100x Faster
It is possible to speed up the development and delivery process for many internal applications by using no-code or low code tools. These vary in offerings from open source to SaaS, including popular ones like AirTable, BudiBase, Retool, NocoDB and others. These can all greatly help speed up delivery times. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
Do you need a No Code tool for Firebase?
There are some No Code tools for Firebase. Some of them are fully integrated, some of them use some limited functions of Firebase through their API. If a tool allows you to integrate with a REST API, you probably can use it. Some of them are: FlutterFlow, JetAdmin, Retool, Bubble, etc. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
Visual Basic 6 rebuilt in C# – complete with form designer and IDE in browser
>The No-Code world is fascinating, and the best I've seen in this space is https://retool.com/, but it's expensive and locks you into their ecosystem. >Even today, small businesses need to build out simple apps that were simple to do back in the Visual Basic days—a stock control system, a basic support system, sales tools, etc. Today, it's a minefield of options that can quickly get expensive. A RAD tool like... - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago

MIT App Inventor mentions (41)

Awesome-no-code-tools
App Inventor - Create powerful Android apps without code using blocs coding. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
Looking for savable graphing methods
First thought, play with MIT App Inventor https://appinventor.mit.edu/, they have dedicated blocks for graphing and cross-platform implementations of Bluetooth for Android and iOS. The data format is still up to you. Source: almost 2 years ago
App for recording time periods
Or you could go to https://appinventor.mit.edu/ and design your own custom app (no widget, though). Source: almost 2 years ago
Easiest code to learn to make an app?
If you want to make a mobile app you could try https://appinventor.mit.edu/. Source: about 2 years ago
Trying to have a Ubuntu server I can turn on from my phone, log in as user, and start the Docker containers for my server. How do I automate this process?
Maybe a raspberry pi that's on 24/7 connected to wifi and use that to send the wake over lan signal to the server? Arduino on the power pins also works, I did something quite similar but with a Bluetooth board, the code was really simple I just made an Android app with MIT app inventor that sent a signal to the hc_05 bt board, once the Arduino received that signal it shorted the power pin to 5v for half a second... Source: over 2 years ago