Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Sanity.io VS Retool

Compare Sanity.io VS Retool and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Sanity.io logo Sanity.io

Sanity.io a platform for structured content that comes with an open-source editor that you can customize with React.js.

Retool logo Retool

Build custom internal tools in minutes.
  • Sanity.io Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-23

Sanity treats your content as structured data and makes it available through a simple and powerful API. Content can be created and edited in our collaborative editor, called the Sanity Studio, which is a fully customizable, client-side web application. You can run the studio on your laptop, host it with us on Sanity.io, or deploy it on your own web server.

  • Retool Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-04

Sanity.io

Website
sanity.io
$ Details
freemium
Platforms
JavaScript Cross Platform PHP REST API GraphQL API GROQ Generic HTTP API Go
Release Date
2017 November
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Even Westvang
Employees
10 - 19

Retool

Website
retool.com
$ Details
freemium $10.0 / Monthly (Startup)
Platforms
-
Release Date
2017 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
David Hsu
Employees
10 - 19

Sanity.io features and specs

  • Real-time Collaboration
    Sanity.io supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on the same content simultaneously without conflict, which is ideal for teams.
  • Customizable Content Models
    It offers high flexibility with its schema definitions, enabling users to create complex content structures tailored to specific needs.
  • Headless CMS
    As a headless CMS, Sanity.io decouples the backend from the frontend, allowing developers to use any framework or technology stack to present content.
  • Live Preview
    Sanity.io provides a live preview feature, enabling content editors to see changes in real-time before publishing them.
  • Scalable Infrastructure
    Powered by a scalable and performant backend, it can handle high traffic and large amounts of content, suitable for enterprises.
  • Extensible with Plugins
    The platform supports plugins, which means you can extend its capabilities with community or custom-built plugins.

Possible disadvantages of Sanity.io

  • Learning Curve
    Due to its flexible and powerful schema configuration, new users may find it challenging to get started without proper documentation or guidance.
  • Cost
    While it offers a free tier, the costs can escalate for larger projects or enterprises requiring more sophisticated features and higher limits.
  • Complex Setup
    The initial setup can be complex, especially for non-technical users, as it involves configuring schemas, setting up the development environment, and understanding APIs.
  • Limited Out-of-the-box Features
    Compared to some traditional CMS platforms, Sanity.io offers fewer out-of-the-box features which may require additional customization or development effort.
  • Dependency on Internet Connection
    Being an entirely cloud-based solution, it requires a stable internet connection for content management, which could be a limitation in areas with poor connectivity.

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.

Sanity.io videos

Build a Portfolio Site with Sanity.io and Gatsby โ€” Learn With Jason

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to deploy a transcription microservice for Sanity.io on Zeitโ€™s now

Retool videos

Retool - Logic Review

More videos:

  • Review - #Worth?! Ep.12 - Retool (Gameplay / Review)
  • Demo - February NY Enterprise Tech Meetup: Retool Demo

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Sanity.io and Retool)
CMS
100 100%
0% 0
No Code
0 0%
100% 100
Blogging
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Sanity.io and Retool. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Sanity.io and Retool

Sanity.io Reviews

21 Headless CMS Platforms That You Should Check Out
We have listed 21 headless CMS platforms with their pros and cons. However, it can be said that Strapi, Ghost, Sanity, Graph CMS are among the best headless CMS platforms that you can consider using. These platforms have higher G2 ratings and are easy to use.
Source: popupsmart.com
Best Headless CMS in 2022
Sanity is one of the best headless CMS on the market, which proves by using it such companies as Nike, Figma, National Geographic, and others. Sanity is very flexible in terms of development.
Source: flatlogic.com
Best Node.js CMS platforms for 2022
Sanity can be used for much more than conventional web experiences. Sanity finds its applications in everything from portfolio and company websites to ecommerce applications.
34 Headless CMS That Should Be On Your Radar
Launched in 2015, Sanity is an open source headless CMS that was developed in Oslo, Norway. Built on JavaScript and React.js, Sanity features a WYSIWYG rich text editor which allows you to embed editable data in running text and defer markup to render time. It also comes with a Sweet Query API that enables you to cache multiple queries on a single request.
Source: www.cmswire.com

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...
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...
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...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Retool should be more popular than Sanity.io. It has been mentiond 99 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.

Sanity.io mentions (56)

  • Build a Modern Blog with Next.js 14 & Sanity: A Step-by-Step Guide
    A blog without a CMS can lead to endless frustration and wasted time. Sanity.io simplifies the entire process, allowing you to focus on your content. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • A Deep Dive into Sanity's Visual Editing and Presentation Tool: The developer view
    Hey there! Our colleagues over at Sanity.io, who are always at the forefront of structured content, have just rolled out two super cool features: Visual Editing and the Presentation tool. They unveiled these at their online shindig on November 17th, 2023, and let me tell you, it's got developers all over the world talking! - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Odd server-client side issue (fetch and data transfer to client)
    I am fetching data from sanity.io (an array), the load function in my +page.ts file looks like this:. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Lets code together - Looking for coding buddies
    Tools Im comfortable with: next, tailwinds, zustand/zod/redux, shadcn, sanity.io, framer motion, typescript & more. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • How to add user auth with Clerk to Nextjs (App Directory) and store it in Embedded Sanity CMS
    Go to sanity.io sign up for an account. Sanity gives instructions on how to create the studio however since we are embedding the studio on a Nextjs project we can just ignore them and navigate to https://www.[sanity.io/manage](http://sanity.io/manage). If Sanity created a project for you click on it and copy the project ID, if they didnโ€™t you can click on Create a new project on the top and then copy the project... - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
View more

Retool mentions (99)

  • How Low-Code Platforms Are Changing the Future of App Development
    Retool has carved out a specific niche by excelling at internal tool creation. Companies use it to build dashboards, admin panels, and business process applications that would otherwise consume valuable engineering resources. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Code or No Code? The AI Revolution in Web Development
    Retool โ€“ Low-code platform for business applications. - Source: dev.to / 7 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 / 9 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 / 10 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 / 11 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Sanity.io and Retool, you can also consider the following products

Contentful - You don't need another CMS. You need a better way to manage content โ€” unified, structured, and ready to deploy to any digital channel.

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

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

Bubble.io - Building tech is slow and expensive. Bubble is the most powerful no-code platform for creating digital products.

Croct - Dynamic and high-performance component-based headless CMS that simplifies product optimization and helps product teams scale experimentation without over-relying on developers.

Airtable - Airtable works like a spreadsheet but gives you the power of a database to organize anything. Sign up for free.