Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ToolJet VS Backlight

Compare ToolJet VS Backlight and see what are their differences

ToolJet logo ToolJet

Open-source alternative for Retool

Backlight logo Backlight

Backlight is a unique collaborative platform to build Design Systems code-side.๐Ÿ“ Design tokens๐Ÿงฉ Component code and stories๐Ÿ“– Documentation site๐Ÿ“ฆ Managed release to npmEverything in one place, in a true collaborative workspace.Try ๐Ÿ‘‰ backlight.dev
  • ToolJet Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-07
  • Backlight Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-15

ToolJet features and specs

  • Open-source
    ToolJet is an open-source platform, which means you can customize the tool to fit your specific needs while also benefiting from community contributions and transparency.
  • No-code/Low-code
    ToolJet allows users to build powerful applications with minimal to no coding, making it accessible to non-developers and reducing the time required to develop applications.
  • Integration
    ToolJet offers integrations with various databases, APIs, and third-party services, enabling seamless data flow and interaction with other tools.
  • Extensibility
    The platform can be extended with custom widgets and functionalities, allowing developers to add specific features not available out-of-the-box.
  • Community Support
    As an open-source tool, ToolJet has a growing community of users and developers who contribute to its development and provide support through forums and repositories.

Possible disadvantages of ToolJet

  • Learning Curve
    Despite its no-code nature, there might be a learning curve for non-developers unfamiliar with the concepts of application building and data management.
  • Documentation
    As with many open-source projects, documentation quality can vary and may not be as comprehensive as that of commercial alternatives.
  • Scalability
    Depending on deployment and usage, scaling applications might require additional infrastructure management and technical know-how.
  • Support
    While community support is available, it might lack the immediate and guaranteed assistance found in commercial products with dedicated support teams.
  • Feature Gaps
    Being a relatively newer and open-source tool, ToolJet may lack some advanced features found in more mature or commercial platforms.

Backlight features and specs

  • Collaborative Workflow
    Backlight allows team members to work together on design systems seamlessly, enhancing productivity and consistency through real-time collaboration.
  • Component Libraries
    The platform supports creating and managing component libraries efficiently, providing easy access and reusability of components across projects.
  • Versatile Integration
    Backlight offers integration with popular tools and frameworks, allowing for smooth adoption within existing development ecosystems.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The interface is designed to be intuitive, making it accessible for both designers and developers to navigate and utilize the platform.
  • Scalability
    It supports large design systems, making it suitable for both small and enterprise-level projects, ensuring scalability as needs grow.

Possible disadvantages of Backlight

  • Learning Curve
    New users might experience a learning curve when getting started, particularly if they are not familiar with design system concepts.
  • Cost
    Depending on the plan or features required, the cost might be a barrier for smaller teams or independent developers.
  • Feature Overload
    Some users might find the abundance of features overwhelming if they only need basic functionalities.
  • Limited Offline Access
    As a cloud-based tool, it requires an internet connection, limiting usability when offline access is needed.
  • Dependency on Integration
    While versatile, the effectiveness of integrations may vary and be dependent on third-party tool updates or compatibility.

Analysis of ToolJet

Overall verdict

  • Overall, ToolJet is considered a reliable and efficient tool for building applications fast, especially suited for teams looking to reduce development time and costs while maintaining flexibility and control over their projects.

Why this product is good

  • ToolJet is a low-code platform that allows developers and teams to build and deploy applications quickly without extensive coding. It includes a variety of built-in features such as integrations with databases and APIs, drag-and-drop interface components, and collaborative tools that facilitate teamwork. Its open-source nature also allows users to customize and extend its functionalities as needed.

Recommended for

  • Startups looking to prototype quickly
  • Developers seeking to reduce coding time
  • Teams requiring a collaborative development environment
  • Organizations wanting to build internal tools efficiently
  • Non-developers needing to create applications with minimal coding

ToolJet videos

ToolJet - Introduction

More videos:

  • Review - FOSS Meetup - July 2021 | AdonisJS | Cloud Native chaos | ToolJet | FOSS United

Backlight videos

Govee TV BackLight 3 Lite Review - The Difference Is UNREAL!

More videos:

  • Review - Awesome automations with the Govee T2 TV backlight--review and install
  • Review - Govee TV Backlight T1 vs T2 vs T3 Lite: See the difference!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ToolJet and Backlight)
No Code
100 100%
0% 0
Design Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
74 74%
26% 26
Productivity
74 74%
26% 26

User comments

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Reviews

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

ToolJet Reviews

Top 9 Low-Code Tools for 2023 for low-code development
Tooljet is a low-code development platform that empowers users to build web and mobile applications without extensive coding knowledge. It offers a drag-and-drop interface, pre-built templates, and a range of components for rapid application development. Tooljet supports integrations with popular databases and external services, allowing users to create dynamic and...
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.

Backlight Reviews

We have no reviews of Backlight yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ToolJet should be more popular than Backlight. It has been mentiond 13 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.

ToolJet mentions (13)

  • Building an intelligent CRM using ChatGPT, PostgreSQL, and ToolJet
    You can also download its JSON file and import it into a ToolJet app, but you'll need to provide your Sendinblue credentials and OpenAI API key. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
  • Adding ability to import packages using Micropip to our low-code web framework - ToolJet
    You can quickly try out this feature on ToolJet Cloud (https://tooljet.com) or on your local machine (https://docs.tooljet.com/docs/setup/try-tooljet). Source: over 3 years ago
  • Building Recruitment Management App using Appwrite and ToolJet (Part 1)
    ToolJet (https://github.com/ToolJet/ToolJet): A free and open-source low-code platform that allows you to quickly build applications. Sign up here. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
  • Build a coupon code manager app in 30 minutes
    This tutorial will guide you to build a CRUD app that will let you create new coupons, edit or delete existing coupons. We will be using ToolJet to build this application and will use Google Sheets as the data source. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
  • Best (Free) Web-based Front-end Form for an SQL Database
    Checkout https://retool.com/ or https://tooljet.com/. Built for exactly this purpose. Source: over 4 years ago
View more

Backlight mentions (6)

  • Show HN: Mirrorful โ€“ A developer-first way to implement designs faster
    Interesting. Two questions 1. How does this compare/relate to https://backlight.dev/. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • Tools for design system documentation
    You could look at backlight.dev by divriots. Source: over 3 years ago
  • kickstartDS is Open Source now. Letโ€™s start to democratize Design Systems today
    Today quite some companies are already tackling similar problems. Talking of Knapsack.cloud, Backlight.dev, Specify, Supernova and many more, here. They all deliver value to simplify workflows for setup, integration, documentation and management of Design Systems. This is all super helpful in spreading the love about Design Systems to teams out there, and is a huge benefit to the process side of things. But you... - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • free-for.dev
    Backlight โ€” With collaboration between developers and designers at heart, Backlight is a very complete coding platform where teams build, document, publish, scale and maintain Design Systems.Free plan allows up to 3 editors working on 1 design system with unlimited viewers. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Vite in the browser
    Our products: Backlight.dev, Components.studio and WebComponents.dev, are running a server-side bundler optimizer for the past 2 years now. We created a Vite plugin for browser-vite to resolve node dependencies automatically. As of the date of this post, this server-side bundler is not open-sourced. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing ToolJet and Backlight, you can also consider the following products

Retool - Build custom internal tools in minutes.

Specify App - Specify is the Design Data Platform for your design & dev teams:๐ŸŽจ Collect your design tokens and assets from Figma๐Ÿค– Store them in a single source of truthโšก๏ธ Distribute your brand with custom delivery pipelinesGet started for free โ†’ specifyapp.com

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

Toolabs DSM - Design System Manager plugin for creating themeable designs

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.

Eva Design System - A free customizable design system