Appsmith vs Windmill: which one to choose in 2026?
Both are open source alternatives to Retool. We compare license, tech stack and features to help you decide which fits your team best.
| Appsmith | Windmill | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Dev Tools | Dev Tools |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| GitHub stars | ~40.8k | ~9k |
| Tech stack | Java, React, MongoDB | Rust, TypeScript, PostgreSQL |
| Replaces | Retool, PowerApps | Retool |
Appsmith has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
Appsmith
Low-code editor for internal dashboards, a direct alternative to Retool.
Pros
- The gentlest learning curve if you already know Retool
Things to consider
- Needs a fair amount of RAM on small instances
Windmill
Scripts, workflows and internal dashboards, a self-hostable alternative to Retool.
Pros
- Runs real code, not just visual low-code
Things to consider
- Steeper learning curve if the team doesn't code
Key features
Appsmith
- Visual editor very similar to Retool
- Embedded JS in any field
- Connects more than 25 different data sources
Windmill
- Scripts in Python, TypeScript and Go
- Auto-generated internal dashboards
- Scheduled flows and triggers
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