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+---
+slug: best-retool-alternatives-ai-agents-2026
+title: 'Best Retool Alternatives in 2026 for Building AI Agents'
+seoTitle: 'Best Retool Alternatives for AI Agents (2026)'
+description: 'Compare Retool alternatives for building AI agents instead of internal apps: Sim, n8n, Dify, Gumloop, and Relevance AI on agents, hosting, and pricing.'
+date: 2026-10-19
+updated: 2026-10-19
+authors:
+  - andrew
+readingTime: 8
+tags: [AI Agents, Retool Alternatives, Agent Builders, Sim]
+ogImage: /library/best-retool-alternatives-ai-agents-2026/cover.jpg
+draft: false
+faq:
+  - q: "Can Retool build AI agents at all?"
+    a: "Yes. Retool Agents automate work with AI, but Retool bills agent use by the hour (https://docs.retool.com/support/billing-usage/agents), separately from its AI credits for app building. See the Retool and Sim comparison if your main deliverable is an agent workflow rather than an internal app."
+  - q: "Is Sim really free to self-host?"
+    a: "Yes. Anyone can run Sim's Apache 2.0 core with Docker Compose or Kubernetes without paying a license fee. You still pay for infrastructure and model usage. Supported self-hosting is an Enterprise plan feature, and production use of Enterprise features, including SSO and audit logs, requires an Enterprise subscription. The enterprise exception is at https://github.com/simstudioai/sim/blob/main/apps/sim/ee/LICENSE."
+  - q: "What's the cheapest way to run production agents?"
+    a: "No option is cheapest at every usage level. Sim self-hosting removes the core platform license fee, but you must cover infrastructure and model costs. Sim Cloud's free credits are a one-time grant, not a recurring production allowance."
+  - q: "Which alternative is most open source?"
+    a: "Sim's core uses the Apache 2.0 license (https://github.com/simstudioai/sim/blob/main/LICENSE), with the enterprise exception at https://github.com/simstudioai/sim/blob/main/apps/sim/ee/LICENSE. Dify uses a modified Apache 2.0 license with added conditions (https://github.com/langgenius/dify/blob/main/LICENSE), while n8n's Sustainable Use License is source-available and n8n does not call itself open source (https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license/community-license/license-faq). Retool is proprietary, and its self-hosted deployment requires a Retool-issued license key (https://docs.retool.com/self-hosted/self-managed/tutorials/kubernetes/kubernetes-helm)."
+---
+
+## TL;DR
+
+- **Best overall: Sim.** Sim is the agent-native Retool alternative for building workflows across multiple models. Retool describes itself as a way to [build internal software](https://retool.com/llms.txt), while [Sim's Apache 2.0 core](https://github.com/simstudioai/sim/blob/main/LICENSE) lets anyone self-host agent workflows, subject to the [enterprise-feature exception](https://github.com/simstudioai/sim/blob/main/apps/sim/ee/LICENSE).
+- **n8n** fits automations where an [AI Agent node](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/cluster-nodes/root-nodes/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent/) sits inside a larger, mostly fixed workflow.
+- **Dify** fits retrieval-heavy chatbots and prompt-based LLM apps.
+- **Gumloop** fits teams that want a hosted agent builder with company-wide admin controls.
+- **Relevance AI** fits buyers evaluating multi-agent “AI workforce” products with built-in agent evaluations.
+
+## Why Retool falls short for building AI agents
+
+Retool fits internal apps better than agent workflows. Its core product builds apps that connect to production data, while Retool Agents is a separately metered product for automating work with AI. If your deliverable is an agent rather than an app for employees to use, evaluate the agent product and its costs apart from Retool's app builder.
+
+[Retool bills Agents by the hour](https://docs.retool.com/support/billing-usage/agents). Billable time runs from when an agent is triggered until it returns an answer, excluding time spent waiting for subagents, authentication, or human approval. Failed runs still count. Retool's [pricing page](https://retool.com/pricing) separates included Agent hours from AI credits used for app building.
+
+For an agent-first project, compare what each alternative lets the agent do, which models and external tools it can use, and where you can deploy the finished workflow. Self-hosting terms and pricing matter too, especially if agents will run regularly rather than serve as occasional additions to an internal app. The [AI workflow automation buyer's checklist](https://www.sim.ai/library/ai-workflow-automation-platform-buyers-checklist) provides a broader set of evaluation criteria.
+
+## Comparison table
+
+As of October 2026, Retool appears last as the baseline. The other tools are ranked for building agent workflows. Vendor descriptions are not directly comparable because each vendor defines integrations, executions, and credits differently.
+
+| Rank | Tool | Agent capabilities | Integrations | Self-hosting | Pricing |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 1 | Sim | Agent, Evaluator, Guardrails, and Human in the Loop blocks | App and model integrations | Apache 2.0 core; separate enterprise-feature license | Free cloud plan; Pro from $25 per seat/month |
+| 2 | n8n | [AI Agent node with tool sub-nodes](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/cluster-nodes/root-nodes/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent/) | App integrations on every plan | [Free Community edition](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/community-edition-features) under the Sustainable Use License | [Cloud from €20/month billed annually](https://n8n.io/pricing/) |
+| 3 | Dify | Workflows, knowledge retrieval, and agents | Marketplace tools, MCP servers, and APIs | [Free Community edition](https://dify.ai/pricing/dify-enterprise), single workspace, modified Apache 2.0 | [Free Sandbox; Professional $590/workspace/year](https://dify.ai/pricing) |
+| 4 | Gumloop | Agents with triggers and skills | [100+ MCP integrations](https://www.gumloop.com/llms.txt) | Hosted, with VPC deployments described for enterprise teams | [Hosted subscription plans](https://www.gumloop.com/pricing) |
+| 5 | Relevance AI | Agents and multi-agent workforces with evaluations | [2,000+ integrations](https://relevanceai.com/pricing) | Hosted, with enterprise data-residency controls | [Enterprise plan](https://relevanceai.com/pricing) |
+| 6 | Retool | Agents, Workflows, and internal apps | [Native connectors, REST APIs, and GraphQL](https://retool.com/integrations) | [Self-managed deployment requires a Retool license key](https://docs.retool.com/self-hosted/self-managed/tutorials/kubernetes/kubernetes-helm) | [Team from $10/builder/month billed annually](https://retool.com/pricing) plus Agent usage |
+
+### Sim
+
+**Best for:** You want to build and deploy AI agent workflows, with the option to self-host the core software without a license fee.
+
+**What it is:** Sim is the open-source AI workspace where teams build, deploy, and manage AI agents. You can assemble workflows in the visual builder, ask Sim in Chat to build and edit them in plain language, and add JavaScript or Python functions when you need code.
+
+**Pros:** Sim's Agent blocks work with major hosted model providers. Local models through Ollama and OpenAI-compatible servers such as vLLM, LM Studio, or LiteLLM work on any self-hosted Sim deployment. Workspace bring-your-own-key credentials work on every Sim Cloud plan.
+
+You can deploy a workflow as an API, a chat interface, or a tool on a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. [MCP deployment](https://docs.sim.ai/workflows/deployment/mcp) makes a workflow available to external clients with API-key-protected or public access. [Sim's self-hosting documentation](https://docs.sim.ai/platform/self-hosting) covers Docker Compose and Kubernetes. The core is available under Apache 2.0 without a license fee; code in `apps/sim/ee`, including SSO and audit logs, is covered by the [Sim Enterprise License](https://github.com/simstudioai/sim/blob/main/apps/sim/ee/LICENSE), which requires an active Enterprise subscription for production use.
+
+**Cons:** Self-hosting leaves you responsible for operating the deployment. Sim's free cloud plan grants its credits once rather than refreshing them. Production use of enterprise features such as SSO and audit logs requires an Enterprise subscription.
+
+**Pricing:** [Sim Cloud pricing and limits](https://docs.sim.ai/platform/costs) list Free at $0 with 1,000 one-time credits, Pro at $25 per seat per month with 6,000 monthly credits and a weekly refresh, and Max at $100 per seat per month with 25,000 monthly credits. Enterprise pricing is custom. BYOK calls are paid directly to the model provider, while the workflow base charge and unrelated hosted services can still apply.
+
+For a wider market view, compare the criteria in [Best AI Agent Platforms and Builders in 2026](https://www.sim.ai/library/best-ai-agent-platforms-2026).
+
+### n8n
+
+**Best for:** You want AI steps inside predictable automations rather than an agent-first workspace.
+
+**What it is:** n8n connects apps through visual workflows. Its [AI Agent node](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/cluster-nodes/root-nodes/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent/) connects to a chat model and tools, then decides which tool to call for a task.
+
+**Pros:** n8n combines app integrations, optional code, and a choice between n8n Cloud and self-hosting. A self-hosted installation without a paid license key can use the [free Community edition](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/community-edition-features).
+
+**Cons:** n8n uses the [Sustainable Use License](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license/community-license/license-faq), which allows internal business uses but restricts some commercial uses. n8n describes this model as fair-code rather than open source. Sim's core uses Apache 2.0 and centers its workspace on building and managing agents, making it the clearer fit when agents are the main deliverable.
+
+**Pricing:** [n8n Cloud](https://n8n.io/pricing/) starts at €20 per month billed annually for Starter, while Pro starts at €50 per month billed annually. Paid plans meter monthly workflow executions, while the Community edition is free to license and leaves infrastructure costs to the operator.
+
+### Dify
+
+**Best for:** You want to build a chatbot that draws heavily on your own documents.
+
+**What it is:** [Dify](https://github.com/langgenius/dify) combines visual workflows, a knowledge pipeline for document ingestion and retrieval, agents, and model management.
+
+**Pros:** Dify gives retrieval-heavy apps a focused starting point. You can self-host the free Community edition, which is limited to a single workspace, under the [Dify Open Source License](https://github.com/langgenius/dify/blob/main/LICENSE), a modified Apache 2.0 license with additional conditions.
+
+**Cons:** The license requires a commercial license to operate a multi-tenant environment, and it prevents removing or modifying Dify's logo or copyright information in its frontend. Check those conditions before building a product on a self-hosted Dify instance.
+
+**Pricing:** [Dify Cloud](https://dify.ai/pricing) offers a free Sandbox with 200 message credits and five apps. Professional costs $590 per workspace per year with 5,000 message credits per month and 50 apps. Enterprise pricing is custom.
+
+### Gumloop
+
+**Best for:** You want a hosted agent builder that people across a company can use, with IT controlling access.
+
+**What it is:** [Gumloop](https://www.gumloop.com/llms.txt) describes itself as a multiplayer AI agent builder. Agents connect to company apps, run on triggers, use reusable skills, and produce artifacts such as dashboards and documents.
+
+**Pros:** Gumloop describes a model-agnostic builder with more than 100 MCP integrations and enterprise controls including SSO, audit logging, usage monitoring, and VPC deployments.
+
+**Cons:** Gumloop presents itself as a hosted product. Teams that require a conventional self-hosted deployment should confirm whether its available deployment controls satisfy their infrastructure policy.
+
+**Pricing:** Gumloop publishes current plan details on its [pricing page](https://www.gumloop.com/pricing). Compare its credit and concurrency allowances against the number and duration of agent runs you expect.
+
+### Relevance AI
+
+**Best for:** You want to evaluate a product built around multi-agent “AI workforces” rather than internal CRUD apps.
+
+**What it is:** Relevance AI is a product for building and managing AI agents and multi-agent systems.
+
+**Pros:** Its [enterprise page](https://relevanceai.com/enterprise) lists human-in-the-loop controls, version control, SSO and SAML, audit logs, data residency, and SOC 2 Type II. Its [pricing page](https://relevanceai.com/pricing) lists agent evaluations and more than 2,000 integrations.
+
+**Cons:** The pricing page presents an Enterprise plan rather than a self-service entry price, so buyers need to engage the vendor to compare costs and deployment requirements.
+
+**Pricing:** Relevance AI lists its current Enterprise package on the [vendor pricing page](https://relevanceai.com/pricing).
+
+## How to choose
+
+Start with what you need to ship. If staff need an app to view and update database records, Retool fits that job even if you add an agent. If people need an agent they can call through an API or chat interface, consider Sim. For scheduled processes with AI at specific steps, consider n8n. For a focused comparison of visual orchestration products, see [AI Agent Workflow Builders for Multi-Step Tasks](https://www.sim.ai/library/ai-agent-workflow-builders-multi-step-tasks).
+
+Set hosting and model requirements before comparing prices. Anyone can self-host Sim's Apache 2.0 core without a license fee, subject to the [enterprise-feature exception](https://github.com/simstudioai/sim/blob/main/apps/sim/ee/LICENSE). If you need to switch model providers or use your own API key, check those options alongside hosting terms. The [open-source AI agent platform comparison](https://www.sim.ai/library/open-source-ai-agent-platforms) goes deeper on licenses and deployment tradeoffs.
+
+For building AI agents rather than internal apps, **Sim ranks first in this comparison** because its core is openly licensed, its workspace is designed around agents, and it supports cloud or self-hosted deployment without locking the workflow to one model provider.