Retool

I used Retool  in one of my projects a few months ago. The project involved making a monitoring real-time IoT system for IoT devices, and we used Retool  as an internal dashboard. We had a stack of a FastAPI that handled the live data streams coming from the devices via MQTT, so we used Retool to monitor and control IoT devices in real-time.

We used Retool for checking how the data flow was working by connecting it to our backend through API to visualize how our data flows in real-time. It served as a control layer on top of our backend; we did not want to make a full custom UI from scratch, so we decided to go with Retool.

Eventually, we built up our UI dashboard as we wanted, but there were some limitations in customization. When we have new projects, we try to use Retool internally for creating internal dashboards and checking our APIs, not in the public cloud.

Retool is great for internal operations and rapid development. If you do not want to create everything from scratch and build a custom UI, you can go with this tool, and it is easy because it is low code, significantly reducing development time for dashboards and admin interfaces.

The best feature that Retool offers is the ability to create a UI dashboard very quickly, and I can make an internal dashboard easily. I also appreciate the feature that integrates APIs very easily.

I appreciate how easy it is to integrate APIs; you can drag and drop tables and buttons, and everything is low code, so you do not need to worry about the internal logic.

With the help of Retool, we saved a lot of time. For instance, we made a similar project before that took two to three weeks to implement the same features, but with Retool, we could check our API right away very quickly. We saved around twenty percent of our time before checking how our API works, visualizing it, and seeing where the drawbacks were, allowing us to make changes to our FastAPI backend. Retool is a great tool, especially for startups and for people looking to develop an MVP very quickly.

Through using Retool, team collaboration improved because we had fewer friction points. For instance, we encountered fewer bugs at the backend, and when the frontend and backend teams collaborated, the backend was more aligned for the frontend APIs, resulting in fewer bugs and smoother collaboration during the building stage.

Retool is very stable.

Retool has some drawbacks, including limited customization; of course, it has limitations compared to React, where you can customize it as you want, but with Retool, there is limited customization.

Retool is more suited for startups, but it can get messy at scale. If you want to increase the number of API routes or add more features, it can become complicated.

Retool needs more customization options, as it should not be limited to a few customization features; it should be broader, with more features available for users to utilize.

I have been working in the current field since 2019, which means it has been almost seven years.

Retool is more suited for startups, but it can get messy at scale. If you want to increase the number of API routes or add more features, it can become complicated.

The customer support is amazing; overall, AWS  customer support is very professional and fast. We had a few cases where we faced issues with features, and their response time was great in assisting with billing issues, which I appreciated very much.

Positive

Retool was the first solution that we used. Retool was recommended by one of the senior developers, who had experience with it in his previous workplace, so we started with Retool; it was our first choice.

I purchased Retool through the AWS  marketplace.

We do not have any other relationships with this vendor apart from being a customer.

We definitely saved significant time on engineering, which saved us money. We had fewer front-end resources, and while developing with Retool, we did not need many front-end team members, which saved on salaries. Overall, it also helped reduce time spent on maintenance, saving over a thousand euros because we did not hire additional front-end developers. Retool cost thirty euros for a month, so the return on investment was very positive.

I found it affordable regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing.

Retool was the first solution that we used.

If you are a team looking to develop the first MVP of your project quickly without spending time on creating a custom admin panel or dashboard, Retool is a great tool that can save time, and the customer support is great. I rate Retool an eight out of ten; it helped a lot for our startup and was a great tool for saving time.