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Comparison

Mendix vs Retool

Mendix and Retool both land on Depends.

Mendix versus Retool
CompareMendixRetool
VerdictDependsDepends
Best forLarge enterprises building custom internal appsDev-led ops teams
Who it's not forSmall teams that just need a simple appNon-technical small teams
PrivacyMultiple public CVEs in 2025-2026 (Runtime, SAML module, Studio Pro); Siemens publishes advisories via its CERT portal and maintains a trust page.⁵No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.
Support qualityNo support evidence in sourcesNo evidence in reviewed sources
Public sentimentEvidence contains almost no independent user reviews . most sources simply reshare Mendix marketing pages.Users and reviewers describe Retool as powerful and flexible for developer-led internal tools, while competing platforms position it as engineering-oriented and lock-in prone.11
Biggest gotchaCVE-2026-80465 scores 8.7 (account hijack); budget for ongoing patch management⁵Business plan costs $50/month per builder . fees multiply as more people build.12

Pick Mendix when

  • Large enterprises building custom internal apps
  • IT orgs needing governed low-code at scale
  • Manufacturing and industrial digitalization (Siemens ecosystem)
  • Public sector needing FedRAMP-track vendors

When Mendix is not a fit

  • Small teams that just need a simple app
  • Startups without platform-admin budget
  • Buyers who need public pricing upfront
  • Teams without staff to patch Runtime CVEs

Pick Retool when

  • Dev-led ops teams
  • Admin panels and CRUD dashboards
  • Database-heavy internal tools
  • Companies governing AI-built apps

When Retool is not a fit

  • Non-technical small teams
  • Anyone needing just one simple app
  • Zero-budget or solo-founder projects
  • Marketing or ops staff without developers

Sources

  1. Mendix homepagemendix.com
    official
  2. Mendix Platform overviewmendix.com
    official
  3. Mendix 11 agentic AI releasemendix.com
    news
  4. Mendix FedRAMP In Process designationsiemensgovt.com
    official
  5. Mendix security advisoriesdocs.mendix.com
    security
  6. CISA advisory . Mendix SAML modulecisa.gov
    security
  7. CVE-2026-48192 Studio Pro RCEsentinelone.com
    security
  8. CVE-2026-7891 Mendix Runtimetagsia.com
    security
  9. valantic LCS OutSystems postlinkedin.com
    news
  10. Retool homepageretool.com
    official
  11. Thoughts on using Retool to build custom software . Redditreddit.com
    review
  12. Retool Review: Pros, Cons, Features & Alternatives . Zitezite.com
    review
  13. 7 Best Appian Alternatives . Bardeenbardeen.ai
    review
  14. The 10 best internal tool builders in 2025 . Reflexreflex.dev
    review
  15. The 9 best internal tool builders in 2025 . Zapierzapier.com
    review
  16. Retool Review 2026 . Rapid Developersrapidevelopers.com
    review