Databricks
Retool
| Feature | Databricks | Retool |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $0.07/mo | Free / from $10/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | data-engineering-teams, ml-teams, enterprises, large-scale-analytics | engineering-teams, operations, data-teams, startups, enterprise |
| Founded | 2013 | 2017 |
| Data Lakehouse | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sql Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Machine Learning | ✓ | ✗ |
| Real Time Streaming | ✓ | ✗ |
| Data Governance | ✓ | ✗ |
| Notebooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Delta Lake | ✓ | ✗ |
| Drag Drop Ui | ✗ | ✓ |
| Database Connectors | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api Integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflows | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hosting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Rbac | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Databricks Pros
- Unified platform for data engineering, science, and analytics
- Delta Lake provides ACID transactions on data lakes
- Excellent ML/AI capabilities with MLflow integration
- Community Edition is free for learning
✗ Databricks Cons
- Complex pricing with DBU credits
- Requires data engineering expertise to configure
- Vendor lock-in once deeply integrated
✓ Retool Pros
- Fastest way to build internal tools
- Connects to any database or API
- Self-hostable for security
- Pre-built components save hours
✗ Retool Cons
- Only for internal tools — not customer-facing
- Can get expensive for large teams
- Learning curve for complex queries
The Verdict
Databricks is built for data engineering teams and ml teams, with a focus on data-lakehouse and sql-analytics. Retool targets engineering teams and operations and leads with drag-drop-ui and database-connectors.
On pricing, Databricks is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $0.07/mo compared to $10/mo for Retool. That $9.93/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.