Retool
Tines
| Feature | Retool | Tines |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | engineering-teams, operations, data-teams, startups, enterprise | security-teams, soc-analysts, incident-responders, security-engineers |
| Founded | 2017 | 2018 |
| Drag Drop Ui | ✓ | ✗ |
| Database Connectors | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Rbac | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Alert Triage | ✗ | ✓ |
| Incident Response | ✗ | ✓ |
| Case Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Templates | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Tines Pros
- No-code workflow builder
- Security-focused templates
- Generous free tier
- Fast implementation
✗ Tines Cons
- Security-focused (not general automation)
- Smaller community
- Limited non-security integrations
The Verdict
Retool is built for engineering teams and operations, with a focus on drag-drop-ui and database-connectors. Tines targets security teams and soc analysts and leads with workflow-automation and alert-triage.
Tines uses custom enterprise pricing, while Retool starts at $10/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Retool offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Tines takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
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.