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10 top picks · 3 audience rankings

Best open source low-code and backend platforms

The best open source low-code platform is Supabase, with 111,147 GitHub stars, the Apache-2.0 license and a Docker image; Dify.ai (source-available) and Appwrite are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Supabase leads for startups, enterprise and solo developers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 17 apps in the low-code & backend category of the appsgit catalog.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Supabase

    supabase/supabase

    Postgres development platform with auth, realtime, storage and edge functions, the open-source Firebase alternative.

    Low-code & BackendTypeScriptDocker

    Supabase has 111,147 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,123 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase.

  2. Rank 2:

    Dify.ai

    langgenius/dify

    Build, test and deploy LLM applications.

    Source-availableLow-code & BackendTypeScriptDocker

    AI-nativeDify.ai has 157,921 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Dify Open Source License (modified Apache 2.0) (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 6,112 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT and Lovable.

  3. Rank 3:

    Appwrite

    appwrite/appwrite

    End to end backend server for web, native, and mobile developers 🚀.

    Low-code & BackendPHPDocker

    Appwrite has 57,577 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image and had 10,376 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase.

1 of 4 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 17 apps in the low-code & backend category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Supabase

    Postgres development platform with auth, realtime, storage and edge functions, the open-source Firebase alternative.

    Supabase has 111,147 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,123 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase.

  2. 2

    Dify.ai

    Build, test and deploy LLM applications.

    AI-nativeDify.ai has 157,921 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Dify Open Source License (modified Apache 2.0) (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 6,112 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT and Lovable.

  3. 3

    Appwrite

    End to end backend server for web, native, and mobile developers 🚀.

    Appwrite has 57,577 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image and had 10,376 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase.

  4. 4

    PocketBase

    Backend for your next SaaS and Mobile app in one file.

    PocketBase has 61,293 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 500 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase.

  5. 5

    ToolJet

    Low-code framework to build & deploy internal tools with minimal engineering effort (alternative to Retool and Mendix).

    ToolJet has 41,037 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 4,215 commits in the last year; it replaces Retool and Bubble.

  6. 6

    Halo

    A powerful and easy-to-use website building tool (documentation in Chinese).

    Halo has 39,927 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 580 commits in the last year.

  7. 7

    Appsmith

    Build admin panels, CRUD apps and workflows. Build everything you need, 10x faster.

    Appsmith has 41,019 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 380 commits in the last year; it replaces Retool and Bubble.

  8. 8

    Budibase

    Build and automate internal tools, admin panels, dashboards, CRUD apps, and more, in minutes (alternative to Outsystems, Retool, Mendix, Appian).

    Budibase has 28,328 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 12,674 commits in the last year; it replaces Airtable and Retool.

  9. 9

    Parse Server

    Open-source backend that runs on Node.js and any database.

    Parse Server has 21,404 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 762 commits in the last year.

  10. 10

    Windmill

    Fast workflow engine and internal tool builder that turns scripts into UIs and automations.

    Windmill has 18,108 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 4,452 commits in the last year; it replaces Zapier.

2 of 4 · 5 picks

Best for startups

Ranked for startups on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Supabase

    Postgres development platform with auth, realtime, storage and edge functions, the open-source Firebase alternative.

    Supabase has 111,147 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,123 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (Apache-2.0), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Appwrite

    End to end backend server for web, native, and mobile developers 🚀.

    Appwrite has 57,577 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image and had 10,376 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (BSD-3-Clause), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    PocketBase

    Backend for your next SaaS and Mobile app in one file.

    PocketBase has 61,293 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 500 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Appsmith

    Build admin panels, CRUD apps and workflows. Build everything you need, 10x faster.

    Appsmith has 41,019 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 380 commits in the last year; it replaces Retool and Bubble. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (Apache-2.0), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Dify.ai

    Build, test and deploy LLM applications.

    AI-nativeDify.ai has 157,921 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Dify Open Source License (modified Apache 2.0) (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 6,112 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT and Lovable. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

3 of 4 · 5 picks

Best for enterprise

Ranked for enterprise on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Supabase

    Postgres development platform with auth, realtime, storage and edge functions, the open-source Firebase alternative.

    Supabase has 111,147 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,123 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Dify.ai

    Build, test and deploy LLM applications.

    AI-nativeDify.ai has 157,921 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Dify Open Source License (modified Apache 2.0) (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 6,112 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT and Lovable. For enterprise it also scores on a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Appwrite

    End to end backend server for web, native, and mobile developers 🚀.

    Appwrite has 57,577 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image and had 10,376 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    PocketBase

    Backend for your next SaaS and Mobile app in one file.

    PocketBase has 61,293 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 500 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    ToolJet

    Low-code framework to build & deploy internal tools with minimal engineering effort (alternative to Retool and Mendix).

    ToolJet has 41,037 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 4,215 commits in the last year; it replaces Retool and Bubble. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

4 of 4 · 5 picks

Best for solo developers

Ranked for solo developers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Supabase

    Postgres development platform with auth, realtime, storage and edge functions, the open-source Firebase alternative.

    Supabase has 111,147 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 6,123 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Appwrite

    End to end backend server for web, native, and mobile developers 🚀.

    Appwrite has 57,577 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 10,376 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Dify.ai

    Build, test and deploy LLM applications.

    AI-nativeDify.ai has 157,921 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Dify Open Source License (modified Apache 2.0) (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 6,112 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT and Lovable. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    PocketBase

    Backend for your next SaaS and Mobile app in one file.

    PocketBase has 61,293 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Go and had 500 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    ToolJet

    Low-code framework to build & deploy internal tools with minimal engineering effort (alternative to Retool and Mendix).

    ToolJet has 41,037 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in JavaScript and had 4,215 commits in the last year; it replaces Retool and Bubble. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is the best open source low-code platform?

The best open source low-code platform is Supabase, with 111,147 GitHub stars, the Apache-2.0 license and a Docker image; Dify.ai (source-available) and Appwrite are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Supabase leads for startups, enterprise and solo developers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 17 apps in the low-code & backend category of the appsgit catalog.

Is Supabase free?

Yes. Supabase is open-source software released under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Which open source low-code platform is best for a startup?

Supabase ranks first for startups, with 111,147 GitHub stars, the Apache-2.0 license and a Docker image; Appwrite and PocketBase follow. The startups ranking adds points for Docker images, permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits on top of stars and activity.

Which open source low-code platform is best for an enterprise team?

Supabase ranks first for enterprise, with 111,147 GitHub stars, the Apache-2.0 license and a Docker image; Dify.ai (source-available) and Appwrite follow. The enterprise ranking adds points for open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity.

Can I self-host these low-code and backend platforms with Docker?

Yes, all of them. Supabase, Dify.ai and Appwrite publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose.

Are all of these low-code and backend platforms open source?

9 of the 10 apps on this list are open source; 1 is source-available. Source-available licenses add conditions, such as limits on hosted or commercial use, so read them before you deploy.

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