# Alternatives to DronaHQ

DronaHQ is a low-code/no-code platform for building internal tools, admin panels, dashboards, and mobile ops apps, combining a drag-and-drop builder with 400+ connectors and custom-code support. It targets enterprise ops and internal-tools teams, with SSO/SAML, RBAC permission matrices, audit logging enabled by default, and self-hosted or cloud deployment.

DronaHQ ranks #3 of 11 in Internal tool builders, with an Alt Score of 86. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from $100/mo (billed annually) and available on Web, iOS and Android. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/dronahq/
Category: Internal tool builders

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: DronaHQ is aimed at internal teams and developers who need to build admin panels, dashboards, forms, and custom business applications on top of existing databases and APIs. It targets organizations that need role-based access control, SSO, and audit logging around those internal apps, including enterprises that require a self-hosted deployment.
- **What you get**: The platform provides a drag-and-drop UI builder with a library of prebuilt controls, connectors to databases, third-party APIs, and spreadsheet-like built-in tables, plus custom JavaScript for data transformation and logic. It includes user/role/group permission management, SSO (SAML, OIDC, Google) with SCIM provisioning, audit logging, and Git-based version control for apps, alongside responsive layouts for web, iOS, and Android.
- **How it works**: Builders assemble app UIs visually and bind components to data queries against connected databases, APIs, or DronaHQ's built-in database, optionally adding custom JS to transform or generate data. Apps can be published to the browser or as native mobile apps for end users, with permissions applied per user, group, or role, and changes tracked through Git sync (self-hosted) or the platform's own versioning. DronaHQ runs as a hosted cloud service or as a self-hosted deployment (Docker/Kubernetes) inside the customer's own infrastructure under a DronaHQ license key.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-30)
- **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-30)
- **Starts at**: $100/mo (billed annually) (verified 2026-07-30)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-30)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [UI Bakery](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ui-bakery.md) | 100 | Proprietary | Web |
| 2 | [ToolJet](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tooljet.md) | 96 | AGPL-3.0 | Web |
| 3 | [Jet Admin](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/jetadmin.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web |
| 4 | [Microsoft Power Apps](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/power-apps.md) | 86 | ? | Windows, iOS, Android, Web |
| 5 | [Retool](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/retool.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web |
| 6 | [NocoBase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/nocobase.md) | 73 | Apache-2.0 + supplementary NocoBase License Agreement (no SaaS resale, branding restrictions) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web |
| 7 | [Refine](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/refine.md) | 73 | MIT | Web |
| 8 | [Budibase](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/budibase.md) | 68 | GPL-3.0 | Web |
| 9 | [Superblocks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/superblocks.md) | 64 | Proprietary | Web |
| 10 | [Appsmith](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/appsmith.md) | 55 | Apache-2.0 | Web |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Internal tool builders checklist | DronaHQ | UI Bakery | ToolJet | Jet Admin | Microsoft Power Apps | Retool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starts at | $100/mo (billed annually) | $20/mo/developer | Free | $39/mo | $20/user/mo | Free |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary | ? | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web | Web | Windows, iOS, Android, Web | Web |
| Data source connectors | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Drag & drop UI builder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom code (JS/Python) | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Partial |
| Granular permissions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audit logs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Git-based versioning | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial |
| Mobile layouts | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier limits | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |

## Sources

Sources for DronaHQ. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Subscription — <https://www.dronahq.com/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Named recurring tiers (Starter/Business/Enterprise) each include a task quota with pay-as-you-go overage at $0.002/task; a separate per-seat plan ($10-12/user/mo) and custom developer-only self-hosted
  - Quote: “Starter $100 per month billed annually 25,000 Tasks/mo”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://docs.dronahq.com/mobile-apps/responsive-ui/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Separate docs page confirms native Android and iOS app building specifically (building-apps-guides/building-native-mobile-apps).
  - Quote: “developers to create mobile responsive UIs that work seamlessly across various platforms, including iOS, Android, and web browsers”
- **Starts at**: $100/mo (billed annually) — <https://www.dronahq.com/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: This is the yearly-billed monthly-equivalent shown by default on the Starter (cloud host) plan; the monthly-billed rate is $140/mo. Includes 25,000 tasks/mo and unlimited users.
  - Quote: “Starter $100 per month billed annually 25,000 Tasks/mo”
- **Status**: active — <https://www.dronahq.com/agent-memory-retrieval-stack/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Blog sitemap shows posts published through 2026-07-24 (near today's date); site is actively marketing a newly added Agentic Platform / AI Agent Builder / MCP Server line alongside the core low-code pr
  - Quote: “Aharna Haque June 01, 2026 Choosing the right memory and retrieval stack for your AI agent”
- **License**: Proprietary — <https://www.dronahq.com/self-hosted-plan-terms-conditions/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: The self-hosted distribution (github.com/dronahq/self-hosted) contains only Docker/Kubernetes deployment scripts and requires a DronaHQ-issued LICENSE_KEY in the .env file; the repo has no LICENSE fil
  - Quote: “we or our affiliates or licensors own and reserve all right, title, and interest in and to the Services”
- **Data source connectors**: Yes — <https://www.dronahq.com/integrations/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Docs reference/connectors category lists dozens of individual connectors (Postgres, BigQuery, DynamoDB, Airtable, Redshift, S3, etc.).
  - Quote: “Connect to Databases, APIs and third party apps or simply bring your CSVs into our built in DB - Sheets.”
- **Drag & drop UI builder**: Yes — <https://www.dronahq.com/features/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “The easiest experience to drag-drop and build interfaces that delight users”
- **Custom code (JS/Python)**: Partial — <https://docs.dronahq.com/app-scripting-and-code/custom-js/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Only JavaScript custom code is documented (Custom JS, JS transformation, script tags, reusable JS objects); the docs sitemap has no Python scripting pages or product mentions of Python.
  - Quote: “Custom JavaScript (JS) is a powerful feature available in the Data Queries section that empowers users to manipulate data or generate completely new sets of data using the JavaScript programming langu”
- **Self-hostable**: Yes — <https://www.dronahq.com/self-hosted/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “Deploy an airtight self-hosted version of DronaHQ within your own infrastructure in a single click.”
- **Granular permissions**: Yes — <https://docs.dronahq.com/building-apps-concepts/app-permissions/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “DronaHQ enforces granular access control over the app resources, allowing you to assign roles to specific users and groups.”
- **Audit logs**: Yes — <https://docs.dronahq.com/audit-logger/overview/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: DronaHQ Managed Audit Logging is stated as 'Available only on Self-hosted version'; cloud accounts must use External Audit Logging integrations instead.
  - Quote: “Audit Logs is a powerful feature within the DronaHQ platform that allows you to seamlessly integrate various loggers to capture events and activities from your modules, such as RunAPI.”
- **Git-based versioning**: Yes — <https://docs.dronahq.com/git-sync-global/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Same page states this is 'available on self-hosted and not available on the cloud.'
  - Quote: “You can enable Git Sync globally to effectively manage version control for all your apps on DronaHQ by linking them to a Git hosting provider, like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and others in single Git ”
- **Mobile layouts**: Yes — <https://docs.dronahq.com/mobile-apps/responsive-ui/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Quote: “DronaHQ offers a robust and intuitive platform for building mobile responsive user interfaces (UI) that seamlessly adapt to different screen sizes and devices.”
- **Free tier limits**: No — <https://www.dronahq.com/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Pricing FAQ confirms this is a one-time, one-month trial of the Business plan (no credit card required), not an ongoing free tier with usage limits.
  - Quote: “It is a one month free trial of business plan.”
- **SSO**: Yes — <https://docs.dronahq.com/sso/configuring-sso-with-saml/> (verified 2026-07-30)
  - Note: Docs also cover OIDC, Google, custom JWT SSO, and SCIM 2.0 user provisioning.
  - Quote: “To set up SAML SSO in DronaHQ, you will need: SAML Metadata configuration from your SAML SSO provider.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/