Alternatives to Refine
Open-source, AI-assisted React framework for building internal tools and admin panels
Refine ranks #8 of 11 in Internal tool builders, with an Alt Score of 73. It is licensed under MIT, open source with paid hosting from $0.99/mo and available on the web. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Refine is an open-source framework (with an AI-assisted builder) for generating internal tools, admin panels, and dashboards as portable React/TypeScript code rather than a proprietary low-code app. It targets developer-led teams that want Retool-class speed without platform lock-in, connecting to REST APIs or Supabase, with self-hosted deployment, RBAC/ABAC access control, audit logging, and enterprise SSO (Okta, Azure AD, Cognito).
Developers and teams building CRUD-heavy internal tools, admin panels, dashboards, and B2B applications who want a code-based React framework rather than a purely visual low-code builder.
An open-source, headless React meta-framework (hooks, components, and providers) covering data fetching, authentication, authorization, routing, real-time updates, and audit logging, with optional UI library integrations (Ant Design, Material UI, Mantine, Chakra UI, shadcn/ui). A separate paid Enterprise Edition adds features like Okta SSO and multitenancy, and a separate hosted 'Refine AI' product generates a Refine codebase from a text prompt.
Developers scaffold a project via a CLI or browser tool, choosing a base framework (Vite, Next.js, or Remix), UI library, data provider, and auth provider. Refine's data provider layer connects the app to backends such as REST, GraphQL, Supabase, Strapi, or Hasura, and the resulting standard React/TypeScript codebase is deployed or self-hosted like any other web application.
Why people leave Refine
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
UI Bakery is a low-code platform for building internal apps, admin panels, and CRUD dashboards, connecting to 45+ databases/APIs via a drag-and-drop builder that can export clean React code.
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.
Jet Admin is a drag-and-drop internal tool builder connecting to 50+ databases and APIs (Postgres, MySQL, Firebase, Supabase, REST/GraphQL) to generate admin panels, CRMs, and dashboards.
Power Apps is Microsoft's low-code app development platform for building internal business tools, admin panels, and dashboards, with a drag-and-drop canvas builder, Power Fx custom code, and 1,000+ pr.
NocoBase is an open-source no-code/AI platform for building internal business systems, combining relational data modeling, a drag-and-drop UI builder, workflow automation, and a plugin architecture fo.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Internal tool builders checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Internal tool builders checklist | Refine | UI Bakery | ToolJet | DronaHQ | Jet Admin | Microsoft Power Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Data source connectors | ||||||
| Drag & drop UI builder | ||||||
| Custom code (JS/Python) | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| Granular permissions | ||||||
| Audit logs | ||||||
| Git-based versioning | ||||||
| Mobile layouts | ||||||
| Free tier limits | ||||||
| SSO |
Every fact and feature listed for Refine is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model OSS + paid hosting verified 2026-07-30
Refine CORE (the framework) is MIT-licensed and free to self-host. Refine separately sells a paid Enterprise Edition (private npm registry, e.g. Okta SSO, docs: /core/docs/enterprise-edition/) and a h
Refine CORE is an open source, React meta-framework for enterprise.
https://github.com/refinedev/refine/blob/main/packages/core/README.md -
Platforms Web verified 2026-07-30
Refine CORE builds standard web apps on Vite, Next.js, or Remix. No dedicated native iOS/Android or desktop package currently exists in the refinedev/refine monorepo, despite an older README line ment
Refine applications are usually built on top of the following frameworks, and you can follow their deployment guides to deploy your application.
https://refine.dev/core/docs/guides-concepts/deployment/ -
License MIT verified 2026-07-30
Refine is licensed under the MIT License.
https://refine.dev/core/docs/further-readings/license/ -
Starts at $0.99/mo verified 2026-07-30
This is the cheapest paid tier of the separate hosted 'Refine AI' product (Starter, 300 credits/month); the Pro plan ("MOST POPULAR") is $20/month for 1500 credits. Underlying plan data also lists a $
$0.99 / month
https://refine.dev/pricing/ -
Status active verified 2026-07-30
GitHub repo refinedev/refine also shows commits as recent as June 2026 and 35k+ stars; clearly active, not dead/discontinued/acquired.
Last updated on Jan 21, 2026 by Alican Erdurmaz
https://refine.dev/core/docs/guides-concepts/deployment/ -
Data source connectors Yes verified 2026-07-30
Includes REST, GraphQL, Supabase, Strapi, Strapi v4, Hasura, Appwrite, Airtable, NestJS Query/CRUD, and community-maintained data providers.
Refine offers built-in data provider support for the most popular API providers.
https://refine.dev/core/docs/data/data-provider/ -
Drag & drop UI builder No verified 2026-07-30
Refine is a headless, code-first React framework (and its AI product is a prompt + code-editor flow); pages are built with React/TSX components and hooks, not a visual drag-and-drop canvas.
Instead of being limited to a set of pre-styled components, Refine provides collections of helper hooks, components and providers
https://refine.dev/core/docs/guides-concepts/general-concepts/ -
Custom code (JS/Python) Partial verified 2026-07-30
Customization is via React/TypeScript/JavaScript hooks and components throughout the docs and GitHub README code samples; no Python API, SDK, or backend is offered anywhere in Refine's docs.
Since business logic and UI are completely decoupled, you can customize UI without constraints.
https://refine.dev/core/docs/guides-concepts/general-concepts/ -
Self-hostable Yes verified 2026-07-30
Ships official Dockerfiles (refinedev/Dockerfiles repo) for Vite/Next.js/Remix apps; the framework has no vendor lock-in for hosting.
Refine applications are usually built on top of the following frameworks, and you can follow their deployment guides to deploy your application.
https://refine.dev/core/docs/guides-concepts/deployment/ -
Granular permissions Yes verified 2026-07-30
Refine provides an agnostic API via the accessControlProvider to manage access control throughout your app, which allows you to integrate different methods, such as RBAC , ABAC , ACL
https://refine.dev/core/docs/authorization/access-control-provider/ -
Audit logs Yes verified 2026-07-30
Refine allows you to track changes and who made them in your data by sending a new log event record whenever a new record is created, updated or deleted.
https://refine.dev/core/docs/audit-logs/audit-log-provider/ -
Mobile layouts Yes verified 2026-07-30
Responsive web layout (not a native mobile app); equivalent ThemedLayout components exist for Material UI, Mantine, Chakra UI, and shadcn/ui.
<ThemedLayout> is designed to be responsive. In the live-preview, it appears in tablet mode and uses <Drawer>. On larger screens, it will use <Sider>.
https://refine.dev/core/docs/ui-integrations/ant-design/components/themed-layout/ -
Free tier limits Partial verified 2026-07-30
The open-source CORE framework has no usage limits when self-hosted. The separate hosted 'Refine AI' product's cheapest tier caps usage at 300 credits/month; live-rendered pricing showed this tier pri
300 credits / month $0.99 / month
https://refine.dev/pricing/ -
SSO Yes verified 2026-07-30
SSO (Okta) ships only as part of the paid, contact-us-priced Enterprise Edition (distributed via a private npm registry), not the free Community Edition.
This package is included in Refine's Enterprise Edition. To learn more about Refine's Enterprise Edition, please contact us.
https://refine.dev/core/docs/enterprise-edition/okta/
FAQ
Yes. UI Bakery, ToolJet and Jet Admin have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
ToolJet, NocoBase and Budibase — every license claim links its source.