Do you know? The global low-code development platform market was valued at USD 28.75 billion in 2024. It is projected to grow from USD 37.39 billion in 2025 to almost USD 264.40 billion by 2032, registering an impressive 32.2% CAGR during the forecast period.

This rapid growth highlights the potential of low-code application platforms (LCAP) to dramatically accelerate time-to-market. Yet, many engineering and procurement leaders still struggle to understand the wide range of use cases these platforms enable. Without this clarity, organizations risk underutilizing the software and falling short on ROI. In this article, we address that challenge.

However, let’s start with the basics:

Gartner defines enterprise low-code application platforms (LCAPs) as software platforms for the accelerated development and maintenance of applications, using model-driven development tools, generative AI, and prebuilt component catalogs for the entire application’s technology stack. 

Enterprise LCAPs provide the foundation for developing a wide range of applications and application components with distributed data architectures, including complex multimodal front ends, business workflows, agentic AI, and integration capabilities.

The enterprise LCAP market is closely related to the citizen application development platform (CADP) market, as they both aim to address the use cases listed below. However, they are distinctively different in terms of the target audience and complexity of the applications built on the platform.

A low-code development platform (LCDP) provides a software development environment, typically a graphical user interface (GUI), that involves little or no writing of code. A low-coded platform may produce entirely operational applications or require additional coding for specific situations. 

Low-code development platforms are typically on a high abstraction level, and can reduce the amount of traditional time spent, enabling accelerated delivery of business applications. A common benefit is that a wider range of people can contribute to the application’s development, not only those with coding skills, but good governance is needed to be able to adhere to common rules and regulations. LCDPs can also lower the initial cost of setup, training, deployment, and maintenance.

For a visual and quick explanation of low-code application development, you can also watch this video:

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The enterprise low-code application platforms market is experiencing unprecedented growth, with businesses increasingly adopting these solutions to accelerate digital transformation. 

When evaluating the best low code application platforms for 2025, consider these industry leaders:

Enterprise-grade platforms:

• ToolJet – AI-powered low code application development platform with enterprise governance
• Microsoft Power Platform – Comprehensive suite with deep Microsoft ecosystem integration
• OutSystems – Advanced enterprise low code application platform for complex applications
• Mendix – Siemens-backed platform focusing on collaborative development
• Appian – Process-centric low-code rapid application development platform

Mid-market solutions:

• Retool – Developer-focused internal tool builder
• Bubble – Visual programming platform for web applications
• Zoho Creator – Business application builder with workflow automation

The Gartner Magic Quadrant for enterprise low-code application platforms consistently highlights the importance of governance, scalability, and integration capabilities when selecting a platform for enterprise use.

Also read, “Gartner forecast on low code development technologies in 2025“.

We’ve been testing and reviewing low-code platforms since 2023.

As developers, we know how critical and often challenging it is to make the right choice when selecting a platform.

By combining research, testing, and business context, we aim to give you a clear, actionable understanding of which low-code platform best fits your needs.

Based on our hands-on experience and reviews from trusted sources like G2, Gartner, and Software Advice, we’ve curated a list of the 10 best low-code application platforms.

Platform	Best suited for	G2 Ratings	Offers free trial?	Website
Appian	Enterprises	4.5	Yes, Community edition available	Appian
ToolJet	Mid-market and Enterprises	4.8	Yes	ToolJet
Retool	SMB and mid-market	4.6	Yes	Retool
Appsmith	SMB	4.7	Yes	Appsmith
Mendix	Mid-market and Enterprises	4.4	Yes	Mendix
Caspio	SMB	4.4	Yes	Caspio
Kissflow	SMB and mid-market	4.3	No	Kissflow
Power Apps	Mid-market and Enterprises	4.2	Yes	Power Apps
DronaHQ	SMB	4.4	Yes	DronaHQ
UI Bakery	SMB	4.9	Yes	UI Bakery

Here is more information about the best low-code application platform companies listed above, including their USPs, industries, use cases they cater to, and contact details.

Platform	Headquarters	G2 rating
m-Power	Oak Brook, Illinois, U.S.A	4.7 / 5 (28 reviews)
Superblocks	New York, New York, U.S.A	4.7/5 (190 reviews)
Xano	Los Angeles, California, U.S.A	4.8/5 (60 reviews)
Creatio	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A	4.9 / 5 (10 reviews)
Nintex	Bellevue, Washington, USA.	4.2/5 (1,313 reviews)

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Appian is a leading platform for process automation, known for its capabilities in low-code application development and process mining. It enables organizations to design, automate, and optimize their business processes efficiently.

Benefits:

• Both pro and citizen developers can use the platform
• Provides process mining, that is, users can identify process inefficiencies and improve business outcomes
• Supports generative AI in app development workflows

Best suited for:

• Financial Services
• Insurance
• Public Sector
• Life Sciences
• Manufacturing

Ratings: 4.5/5 in G2 based on 403 reviews.

Pricing: Pricing available upon request.

Address: 7950 Jones Branch Dr. McLean, VA 22102

Phone: 1 703 442 8844

Email: info@appian.com

ToolJet is a low-code internal tool development platform. In 2024, G2 recognized it as a High Performer in low-code development platforms and Rapid application development platforms categories. The open-source platform comes with a visual app-builder, workflow capabilities, a comprehensive suite of integrations and ability to add custom JavaScript and Python code.

Benefits:

• Supports real-time collaboration and automatic deployment
• Comes with a visual app-builder with advanced pre-buillt components
• Provides data integration with 100+ applications, databases, and APIs
• Offers a scalable solution for managing databases and app development

Best suited for:

• IT
• Financial Services
• Healthcare
• Telecom
• Retail
• Education

Ratings: 4.8/5 on G2 based on 28 reviews

Pricing: A 14-day free trial is available. Paid plans start at $79/builder/month.

Contact hello@tooljet.com for custom pricing.

Headquarters: San Francisco, USA

Retool is a popular platform for quickly building internal tools. It offers a fully integrated development environment for designing, coding, debugging, reviewing, and deploying applications—everything in one place. It also allows users to connect various data sources to create custom apps.

Benefits:

• Seamlessly connects with several databases to create custom workflows
• Companies can track platform usage through audit logs and usage analytics, helping them to upscale or downscale licenses accordingly
• Offers cloud-based, scalable solutions for enterprise apps

Best suited for:

• E-commerce
• Education
• BFSI
• SaaS
• Media

Ratings: 4.6/5 on G2 based on 192 reviews

Pricing: Free plan starts with unlimited apps and 500 workflow runs/month, 5GB of data storage, and up to 5 users. Paid plan starts with $10/month per standard user and $5/month per end user.

Appsmith is an open source low-code app development platform offering a range of services to build sales, marketing, operational, and engineering tools. It lets users build custom applications such as dashboards, admin panels, and customer support tools with ease. 

Benefits:

• Allows developers to build, deploy, and maintain internal apps easily
• Supports 18+ native integrations with database, SaaS, and GraphQL/REST API
• Provides drag-and-drop widgets to build a responsive UI

Best suited for:

• Customer Support
• IT
• Enterprises

Ratings: 4.7/5 on G2 based on 44 reviews

Pricing: Offers a free plan suitable for individual developers and small teams. Reach out to their support for details on paid plans.

Mendix offers a visual model-driven IDE with reusable components and full-stack capabilities to speed up app development and automate routine jobs. It simplifies the development process for both professional developers and business users. 

Benefits:

• Allows developers to build multi-channel web and mobile apps from a single model
• Automatically detects anti-patterns and recommends ways to resolve those issues
• Supports REST, SQL, OData, SOAP, and other protocols for integrations

Best suited for:

• BFSI
• Retail
• Manufacturing

Ratings: 4.4/5 on G2 based on 177 reviews

Pricing: Free plan available to try out the platform. Basic plan starts at €52,50/month to create simple workgroup applications.

Address: 22 Boston Wharf Rd, Boston, MA 02210

Phone: +1 (857) 263-8200

Caspio is the low-code development platform for building online database apps, such as reports, forms, charts, calendars, tasks, and more. Known for its point-and-click interface, Caspio allows users to build multi-user apps, workflows, and dashboards efficiently and cost-effectively.

Benefits:

• Supports visual application development
• Compliant with HIPAA, FERPA, PCI, GDPR, and has infrastructure in place to meet the needs of regulated industries

Best suited for:

• Healthcare
• Education
• Energy and utilities
• Not for profits

Ratings: 4.4/5 on G2 based on 141 reviews

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $100.00/month and include 20 DataPages, 20,000 data records, a visual app builder, unlimited app users, user identity management, and app styling and localization.

Phone: +1 (650) 691-0900

Recognized as a Strong Performer in the Forrester Wave, Kissflow is a low-code app development platform for building employee portals, operational dashboards, or specific workflows to optimize internal processes.

Benefits:

• Provides a wide range of pre-built templates
• Supports role-based access to users
• Provides extensive integrations with ERP, CRM, and other core utility platforms

Best suited for:

• Banking
• Insurance
• Oil & Gas
• Manufacturing

Ratings: 4.3/5 on G2 based on 540 reviews

Pricing: Basic plan starts at $1,500/month

Power Apps by Microsoft is an AI-powered platform for app development that lets developers start building from tables, sketch, or their own code. It offers a suite of apps, services, and connectors, along with a data platform, enabling users to build feature-rich applications without extensive coding knowledge.

Benefits:

• Generates AI-based images and prototypes in Figma
• Vast library of pre-built templates

Best suited for:

• Finance
• Sales and marketing
• HR
• Operations
• Frontline workers

Ratings: 4.2/5 on G2 based on 185 reviews

Pricing: Free for building and testing apps in three environments. The Premium plan starts at $20 per user per month.

DronaHQ, a low-code development platform for engineering teams, brings together server-side and front-end actions to build interactions and experiences. It offers a visual drag-and-drop interface, over 150 UI components, and seamless integration with various databases, APIs, and SaaS tools.

Benefits:

• Allows developers to write and edit JavaScript and import JS libraries to extend UI components
• Supports version history and connector logs to debug apps
• Allows granular permissions (RBAC), SSO, and audit logs for building secure apps

Best suited for:

• Finance
• HR
• Retail
• Manufacturing
• Marketing

Ratings: 4.4/5 on G2 based on 39 reviews

Pricing: Starts at $10 per user per month for the starter plan and $25 per user per month for the business plan.

UI Bakery is a fast-evolving, low-code platform for developers to build internal tools, customer portals, vendor apps, admin panels, and dashboards. It offers a drag-and-drop interface with over 75 UI components, making it easy to create complex interfaces.

Benefits:

• Supports Git Integration and branching logic
• Allows adding conditions, intervals, and using state variables
• Can customize positioning and display for desktop and mobile

Best suited for:

• Healthcare
• SaaS
• E-commerce
• Government

Ratings: 4.9/5 on G2 based on 28 reviews

Pricing: Free for up to 5 users; Standard plan starts at $5 per user + $10 per developer per month.

Understanding the distinction between low-code and no-code platforms is crucial for making informed platform decisions:

• Developer involvement: Requires some coding knowledge for customization
• Flexibility: Offers extensive customization through custom code integration
• Complexity: Handles complex business logic and enterprise-grade applications
• Target users: Professional developers, citizen developers with technical backgrounds
• Integration: Advanced API integrations and database connections
• Example use cases: Enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management systems

• User accessibility: Designed for non-technical business users
• Simplicity: Drag-and-drop interface with pre-built templates
• Limitations: Limited customization for complex requirements
• Target users: Business analysts, marketers, operations teams
• Integration: Basic integrations through built-in connectors
• Example use cases: Simple workflows, basic data collection forms

Key Takeaway: Low code application platforms provide the perfect balance between speed and flexibility, making them ideal for organizations that need both rapid development and enterprise-grade capabilities.

• Development time: 6-12 months for enterprise applications
• Resource requirements: Large development teams with specialized skills
• Maintenance: Ongoing maintenance requires dedicated development resources
• Cost: High upfront investment and long-term maintenance costs
• Flexibility: Complete customization, but at significant time and cost

• Development speed: 50-90% faster application delivery
• Resource efficiency: Smaller teams can build enterprise-grade applications
• Maintenance: Built-in updates and automated maintenance features
• Cost-effectiveness: Lower total cost of ownership
• Governance: Enterprise low-code application platforms provide built-in security and compliance

Business impact: Organizations using enterprise low code application platforms report 40% reduction in development costs and 3x faster time-to-market compared to traditional development approaches.

The shift toward low code application development platforms is driven by several critical business factors:

The global developer shortage affects 87% of organizations, creating massive backlogs for internal tool development. Low-code application platforms address this challenge by enabling citizen developers to build applications with minimal technical expertise.

Companies need to digitize processes rapidly to remain competitive. What is a low code application platform if not the perfect solution for accelerating digital initiatives without the traditional development bottlenecks?

Modern businesses require applications that can adapt quickly to changing market conditions. Enterprise low-code application platforms provide the flexibility to modify applications in response to evolving business needs.

Traditional development approaches consume significant resources. Low code application development platforms reduce development costs by up to 70% while maintaining enterprise-grade quality.

Low code application development platforms excel in specific scenarios and application types:

• Employee onboarding portals
• Inventory management systems
• Project tracking dashboards
• HR workflow automation
• Financial reporting tools

Also read: “Top 10 internal tools you should know: A definitive guide for 2025.”

• Client portals and self-service applications
• Appointment scheduling systems
• Customer feedback platforms
• Service request management

Also read: “From static reports to real-time business dashboards: Top 10 examples“.

• Real-time analytics dashboards
• Reporting and visualization tools
• Data integration and synchronization apps
• Business intelligence platforms

• Approval workflows
• Document management systems
• Compliance tracking applications
• Quality assurance processes

Industry applications: Healthcare organizations use enterprise low-code application platforms for patient management systems, while manufacturing companies build supply chain optimization tools.

Organizations using low code application platforms can respond to market changes 5x faster than those relying solely on traditional development.

Low-code democratizes application development, allowing business users to innovate without waiting for IT resources.

Enterprise low code application platforms provide the infrastructure to scale applications from departmental tools to enterprise-wide solutions.

Built-in security, compliance, and governance features reduce the risk associated with rapid application development.

As highlighted in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for enterprise low-code application platforms, these solutions provide a foundation for long-term digital transformation initiatives.

• Speed: 10x faster application development compared to traditional coding
• Cost efficiency: 60% reduction in development costs
• Resource optimization: Frees up developer resources for strategic projects
• Maintenance simplification: Automated updates and built-in maintenance tools

• Integration capabilities: Pre-built connectors for popular enterprise systems
• Security: Enterprise-grade security features built into the platform
• Scalability: Applications can scale from proof-of-concept to enterprise deployment
• Version control: Built-in versioning and rollback capabilities

• Time-to-market: Accelerated deployment of business-critical applications
• Innovation: Empowers business users to solve problems independently
• Compliance: Built-in compliance features for regulated industries
• ROI: Average ROI of 300% within the first year of platform adoption.

Drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-built components let users design applications without writing extensive code.

Ready-to-use modules, templates, and widgets reduce repetitive work and ensure consistency across apps.

Integrate seamlessly with databases, APIs, third-party tools, and enterprise systems for end-to-end workflows.

Built-in process automation tools streamline repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.

Applications can grow with business needs, and developers can extend functionality with custom code when required.

Build once and deploy across web, mobile, and desktop platforms with minimal adjustments.

Role-based access, version control, and real-time editing foster teamwork between business users and developers.

Features like role-based authentication, audit trails, and compliance support ensure enterprise-grade security.

Built-in dashboards and reporting provide insights into application performance and usage.

With so many low-code platforms available today, the real challenge isn’t deciding whether to use one; it’s choosing the right fit for your organization. The “best” platform depends on your goals, team structure, and technical requirements. Here are key factors to consider:

Look for a platform with an intuitive drag-and-drop builder, clear UI, and minimal learning curve so both developers and business users can contribute effectively.

Ensure the platform can connect with your existing tools, databases, APIs, and enterprise systems without complex workarounds.

Choose a solution that grows with your business, capable of handling larger workloads and more users as your needs expand.

While low-code accelerates development, you’ll want the flexibility to add custom code for unique business logic or advanced functionality.

Role-based access, version control, and multi-user editing make it easier for teams across departments to work together on the same app.

Enterprise-grade security, authentication, and audit trails are non-negotiable—especially for industries with strict compliance standards.

Go beyond license fees. Consider hidden costs like scaling, integrations, maintenance, and vendor lock-in before committing.

Strong vendor support, comprehensive documentation, and an active community can make a huge difference in your adoption journey.

Low-code platforms bring speed, flexibility, and scalability to modern application development—but choosing the right one makes all the difference.

ToolJet combines an intuitive drag-and-drop builder, powerful integrations, workflow automation, and enterprise-grade security to help teams build and deploy apps faster without compromising on control.

Whether you’re a business user looking to streamline operations or a developer seeking extensibility, ToolJet offers the balance of simplicity and power to maximize ROI from your low-code journey.

Book a demo now!