Gartner Low-Code Forecasts: Market Size and Adoption

Gartner’s low-code market forecasts describe expected spending and adoption, not guaranteed results for an individual company. For a 2026 evaluation, check the publication date, target year and market definition before using a statistic in a business case.

Gartner’s November 2025 forecast abstract projects a $58.2 billion market for low-code development technologies by 2029, with a 14.1% compound annual growth rate. This is a forecast for a broad technology market, not a measured 2026 revenue total or an assessment of any single vendor.

This guide separates dated Gartner forecasts from ToolJet’s practical evaluation advice. It covers market scope, adoption, governance and the evidence to collect before committing to a platform.

Read the following figures with their original publication dates. A forecast’s target year passing does not establish that the prediction came true; that requires a subsequent measurement.

• Gartner’s November 2025 forecast abstract provides a forward-looking estimate for low-code development technologies through 2029.
• Before comparing market estimates, confirm that both cover the same categories, geography and revenue definition.
• Use a market forecast as context for technology investment, then validate a specific platform against your application requirements.

• Enterprise adoption includes applications built by professional developers and business teams. Assess both groups when planning training, support and governance.
• Separate the share of applications built with low-code from the share of companies using it or the share of developers outside IT. These are different populations.
• For your organization, measure the applications suitable for the platform, the teams that can maintain them and the controls required before rollout.

• A spending forecast does not establish what percentage of all software development uses low-code.
• The value depends on application fit. Forms, approvals and operational interfaces are different workloads from latency-sensitive services or specialized native applications.
• Evaluate integration complexity, testability, access controls and long-term ownership before standardizing.

For a concrete example of internal application delivery, read the Emeritus case study. A customer example provides context; its results are not a guarantee for another team or evidence of a Gartner endorsement.

Next, we will examine the key drivers behind the growing adoption of low-code platforms.

Several key factors fuel the rapid adoption of low-code technologies. As businesses face challenges in hiring skilled developers, pressures for continuous optimization, and the need for efficient digital transformation, low-code platforms provide a viable solution. Let’s look at a few key drivers:

A platform can reduce repetitive interface work, but it does not remove the need for data modeling, authorization, testing and operations expertise. Assign technical ownership even when business teams create the forms.

In this competitive market, businesses are constantly pressured to optimize their operations and automate workflows. Low-code platforms simplify the automation of complex business processes, allowing organizations to adapt quickly to market changes. This capability is crucial for staying ahead of competitors and responding to customer needs in real time.

Choose a specific process to improve, such as an approval queue or a customer-support workspace. Record its current turnaround time, error rate and maintenance effort, then compare the pilot against that baseline.

Next, let us examine how low-code empowers non-technical users within organizations.

Users outside IT may have substantial technical expertise. Do not equate their department with their coding ability, or confuse a forecast about a tool’s user base with a count of non-technical employees.

• Gartner’s December 2022 release forecast that developers outside formal IT departments would represent at least 80% of low-code tool users by 2026, compared with 60% in 2021.
• This is a dated prediction, not confirmation of the observed 2026 share. It also does not mean 80% of all employees or all software developers.

• Use a low-code platform shortlist to identify options for the process and team involved.
• Let business owners define requirements and acceptance criteria; give IT responsibility for identity, permissions, deployment and operational standards.

• Define who can build, publish, connect data sources and grant access. Set review requirements for applications handling confidential data.
• Plan ownership transfers, user deprovisioning, change approval and incident response before expanding citizen development.

Next, we’ll discuss the efficiency and flexibility benefits that low-code platforms bring to the table.

Low-code platforms offer significant advantages in terms of efficiency and flexibility, making them an attractive option for businesses looking to accelerate their digital initiatives. This section will cover the reduction in development time and costs, faster digitization of business processes, and the flexibility in creating cross-platform applications.

• Measure total delivery time, including integration, security review, testing and deployment.
• Compare license, infrastructure, support and maintenance costs with the existing approach.
• A percentage saving from another organization is not a dependable budget assumption for your application.

• Low-code platforms make it easier for organizations to digitize their business processes much faster. In a digital-first world, this capability is essential for staying competitive. 
• With the help of low code, businesses can quickly develop and implement digital solutions that streamline operations and improve efficiency, helping them to keep up with market demands.

• Test the intended devices and browsers with representative forms, tables and uploads.
• Responsive web support does not automatically imply native apps, offline operation or push notifications.
• Document these requirements separately and verify the selected platform’s capabilities before rollout.

Let us now look at the advanced features that make low-code platforms powerful.

Modern low-code platforms have advanced features that support complex integrations, robust security, and a wide range of pre-built components. These capabilities make low-code platforms a powerful tool for businesses looking to streamline development processes. Let’s explore how these features reduce development efforts and enhance application security and functionality.

• Test the exact authentication methods, data-source connectivity and permission boundaries the application needs.
• Require server-enforced authorization for sensitive operations; hiding a button is not an access-control policy.
• Review logs, release controls, backup and recovery, and the contractual scope of support.

• Use application templates as starting points, then adapt queries, data models and permissions.
• Reusable components can reduce repetitive work, but still require accessibility, validation and security testing.
• Measure the effort saved in your pilot rather than assuming an industry-wide percentage applies.

Next, we’ll review some statistics highlighting the growing adoption of low-code platforms.

Keep each statistic traceable to its source and original period. The distinction between a broad technology market and the application-platform segment is especially important when comparing forecasts.

Gartner’s December 2022 release projected approximately $26.9 billion for the broad low-code development technologies market in 2023. Its application-platform segment was about $10 billion. These historical projections describe different scopes and should not be presented as current actuals.

Track time from an approved requirement to a production release, not just the first generated screen. Include rework, integration setup, security review and the effort needed to maintain the app after launch.

By adopting low-code platforms, businesses can free up IT resources to focus on high-level strategic projects rather than routine application development tasks. This shift enables IT teams to contribute significantly to the company’s success, driving innovation and strategic growth.

ToolJet combines AI-assisted app generation with a visual builder for internal applications. Teams can connect data and APIs, refine interfaces and evaluate governance and deployment requirements for their use case. This is ToolJet’s product description, not a Gartner rating or endorsement.

For enterprise evaluation, review security controls, self-hosted deployment options and the integration catalog. Verify feature and add-on availability for the selected plan.

Use the current Cloud and Self-Hosted pricing tables to confirm current plan names, inclusions and add-ons. Build a quote around these requirements:

Budget item	What to confirm
Deployment	Cloud, self-hosted or managed hosting requirements
People	Builder seats, end-user terms and roles that edit applications
Governance	SSO, permissions, audit requirements and release controls
AI	Included credits, model access, BYOK and any add-ons
Operations	Infrastructure, environments, support and implementation scope

Start with a representative application and explicit acceptance criteria. Validate the workflow, permissions, performance, operating cost and ownership model before broader adoption. Try ToolJet or use the pricing page to evaluate deployment and commercial options.