marimo as a Retool alternative
marimo enables building data applications with pure Python, offering flexibility and control without vendor lock-in. It's a code-first alternative to Retool for data teams.
marimo provides a code-first approach to building data applications, giving developers full control while maintaining the rapid development experience that low-code platforms promise.
No vendor lock-in
Retool applications live exclusively on Retoolâs platform, creating dependency on their infrastructure and pricing model. marimo notebooks are standard Python files that run anywhere: locally, on your own servers, in containers, or on cloud platforms. You own your code and control your deployment.
Migration away from marimo is straightforward since notebooks are just Python. The same canât be said for visual builders where your application logic is encoded in proprietary formats.
Version control and collaboration
Retool applications are edited through a web interface with limited version control integration. marimo notebooks work with git natively, enabling standard development workflows: branches, pull requests, code review, and CI/CD pipelines.
Teams can collaborate using familiar tools and practices. Code review happens in GitHub or GitLab, not in a separate platform. Automated testing and deployment integrate naturally with existing infrastructure.
Python ecosystem integration
marimo really treats Python as the first-class citizen it is. marimo is a code-first tool that lets you integrate with user-interfaces but itâs the Python code that drives the user interface, not the other way around.
marimo is also fully open-source and youâre free to use it with any Python environment as you see fit. Retool is a visual builder with pre-built components and limited customization options for Python users. While you can add projects from PyPI, you cannot easily add your own custom Python libraries to a Retool project.