---
title: "8 of 10 low-code platforms print a price; only 2 print every tier"
summary: "What the ten low-code platforms this blog listed in 2023 print on their pricing pages, and what 10 and 100 users would pay a month, as of September 2026."
url: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/top-10-low-code-solutions-smbs-streamline
format: Analysis
desk: "SaaS & business software"
published: 2025-06-03
facts_checked: 2026-09-30
author: TechBag (The TechBag Journal)
tags: ["low-code","Power Apps","Salesforce Platform","Quickbase","Caspio","Zoho Creator","Mendix","OutSystems","Appian","Bubble","Betty Blocks","pricing","GST","DPDP"]
cover: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/covers/top-10-low-code-solutions-smbs-streamline.png
---

# 8 of 10 low-code platforms print a price; only 2 print every tier

*What the ten low-code platforms this blog listed in 2023 print on their pricing pages, and what 10 and 100 users would pay a month, as of September 2026.*

Analysis · SaaS & business software · By TechBag · Published 2025-06-03 · Facts checked 2026-09-30 · Canonical: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/top-10-low-code-solutions-smbs-streamline

The short version

- Of the ten low-code platforms this blog listed in 2023, eight print an entry price on their own pricing page and only two, Microsoft Power Apps and Salesforce Platform, print every tier. Appian and OutSystems print none.
- For ten internal users the entry plans that print a number run from US$200 to US$350 a month, as of September 2026.[1][3]
- The meter matters more than the list price. At 100 users the per-user platforms cost ten times what they cost at ten; Caspio, which does not charge per app user, costs the same.[10]

The 2023 version of this piece described ten low-code platforms in almost the same words: a drag-and-drop interface, pre-made templates, integrations. That is true of all of them and helps nobody choose. A small business choosing a platform to build its order tracker, field inspection app or customer portal is really deciding two things: what the first year costs, and what the bill does when the app works and everyone starts using it. We went back to the same ten vendors’ pricing pages, as they stood between May and September 2026, to answer both.

## Eight print a price, two print every tier

Start with whether you can find out the price without a sales call. Microsoft lists Power Apps Premium at US$20 a user a month paid yearly, falling to US$12 only with a 2,000-seat minimum, plus a free developer plan.[1] Salesforce lists Platform Starter at US$25 a user a month and Platform Plus at US$100, billed annually.[2] Those two are the only vendors of the ten that publish their whole ladder.

Six more print an entry price and then stop. Quickbase shows Team from US$35 and Business from US$55 a user a month, priced annually, with a footnote that the figure “does not include platform minimum”, a fee its page never states.[3] Zoho Creator shows its plans with prices set for the visitor’s country, plus a free edition for one app.[4] Mendix lists Basic from US$60 to US$75 a month and Standard from US$1,090, with Premium on quote.[7] Bubble prices per app, metered in workload units, with Enterprise on request.[8] Betty Blocks lists Create at €1,500 a month and Scale at €3,500, plus €7,500 for onboarding.[9] Caspio lists Team at US$270 a month on an annual term and Business at US$540, with Enterprise through sales.[10]

Appian says only that it is “priced per user, per month, per app” and offers a free Community Edition.[5] OutSystems describes its Developer Cloud as “priced per application, user, and advanced add-ons” and asks you to contact the team for a custom quote; its Personal Edition is free.[6]

**Figure: Most low-code vendors show you the first step and hide the top of the ladder**

*Ten low-code platforms by what their own pricing page discloses, pages as of May to September 2026*

- Entry price only6 platforms 60%
- Every tier printed2 platforms 20%
- No price at all2 platforms 20%

|  | Value (platforms) | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Entry price only | 6 | 60% |
| Every tier printed | 2 | 20% |
| No price at all | 2 | 20% |

Source: The ten vendors’ pricing pages (sources 1 to 10); TechBag count · as of 30 September 2026 · every tier: Power Apps, Salesforce Platform; no price: Appian, OutSystems; separately, 6 of the 10 offer a free tier

TechBag countHow we counted

“Prints an entry price” means a number in a currency for at least one paid plan on the vendor’s own pricing page. “Every tier” means no plan on that page is “contact us”. The six free tiers are Power Apps’ developer plan, Appian Community Edition, OutSystems Personal Edition, Mendix Free, Bubble Free and the Zoho Creator free edition; Quickbase offers a 30-day trial, which we did not count.

## What ten people pay at the entry plan

Take the case most small businesses start with: one internal app, ten staff using it. Four of the platforms print a number that can be multiplied out for that case without guessing. Power Apps Premium is US$200 a month.[1] Salesforce Platform Starter is US$250.[2] Caspio Team is US$270, and its app users are unlimited.[10] Quickbase Team is US$350 before the unstated platform minimum, so it is the floor of that bill, not the bill.[3]

**Figure: Ten users on one app: US$200 to US$350 a month at list, before Quickbase’s unstated minimum**

*Monthly list price in US$ for ten internal users at the entry paid plan, annual terms, as of September 2026*

Microsoft Power Apps Premium

US$20 × 10

US$200

Salesforce Platform Starter

US$25 × 10

US$250

Caspio Team

flat, app users unlimited

US$270

Quickbase Team

US$35 × 10, plus platform minimum

US$350

|  | Value (US$) |
| --- | --- |
| Microsoft Power Apps Premium | 200 |
| Salesforce Platform Starter | 250 |
| Caspio Team | 270 |
| Quickbase Team | 350 |

Source: Microsoft, Salesforce, Caspio and Quickbase pricing pages; TechBag arithmetic · as of 30 September 2026 · Mendix, Bubble, Betty Blocks and Zoho Creator left out: their entry price does not state the users it covers, or was not captured

The ones left off the chart are not necessarily dearer; they simply do not let you do this sum. Mendix’s page says the price per user falls as volume grows but does not print the user count behind “starting at”.[7] Betty Blocks’ Create plan at €1,500 a month, before €7,500 of onboarding, is priced for an app bundle, not a team of ten, which tells you who it is built for.[9]

Our view

Our view: a platform that will not tell a ten-person business what it costs is telling it something else, that the business is not the customer it designed the price list for. That is not a reason to rule out Appian or OutSystems for a large programme. It is a reason not to start a small one there.

## The meter decides the bill when the app works

A low-code app that works spreads. The order tracker built for the sales desk ends up used by the warehouse, the accounts team and the field staff. That is the moment the pricing unit matters more than the starting price. Power Apps, Salesforce Platform and Quickbase charge for every person who uses the app.[1][2][3] Caspio charges for the account and limits the people who build, five app authors on Team, while app users are unlimited on every plan.[10]

**Figure: At 100 users the per-user platforms cost ten times their ten-user bill; Caspio’s does not move**

*Monthly list price in US$ at the entry paid plan, 10 against 100 internal users of one app, annual terms, as of September 2026*

|  | 10 users | 100 users | Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Power Apps | 200 | 2,000 | 900% |
| Salesforce Platform | 250 | 2,500 | 900% |
| Quickbase | 350 | 3,500 | 900% |
| Caspio | 270 | 270 | 0% |

Source: Microsoft, Salesforce, Quickbase and Caspio pricing pages; TechBag arithmetic · as of 30 September 2026 · Quickbase excludes its unstated platform minimum; Caspio assumes no more than five people build apps

TechBag countTechBag arithmetic

100 users: Power Apps Premium 100 × US$20 = US$2,000; Salesforce Platform Starter 100 × US$25 = US$2,500; Quickbase Team 100 × US$35 = US$3,500 before the platform minimum; Caspio Team US$270, unchanged. Over a year the gap between Caspio and Power Apps at 100 users is US$20,760 at list.

There is a third meter, and it is the hardest to forecast: usage. Bubble prices each app by plan and meters it in workload units, the server work the app does, so a busy app moves up a tier whatever its headcount.[8] Quickbase offers a usage-based option under each plan, priced on the collective usage of all users rather than on seats.[3] Usage pricing suits an app with many occasional users, a supplier portal or a field form opened twice a month, and punishes one with a few heavy users. Neither vendor publishes a calculator you can run against your own forecast on the page, so ask for one in writing before the build.

That does not make the flat meter the right answer. Power Apps sits next to the Microsoft 365 data many small businesses already hold, and it is one of only two platforms here whose full price list is public. Per-user pricing is fair when every user gets real value from the app every day. The point is to choose the meter on purpose: if the app will be opened by the whole company or by customers, a per-user platform needs a second look before the first app is built, not at the first renewal, when the data and the habits are already inside it and moving costs more than the licence.

## A shortlist in four questions

The 2023 list ended by telling readers to “carefully assess their needs”. Here is what that means in practice, in the order that removes the most platforms fastest. Each question uses only what the vendors print, so a small business can run it in an afternoon before any demo.

**Figure: Four questions take ten platforms to two or three before the first sales call**

*TechBag’s shortlisting sequence for a first low-code app, applied to the pricing pages as of September 2026*

1. 01Who opens the app?Count builders and users separately. Many occasional users favour Caspio’s flat account or a usage meter; a few daily users favour per-user.
2. 02Is the price printed?If the page prints no number, as with Appian and OutSystems, park it unless the programme is large enough to justify a sales cycle.
3. 03Price 10 and 100 usersMultiply the entry plan out at today’s headcount and at the headcount if the app spreads. Ask Quickbase for its platform minimum in writing.
4. 04What leaves with you?Ask for the data export format and whether the app logic can be exported. A low-code app you cannot move is a licence you cannot cancel.

Source: TechBag method, using sources 1 to 10 · as of 30 September 2026

For most ten-to-fifty-person businesses that sequence ends in one of two places: Power Apps if the company already lives in Microsoft 365 and every user is staff, or a flat or usage-metered platform if the app will reach suppliers or customers. Zoho Creator belongs on the shortlist for any business already paying for Zoho, because it works on the same Zoho data and is sold by an Indian company.

If you are buying this in India

Only one of the ten is Indian. Zoho, which makes Zoho Creator, is headquartered in Chennai,[11] and its pricing page sets the price by the visitor’s country.[4] Caspio is the only other one of the ten that prints rupees: Team at ₹19,800 a month on an annual term and Business at ₹39,510.[10] The rest list US dollars or euros, which means an INR quote through a reseller or the vendor’s Indian entity, plus 18% GST. A registered business buying directly from a foreign vendor with no Indian entity pays that GST itself under reverse charge, because the subscription is an OIDAR service.[12]

The apps you build will hold customer and employee records, which makes you the Data Fiduciary under the DPDP Act. The DPDP Rules were notified on 13 November 2025; the security-safeguard, breach-notice and retention duties apply from 13 May 2027.[13] For a bank, RBI’s Cybersecurity, Technology Risk and Resilience Framework Directions of 31 July 2026 add vendor contracts with audit and RBI inspection rights, which belong in the low-code contract as much as any other.[14] Ask each vendor, before the first app, which region your data sits in and what export you get when you leave.

How we did this

Figures as of 30 September 2026

The ten platforms are the ten the 2023 version listed; Salesforce Lightning is now sold as Salesforce Platform. Prices are list, in the currency each page shows, on annual terms where the page offers a choice. Archived copies were used for Power Apps (6 August 2026), Zoho Creator (27 September), OutSystems (14 July), Mendix (10 May), Betty Blocks (6 June), Quickbase (12 July) and Caspio (10 July). Salesforce Platform, Appian and Bubble had no usable archive and were read from the live page at rewrite; the Salesforce figures carry that caveat. The free-tier count uses the same pages. Implementation, add-on storage, AI credits and partner fees are excluded. The Zoho Creator and Bubble prices load by script and were not captured, so neither appears in a chart.

Spotted an error? Write to us; corrections are published at the foot of the piece.

Sources

1. [Microsoft, Power Apps pricing, Internet Archive copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20260806191330/https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-apps/pricing) — captured 6 August 2026
2. [Salesforce, Platform pricing](https://www.salesforce.com/products/platform/pricing/) — 2026 No archived copy; read from the live page at rewrite.
3. [Quickbase, Plans and pricing, Internet Archive copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20260712055555/https://www.quickbase.com/plans-and-pricing) — captured 12 July 2026
4. [Zoho, Zoho Creator pricing, Internet Archive copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20260927024726/https://www.zoho.com/creator/pricing.html) — captured 27 September 2026
5. [Appian, Platform pricing](https://appian.com/products/platform/pricing) — 2026 No archived copy; read from the live page at rewrite.
6. [OutSystems, Pricing and editions, Internet Archive copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20260714063158/https://www.outsystems.com/pricing-and-editions) — captured 14 July 2026
7. [Mendix, Pricing, Internet Archive copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20260510020046/https://www.mendix.com/pricing/) — captured 10 May 2026
8. [Bubble, Pricing](https://bubble.io/pricing) — 2026 Archived copy loads prices by script; read from the live page at rewrite.
9. [Betty Blocks, Pricing, Internet Archive copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20260606061824/https://www.bettyblocks.com/pricing) — captured 6 June 2026
10. [Caspio, Pricing, Internet Archive copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20260710232517/https://www.caspio.com/pricing/) — captured 10 July 2026
11. [TechBag, Zoho vendor hub](https://www.thetechbag.com/zoho) — estate version of 30 September 2026
12. [India Briefing, OIDAR services: GST and reverse charge](https://india-briefing.com/news/tax-digital-services-oidar-in-india-gst-applicability-and-compliance-22465.html) — 29 September 2023
13. [Legismith Partners, DPDP Rules 2025 commencement timeline](https://legismith.com/dpdp-rules-2025-timeline/) — notified 13 November 2025
14. [RBI, Cybersecurity, Technology Risk and Resilience Framework Directions, 2026, via practitioner summary](https://taxguru.in/rbi/rbi-issues-commercial-banks-cybersecurity-technology-risk-resilience-framework-directions-2026.html) — 31 July 2026 RBI PDF not fetched.

**Disclosure.** TechBag is a software reseller: it earns a margin when a reader buys through it, including from vendors named here. The analysis is TechBag’s own; no vendor paid for or saw this piece before publication. Facts are labelled reported, TechBag count or our view.

Go deeper on TechBag

- [Microsoft 365: Business and Enterprise plans compared](https://www.thetechbag.com/microsoft/microsoft-365) — the suite most Power Apps buyers already run
- [Zoho vendor hub](https://www.thetechbag.com/zoho) — the Chennai-built suite Zoho Creator apps sit on
- [Developer tools guide](https://www.thetechbag.com/browse/devops/developer-tools) — source control and CI/CD for when an app outgrows low-code