Tool profile
Budibase: cost, fit and limits
Budibase is an open source low-code platform made by Budibase Limited, based in Northern Ireland, that builds internal apps, automations and AI agents on top of existing databases and systems, hosted in the vendor cloud or on the customer's own infrastructure.
What to know first
Budibase has three plans: a free self-hosted Community edition, Cloud from $299 per month with a 14-day trial, and a negotiated Enterprise tier. Cloud is priced as a flat rate that includes 2 creators and 20 end users, rather than per seat from the first person. Community has no limits on users, apps, agents, automations or requests, but you run it yourself.
Budibase at a glance
| Maker | Budibase Limited, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | $0 (Community, self-hosted); Cloud from $299 per month |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Low-Code and No-Code Platforms in 2026, rank 13 of 13 |
| Website | budibase.com |
Who Budibase is best for
Teams with their own infrastructure
Community runs on Docker or Kubernetes with control over version and update timing, and it has no caps on users or apps, so cost is hosting and staff time.
Regulated or air-gapped organizations
Enterprise lists air-gapped deployment, extended audit logs and backups, and container images are available through Iron Bank, which suits environments without public cloud access.
Teams building on SAP, ServiceNow or SQL data
PostgreSQL, SAP and ServiceNow are named data sources, plus REST APIs and generic database connections, so apps sit on systems of record rather than copies.
Budibase plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Community | $0 | Self-hosted on your own infrastructure with no caps on users, apps, agents, automations or requests, and standard SSO. |
| Cloud | From $299 per month | Managed hosting, updates and maintenance, 2 creators, 20 end users, 250K monthly actions, 50K monthly AI credits and a 14-day free trial. |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Unlimited users, creators, groups and workspaces, extended activity and audit logs, backups, air-gapped deployment, dedicated support and SLAs. |
Checked November 2026.
What Budibase does
- Apps on existing data
- Apps are built over data sources the company already runs, with PostgreSQL, SAP and ServiceNow named on the site, and REST APIs available for anything else.
- Automations and AI agents
- Automations and agents call tools and follow approval rules. Agents are metered through monthly AI credits, 50K on Cloud, and failure status is visible on agent requests.
- Access rules
- Access rules apply across data, APIs, automations, agent tools and screens, with roles and SSO, so one rule set governs what an agent can reach as well as a person.
- Self-hosting control
- Docker or Kubernetes deployment lets the customer choose the version and when updates land, which matters for teams that validate every change before it reaches users.
- Human approval policies
- Approval policies hold controlled AI actions until a person signs off, and activity is audited, with the extended activity and audit logs reserved for the Enterprise plan.
How Budibase handles your data
Budibase says in its privacy policy that personal information is kept as long as needed to provide the services, and may be kept afterward to meet legal obligations. The hosting region for Cloud is not specified, and data may be transferred to Budibase databases outside the customer's country. Self-hosting keeps data on the customer's own infrastructure. The site states an ISO 27001 certified information security management system and a GDPR statement. Whether customer data trains AI models is not stated on the pages we read.
Where Budibase falls short in practice
- Managed hosting starts at $299. The free edition is self-hosted only. A team that wants the vendor to run it pays at least $299 per month, with 2 creators and 20 end users included.
- Hard caps on Cloud usage. Cloud includes 250K monthly actions and 50K AI credits. Extra credits are sold in packs from $20 for 10,000, so agent-heavy use raises the bill.
- Creators cost extra. Additional creators are $50 per month billed annually or $60 billed monthly, so a larger build team on Cloud adds cost faster than the flat $299 suggests.
- Air-gapped needs Enterprise. Air-gapped deployment is listed for Enterprise only, which is quote priced, although a customer can still self-host Community on its own servers without that tier.
Works with
Alternatives to Budibase
Budibase: common questions
Is Budibase really free?
The Community edition is free and open source, with no caps on users, apps, agents, automations or requests. The catch is that you host it yourself on your own infrastructure. The managed Cloud plan starts at $299 per month as of November 2026.
What does Budibase Cloud include for $299 per month?
Cloud includes managed hosting, updates and maintenance, 2 creators, 20 end users, 250K monthly actions and 50K monthly AI credits, plus a 14-day free trial. More creators cost $50 per month billed annually, or $60 billed monthly. The 250K actions cap applies each month.
Can Budibase run without internet access?
Air-gapped deployment is listed on the Enterprise plan, which is quote priced. Community can be self-hosted with Docker or Kubernetes, and container images are available through Iron Bank. Ask the vendor which option fits your network rules. Enterprise buyers get dedicated support and SLAs.
Which data sources does Budibase connect to?
The site names PostgreSQL, SAP and ServiceNow as data sources, and also lists REST APIs and generic database connections. Microsoft Teams and SharePoint appear among the integrations. Other connectors, such as specific SaaS apps, were not checked. Confirm your exact system on the vendor site.
How are Budibase AI agents priced?
Agents run on monthly AI credits. Cloud includes 50K per month, and extra credits are sold in packs from $20 for 10,000. Community has no caps on agents, but model usage costs depend on your own setup, which was not checked.