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Comparison · Infra & APIs

Authelia vs Retool

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Authelia and Retool — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:self-hosted

Authelia vs Retool: at a glance

FeatureAutheliaRetool
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score5.06.3
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesauth, oidc, self-hosted, securityai-app-builder, enterprise, self-hosted, agent-workflow
Last editorial update2h ago13h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Authelia?

Authelia's 4.39.x series is a continuous patch stream: five releases in nine days, no new features

Authelia is in a sustained maintenance phase on the 4.39.x branch. The project has shipped at least five releases since September 8 — all bug-fix patches targeting OIDC conformance, web UI edge cases, SMTP IPv6, Envoy authz path handling, and storage correctness. The release cadence is high but the content is narrow: there is no visible feature investment in the recent window.

Read the full Authelia trajectory →

What is Retool?

Retool adds enterprise AI governance as it matures its agentic app builder for self-hosted deployments.

Retool is maintaining a steady Edge channel cadence for self-hosted customers — new Edge releases roughly every week — while layering enterprise governance on top of its AI features. The AI visibility page gives Enterprise admins the ability to monitor credit and token usage for AI features, a necessary control for organizations running AI-heavy internal tools. The Microsoft SQL v3.0 fix resolved a real regression: array parameters were broken between v1 and v3.

Read the full Retool trajectory →

Authelia vs Retool: editorial side-by-side

A
Authelia
INFRA · APIS
5.0

Authelia's 4.39.x series is a continuous patch stream: five releases in nine days, no new features

◆ Current state

Authelia is in a sustained maintenance phase on the 4.39.x branch. The project has shipped at least five releases since September 8 — all bug-fix patches targeting OIDC conformance, web UI edge cases, SMTP IPv6, Envoy authz path handling, and storage correctness. The release cadence is high but the content is narrow: there is no visible feature investment in the recent window.

◆ Where it's heading

The pattern across these releases is OIDC stabilization — multiple entries address consent handling, resource indicators, and JWT grant correctness. Authelia appears to be closing out conformance gaps accumulated during earlier 4.39.x development rather than adding surface area. The active committer footprint is small (primarily @james-d-elliott), which keeps the pace sustainable but limits breadth.

◆ Prediction

Given the absence of feature releases since well before May 2026, a 4.40.x or 5.0 branch with new capabilities is likely being developed in parallel. The current stream is support-mode maintenance.

R
Retool
INFRA · APIS
6.3

Retool adds enterprise AI governance as it matures its agentic app builder for self-hosted deployments.

◆ Current state

Retool is maintaining a steady Edge channel cadence for self-hosted customers — new Edge releases roughly every week — while layering enterprise governance on top of its AI features. The AI visibility page gives Enterprise admins the ability to monitor credit and token usage for AI features, a necessary control for organizations running AI-heavy internal tools. The Microsoft SQL v3.0 fix resolved a real regression: array parameters were broken between v1 and v3.

◆ Where it's heading

The combination of message queueing, manual file management in the app builder, and AI visibility monitoring points to Retool maturing its agentic workflows for enterprise use. Self-hosted customers are the primary audience — the Edge/stable split suggests Retool is managing risk carefully for organizations that can't accept service disruption.

◆ Prediction

Enterprise governance for AI usage is likely to expand beyond visibility to enforcement — quota limits, per-workspace spending caps, or alerts. The agentic infrastructure (message queueing, file management) sets up a future positioning of self-hosted Retool as the enterprise-safe environment for building AI agents that operate on internal systems.

Alternatives to Authelia and Retool

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Authelia or Retool.

See all Authelia alternatives → · See all Retool alternatives →

Recent activity from Authelia and Retool

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 4h agoAutheliaAuthelia v4.39.28 patch release
  2. 20h agoRetoolSelf-hosted Retool 4.34, 4.0 stable updates
  3. 20h agoRetoolRetool 4.58 Edge for self-hosted instances
  4. 2d agoAutheliav4.39.27
  5. 5d agoAutheliav4.39.26
  6. 7d agoAutheliav4.39.25
  7. 7d agoRetoolSelf-hosted Retool 4.34, 4.0 stable updates
  8. 7d agoRetoolRetool 4.54 Edge for self-hosted instances
  9. 8d agoAutheliav4.39.24
  10. 8d agoRetoolMicrosoft SQL integration version 3.0 restores support for array values
  11. 9d agoAutheliav4.39.23
  12. 14d agoRetoolAI visibility for Enterprise

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Authelia and Retool?

Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Infra & APIs. Retool is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Authelia better than Retool?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Retool is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Authelia?

Top Authelia alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Authelia alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/authelia for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Retool?

Top Retool alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Retool alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/retool for the full list with editorial commentary on each.