I scoped the same internal staffing tool on two no-code platforms this week. Same app, completely different price, and actual usage had nothing to do with it.

Here's the trap nobody mentions: no-code is cheap until you need the two things every real internal tool needs. Your own database, and real logins with roles.

On Glide, connecting Airtable as your data source forces the Business plan, around $200/month. On Softr, Airtable's fine, but splitting users into Admin and Performer roles needs the ~$170/month tier, and 20-odd logins blow the cheaper plan's cap regardless. Identical app. The price was set entirely by which feature each platform chose to put behind a wall.

So whether you're buying or building one of these: price it by the tier your hardest requirement forces, never the number on the homepage. No-code lowers your build cost. It doesn't touch your run cost, and the run cost is the one you keep paying every month.